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Why did Chinese cooks traditionally cut food into small pieces before cooking it?

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Chef in a white uniform and hat cooking with a frying pan over a stove, with steam rising in a professional restaurant kitchen. — cooking A chef cooking in a restaurant kitchen.

In traditional Chinese cooking, the practice of cutting food into small pieces before preparation was primarily driven by the need to conserve fuel. Because firewood and charcoal were often scarce, preparing ingredients in smaller portions allowed them to be cooked much more quickly, thereby minimizing the amount of fuel required for each meal.1

This method also became a hallmark of culinary refinement. By the time of Confucius, the proper preparation of ingredients was considered a sign of sophistication; it was noted that he would not eat meat if it had not been cut correctly.2