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Traditional Chinese Culture
In
chinese culture, the dinner table is usually round which means the
unite of the family members. The host (usually the eldest male family
member) needs to seat east and the rest need to seat alongside the
table. Nobody is allowed to be seated until the host sits down. The one
who has more respects can seat nearer to the host.
All
the guest cannot take the chopsticks until the host takes. The courses
of the dishes should be taken to the table in such order: the epitizers,
the cold dishes, the entrees and the formal dinners, the soups and the
staple food. But in China we do not seperate the food in each dishes
which means sharing and enjoying together.
Introduction of Chinese Table Manner
Talking
about eating habit, unlike the West, where everyone has their own plate
of food, in China the dishes are placed on the table and everybody
shares. If you are being treated by a Chinese host, be prepared for a
ton of food. Chinese are very proud of their culture of cuisine and will
do their best to show their hospitality.
And
sometimes the host will serve some dishes with his or her own
chopsticks to guests to show his or her hospitality. This is a sign of
politeness. The appropriate thing to do would be to eat the
whatever-it-is and say how yummy it is. If you feel uncomfortable with
this, you can just say a polite "thank you" and leave the food there.
There some other rules that are suggested you follow to make your stay
in China happier, though you will be forgiven if you have no idea of
what they are.
1.
Never stick your chopsticks upright in the rice bowl, lay them on your
dish instead. Otherwise, it is deemed extremely impolite to the host and
seniors present. The reason for this is that when somebody dies, the
shrine to them contains a bowl of sand or rice with two sticks of
incense stuck upright in it. So if you stick your chopsticks in the rice
bowl, it looks like the shrine and is equivalent to wishing death upon a
person at the table.
2. Make
sure the spout of the teapot is not facing anyone. It is impolite to set
the teapot down where the spout is facing towards somebody. The spout
should always be directed to where nobody is sitting, usually just
outward from the table.
3. Don't
tap on your bowl with your chopsticks, since that will be deemed insult
to the host or the chef. Beggars tap on their bowls, and also, when the
food is coming too slow in a restaurant, people will tap their bowls. If
you are in someone's home, it is like insulting the host or the cook.
4. Never try to turn a fish over and debone it yourself, since the separation of the fish skeleton from the lower half of the flesh will usually be performed by the host or a waiter. Superstitious people deem bad luck will ensue and a fishing boat will capsize if you do so. This is especially true to southerners in China (to be specific, such as Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian provinces, etc.), since, traditionally, southerners are the fishing population.
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