图书《从长安到罗马》第二季原汁原味地保留了纪录片的精彩，5个系列50个主题，涉及美食、时尚、建筑、艺术、政治等各个方面。学者为你当导游，带你行走西安和罗马之间，结合历史文物、人物事件不断地对比、追问和发现，用文明互鉴的方式讲述一个人类历史文化的伟大故事。Over 2,000 years, the commercial and cultural exchanges between Chang’an and Rome, the starting and end point of the Silk Road respectively, have never been interrupted. Instead, they have made a significant contribution to the evolution and development of human civilization.The book which has the same name as one hundred-episode microdocumentary Chang’an meets Rome, inc

Xi’an is an extraordinary city, and local cuisine is particularly distinctive. Perhaps many have no idea that a lot of food we eat in Xi’an today can be traced back centuries. Alike, Italy is known around the world for its cuisine. It is safe to say that ancient Roman culinary arts were passed down to form the foundation for today’s Western cuisine.
I like delicious food, but I’m not a gourmet connoisseur. I prefer the gustatory pleasure brought about various kinds of food, from which I can explore the cultures and characters of different nations. This time, while getting used to the food of Xi’an (ancient Chang’an), I came to Rome on the other end of the Silk Road to taste its delicacies.
While enjoying a place’s beautiful scenery, a traveler shouldn’t miss its delicious food. At the picturesque Piazza Navona in Rome, I stepped into a Michelin-starred restaurant. Sitting at an outdoor table facing the square, I felt it difficult to order because there were so plentiful choices on the menu. Finally, I ordered a chief’s meal of the day. Alessandro Chercello, the chef of the restaurant, first served me a cold dish. He told me this was merely an appetizer, and the main course would be a typical Roman dish, which he would personally cook. For Chinese who are accustomed to warm food, they may wonder whether the dishes would cool quickly in an outdoor environment.
Traditional Italian cuisine originated from the diet style created by ancient Romans. This diet style is characterized by fineness, simplicity, and fresh taste. In the cooking process, Roman chefs will maintain the original flavor of ingredients as much as possible. Therefore, they usually simmer food. Even if they have to use deep-frying or stir-frying technique, they do it quickly for fear of destroying the original taste of food ingredients. For this reason, Roman food is never too hot, so as the cooking methods. After learning about local culinary traditions and cultural backgrounds, you will have a different experience when enjoying Italian food. If you taste carefully, you can experience their orthodox flavor.
The chef also told me that it’s better to enjoy Italian food outdoors, because the food cools faster this way and if too hot, the food would paralyze gustatory nerves so that diners couldn’t enjoy their delicacy. Furthermore, it is a great pleasure to enjoy tasty food and picturesque scenery at the same time. It makes sense that Italians prefer cold food. It’s not that Roman cuisine doesn’t pay attention to temperature; it’s just that it has a unique requirement for temperature. Only when you get used to the city’s culinary style will you obtain a preliminary understanding of Rome.
Compared with Roman food, Xi’an food is hot both inside and outside.
Yongxingfang was formerly the mansion of Wei Zheng, an imperial censor in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Nowadays, it has been reconstructed into a recreational and cultural street displaying traditional folk customs of ancient Chang’an, capital of the Tang Dynasty. There are countless restaurants and eateries offering specialty delicacies from around Shaanxi Province, making the street a gourmet paradise. Those restaurants and eateries are always packed with customers all year round. In the kitchen, the chef skillfully operates a frying pan on red flame while steamy ingredients roll inside. “Red and hot” are the eternal theme of Chinese kitchens. Since ancient times, Chinese cooks have been experts in control flame. In fact, the skill to accurately control the heat is the foundation for cooking a satisfying dish in China. To be fair, the taste of Chang’an cuisine that has been passed on for centuries is a product forged by flame.
After busy work in the kitchen, the dishes are served on the table. The warmth of food is then passed from the plates to the heart of every diner. No matter how many members the family has, all would eat at the same table. For Chinese, dinner is a time for family reunion.
Chinese cuisines boast diverse and changing flavors. However, the most important dining tradition of Chinese people remains consistent: Meals must be hot. The pursuit for hot food perhaps stemmed from Chinese people’s health philosophy. According to traditional Chinese medicine theory, the vital organs of the human body prefer higher temperature and are afraid of coldness. In addition, the high temperature of food conveys people’s affections. Just as traditional Chinese etiquettes teach us, treating guests with hot food can warm their hearts.
In a word, Chinese food culture holds that everything is changeable. Chinese cuisines pay attention to fine cooking. Only through a proper cooking process can the essence of food ingredients be extracted. On the contrary, Western cuisines meet changes with constancy. All cooking techniques aim to maintain the original taste of ingredients; after all, their original flavor is a bounty of Mother Nature, which should be most valued. On the surface, Chang’an food sharply contrasts with Roman food in flavor and taste. But in fact, the two contrasting culinary styles just reach the same goal by different routes: They both pursue ultimate delicacy. Whether in the East or the West, people have made every effort to satisfy the taste buds of picky eaters. If you’re a gourmet who is obsessed with fine food, you must not want to miss this journey to taste Eastern and Western delicacies and experience the cultures behind them.

CHAPTER ONE A TASTE OF EAST AND WEST1 Warm Chang’an vs. Cool Rome // 22 Ultimate Pursuit for Cooked and Uncooked Delicacies // 103 The Flavor of Home // 164 Eastern and Western Noodles // 225 Indispensible Flavor // 286 Perfect Combinations // 347 Sweet Temptation // 408 Liquor vs. Wine // 469 Quick vs. Slow // 5210 The Way of Harmony // 58CHAPTER TWO URBAN WONDERS11 Eight Rivers of Chang’an vs. Seven Hills of Rome // 6612 Square vs. Round // 7213 Millennia-old Fortifications // 7814 Elevated Channels vs. Underground Tunnels // 8415 Supreme Buildings // 9016 Eternal Wonders // 9617 Picturesque Gardens // 10218 Bridge of Rome vs. Tower of Chang’an // 10919 Water Views // 11620 Super Projects // 122CHAPTER THREE FASHIONS AND DESIGNS21 The Power of Design // 13022 Eternal Classics // 13623 Chinese Elements // 14124 Millennia-old Makeup // 14725 Tableware in Elegant Designs // 15326 Tales of Two Chairs // 15927 Craftsmanship Spirit // 16528 Dreams about Cars // 17029 Dialogue with Design Master // 17530 Home Furnishing // 1803 CHAPTER FOUR VISUAL ARTS1 Seeking the Truth of Art // 18832 Ink-and-wash Painting vs. Oil Painting // 19433 Visual Magic // 20034 Eastern and Western Landscape Paintings // 20735 Artists and Literati // 21336 The Art of Mounting Paintings and Calligraphy // 21937 Life Regained // 22538 Stone vs. Clay // 23039 Resemblance in Form vs. Resemblance in Spirit // 23540 Perfection and Solemnity // 240CHAPTER FIVE STATECRAFT41 Rise of Empire // 24842 I’m Not a Unicorn // 25343 Literary and Military Merits // 25944 Talent Recruitments // 26545 Fight for Social Status // 27146 One Hundred Handicrafts and Nine Markets // 27747 Love for Family and Nation // 28248 Rites, Music and Polytheism // 28849 Care for the Elderly // 29450 Eye on the World // 300Experts’ Talk on Chang’an Meets Rome // 307