There are just some things in life we can’t live without.
This popular Chinese expression lists seven things that were seen as essentials back in ancient China.
開門七件事：柴米油鹽醬醋茶
7 daily necessities: firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea
China
About the Expression
In ancient Chinese households, seven items were seen as necessities for maintaining daily life — firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea.
These items appeared as early as the Song Dynasty, in a book titled Dreams of Splendor of the Eastern Capital (1187).
One famous poet of the time, Wu Zimu, recorded “wine” as among the daily essentials. However, this item was eliminated by the following Yuan Dynasty, leaving the expression in its current form.
Oil, in this Chinese expression, refers to the oil from sesame seeds, perilla, and cannabis, made popular through commerce at the time during the Southern Song Dynasty.
Today, in most parts of modern China, firewood has changed over to the use of petroleum gas and natural gas.
Let’s Dive Deeper
You may notice that six out of seven daily necessities in the above expression relate to food.
This is no accident — food and sustenance are highly valued in Chinese society.
In fact, there’s another expression that illustrates this mindset: “王者以民為天，而民以食為天.” This translates to: “People are the most important to an emperor, while foods are the most important to the people.”
In ancient China and even up to two generations ago, food was not as easily available as it is now. People living in poverty often died of hunger.
This history has had a lasting impact on modern Chinese culture, where care for another’s wellbeing is often connected to food.
This manifests in cultural habits such as asking whether someone’s eaten yet (“吃了嗎?”) by way of greeting, treating others out to meals (請客), and bringing out snacks and food upon a guest’s arrival.
