Abstract: This article was delivered as a keynote speech at the conference themed ‘Chinese Cuisine Release to the World’ in Zhengzhou in 2018 organized by the Chinese Cuisine Association. It highlights some terms, such as Chinese Cuisine, Scholarly Area of Cookbook and Studies of Chinese Cookbook, so as to emphasize their importance to the development of the catering culture and construction of culinary art as a discipline. It stands on the point that research on the Chinese cuisine should meet the needs of the public, and be adapted to the general trends. It points out that Yuan Mei’s Suiyuan Shidan and Buwei Chao-Yang’s How to Cook and Eat in Chinese are the most classic Chinese cookbooks for the ancient and modern times respectively. By inspecting the Chinese Cuisine in scholarly view of Chinese Cookbook, it is found that city is the foundation of the culinary culture. That means any central city with a historical heritage must have its specific culinary and catering culture; its surrounding areas will naturally be influenced and a food culture circle be formed that covers local dishes. Therefore, those renowned dishes named after provinces or cities have historical origins in food production and consumption, meet the market demand and benefit both the public and the government. Even a small area and a minor city can have their special cuisine. It follows, displays and develops the law of “naming dishes after places.”

Key words: Chinese cuisine, scholarly area of cookbook, scholarly area of Chinese cookbook, Suiyuan Shidan, How to Cook and Eat in Chinese, Yuan Mei, Buwei Chao-Yang