"Dream of the Red Chamber" third, Daiyu first into the Rongguo House, "step by step, always care, do not say a word more, can not do more than one step, for fear of being laughed at." Single depiction of Daiyu "degree of its place", refused to take a seat at will, there are three places. Dinner section, describing especially fine: "Jia mother is sitting alone on the couch, four empty chairs on both sides, Xifeng busy pulling Daiyu in the first chair on the left to sit down, Daiyu is very pushy. Jia mother laughed and said: 'Your aunt and sisters-in-law are not here to eat. You are a guest, you should sit like this.' Daiyu said, 'You are a guest, so you should sit like this. Jia mother ordered Mrs. Wang to sit down. The three Yingchun sisters came up after they were seated. Yingchun sat first on the right hand, Tanchun second on the left, and Shichun second on the right."
Please let is the etiquette, to show respect; excessive concessions is a false courtesy, but polite. Mr. Feng Zikai's "Words of a Guest" and Mr. Liang Shiqiu's "Modesty" are both interesting depictions of the style of giving way (not the etiquette of giving up one's seat) to polite and powerful people.
Mr. Feng Zikai's "Eating Wine" also describes giving up one's seat: "The old man was about sixty years old, very healthy, and often sat on a round drum stool next to a small table. As soon as I arrived, he invited me to sit on the chair opposite him." In just a few words, the courteous and hospitable old man leaps off the page. Such an offer of a seat is one that makes the heart glad.
Nowadays, a lot of people think that they are not polite, but they don't know how to be polite, and they don't know that they have offended people. There are also many people will be polite to let the seat, just "for where is the first seat, some do not really understand. Often let each other half a day, even the master's seat to the guests to go, and should sit in the first seat of the people did not sit on, but for others to sit on." (Mr. Tang Lusun's "The Interesting Tan of Seating Rules")
Where is the upper seat (the first seat, the main seat)?
"Generally speaking, in the northern custom or officialdom, the first seat is the seat sitting in the north and facing the south, but in some places, the seat facing the door is the upper seat, and in some places, it is divided by sitting diagonally opposite to each other in the flower-plugging style." (Tang Lusun, "The Interesting Tan of Seating Rules")
While customs vary from place to place, most traditional Chinese houses sit north to south, and face the door as the honor. The upper seat usually faces the door and is furthest away from the door. The lower seat, on the other hand, has its back to the door and is closest to the door.
Some hotels fold the napkins of the upper seat in different patterns, higher than the napkins of the other seats, as follows:
Also, the environment, such as the location of the air-conditioning vents and whether there is a beautiful view out of the window, etc., will affect the change of the position of the upper seat.
Who should sit in the upper seat (first seat, main seat)?
Some Chinese seating information says, "The host (main companion) should sit in the main seat, while the guest of honor sits in the first chair to the host's right." This is somewhat arbitrary. Western food is correct in this order of precedence, but Chinese food is not generalizable, depending on what kind of banquet, and the status of the host and the guest of honor, seniority and age.
The Chinese are hospitable and honor their guests, but when they come, they often ask for a seat. Snobbery such as "tea, bubble tea, bubble good tea; sit, please sit, please seat", is extremely annoying. So the Chinese food seating, most of the guest of honor sitting in the upper seat, unless the host's status is much higher than the guest of honor, or elders. Sometimes even if the host's position is higher than the guest of honor, but there is something to ask for the guest of honor, the seat is naturally given to the guest of honor.
If it is a family dinner, the person with the highest seniority or the oldest age sits on the upper seat. The following picture :
(87 version of the "Dream of Red Mansions" Jia mother is sitting alone on the couch, Daiyu, Tanchun sat on the left, Yingchun, Xichun sat on the right, Mrs. Wang, Wang Xifeng, Li danwei beside the dishes.)
I have seen some parents cherish their children, let the child sit on the upper seat, the child's grandparents sat on the side, this is extremely uneducated.
If it is a meeting between friends and classmates, the person who pays the bill should sit on the upper seat. On a date, the lady should sit in the upper seat.
The junior or lower position person should wait for the elder or higher position person to be seated before he or she is seated.
Who should sit down?
The lower seat, also often called the host's seat, is usually the seat of the host. The host sits in the lower seat and the guest sits in the upper seat across from him or her, as a sign of respect from the host to the guest. This seat is the closest to the door, and is also convenient for greeting and serving food.
If it is a business banquet, the lower seat is often the position of secretary assistant. For example, the assistant accompanied the chairman of the banquet guests, the chairman often sit on the left hand side of the guest of honor, the assistant is sitting in the lower seat. The person in this position is responsible for pouring tea and wine (if no waiter is present), urging dishes and other chores.
How are the other seats arranged?
The era of "Dream of Red Mansions" was still left-oriented, and Daiyu, pictured above, was a guest when she first arrived, so Wang Xifeng had to ask Daiyu to sit in the first chair to the left of Jiamu. Nowadays, in addition to the domestic political meetings, the left is honored, the domestic catering banquets (in addition to individual local customs) and foreign activities are honored by the right. The order of seating is to the right of the upper seat (the first seat, the main seat), close to the upper seat is honored.
In summary, the seating arrangement for a round table (single host) is as follows:
The seating arrangement for a round table (double host) is as follows:
The seating arrangement for a square table is as follows:
The seating arrangement for a carousel
If there is a carousel, the carousel should be rotated in a clockwise direction in accordance with carousel etiquette, i.e., everyone should rotate the carousel toward their left hand. i.e., everyone should turn the carousel toward his or her left hand. The upper and lower seats are in the same position as above, but the other seats are arranged clockwise from the left hand side of the upper seat.
Finally, it is recommended that you follow the guest, and the guest follows the master. The host follows the guest, if the guest is seated on his own, he can ask for a seat, but he does not have to be forced to let. Guests follow the host, the host invited, how to sit, listen to the host arrangements can be, do not have to overly push.