中西方餐桌礼仪
Table etiquette between Chinese and Western
Human’s daily life, survival and development can never do without eating. As we all know,
because of the differences of Chinese and Western traditional culture, their table manners in many aspects had a significant difference too. Now it is the introduction of Chinese and Western table manners and the differences between them.
In China, when you study table manners, it is very difficult to find official and unofficial
distinguishes. However, Chinese are very particular about seating, also the status of women and men at the table still have many differences. Chinese table manners of families have no intrinsic quality in different region and position. No matter three meals a day or a guest’s arrival, always bowls with chopsticks, food with soup. There are no rules for how to put the tableware. What people care about more is not the gorgeous tableware but the sumptuous food. People’s dining position reflects the most obvious etiquette of Chinese table manners. In ancient society of china, men are supreme, and women are not allowed to sit with men on the same table. Although now is modern society, this kind of ancient etiquette still remains. Today in China, the phenomenon that men sit on the table before women can be found everywhere. The master of a family usually sits on the first-class seat. The first-class seat is usually near the interior of a room facing to the door. Once there is a guest, the master will offer the first-class seat to the guest politely. If there is an ordinary meal of family, families should start after the elder. If there is a guest, the master offer the food to the guest is essential from the beginning to the end of the meal. And the tradition of urging others to drink is also a special phenomenon.
Even there is no official “table manners’ in China, while there are also many “eating behaviors”. Once there are “eating behaviors”, there must be some eating manners up to standard. Here are some characteristics on Chinese eating:
a. Keep your eyes on the meal, especially at the beginning of the meal.
b. When you eating, keep your bodies forward, and face to your food.
c. It is allowed to spit the bone on the tables beside you.
d. When chewing, it is allowed to make some rhythmical noisy of chewing.
e.Traditional Chinese meal doesn’t need the public chopsticks.
f. Traditional Chinese meal doesn’t have the sweet snacks after meal.
People familiar with western-style food will quickly find the totally different manners and styles. We can also find the difference from the above. Here are some different of western manners. a. Western interpersonal communication need eyes contact, that is, gaze at the people on the table when eating and occasionally look the food.
b. Keep your bodies straight and try to eat food by the forks in western table manners.
c. The belief of the western-style food, no one can spit anything in public. If you have to spit something, you can spit it to the towel quietly.
d. When chewing, always keep your mouth closed and keep quiet in western.
e. In western-style food, people use the public scoop to pick the food in a big pan.
f. Sweet snacks are essential in lunch and supper.
Western table manners are stricter than China table manners. In fact, the biggest difference in the table manners between Chinese and western is the details of table manners can be as clear as the specifications what can exactly give people correct manners to refer to. Besides, western people have the habit of tipping. In the western restaurant, people will give some tip after meal. Most people will give about 15% of the expense. Usually people do not give the tip to the waiter’s
hands but give to the dish. Keep polite when giving the tip and say:” Here is the bill, and keep the change, please.”
There are some manners. Through these manners, you can have a better understand of western table manners:
a. When there is food in your mouth, you should better not speak anything.
b. If you discovered the soup on own knife and fork. Do not use the table napkin to scratch it. Ask the server for a new one.
c. Do not let the server receive your plate if others have not finished eating. The cocktail must not put on to the official dinner table (In fact hard liquor, as the whisky and the brandy, may not in the supper drinks).
d. Eats time certainly wants very quiet, leaves strange sound. If you find stuck food in your tooth, do not have to use the left hand to cover up at the same time, then picks out with the right hand. You may clean up them best own to the bathroom.
e. Do not brandish your knife or fork when you are eating, you go not to work as conductor but to have meal.
The above is merely some suggestions that let you maintain the best posture when eating meal. But also is a part of the western style table manners. We may see from above example that
Western style food has a strict custom, the idea connotation and the standard etiquette. The former is actual training standard, and the latter for demeanor raise foundation. In West upper classes of the society, there is aspect training about table manners to the children. Even if ordinary family, the parents also instruct subtly their children at times especially in holiday and official situation.