Abstract: During the period of Liao,Song,Xixia and Jin Dynasties,various ethnic groups of different economic forms in China obviously represented the intermingling of diets of the farming people and the nomads in the process of mutual exchange of food culture.On the one hand,grain food that the farming people mainly relied on played an increasingly important role in the daily life of the nomadic people.In addition,the non-staple food,fruits and drinks all had a wide range of influence on the nomadic people as well.On the other hand,dairy and meat products,which were the staple food of nomads,had gradually become the non-staple food of farming people.Some kinds of non-staple food of nomadic peoples,such as vegetables,fruits and dietary utensils,especially the dietary mode of joint meal system had varying degrees of influence on farming people.Simultaneously,the ethnic groups with the same economic form often had their own characteristics in food culture,and they communicated with each other among ethnic groups and regions.The inter-ethnic exchange of food culture in daily life not only promoted the development of lifestyle of various ethnic groups and the progress of the social economy,but also powerfully contributed to the development of the consciousness of mutual identification among all ethnic groups.

Key words: the Liao,Song,Xixia and Jin Dynasties, food culture, inter-ethnic communication, daily life