Abstract
Porridge-type barley preparations were born about eight thousand years ago in Western Asia. The method, along with the cultivation technique for the cereals such as barley and wheat, was spread to various places in the Eurasia and Africa Continents between 5000~2000BC. Barley porridge along with the cultivation technique of barley and rice was introduced from India to China in 3000BC and was spread to the whole land of China. Barley porridge was the staple diet in China in those days. But the various porridges with rice and many other kinds of foodstuffs were born in the area from the barley porridge about five thousand years ago. At present there are more than a thousand kinds of the various porridges. There are the porridges for traditional events and Yakuzen porridges (medical porridges) in the Chinese porridges. In general the people eat the porridges as their breakfast and midnight meals.
