Favored delicacies have differed from era to era, such as bear paws, swiftlet nests, monkey brains, ape lips and camel humps. Because the number of choice dishes has grown larger and larger, the list has been more precisely divided into four categories of "eight treasures": mammals, seafood, poultry, and vegetables.
中國人自周朝起，就有講究食物精華的「上八珍」封神榜出現，這八珍隨時代而不同，像是熊掌、燕窩、猴腦、猩唇、駝峰等，由於珍貴材料越來越多，後來更細分為：山八珍、海八珍、禽八珍、草八珍四類。