2. When introducing guests, Chinese people like to use positive words and language rhetoric, and will add many subjective comments. But Westerners believe that the introduction of guests do not have to be judgmental, all subjective comments are imposed feeling, the introduction of the main highlights the identity of the person being introduced, education, etc., and should not be attached to the appearance and abstract comments.

I, the main differences between Chinese and Western dining etiquette:

1, in terms of clothing, in China, people dining in restaurants can be dressed casually, even T-shirts, jeans can be, only in the important banquet above to wear some grand. However, when going to a high-class restaurant in the West, men should wear neat tops and leather shoes; women should wear suits and shoes with heels. Men must wear a tie if formal attire is specified. Casual clothing may not be worn to restaurants.

2. Seating position: In China, guests are usually seated when they are all together, and seats are taken in order of seniority. Seat "Shangdong for the honor", "face to the door for the honor". In the West, generally speaking, the seat farthest from the door facing the door is the hostess's, and the seat opposite to it is the host's. The seat to the right of the hostess is the first seat. The seat to the right of the hostess is the first guest of honor, usually a gentleman, and the seat to the right of the host is the second guest of honor, usually the guest of honor's wife. In western countries, ladies are given priority, and gentlemanly manners are emphasized.

3, the order of serving, in China, the first course is soup, followed by the main course such as dry rice, then wine and the last course is fruit to promote digestion; in Western countries, the order of serving is generally vegetables and soup, fruit, wine, main course and finally dessert and coffee.

4, the difference in tableware: in China, tableware is simpler, generally only cups, plates, bowls, plates, chopsticks, spoons and spoons, etc., while the West has a knife, fork, spoon, cups and plates, etc., and the knife and fork will be subdivided into a variety of. Tea cups, coffee cups for porcelain and with a small plate, water cups, wine glasses are mostly glass products.

5, said the different ways to stop eating. Temporary stop in the feast, you can put the chopsticks straight on the plate or spoon. If the chopsticks rest horizontally on the plate, that is to indicate that the meal is no longer eaten. In the West, when there is a break, the knife and fork are placed in different ways to mean different things. The knife and fork are placed in the center of the plate in the shape of an octagon, which means that a break is needed; if the knife and fork protrude outside of the plate, it is not safe and does not look good, and waving the knife and fork around while talking is a rude gesture. After the meal, place the knife and fork in the four o'clock direction.

6, food on the table placement: Chinese food is a one-time on every dish, everyone *** enjoy all the food. While the western dining, all people each have their own set of tableware, dishes are eaten after a dish and then on another dish. In terms of food requirements, China doesn't require guests to finish all the dishes, whereas in the West, it's a courtesy and a sign of respect to the host to finish the food you're serving.

In addition to the above basic differences between Chinese and Western table manners, there are of course many subtle differences. If you don't pay attention to these subtle differences, it can cause some misunderstandings and jokes. As a college student, it is necessary to understand these. Not only that, it is also necessary to know why there is such a big difference between Chinese and Western social etiquette.

Etiquette, the rules of communication between people, is a language and a tool. Differences in religious beliefs, an important root of etiquette formation, have led people of different religions around the world to observe varying etiquette. China is one of the four ancient civilizations, and the Chinese people are the only civilization and nation that has been passed down for thousands of years. Chinese etiquette, which began in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties and flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties, has gradually formed a system through continuous development and change. Western society, the successor of several ancient civilizations, had been echoing China in the East. After the darkness of the Middle Ages, it eventually ushered in the Renaissance and gave birth to capitalism and modern civilization, producing modern technology and culture. China and the West have very different ceremonial cultures.

With the increasing pace of China's reform and opening up, increasing cross-border communication, the differences between Chinese and Western etiquette and culture is more and more obvious, the impact of such differences can not be ignored, in the Chinese and Western etiquette has not been a perfect blend of the former, we need to understand the differences in these etiquette.

One of the differences in communication language

Daily greetings, the Chinese people mostly use "Have you eaten?" "Where?" etc., which reflects a sense of intimacy between people. But for Westerners, this kind of greeting will make the other person feel sudden, awkward, and even unhappy, because Westerners will interpret this kind of questioning as a kind of "cross-examination", and feel that the other person is inquiring about their private life. In the West, everyday greetings are greeted with a simple "Hello" or, depending on the time of day, with "Good morning!" "Good afternoon!" "Good evening!" That's all. The British, on the other hand, would say, "It's a nice day!"

In Chinese, only people who are familiar with each other can call each other by their first names. But in the West, "calling someone by their first name" has a much wider scope than in Chinese. In the West, the common use of "Mr." and "Mrs." to address strangers who do not know their names, the teenage or twenty-something women can be called "Miss", married women can be called "Ms." or "Ms.". For women in their teens or twenties, they can be called "Miss", and married women can be called "Ms." or "Mrs.". Among family members, they can generally call each other by their first names or nicknames, regardless of their seniority. At home, you can call your father and mother by their first names. All male elders can be called "uncle" and all female elders can be called "auntie". This is not possible in China, where you have to distinguish between the generations, the old and the young, or you will be considered impolite.

There are many different ways to say goodbye in Chinese and Western languages. For example, when saying goodbye to a patient, Chinese people often say, "Drink more boiled water," "Wear more clothes," "Get some rest," and so on, to show their care for the patient. But Westerners will never say things like "drink more water" because it is considered to be dictating. For example, they would say, "Take care" or "I hope you get well soon".

The difference in dining etiquette

The Chinese have a saying, "Food is the God of the people", which shows the status of food in the minds of the Chinese, and therefore the Chinese people regard eating as the most important thing. Chinese cuisine focuses on dishes color, aroma, taste, shape, meaning all, even more than the focus on nutrition, as long as the delicious and to look good, nutrition, on the contrary, seems unimportant. Western diet is more concerned about nutrition and absorption, is a scientific concept of diet. Westerners pay more attention to the nutrition of food and ignore the color, aroma, taste, shape and meaning of how the food, their diet is mostly for survival and health, does not seem to pay attention to the enjoyment of taste.

In terms of dining atmosphere, Chinese people like to be lively during meals, with many people gathered around eating and drinking, laughing and joking, creating a lively and warm dining atmosphere. Unless it is in a very formal banquet, Chinese people do not have any very special etiquette at the table. Westerners, on the other hand, like to have a quiet and elegant environment when they eat, and they believe that they must pay attention to their manners when they are at the table, and must not lose their etiquette, for example, they must not make any unpleasant noises when they are eating.

Western and Chinese banquet etiquette is also unique. In China, from ancient times to the present day, most of the left as the honor, in the banquet guests, the status of the very noble guests to be arranged in the left of the upper seat, and then arranged in turn. In the West is to the right as the honor, men and women spaced out and seated, couples are also separated and seated, female guests seat than the male guests seat is slightly higher than the men to be located on their right to pull open the chair for the female guests, in order to show respect for the lady. In addition, Westerners should sit upright when eating, and think it is very impolite to bend over, bow your head and eat with your mouth, but this is exactly the way Chinese people usually eat. When eating Western food, the host does not advocate a big drink, the Chinese table wine is a must, to wine to cheer up, sometimes in order to show respect for each other, drinking is a cup and a glass of wine.

Three, the differences in dress etiquette

Western men in formal social occasions usually wear conservative style suits, white shirts, ties. They like black, so they usually wear black shoes. Western women wear dress suits on formal occasions. It is also customary for women to wear earrings when going out. In western countries, especially in the United States, people usually like to wear casual clothes, such as T-shirts with jeans.

Today's Chinese dress is becoming more and more westernized, and the traditional Zhongshan suit, cheongsam, and so on have been withdrawn from the stage of history. In formal occasions, men and women dress in the same way as in the West. In the usual city life, but will see a lot of people wearing tank tops, shorts, slippers and other ungentlemanly dress.

Etiquette is a kind of culture, is a culture that has vertical inheritance and horizontal borrowing and integration. As the world globalization continues to accelerate the pace of economic and cultural high-speed collision and integration of the background, a large number of Western culture into China, China's traditional etiquette is also constantly by the impact of Western etiquette culture. How to protect the traditional etiquette of the Chinese nation and remove its dregs, and make a reasonable and effective integration with the Western etiquette has become a topic that people constantly think and discuss. More and more people realize that Chinese and Western etiquette and culture will penetrate each other and develop continuously.

Take catering as an example. Nowadays, foreign fast food and western food take up a large proportion in China's food market, and more and more people begin to try and accept these foreign foods. McDonald's almost represents a cultural fashion, and has become the symbol of American culture in the catering field. At the same time, the aristocratic culture of France and the gentleman culture of England also flooded into China with food. With the exchange of Chinese and Western food culture, not only brought cakes, bread, cocktails and other Western dishes, but also brought some advanced Western production technology and dietary methods. All these have injected new vitality into the ancient Chinese food culture. Of course, the influence of our long and splendid food culture overseas is also growing, and a large number of Chinese restaurants have appeared in almost all parts of the world, and Chinese food is increasingly welcomed and loved by people from all over the world. For example, Peking duck has become a local delicacy in the hearts of foreigners.

But in the process of fusion of Chinese and Western etiquette and culture, the Chinese people are blindly enthusiastic about the West, unconsciously fall into two misunderstandings: First, it is to take the Western etiquette to replace the traditional etiquette of our Chinese people. Etiquette is the most representative thing of a nation. For example, among young people, the tendency to hold foreign-style weddings, to celebrate Western festivals, and so on, is a tendency that should not be ignored. Western etiquette just as folklore knowledge to understand what is not wrong, if the tendency to over-ambitious, the loss of national self-esteem, the nation's traditional etiquette will also be submerged. Secondly, the focus of etiquette education is concentrated on the operational level, such as how many degrees of bowing, handshake to stop for a few seconds and so on. It is not impossible to talk about these issues, but if they are only superficial, etiquette becomes empty formalism.

It is undeniable that today's internationally accepted etiquette is basically Western etiquette. The reason for this phenomenon is not merely the power of the West, but the deeper reason lies in the unity of Western values, in the high degree of recognition and deep awareness of Westerners of their own culture. All this is closely related to the social foundation of Christianity, because liturgy is an important way of religious activities, due to the devout belief in religion, Westerners have been receiving this kind of liturgical education and inculcation since childhood, so that the liturgy can naturally manifested in the behavior of people. The high degree of spiritual and material, political and cultural fit, so that people get a high degree of self-confidence and sense of superiority, it is the Westerner's self-confidence and sense of superiority to give the Western culture a strong infectious force, so that its culture of etiquette is regarded as the world's standard. The gap between us and the West is obvious when we compare our current Chinese social situation.

The fusion of Chinese and Western etiquette and culture, in our today's China, is more or less borrowed from the West. But whether we are borrowing from the West, or whether we are creating our own system of etiquette, this is not formally difficult. What is difficult is for us to have a complete value system, a high degree of recognition and a deep awareness of our own culture. We should learn from the Western etiquette, not only its form, but also its inner soul, only then we can build up our own self-confidence and sense of superiority, in order to establish our infectious power. The revival of the nation is not only a revival of strength, but also a revival of culture. Only when others agree with our culture can we truly make our manners known to the world.

Without etiquette, a person cannot stand, without etiquette, a matter cannot be accomplished, and without etiquette, a country is not peaceful. A society with a lack of etiquette is often an immature society. And a society with less unified or even contradictory standards of etiquette is often an unholy society. Etiquette is the foundation of the whole social civilization, and it is the most direct and comprehensive expression of social civilization. To create a harmonious society, we must start with etiquette. China is facing unprecedented challenges today, whether it is material, spiritual, cultural aspects, there is an urgent need for a complete and reasonable set of values for unification. Etiquette culture is undoubtedly the "forerunner" of such unification. Only by recognizing the differences between Chinese and Western etiquette culture and integrating the two rationally and effectively can we establish a system of etiquette culture suitable for contemporary Chinese society and achieve the ideal of a harmonious society.