Chinesetablemanners 中国餐桌礼仪.docx

Chinesetablemanners 中国餐桌礼仪Chinese Table Manners Importance o o o Table manners are very important in Chinese peoples life. They show whether you are well educated. Chinese people treat dinners as one of the most important social interactions. ( Business will be talked and set while having dinner.) 1. Prefer round tables, which enable people to sit face to face. Through this way, people feel close to each other. 2. The most important guest( the oldest, the most respectful, etc.) will sit facing the door. 3. After the most important guest sit down, others take their seats. 4. Guests will not order unless the host ask them to do so. Sometimes, host asks the most important figure to order dishes in order to show the hosts respect( to the important figure). 5. If you have something that you do not like or can not eat, tell the host secretly. He will take into consideration when he is ordering. 6. Put the napkin on your legs. 7. The dinner will not begin until everybody arrive, even if someone is not on time. 8. While the host is ordering dishes, others usually chat with each other and drink tea to kill time. 9. The restaurant always serve some snacks, like peanuts, cucumbers, and chicken feet. Before Dinner o o o o o o o o o o o 10. If you are sitting near the teapot, it is your duty to serve others tea. Usually, you start from the eldest/female. Do it clockwise. Generally, you serve yourself at last. To be a gentleman, do this job before ladies realize that they need more water. 11. When the teapot is empty, hold the lid one side up, and the waiter will come and fill it. Having Dinner o o o o 1. Soup will be served the first. If the soup is too hot, you can wait until it gets cooler. 2. Dishes will be placed on the turntable. 3. Every time when a dish is served, the most important people take the first bite. Then others take their bites as the table turns. Sometimes, when there are kids, the youngest kid will take the first bite to show the care from adults. o 4. Do not stick chopsticks vertically in your bowl of rice, because this makes the chopsticks look like the incenses(香） we burn when we are worshiping the dead or praying the god. So it is like you are worshiping people sitting the other side, which suggests that he is dead. Therefore, this action is viewed unlucky and impolite. 5. Usually, you pick up some food, like a piece of meat, placing it in your bowl first, and then eat it. This makes you look less eager and more elegant. 6. Before you pick up something from the plate, you need to decide which one you are going to pick. Once your chopsticks touch the food, you can do nothing other than picking it up and put it in your bowl. Dont ever try to rummage the one you like in the plate. It is impolite. 7. If there are public chopsticks and spoons, youd better use them when you pick up foods. 8. When you are eating, close your mouth to make less noise. 9. Do not speak when there are things in your mouth. /Do not speak before you finish eating things in your mouth. 10. Do not play with your chopsticks: Do not knock the bowl with your chopsticks. Thats what beggars usually do. That makes you poor. 11. If the food is juicy, use the spoon to help. Do not make the juice split everywhere. o o o o o o o o o o When something is hard to be pick up, use the spoon to help, too. 12. To show the warm welcome to the guest, the host will cheer the guest up and try to persuade the guest to drink wine as much as he can. Or the host will be viewed as bad serving. If you can not drink wine, tea and other drinks are also OK. 13. If you have to cough or sneeze, use a towel or napkin to cover your mouth and turn back. Say “sorry” afterwards. 14. If you need to clean your teeth, use your hand or a towel to cover your mouth so that others will not see it. o o o o 15. When having dinner at the New Years Eve, Chinese people will not eat all the dishes up. There must be something left to show that we are having a good life, because we have a surplus. It means “every year we have a surplus ( 年年有余)”. Also, fish will not be missed on the dinner table of New Years Eve. Order of Dishes o o o o o Soup Dishes of meat( chicken, fish, seafood, etc.) Dishes of vegetables Green vegetables Noodles, Chinese cakes, dessert, etc. Drinks o o o White Wine In most circumstances, Chinese people, especially adults drink white wine when they are having big meals. There is a Chinese saying:” No wine, no meals.” ( “无酒不成席/宴。” ) Chinese kids start drinking wines from their early age. However, drinking wine is bad for health, so now kids usually have juice. Sometimes, soup and tea are well enough, and parents wont order juice o o o for their kids. Because it is not that healthy, too. White wine, red wine, beer, etc. Fruits and further free talks. Others can not stand up and leave the table until the most important people does so. If it is the host or the hostess that does the cook, remember to show your appreciation after you finish the dinner. After Dinner o o o