论文 中西方餐桌礼仪英文版

Different Table Manners between China and the West

不同的国家和民族由于地区差异形成了不同的文化。而不同国家的社会生活方式则形成了不同的饮食文化及餐桌礼仪。饮食文化及餐桌礼仪是非语言文化的重要组成部分。作为一名外语学习者，了解中西方饮食文化及餐桌礼仪方面的差异及其渊源是必要且必须的。因为这不仅仅可以增加对所学语言文化的认识，更加有助于提高跨文化交际的成功率，以此避免由不合适的行为或方式所形成的误解。

本文第一部分分别对中西方餐桌礼仪做简要概括。第二部分为本文核心，从餐具，座次，点餐及用餐氛围四个方面具体介绍中西方餐桌礼仪的差异。第三部分从地理因素，价值观，及传统习俗入手，讲述形成中西方餐桌礼仪差异的缘由。以此三个部分展现餐桌礼仪文化在中西方文化交流中占据重要地位。

Different countries and nations have different cultures as a result of regional differences. The social lifestyle of different countries form different diet culture and table manners, which are an important part of non language culture. As a foreign language learner, it is necessary to learn the differences between Chinese and Western food culture and table manners. Because it can not only increase the comprehension of the language culture, but also help to improve the success rate of intercultural communication, so as to avoid the misunderstanding caused by inproper behavior or manner.

The first part of this paper gives a brief summary of Chinese and western table manners. The second part is the core of this paper, descriping specificly the difference between chinese and western table manner from four aspects that are tableware, seat arrangement, serving order and dining atmosphere. The third part from the geographical factors, values, and traditional customs introduces the reasons that the differences between Chinese and western table manners from the geographical factors, values, and traditional customs. The purpose of this paper shows that table manner

plays an important role in the process of communication and colliding between Chinese and western culture.

Etiquette is the process that show respect for others and constrain ourselves with a certain and conventional way in interpersonal communication, involving dress, communication, emotional intelligence and so on. Etiquette is a language, a tool, and a set of communicational rules between people.

Table manner refers to the common eating polite standard in human society. On the contrary, some behaviors when eating are regarded as rude or destroying other’s appitite. In accordence with different culture of different countries, there are different table manner.

According to the literature, chinese table manner has formed a quite complete system since Zhou Dynasty. This traditional banquent are still remaining in most parts of China. As the saying goes, food is the paramount necesssity of the people. In this way we can see that eating diet plays a significant role in Chinese daily life. Wheareas, table manner has high statue. While eating with traditional chinese family, we have to respect their manner, culture and custom. In addition, not to offend the taboo for Chinese believe that diet is closely related with fate. if you offend the taboo, it will lead to bad luck. For example, after dinner ,you can’t say I finish the meal, which it means you are dead and no chance to eat. Instead you should say I am full. Table manner occupies a important place in the modern chinese life order. They think that eating is not just to meet the basic phycial need, but also esencial social experience. Therefore it is particularly important to master some ceremorial knowledge about

Chinese table manner, whether you are a host or a guest.

dinnerware

Western dinnerware are mainly the knife and fork which were widely used by France in the European continent in the 18th century. Westerners using knife and fork is consisted with their culture about nomadism and maritime, which shows vividly that they are competitive and adventurous . before eating, knife and fork are placed in accordance with the rule : left fork and right knifon both sides of the plate respectivly, with the blade took inward. At eating, right hand take the knife to cut food without blade outward, while left hand use the fork to eat food. If not to eat temporarily, one should place knife and fork in "eight" shape with the blade toward oneself. When the meal is finished, the fork is raised on the back and the blade is folded inward with the fork.

Except knives and forks, spoon, napkin, glass are also essential for Western dishes. Spoons divide two types: soup spoon and sweet spoon. A large spoon is next to the knife, while small dessert spoon are placed on the top of the dessert dish. When drinking soup, one should take the spoon with the right hand. After drinking, one should place it in the opposite side of the plate. The napkin is usually prepared on the plate before the meal.The wine glasses are placed with the order :liqueur glass, red wine glasses, champagne glasses, beer mugs, and the type of wine is the same as the type of wine. The wine glass is usually on the top of the right side of the knife.

Chopsticks, which has a long history of 3000 years, is the typical Chinese tableware, consistent with the traditional "harmony" thought. Pay attention to 2 notes about the use of chopsticks: first, place chopsticks neatly on the right side of the bowl before eating. Second, do not use chopsticks to make a sound, lick chopsticks, or not to point at anyone with chopsticks.Taking particular notice, do not insert the chopsticks in rice or pasta, because it is very similar to the ancient ritual candles and symbolizes infelicity. In addition to chopsticks, spoons, plates, cups, napkins, toothpicks are

necessary. The spoon is used for soup or other small morsels. Attentiuon, do not put soup too full to smear the table cloth or clothing. After using, put the food into the plate immediately. In general, the big plate is for a variety of dishes, small dishes for the food dish, to hold the incoming food from the public plate.Remember not to put too many things in the disk cover so as not to avoid oil to spill , and put thorns on the front end of the plate. Napkins are often used in some large hotels. Before dinner, the waiters will prepare a hot wet towel for the guests. The cup is usually on the left of the dish, not to pour fully.

Serving order

Appetizers, the first dish, are sometime made of four kinds of cold platet representative appetizers are the cold jellyfish skin, preserved eggs and so on.

After the cold plate, it is followed by four hot plate that commonly is fried shrimp, fried chicken and so on. However, hot plates are mostly omitted.While placing the hot plate, one ought to serve from the left of the opposite seats of guests of honor. The heads of the whole fish and duck should not be pointed at the chief seat.

The following are the main course, also known as large dishes,will be taken on table. If the menu is marked "eight pieces", it says that there are a total of eight main course. The number of courses in the main course is usually four, six, eight and so even, since the Chinese people think that even is the number of Kyrgyzstan. In the luxurious banquet, the main course even can be up to ten kinds of species. These dishes are made of different materials, added acid, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty flavors, with fried, steamed, boiled, fried, roasted, fried and other cooking methods .Most of the order of the dishes are matched interactively, for example, combining light taste with oily and greaty taste. Soup is the end. Dessert, such as pies, cakes, buns, almonds and so on, is provided after the main course. Last is the fruit, which is good for digesting.

In western banquent, the appetizer is also the first dish which is specialty. As for the

first dish , it usually match with aperitif. It is with acid and crisp taste and westerners’favorite snack. The following dish, extremly different from China, is soup which is classified genelly into five categories: vegetable soup, cold soup, cream soup, pureed soup,and clear soup. Next is side dish, also called fish dish, including a viatery of seafood such as shellfish and molluscs for the seafood is full of nutrition and good for lung and eye. The fourth dish is main course, which also known as poultry or meat dish. Delicious steak or lamb is the most common main course. It is more tasty when drizzling fresh foie gras. After greasy meat dish, it is right time for salad, refreshing vegetable dish, such as tomato, broccoli, onion and so on. The following dish is dessert which have many different kinds. It can be chocolate cookie, croissant, mousse cake,macarons. Coffee is the final drinking, which can be added milk and sugar according to own taste. It also has different kinds such as blue mountain coffee, latte, macchino, mocha and so on.

Table setting

In the Chinese table manner, at the begining, let guests attend the seats, then please the elderly seat next to the guests. One should seat from the left side of the chair. When sitting on the chair, one should not move the chopsticks, or make noise, let alone walk casually unless having urgency. Host should invites guest to have a seat and notice that do not let guest sit close to the place that is seryed dishes. If you are the master, you should point to a chair and say to the guests with a gentle tone: "please sit here." There are four fountamental way for sitting arrangement: first, taking the table of the host sitting as a sign, the guest on its right is honor and the left is low. Second, first host should sit facing the main door, then guest of honor sit on the right of the host and deputy chief gust on the left. Third, if the position of the host is inferior to the guest of honor, the host is able to ask guest to sit where the host should have seated, then the host sit on the right, host should have a seat that is faced the main door, and the guest of honor sit on the right of master. As for deputy chief

guest, he should sit on the left.

Western people believe that the right is honor and the left is low. when hostess announces that the dinner is ready, the host will lead the guests to sit in turn, with the hostess walking last.Some careful master willplace name card on the table in order to show seats. while, if there is no such arrangement, then the seat arrangement is generally:men and women sit separatedlly, male host first, gewhose seat is in the hostess On the right of hostess.the other couples are diagonally seated. Couple sitting dividually shows the opening and lively nature of the American banquet. They hope that the banquet can be used to enhance the relationship of each other and relaxing atmosphere. In the informal party, seat arrangment follows that women is first. If a gentlman shares a supper with a woman, the man should not let the woman sit near the passageway and should let the woman sit on his right; the man should let the woman sit inside. If two men with a woman, men ought to lead the woman sit in the middle．What is more, men should remove the chairs and let women sit first．When two man have a dinner，the junior sit outside．

Atmosphere

When chinese people enjoy yummy food they usually talk a lot, which shows the sincere and hospitality of hostess. Besides, lively table can reflect the guests’joy. The active atmosphere reflects the warmth of family, and harmony of the nation in a sence. However, in the western tradition, people think that excessive noise is rude, and only the quiet and orderly looks noble. There not exist these phenomenon such as pesuading to drink alcohol and carrying dish for others. This reflects the respect for the individual in the western culture. people hardly talk with each other but cut and eat their food with fork quietly. They avoid making noise while eating and drinking. Even if they have something important to talk, they keep the sound that both of them can heard.

When chinese invited guests to have dinner, they usually prepare a wild variety of

dishes, which is no less than seven or eight dishes. The more delicious and expensive the dishes are, the more important guests are. Although the hostness elaborate perpectly, she would say: I am so sorry that the dish does not cook well, eat more. Hope you bear with me. Please forgive me, there are not so much food for you all. Or some modest words similar like this. In addition, the host will ask the guest: Would you like some more? And maybe the host will ask this later. The guest answer with a little shame: just a little more. While in western dinner, there are four or five dishes. If it is at home, the guest had better eat all of the food, so the hostness will be very happy because of her good cook. Usually, host simply say to guest: heip yourself. When the host ask: would you like more fried chicken? The guest just answer according to himself. If he is full enough, he say: no , thanks. If not, he should answer: yes, I would like some more chickens. After dinner, guest could say it was out of the world！So delicious！I licked the plate clean. or I made a pig of myself. In this way can make hostness happy. By comparing this, we can know that Chinese obey the principle that is to belittle themselves and to respect others. Western people pay more attention to keeping their prestige and saving face. For example, western people never talk adout the disguesting things on table. They will try their best to use implicit and elegent words to replace toilet. such as: "Where can I wash my hand", "I wonder if I could go somewhere.", "Can I add some powder? "

Geography

China is located in the east Asia-Europe continental monsoon climate zone, rain and heat over the same period, very suitable for growing plant, which forms Chinese people's plant character. Most western countries are located in temperate maritime climate zone, which is the perfect place for natural pasture. So western people are fond of meat. For Europeans, pasture means food, and food means survival, which in turn leads to their expansion and the formation of aggressive character. There are big animals such as cattle and sheep in the vast ranch, so their diets are mainly steak and

lamb, and thus have the argument that is "from Berlin to Los Angeles, steak is a taste" . This is why milk from Europe and the United States is spreaded into China. as we all know, chopsticks, fork and knife are the most foundemental difference between Chinese and western table manner.Chopsticks originate from the place where there is bamboo. More wood in the north , more bamboo in the south, ancestors use local materials, cuting bamboo and wood for making chopsticks. anyway, chopsticks play an indispensable role in Chinese daily life. knife and fork later than the chopsticks is the representative of Western tableware, which originated in the ancient European living nomadic habits. Before and after the 15th century, there appeared two- teeth fork, the emergence of four- teeth fork in the 18th century. They cut down and eat meat as soon as it cooked. From then on, western people use knife and fork as their tableware.

The view of value

In China, a state of ceremony, table manner reflects Chinese "solidarity" collectivist values. During the dinner, seat arrangement can give expression to it obviously. Chinese people emphasis that to respect the old and cherish the young, to be filial first. Relativly speaking, in western countries, the value of individualism occupies a position of importance, which shows individual valve and strength. Because they emphasis personality development, self-expression in their philosophical thought. They believe that it is not fate but your own laziness to contribute to your faiure. During Chinese dinner, seniority would give dish to the junior so that displays their kindness to children. This is lively and harmonious atmosphere conforming to chinese traditional value. On the contrary, western people eat their own food and pick up food they want to have. They refuse others to force themselve eating food they do not like. Different from chinese traditional food culture, western diet is more rational, more emphasis on science and health. Regarding nutrition as the highest standard, they eating food is just like adding a fuel to a biological machine, with particular emphasis on the nutrition of the food. Whether the amount of Protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and all kinds of inorganic

elements is reasonable, whether the supply of calories is proper, whether nutrients can be fully absorbed by the body, which are the westerners’focus. Western diet that demonstrate strong pragmatism and utilitarianism will not combine the diet with spiritual enjoyment together. Chinese diet has always been pursuing the taste as the primary purpose of eating. A folk saying goes: "hunger breeds discontentment, and whether the food i9os delicious or not depends on taste. Chinese cook create a lot of cooking methods in ordre to make dish tasteful. Even if the dish name is poetic. Making food and eating food having special cultural connotation, to a certain extent, is the embodiment of the art. Although we attach importance to eating for keeping in good health, our cooking methods result in a lack of many nutrients in the processing process that is one disadvantage.

culture

The different national ethnic and historical development can lead to different history. Confucianism and Taoism are the origion of Chinese traditional culture, which have a long and profound influence on Chinese society. Faith, propriety, righteousness, wisdom, benevolence are the core of Chinese traditional culture. Mr. Yi Zhongtian, in the book Culture on Dinner Table said that the core thought of Chinese culture is group consciousness while the western corn thought is individual consciousness.

Edward Hall, a famous American anthropologist, propose that time concept of human has two cultural patterns, Monochronic-time and Polychronic-time. Western people insisting on M-time follow close to the line of scheduling program, deal with things with time correspondently. By contrast, eastern people holding P-time are more flexible on time. In the Chinese banquet, the M- time model makes the guests more inclined to be late and the host seems to have prepared for the guests who arrive on time some intresting activities to kill time such as chating, watching TV so that the guests who come earlier would not feel boring.

In China, especially in ancient times, women are not allowed to participate in formal banquets which is identical to the Chinese traditional feudal thought Males are supposed to be worth more than the other sex. In the book of the Chinese, Lin Yutang even said: "since the primitive times,women has not occupied the deserved status in the Chinese people's blood ." in the chinese traditional culture, woman has been in a subordinate position, Although Chinese women's status been significantly improved, but when there exist collision between the "old" principle and the "lady first" principle , Chinese choose the former instead of later. On the contrary, "ladies first" is a traditional culture in the west, and an absolutely necessary etiquette in social activities. Women can enjoy many traditional customs of the knigh: When a woman enters a restaurant, all the men have to stand up; and in front of the table, the man take the chair for the lady.

Conclusion

In recent years, with the rapid development of China, the trade and cultural exchanges between China and Western countries have become more and more frequent. Comparing the difference of table manner between China and west, we can see that it is important to improve the international image of our country, strengthen the cultivation of personal qualities, and promote the further cooperation between China and the west.