Foreigners are puzzled: Why do Chinese people like to drink hot water so much? The ancestors gave the answer thousands of years ago

It may be a common thing for everyone to drink hot water, but this living habit is very incredible in the eyes of many foreigners. Although foreigners are very fond of hot drinks such as coffee, they rarely drink boiled water directly in their daily life. In some more developed western countries such as the United States, many of their families will have a special ice maker, just for drinking ice water. In other backward countries, people are more used to drinking cold water directly. For this difference, some people may say that it is because of the physical differences between Eastern and Western people, but in Japan and South Korea, which are closer to us, they also prefer cold water. Foreigners are puzzled: Why do Chinese people like to drink hot water so much? The ancestors gave the answer thousands of years ago.

Many people say that Chinese people love to drink hot water, which is a more hygienic manifestation, because boiling water can destroy most of the bacteria in the water. But the Chinese people have been drinking hot water for a long time. The ancients did not have the concept of sterilization and disinfection, so they would not choose to drink hot water simply because of hygiene problems. In fact, the "Huangdi Neijing" more than 2,000 years ago revealed the benefits of drinking hot water, because Chinese medicine is very particular about the concept of yin and yang harmony. Hot water can help to maintain a balanced state of yin and yang energy in the body. If this balance is broken, a series of diseases will occur. Therefore, the wisdom of the ancestors has always penetrated into the hearts of every Chinese person through cultural inheritance.

However, Chinese people are accustomed to drinking hot water, which cannot be explained by a single "Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine". Various reasons have contributed to this habit of the Chinese people. The Chinese have mastered very advanced pottery craftsmanship in ancient times, and thus developed a variety of cooking techniques. At the same time, the food processing process in most Western countries is still only at the stage of roasting. However, although China's pottery making technology is developed, it still needs a certain economic strength to be able to afford pottery, so in ancient China, being able to drink hot water became a symbol of identity.

After the container manufacturing technology was perfected, ordinary people imitated the rich to boil water. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a joke because of drinking hot water. At that time, an official named Yang Lian couldn't bear the persecution, so he drank a lot of cold water every day to beg for death, because he thought that if he didn't drink hot water, he would die. At the same time, China also has a very long tea-drinking culture. If you want to brew tea, you must have hot water. You need to pay attention to a little bit. People still have high requirements for the water to brew tea. The prevalence of tea-drinking culture has also helped Chinese people develop the habit of drinking hot water.

In the Republic of China, with the introduction of the Western theory of bacteria, people realized that hot water can kill a large number of bacteria. At that time, China's national strength was still relatively backward, and the hygiene work was not in place, so everyone was called on to drink boiled water as much as possible to ensure their health. In fact, there was a period in Western history when people liked to drink hot water. When the plague was rampant in Europe, Westerners had to give up the habit of drinking cold water in order to save their lives. But after the limelight passed, it returned to the old way. In order to ensure the safety of their drinking water, developed countries have specially distinguished tap water pipelines and built a direct drinking water pipeline, but this is only possible in developed countries like the United States.

However, after the current medical conditions have come up, everyone does not pay much attention to drinking hot water, and it is more because of their own habits. For people with weak stomachs, it is better to drink warm water because cold water is more irritating. Many international students were not used to drinking cold water when they first went abroad, but after a period of adaptation, they became much better. However, for some people who like to drink "hot water", they should pay attention to changing their habit. Because medical research has proved that drinking hot water for a long time, the probability of suffering from esophageal cancer and oral cancer is several times higher than that of normal people.