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料 can mean 'ingredient', which is clearly relevant to cooking. But 理 seems
abstract -- 'the logic/theory of ingredients', almost like the name of a
science (ingredientology'?).
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question
etymology
What is the etymology of 料理?
in chinese 理 means logic (like in reason, physics, etc) and also means
'sequence'. A recipe is composed of ingredients and a sequence I guess. What
do you think ?
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Well,「料理」in the sense of _cuisine_ didn't come from Chinese.「料理」in Chinese
originally meant _management_ , while the classical Chinese word for _dish_
(i.e. a type of food) is「肴饌」.

In Modern Chinese we normally just say「菜」or「餐」;「日本菜」means _Japanese cuisine_ ,
and「西餐」means _Western cuisine_.「料理」is not common in Chinese, and is usually
used to refer to Japanese and Korean cuisine, probably as a direct
transcription of the Japanese word「日本料理」and Korean word「[韓國料理]{한국요리}」.

This means that「料理」in the sense of _cuisine_ probably came from Japan (or
Korea).

* * *

[_Dai Kan-Wa Jiten_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dai_Kan-Wa_Jiten)'s entry
for「料理」provides a quote from an essay by the [_Edo_
period](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo_period)
[Confucian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism) scholar _Majima
Shounan_ (摩島松南).

> # 『[娛語](http://www.sal.tohoku.ac.jp/jurin/pdf/01_07_155D.pdf)卷之四、八〇』
>
>
> 吾邦市井間。酒店食樓。必以料理字爲標。猶言調烹也。料理字雖出諸書。其義大異。不知其所由。偶讀游仙窟。有料理中堂。將少府安置之語。按中古以來。{{kr:漢}}土小說書未來。人人以此書爲新奇。學士大夫亦往往誦之。當時錯會料理中堂之字。爲調烹之義。俗間相傳到今耳。
>
> * * *
>
> **My translation:**
>
> The [restaurants]{酒店食樓} [in]{間} the [marketplaces]{市井} of [my]{吾}
> [country]{邦} are [labelled]{爲標} [with]{以} the [characters]{字}「料理」[on street
> signs]. This [word] is what's [known]{言} [as]{猶} ["cooking or cuisine"]{調烹}.
> [Even though]{雖} the [word]{字}「料理」[appears]{出} in [many]{諸} [books]{書},
> [its]{其} [meaning]{義} is [greatly]{大} [different]{異} [from "cooking"], and
> [I] [don't know]{不知} its [origin]{所由}. [I] [occasionally]{偶} [read]{讀} [the
> book][『游仙窟』](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%81%8A%E4%BB%99%E7%AA%9F) (
> _famous[Tang Dynasty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_dynasty) novel_),
> which [has]{有} [the words]「料理 [central hall/courtyard]{中堂}」. [Here, this
> word] is [used]{將} as a [term]{語} for "a [resting/settling/sleeping]{安置}
> [place] of an [official]{少府}"; [Looking at]{按} [medieval]{中古} times, this
> meaning ( _referring to "cooking"_) [didn't come]{未來} from [Chinese]{漢土}
> [literature]{小說}. [Everyone]{人人} [treats]{爲} [this]{此} [book]{書} (
> _referring to_ 『游仙窟』) [as]{以} [refreshing/exciting/new]{新奇}, [and]{亦} the
> [scholars and literati]{學士大夫} [often]{往往} [quoted]{誦} [it]{之}. At [this]{當}
> [time]{時}, the [words]{字}「料理中堂」were [mistaken]{錯會} [for]{爲} the [meaning]{義}
> ["cooking or cuisine"]{調烹}, and through the [common folk/public]{俗間}, this
> [meaning] has been [passed down]{傳} [to]{到} [today]{今}.

If this explanation is to be believed, then「料理」is derived from

  1. Chinese for _managing/taking care of > resting_;
  2. A place where sense (1) is done (料理中堂);
  3. Japanese folk reinterpreting _a resting place_ as _an eating place > cooking, cuisine_.

* * *
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answer