As a “Chinese + Major” Chinese textbook for specific purposes, this book is mainly designed for international students in China majoring in food science and engineering-related disciplines. It aims to teach and develop the basic Chinese knowledge and fundamental language skills required by learners of Chinese as a second language in the field of food science and engineering, providing language support for their subsequent professional course studies. The textbook is divided into five thematic units: Fundamentals of Food Science, Food Engineering Technology, Food Technology Experiments, Food Culture, and Food Health & Safety. Each unit contains 4 lessons, and each lesson includes 1 to 4 texts related to the theme, along with sections such as Vocabulary Learning, Diving into the Text, Chinese Character Learning, and Extended Reading.

 This textbook adheres to the “Chinese + Major + Culture” compilation concept, which is specifically reflected in the following aspects:

(1) It strictly follows the teaching theoretical framework and teaching rules of Chinese as a second language, draws on the compilation paradigm of general Chinese textbooks, and systematically constructs a professional Chinese knowledge system in the field of food engineering.

(2) As a specialized Chinese textbook for the field of food engineering, it closely aligns with the needs of the food science and engineering major in terms of theme selection and scenario creation. The arrangement of texts reflects the typical characteristics of professional articles: for example, the themes focus on core fields such as food processing technology, food safety, and food chemistry; the content arrangement follows the cognitive rule of progressing from easy to difficult; the language materials are both professional and popular science-oriented; and the case selection emphasizes representativeness and practicality.

(3) It builds a multi-level cultural communication system. A dedicated “Food Culture” unit is set up to systematically introduce the civilization and development history of rice, the culture of ethnic characteristic dairy products, the technological evolution of meat processing, and the health-preserving wisdom of traditional medicinal diets. In other units, it integrates the technological wisdom of traditional food technology, the aesthetic pursuit of Chinese cuisine, and the innovative thinking in food processing. The “Extended Reading” section carefully selects content such as regional food culture characteristics, dietary philosophy in classic works and poems, anecdotes about famous historical figures and food, and the cultural connotation of the concept “Food is the paramount necessity of the people”.

Zhang Haitao, the Editor-in-Chief, serves as the Vice Dean, Associate Professor and Master’s Supervisor of the College of Humanities and Law at Tianjin University of Science and Technology. Her research mainly focuses on construction grammar and international Chinese language teaching. She has presided over 5 research projects, including those funded by the National Social Science Fund, the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Project of the Ministry of Education, the Teaching Resource Development Project of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation under the Ministry of Education, and the General Project of Philosophy and Social Sciences of Tianjin, as well as 2 industry-university-research projects. Additionally, she has participated in 6 national social science projects and provincial/municipal-level projects, and published 1 monograph. Professor Zhang has authored over 30 papers in journals such as Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies, Applied Linguistics, and Chinese Language Learning, and guided students to publish more than 40 papers. She has won multiple awards, including the 18th Tianjin Outstanding Achievement Award in Social Sciences, the Outstanding Paper Award of Tianjin Language Society, the Outstanding Contribution Award for Technological Innovation of Tianjin University of Science and Technology, and the Excellent Individual in Scientific Research and Education of Tianjin University of Science and Technology.

Chinese for Food Engineering is a Chinese textbook that effectively enhances learners’ ability to apply professional Chinese in the field of food science and engineering. It features scientifically selected materials: common words, sentence patterns, and professional Chinese characters in the field of food science are strictly screened, with emphasis on the accuracy and rigor of professional terms. Closely aligned with the actual teaching needs of food-related majors, this textbook helps students systematically master the core knowledge in the field of food science.

It is a specialized Chinese textbook for international students to study Chinese for Food Engineering and to understand food culture.

It closely integrates Chinese knowledge with professional knowledge in the field of Food Engineering, enabling students to apply what they have learned.

It helps international students overcome barriers in learning professional Chinese and enhances their ability to apply professional Chinese through the completion of learning tasks.

It incorporates the latest research findings and comes with a variety of teaching resources to comprehensively serve both teaching and learning. 

It is suitable for international students in China majoring in food science and engineering-related disciplines who have reached HSK Level 3 or above, as well as practitioners in the food engineering industry.

This book can be used as a general Chinese textbook for learning food-related majors in Chinese. It is recommended that 6-8 class hours be allocated for each lesson.