面条是源于中国的美食，其历史可追溯到距今4 000年左右。小麦是在西亚驯化的作物，在距今4 000年前后，中国许多地方已经出现了小麦，但在古代中国以粒食为主要饮食习惯的时期，小麦的地位不高。秦汉以后，随着石磨技术的发展和面粉发酵技术的应用，面食逐渐普及；在唐宋时期，小麦取代了小米的地位，成为粮食中的“显贵”。小麦比小米含有更多的蛋白质，小麦面粉比小米面粉更容易加工成面条。面条也从中国走向世界，成为人类的美食之一。

Noodles are originated from China as early as 4000 years ago. Wheat was firstly cultivated in the West Asia, while it was discovered in many sites of ancient China around 4000 years ago. The dietary habits of China was mainly dominated by grains food. During that period, wheat was inferior to millet. During Tang-Song Dynasties, wheat took the place of millet and noodles and became popular, on the basis of development of mill stone and the application of flour ferment. Since wheat has more protein than millet, it is easy to process wheat flour into noodles. And noodles spread from China to the world to be a worldwide cuisine.