篇一：Chinese Table Manners
Chinese Table Manners A multitude of etiquette considerations occur also when dining in China. There are some special differences from manners in western countries. a. A round dining table is more popular than a rectangular or square one. As many people who can be seated comfortably around it conveniently face one another. The guest of honor is always seated to the right of the host; the next in line will sit on his left. Guests should be seated after the host's invitation, and it is discourteous to seat guests at the place where the dishes are served. b. Dining may only begin once the host and all his guests are seated. The host should actively take care of all his guests, inviting them to enjoy their meal. c. On a typical Chinese dining table there are always a cup, a bowl on a small dish, together with the chopsticks and spoons. Dishes are always presented in the center of the table.
d. Apart from soup, all dishes should be eaten with chopsticks. The Chinese are particular about the use of chopsticks. There are many no-no's such as twiddling with chopsticks, licking chopsticks, or using them to stir up the food, gesture with them or point them at others. Never stick chopsticks in the center of rice, as this is the way to sacrifice and is therefore considered to be inauspicious.
e. Keep your dining pace accorded with other people. Never smoke when dining.
f. A formal dining is always accompanied by tea, beer or distilled spirit. The one who sit closest to the teapot or wine bottle should pour them for others from the senior and superior to the junior and inferior. And when other people fill your cup or glass, you should express your thanks. Guests can not pour tea or wine themselves.
g. A toast to others is a characteristic Chinese dining. When all people are seated and all cups are filled, the host should toast others first, together with some simple prologue to let the dining start. During the dining after the senior's toast, you can toast anyone from superior to inferior at their convenience. When someone toasts you, you should immediately stop eating and drinking to accept and toast in response. If you are far from someone you want to toast, then you can use your cup or glass to rap on the table to attract attention rather than raise your voice. However, it is impolite to urge others to drink.
h. Conventionally, if you are invited to a formal banquet, all the dishes should not be eaten up completely, or you will give the host the impression that he has not provided a good banquets and the food was insufficient. After dining, guests should leave once the host has left the table.
篇二：Chinese Table Manners
Chinese Table Manners
Because the Chinese have developed an exquisite cuisine and regard food as being most important in a man?s life, they do not greet each other with “How are you?” but instead they ask, “Have you eaten?”
This greeting is often given without a particular desire to know whether the person has eaten but rather whether he or she is feeling quite well.
The Chinese not only created countless ways of cooking but also invented chopsticks to eat with. The oldest chopsticks were found in a grave dating back to the 13th century BC. A pair of chopsticks can be made out of ivory, plastic, bamboo or wood.
Chinese Table Manners
Many traditional table manners are still observed today. It is best if the table used for a Chinese dinner is round. Once everyone is seated and the food is served the guests wait for the host to invite them to eat by saying “qi kuai” (let start to use the chopsticks). Some still practise calling the names of people dining with them as a form of courtesy.
Do's and Don'ts
Do's
The bowl of rice is held with the left hand and brought close to the mouth while the rice is lifted into the mouth with the chopsticks which are held in the right hand. One should not make any noise when chewing the food.
While waiting for the next course of food one should place the chopsticks neatly on the chopstick rest and avoid crossing them or putting them on the rice bowl.
Whenever one attends a wedding dinner one should bring a present wrapped in colourful or
reddish gift wrap (never black because it represents grief) or cash in a red packet (never in a white envelope because it is a colour for mourning).
Presents must symbolize good luck or blessing such as gold pendants with symbols of luck (never a clock as the word for clock sounds like zhong, meaning die).
When one is invited to a Chinese New Year party one should dress cheerfully (never completely in black because black is a solemn colour) and bring one?s hosts oranges and new year red packet for luck and good wishes.
Whenever tea is served one should say “thank you” or make a gesture of thanks.
If you wish to take a drink of wine at a formal dinner, you must first toast another diner guest regardless of whether he or she responds by drinking. If you are toasted and don?t wish to drink,
simply touch your lips to the edge of the wine glass to acknowledge the courtesy.
It is incumbent upon the host to urge the guests to eat and drink to their fill. This means ordering more food than necessary and keeping an eye out for idle chopsticks.
It is polite to serve the guest of honour the best morsels, such as the cheek of the fish, using a pair of serving or “public” chopsticks or with the back end of one?s chopsticks.
If you have had enough to eat, yet your host still plies you with food, or if you do not wish to
indulge in fish lips, sea cucumber or duck web, graciously allow your host to place the delicacy on your plate; leaving food uneaten indicates you do not care for it.
It is socially acceptable in China to spit bones on the table, belch, slurp soup and noodles and smoke while eating.
Rice can be eaten by raising the bowl to the mouth and shovelling the grains in with the
chopsticks in a rapid fanning motion, even though this may resemble a Beijing duck force feeding itself.
Chinese banquets commonly have 12-20 courses in succession and can last for hours, but the dinner is over when the host stands up and offers the final toast; one is expected to leave immediately thereafter.
Don'ts
The spoon should not be used at the same time as the chopsticks.
Toothpicks should not be used during the meal but rather at the end, and always whilst covering the mouth.
Don?t point with your chopsticks and don?t stick your chopsticks into your rice bowl and leave them there standing up, for in this position they resemble incense sticks set before a grave.
Don?t use your chopsticks to explore the contents of a dish. Locate the morsel you want-on top of the pile, not buried in the middle of it- with your eyes and go directly for it with your chopsticks without touching any other pieces. A wait-and-see-attitude is recommended if you wish to land the
white meat, the wing or the chicken heart.
Sea Cucumber
Chatting at the table over coffee after a meal or retiring to the drawing room is not part of Chinese etiquette.
Formalities in Reception
?When the guests arrive at dinner, they must present a gift to the host. This gives a good welcome thanks message to the host. It is very important for the guests to appear in front of the host as he needs to know how many guests are arrived. This is because he must know about the number of guests as he did the seating arrangement.
?If in case a stranger is invited to a dinner, the job of the host is to get familiar with him. To make him feel comfortable, a warm welcome is necessary.
?When you are going on dinner, keep a tight check on the time. Never be late as it is considered as rude in the Chinese culture. The host of the dinner prepares everything at least 15-20 minutes before. Hence, it is important to arrive on the time so that everything remains good during the whole time.
?If you are a low-ranking guest, you can decide on bringing a gift for the host. However, if you are a high-ranked guest, you can choose a bottle of quality wine.
Inviting the guests:
This is the one of the most important parts of the manners in the Chinese culture. The respect and dignity of the guest is considered to hold the prime importance. If a guest is not invited in a certain manner, it thought that the host has undermined the traditions which might result in the cutting off the relations and connections with the host. Therefore, the invitations are made very carefully. Although there are some minor variations are found depending upon the personal preferences regarding inviting a guest. However, there are some standard rules which should be followed in
this regard. First of all, the arrival of the guest into the dining room is welcomed by the standing
ovation of the host. It is considered ill-mannered on the part of the host to get seated before the guest does.
The Equities of Seating Arrangement
The way Chinese people get seated is also an interesting part of the table manners. Yes! This
might surprise you that a typical seating arrangement is a sign of etiquettes in the Chinese culture. Therefore, it is ensured to leave the best place on the dining table for elders. If a group of people is having meal, the respectable members are given the place at the head of the table while the rest take their seats accordingly.
Equities of Seating Arrangement
Rules
The guests are requested to sit on the assigned seats by the host when they reach the dinner place. In the Chinese tradition, the seating arrangement follows some strict rules and it?s complicated. The first thing that is required is to see who the guest is. Usually, the first place and importance is given to the oldest member of the family. In the American Wild West, the guest of honor is named as “Wild Bill Hickok Seat.”
The first seat that is given to the most respected person of the family gives the best view of the room. If in case there is not seat at the entrance of the room, then the “seat of honor” will be the one facing the eastward position of the room.
The next rule that governs in the seating plan is linked with the ?social ranking? of a person. This rule will be applied even if the dinner is of family get-together. They do it to maintain closeness between the family members and the host of the dinner. In banquets, the seating arrangement is followed on the basis of religion.
The person with the highest rank gets a closer seat to the ?guest of honor.? However, there is no fixed ranking between the seats on the left side and right side. This provides a huge flexibility to the guests.
The first seat is given to the ?guest of honor?. After that, the seats on the left side of the chief guest
and numbered in even like two, four, and six. On the right side of the chief guest, the seats are
numbered in odds like three, five, and seven. Hence, the most prestigious eats after the ?guest of honor? will be number two and three.
Banquets
In a banquet function, the guests occupy several different tables. At this point, the ?guest of honor? takes the center table. This way he is visible to everyone and he is becoming a center of attention. The tables that are on the right and left side of the chief guest are filled by the ordinary guest. Here, the ranks of guests are kept in the mind again. The one with highest rank point will get a closer table to the “guest of honor” and it goes on like this.
The host of the banquet event will try to be in touch with every ranked guest so that a good environment will prevail. He will make sure that every guest is attended in the best possible manner. The good thing about Chinese tradition is that etiquettes are being followed whole heartedly. This way, there are no chances of any accident or un-unusual events. This is the best example of the world?s most civilized nation.
One Case
In case of a teacher dining with the students, teacher is given the seat of honor with students surrounding the teacher. If the dining table is rectangular, the elder member sits on the shortest side with his face towards the front door. The rest of the people would get seated in the
descending order of their ages. However, if you are dining on a round table, the elder member should be seated on the inside seat.
Offering to others:
It is not only the duty of the host to offer the dishes to the fellow members but it is regarded as good manners if you make an offer of a particular to your partner before you take a share for yourself. This indicates that you have come from an educated background and know how to socialize around.
What is Lazy Susan?
The rich culture of China is a matter of interest on account of many reasons. It has some very unique features which are quiet unusual and surprising for the foreigners. Yes! This is to refer to the Lazy Susan. It is a round rotating disc in the centre of the dining table. . There are different materials to make the tray or the disc. However, the most commonly used are wood and glass. The idea behind the Lazy Susan is to ensure that all the participants have equal extent of
accessibility to the served meal. Since the disc can be rotated only if it is round, you would find circular shaped dining tables in most of the Chinese people. The basic purpose of the Lazy Susan is to make everybody realize that each one is honored. This is one of the signs of hospitality and
equality.
篇三：Chinese Table Manners
Chinese Table Manners
I. About Seats
1.Youngersters should get seated after the elders.
2.Gentlemen should not sit until the ladies sit down. And if you are a man and there is a seat of a lady next to you, you should invite her first.
3.Customers shouldn’t leave the table after dinner until the host do.
4.Keep your body straight while sitting and always keep the seat neat.
II. During Dinner
1.Keep quiet and calm, eat without making any noise.
2.Never speak with your mouth full.
3.If you need the recipes, you should turn to someone near you for help, instead of reaching out arms over the table.
4.You had better help others rather than keeping eating selfishly.
III. Important Tableware – Chopsticks
1.Don’t lick your chopsticks no matter whether there’s food on them.
2.Never stick at someone with your chopsticks.
3.Don’t stick your chopsticks into rice or whatever food placed in a bowl. Because this seems like the censer(香炉) in a sacrifice.
4.Keep the slim end of chopsticks downwards, and do not wave them.
IV. Drinking Manners
1.Speak loudly when you say. Don’t whisper to anyone.
2.You should propose a toast to the elders, the hosts, or your boss first to show your respect.
3.Be sure that every word you speak is polite and try to be humorous. Never tell any rude jokes when there are ladies.
4.Don’t force someone to drink after you fail to toast. He may have some illness or may really hate alcohol.
《Chinese,Table,Manners》出自：百味书屋
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