The Comparison of the Table Manners between Chinese and the Westerners 英语专业毕业论文.doc

中西方餐桌礼仪之对比 The Comparison of the Table Manners between Chinese and the Westerners ContentsAbstract.1Key Words.1I. Introduction.2II. Literature Review.2III. Background Information about Table Manners.41. Cultural background.42. Table manners background.4IV. Chinese Table Manners51. Comprehending the etiquettes.52. Handling the taboos.6V. Western Countries Table Manners.71. Peoples attitude towards Western countries table manners.72. Knowing the taboos.8VI. The Relationship between the Two Kinds of Table Manners.81. Cultural differences.82. Establish the right attitude.9VII. Arousing and Developing Interest91. The reasons of peoples passive attitude9VIII. Conclusion.10References.10Abstract: With the entrance of WTO, China will hold the Olympic Games in 2008, the relationship between China and Western in politics, economy, culture will become more and more close. It is undoubtedly that the etiquette will play an important role in this process. To the definition of etiquette, China and Western have a different understanding about it. As Chinese thinks that the etiquette is the common behavior standards that all the members must obey, and its purpose is to keep the normal living order of the society. Table manners, a part of the culture, plays an important role in the process of communication. In this thesis, the author compares these two different kinds of table manners to find the similarities and differences to help the readers to understand a kind of new culture. Therefore, be aware of the importance of table manners is not only for the people who always attend formal parties or have frequent contact with the foreigners, but also for the entire nation so as to improve the cultural awareness, and also improve the communicative effects of table manners.key words: Cultural background; Chinese table manners; westerners table manners; differences摘 要：随着中国加入世界贸易组织并即将在2008年举办奥运会，中西方国家在政治，经济，文化方面的关系变得越来越密切。因此，礼仪就毫无疑问地在这个过程当中就扮演着一个非常重要的角色。对于礼仪这一概念，中西方对它有不同的理解。中国人认为礼仪是共同的行为规范，所有成员必须遵守， 其目的是为了保持社会的正常生活秩序。 餐桌礼仪是文化的一部份，在沟通这个过程中也就起着重要作用。在本文中，作者就这两种不同的餐桌礼仪进行了对比，其目的是找到她们的相似之处和不同之处来帮助读者了解这种全新的文化。因此，了解餐桌礼仪不论对于经常是出席正式的宴会的人，还是和外国人频繁接触的人来说都是非常重要的。它也有助于提高全民族的文化意识，并提高餐桌礼仪的交际影响。关键词：文化背景，中国餐桌礼仪，西方餐桌礼仪，差异I. IntroductionWith the development of the world and globalization, International trade became more and more popular. China, as a developing country, has enhanced the world trade with the Western countries, which calls us to know and familiar with the differences in culture between China and the Western countries. It includes philosophy, religion, music, art, cooking, table manners, etc. Especially the table manners, because the most frequent contact between different countries mainly focus on the daily life. So the importance of the table manners seems to be more noteworthiness.China is a vast country and it is therefore no surprise that there are many regional variations in Chinese table manners and cuisine. Chinese culture is quite unique, not only because it is different from that in western countries, but also from some other oriental countries. For example, in Japan, South Korea, India and Thailand. China is a long history country, which breeds its own cultural system. For instance, philosophy, religion, music, art, cooking, table manners, etc. All of these are all different from the western ones. It's true that every country has its own culture, which has distinguishing features. These special cultures make China attractive and also some difficult for the westerners to understand it. Now, let's go for the western countries. Broadly speaking, the Englishman is a quiet, reserved person who is relaxed only if the people he/she knows well. The English people require high quality of dishes. The communication at table is dainty. For instance, whom do you talk with? What do you talk about? They also give their attentions to the appearance when you are eating. There are many things for us to know. The analysis of this difference can calls more people to pay attention to the trans-culture. When we are handling with international affairs and taking part in formal parties, table manners is more and more important. It's not only something with the manners but also the culture which makes account. We should respect the others' culture, and spread our own customs to the other countries. II. Literature Review Most authorities researched on the differences of the table manners between China and the western countries, mainly focus on the sequence of serving the dishes, how to behave at table, in other words, how to speak, how to greet with each others, how to use the dishware and napkin and so on. Craig Claiborne investigated this task in A Guide to Table Manners in an Imperfect World. (1991, Newyork) And found that the main difference on the Chinese dinner table is the chopsticks instead of knife and fork, but that's only superficial. Besides, in decent restaurants, you can always ask for a pair of knife and fork, if you find chopsticks not helpful enough. The real difference is that in the west, you have your own plate of food, while in China dishes are placed on the table and every share. The western concept of a service-oriented society contrasts significantly with the Chinese concept of total view as substandard service in hotel and restaurants when, in fact, no offense has been intended. At the same time, some may believe that backwardness evident everywhere in China (even behind the modern facade) can be overcome by applying western notion of efficiency and organization, and they are often quite vocal in expressing these beliefs, now forge on and experience the culture. In the book British Society and Culture (Wu Fei: 2001), the quality of English dishes is excellent, and there are so many for people to choose. It's true that the dairy products are so fresh and the meat is usually so tender. Many traditional British dishes are as good as anything you can get anywhere. In recent years the British have become more cosmopolitan in their eating habits, and many families frequently sit down to meals whose ingredients or recipes may come from India, china, or indeed anywhere in the world. Some authorities carry forward the taboos when eating with a Chinese host, for example, Rose V.White, he gave his own opinion on the Meal Time Etiquette. Traditionally speaking, there are many taboos at Chinese tables, but nowadays people do not think it is necessary to follow these rules. The traditional customs or taboos shouldn't appear only if the formal circumstances. However, there are still a few things to keep in mind, especially if people are guests at a private home. For instance, don't stick your chopsticks upright in the rice bowl. Instead, lay them on the dish. 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 this is equivalent to whishing death upon person at the table! For the teapot, you must make sure that the about 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. And almost all the Chinese people know the reason, but for the westerners, maybe they won't understand until hearing the reason. So when the westerners come to China, they should know the etiquettes at the table. For me, I will compare these two kinds of different etiquettes and find the differences and similarities, and I will try my best to find the reason why Chinese people adore the western culture and ignore their own traditional custom. We should know the others' custom but we should carry forward our own culture.III. Background Information about Table Manners1. Cultural backgroundThere are more than three hundred different definitions about culture which covers broad areas as arts, music, literature, values, food, traditional customs and religions and so on so forth. “Culture is the deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and the material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving” (Samovar, L.A. Porter, etc.).Onboard the vessel the multi-nationality crew work and live in “an isolated small floating community” where exist different cultures. It includes the ways of thinking and doing things, such important values as time, sense of safety, environmental protection, co-operation, working attitudes and ways of communication which are called Culture with capitalized C in Culture on the on hand. On the other hand there are cultures of small c in culture such as foods style, table manners, body language, etc. For example a Spanish captain will be shocked when he spotted the dog meat in the provision list arranged by a Chinese chief cook. Because Europeans take dog as the close friend of human beings and even a part of the family while for Chinese dog is connected with negative persons or things. For example in Chinese there are old sayings like” live a dogs life “(miserable life);”A dog will leap over a wall in desperation” (despair gives courage even to a coward); “heap of dogs droppings”(rubbish, worth nothing);”doghouse”(shabby and humble house);” “No ivory can come out of a dogs mouth”(a filthy mouth can not utter decent language). Although a culture of a nation is passed on from generation to generation it can be learnt and picked up. Like language culture is everywhere. There are only different cultures and there are no bad or superior cultures. Onboard the vessel the different cultures co-exist equally and there are no good or bad cultures. The crew should develop an awareness of different cultures and respect other cultures and learn from other cultures. An international crew should be open-minded and tolerant to other cultures. 2. Table manners background Table manners mainly includes: How to speak at the table, how to dress at the table, how to behave politely and place settings, etc. The attitude towards table manners changed with the times and regions. Usually in an informal family klatch, people do not pay much attention to the rules. They would like to dress casually and talk loudly, It doesn't matter. In the traditional Chinese party, people were particular about the clothing of attending the formal party, nevertheless, with the development and changes of the modern customs, some succeed the tradition, and some are tend to break the traditional customs. In 1920s and1930s, They wore Chinese tunic suits. Now the people wear more casually. If you attend a party with a Chinese tunic suits, the others may feel funny and strange. Most of the westerners never wear a hat at the table or a casual sleeveless shirt. They do not rock back in the dining chair and do not prop themselves up with their elbows on the table. Placing the forearm on the table edge is ok. Tea is preferred by the Chinese as a drink during all meals less for its own taste but to clear the palate of a former dish before proceeding to the next. And as proclaimed by Hong Kong Tourist Association in their guide, "The Chinese don't ruin the tea with such alien substances as milk, sugar or lemon". Therefore, Chinese tea culture is unique historic and abstruse. IV. Chinese Table Manners1. Comprehending the etiquettesFor many westerners, the Chinese dinner table is quite unique and complex. At the Chinese table, you can not find forks or knives. The Chinese host makes great, sweeping arm movements that go over large sections of the table passing over food. The scene is fantastic, but it leaves the foreigners at a loss for what to do and how to do. As for eating, our Chinese people usually did it quietly in the past. There was no eating noises allowed to make, and everything must be done as quietly as they could. Therefore, people had to eat with their mouths closed. Perhaps, to make a "smacking" noise was the worst offence behaves. While they are drinking soup, wine or any other kinds of liquid, "slurping" was also forbidden. If any sound whatever was created by our intake of food or beverage, it constituted bad manners! Of course, it was unthinkable to speak with one's mouth full of food, so speaking only occurred before or after one had taken in food and swallowed it. But nowadays, you can see this scene when you are attending a formal party. How one sits at the table is also prescribed. One is to sit up straight with the recessive hand (usually the left) in one's lap holding a napkin while the dominant hand (usually the right) holds the fork or spoon. The only time one can have both hands on the table is when he is using a knife to cut something, but as soon as the cutting is finished, the recessive hand should go back to the lap. Also, elbows are not allowed on the table. Therefore, one props the arm against the edge of the table just below the elbow. One should ask someone sitting near it to give it to you instead of reaching for any food on the table and stand up for the food. An American said:” In my time in China, I have come to enjoy Chinese table manners far more than those prescribed by my own culture, but for many it is impossible to adjust.” So, for the foreigners, the best way is to ask your guest questions to find out the differences and try your best to adjust them.2. Handling the taboosAll of the people know that China has a long history, traditionally speaking, there are many taboos at Chinese tables, but these days not many people pay attention to them. However, there are a few things to keep in mind, especially if you are a guest at a private home. The author will list some taboos so as to help the readers to behave more properly and politely.1) Don't stick your chopsticks upright in the rice bowl. Instead,lay them on your dish. 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 this shrine and is equivalent to wishing death upon a person at the table! 2) Make sure that 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 shou