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As a very polite country, our food culture is deeply rooted in the history of China. As a visitor or guest of a family or restaurant in China, you will find that table manners are essential, and the unique manners displayed will always increase your pleasure in eating and keep you in a high mood!
Respect first
It is indeed an admirable custom to respect others at the dinner table, including the elderly, teachers and guests, while taking good care of children.
China people have always emphasized filial piety. The practice of giving the best food to the elders at home first has been going on for countless generations. In ancient times, ordinary people lived a poor life, but they still tried their best to support their elderly mothers or fathers, which they took for granted.
Although the hosts in China are friendly and hospitable, you should also show respect to them. Before eating, the host may say some greetings. Guests should not start eating before the host says "please enjoy yourself" or something similar, otherwise it implies disrespect and causes unhappiness.
When the host puts the dishes on the table, they will put the main course in the middle, and the matching dishes will be evenly placed around. When the main courses are prepared in a decorative form (by cutting or other means), they will be placed facing the main guests and elders at the table. This also embodies virtue.
On chopsticks
Chopsticks are a miracle in the creation of China's food culture. This utensil is helpful for dinner to really taste his or her food. Easy use of chopping sticks will increase the enjoyment of delicious food. How to use them may be a problem, and the following suggestions may be helpful:
First, hold the stick with your thumb and middle finger like a pen. Second, hold the lower one with your thumb and put it on your ring finger. Finally, try to move two sticks and pick up your favorite dish.
It is very convenient to eat noodles with chopsticks. Then you can gently but firmly wrap the noodle line to prevent the soup or sauce from splashing into the bowl. For the first time, some people may slip, but minor mistakes are inevitable. Practice makes perfect. After practice, you will skillfully pick up all kinds of food from the plate.
When dishes are served on the table, usually the host or the elderly should be the first to do it. Don't eat too much at a time or put the food back on the plate. Try to avoid the chopsticks colliding with the neighbor's chopsticks, because chopsticks are longer than knives and forks.
Don't beat bowls and plates with chopsticks, especially when you are a guest, because people think it is a humble act of beggars begging for food.
Don't insert chopsticks vertically into food containers, because it will be regarded as an evil omen and will be opposed by the elderly. The reason is that it is a unique way to show respect and care for the deceased. Long ago, it was a tradition in China to worship ancestors with food. However, considering that the deceased can't use chopsticks smoothly, the living must use chopsticks at an upright angle.
Avoid sucking the end of chopsticks or holding them in your mouth for a long time. Don't point at others with chopsticks, and don't use chopsticks to pick up food. These are also considered impolite and disrespectful.
At an important moment
Celebrating a birthday is an important moment in one's life. When a person is young, he usually eats noodles before his birthday, because in China noodles represent longevity and birthday cakes are on actual days. After middle age, his birthday will be even bigger. In addition to the above, peaches in various forms will be added, symbolizing longevity and immortality, as well as pleasant couplets and candles.
On the wedding day, according to the custom in China, dates, peanuts, longan and chestnuts from China will be served together, in the hope that the couple will soon have a baby in line with the announcement in China.
For most people in China, it is very important to leave home for a long time or go home after leaving home, and there are related eating habits. Eat noodles when you go home, and jiaozi to say goodbye when you leave home. This is especially popular in northeast China.
During the Dragon Boat Festival, although many people can't go to the riverside to watch the dragon boat race, almost everyone eats this unique food-Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped Zongzi made of sticky rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. This day's festival is to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yu 'an. People were worried about his lack of food and made this special food for him. Now food is made into various shapes and kinds.
On the eighth day of the last month of the lunar calendar in China, people will eat a nourishing porridge called "Bala porridge". In ancient times, monks would share all kinds of food with people on this special day and make delicious porridge for them. People still abide by this custom.
In central China, when a baby is born, a happy father will send red boiled eggs to announce the news. An egg with a black tip at one end and even dots (such as 6 or 8) indicates the birth of a boy; Babies without black spots and odd numbers (such as 5 or 7) will be said to be girls.
In addition, fish has always been used to imply prosperity and wealth accumulation at dinner on New Year's Eve.
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