Since the 20th century, cross-cultural communication has become an indispensable part of people's lives. Due to regional differences, different nationalities and countries have formed different cultures. Food culture and table manners are also important components of nonverbal culture in cross-cultural communication. Understanding the differences between Chinese and western food culture and table manners and their origins can not only increase our understanding of the language and culture we have learned, but also improve the success rate of cross-cultural communication and avoid misunderstandings and communication obstacles caused by inappropriate ways or behaviors. 1. Differences between Chinese and Western food cultures. Rational westerners pay more attention to nutrition and survival. The biggest difference between Chinese and western food cultures is the difference in emphasis, that is, which is more important: "nutrition" or "delicacy". In western countries, diet is mostly just a necessary means of survival and communication. Western diet is a rational concept. No matter the color, fragrance, taste, shape and nutrition of food, it must be guaranteed. Western cooking pays attention to nutrition and ignores taste. They refused to use monosodium glutamate, a chemical product with neither nutrition nor side effects. Raw vegetables include not only tomatoes, lettuce, but even cabbage and broccoli. So their "salad" is like a plate of feed, which makes it difficult for us to swallow. Although people in China now also pay attention to nutrition and health care, and know that heating vegetables will lose some vitamins, eating them raw will avoid the loss, but I would rather choose the former because I am used to it and because it tastes really much better. 2. Rational China people pursue delicacy and enjoyment. In China, there is a folk proverb: "Food is the most important thing for the people, and taste is the highest criterion for cooking". In the eyes of China people, "eating" is not only for satiety, but also for nutrition. Sometimes, when you are full, you have to eat. This is because you can't stand the temptation of "delicious food" and enjoy your own taste. However, in the view of rational diet in the west, this overload diet not only causes waste, but also is harmful to human body. Although people in China pay attention to dietotherapy and nutrition, but our cooking takes the pursuit of delicacy as the first requirement, which leads to the loss and destruction of many nutrients. Therefore, nutrition may be the biggest weakness of China's diet. 3. Western cooking follows norms and science. Westerners emphasize science and nutrition, so the whole cooking process is carried out in strict accordance with scientific norms. The use of recipes is an excellent proof. Westerners always buy food and cook with recipes, but in comparison, it is still a very mechanical thing, which leads to a drawback of western food-lack of characteristics. When people are in a foreign land and want to taste local food, no one will definitely choose KFC or McDonald's. In addition, standardized cooking even requires accurate ingredients, accurate spice addition to grams and accurate cooking time to seconds. Due to the standardization of western food, there is no creativity. What westerners can't understand is that China's cooking not only does not pursue accurate standardization, but advocates randomness. When you open China's cookbooks, you will often find that the amount of raw materials prepared and the amount of seasonings added are vague concepts. Moreover, in China cooking, not only the major cuisines should have their own flavors and characteristics, but also the collocation of side dishes and various seasonings of a cuisine will change according to the chef's personal hobbies. The same is "Mapo Tofu", which is made for Sichuan guests and Suzhou guests, and the seasoning used is definitely different. In the west, a dish faces different consumers in different regions and seasons, and there is no change. 4. Westerners who advocate freedom attach importance to distinction and individuality, and this cultural feature of "harmony but difference" is also clearly reflected in Chinese and western food culture. Except for a few soup dishes in western food, the ingredients in the main course are irrelevant. Fish is fish, steak is steak. Even if there is a collocation, it is made on a plate, which embodies the social culture of "separation of the West". This social culture that emphasizes distinction is also reflected in the way of eating. Westerners follow the system of separate meals, and people respect individuality and self. Western popular buffet styles are different, lacking the China people's mood of chatting and having fun together. 5. China people yearn for harmony, harmony and wholeness. China people have always regarded harmony and cooperation as the most wonderful realm, paying attention to harmony and joy, singing harmony in music, advocating physical harmony and qi harmony in medicine, and hoping to achieve "human and politics" in national politics. Call a beautiful marriage a "match made in heaven". When all the beautiful things come together, we call it a "perfect match". This idea of "harmony" is embodied in "harmony of five flavors" in cooking. Therefore, almost every Chinese dish must be cooked with more than two kinds of raw materials and various seasonings. China calls cooking "cooking". Delicious comes from harmony. Therefore, China cooking is not as simple as "1+ 1 = 2", but should be equal to "3" or more. In a word, Chinese and western diets are different in many ways. Of course, these differences are relative, and thousands of years of cultural exchanges between the East and the West have also contributed to the continuous integration of Chinese and Western food cultures. Cross-cultural communication under the situation of globalization makes all kinds of food cultures complementary and compatible. Today, it has become a common thing for contemporary people to enjoy the unique diet of the East and the West. We can see French dinners, KFC and other western imported foods everywhere in the street, and China restaurants are also opening all over the world. Second, the differences in table manners, such as food culture, tableware and dining style, reflect the social life style and cultural orientation of different nationalities. Etiquette is everywhere in modern society. Dining is not only to meet basic physiological needs, but also an important social experience. However, there are many differences in table manners between China and the West. Knowing the differences between them can prevent rudeness. 1. Generally speaking, the difference of dining table atmosphere is that the western dining table is quiet, while the China dining table is moving. Westerners are usually active, but as soon as they sit at the table, they concentrate on cutting their own dishes quietly. People in China are usually quiet. As soon as they sit at the dinner table, they will talk endlessly, helping each other with food and persuading them to drink. The noise on the dining table in China and the quietness on the dining table in the west reflect the fundamental differences between Chinese and western food cultures. 2. Table Etiquette In the cultural tradition of China, people are also particular about attending various formal dinners. However, in the development of modern customs, there are both progress and backwardness, both inheritance of tradition and violation of traditional cultural customs. For example, the clothes when eating are much more casual than in the past, such as tunic suit, jacket or suit, which also reflects the change and development of traditional culture and is the best example of the integration and positive transmission of Chinese and western cultures. Nowadays, many westerners, especially Americans, don't like smoking and drinking, and many people don't like others smoking and drinking in their own homes. Nowadays, in China, many people both smoke and drink. It seems that there is a social strange phenomenon that "no smoking and no drinking" leads to no social interaction. Therefore, there are still "bad habits" of smoking and getting drunk at the dinner table in China. Although they know it hurts, they can't stop it. Presumably this is the incompleteness and incompleteness of cultural migration and development. It is necessary for us to constantly promote the development of humanistic culture and improve the humanistic quality of the nation on the basis of a correct understanding and understanding of cultural phenomena. 3. Seating arrangement Both China and the West pay attention to the seating arrangement of formal banquets. People in China traditionally use square tables. Opposite the door, the seats are on both sides. When entertaining guests, the elderly, guests or people with high status are seated, the male and female hosts or accompanying guests are seated, and the rest of the guests are seated in the wrong order. Westerners treat guests with long tables, with male and female hosts sitting at both ends, and then arrange seats in the order of male and female guests and ordinary guests. For table rules, westerners eat with knives and forks, while China people use chopsticks. Of course, the use of knives, forks and chopsticks has its own rules. The differences between Chinese and western food cultures and the contrast between Chinese and western table manners not only reflect the cultural traditions in different places, but also reflect different national psychology, values and moral standards, social relations, social etiquette and social customs, that is, western culture advocates personal honor, self-centeredness, innovative spirit and personal freedom, while China culture advocates modesty, prudence, selfless dedication, moderation and unity and cooperation; Westerners have a strong sense of equality and a simple family structure; However, China people have a strong sense of hierarchy and complex family structure, and most of the traditional happy families are four generations living under one roof. In cross-cultural communication, it is not uncommon for people to misunderstand information or even hurt each other because of cultural barriers. Sometimes kind words will embarrass each other, and polite manners will be misunderstood as absurd and vulgar. Therefore, studying the differences between different cultures and the correct cross-cultural communication behavior has become a problem that cannot be ignored. Their advantages and disadvantages are obvious in the process of comparative study. This kind of research is conducive to the positive transmission of culture, in order to "take its essence and discard its dross", thus promoting the development of national language and humanistic culture.