西餐

The Chinese word 西餐 (xīcān) for "Western food" is a compound of two characters: 西 (xī), meaning "west", and 餐 (cān), meaning "meal" or "food". The term 西餐 is used to refer to any food that originates from Western countries, particularly those in Europe and North America. It is often used in contrast to 中餐 (zhōngcān), which refers to Chinese food.The character 西 (xī) has a long history in Chinese, dating back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). It was originally used to refer to the direction of the setting sun, and later came to be used more generally to refer to the west. The character 餐 (cān) is also an ancient Chinese character, and was originally used to refer to a meal or a food offering.The compound word 西餐 first appeared in Chinese texts during the Qing dynasty (1644-1912). It was used to refer to the food that was served at Western-style banquets and restaurants. In the early 20th century, the term 西餐 became more widely used as Western food became more popular in China.Today, 西餐 is a common word in Chinese, and is used to refer to a wide variety of Western foods, including dishes such as pizza, pasta, hamburgers, and steak. It is also used to refer to Western-style restaurants.