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1、A Comparative Study of the Chinese and Western Table Manners in Intercultural Communication【Abstract】Tablemannersreflecttheculture.TherearemanydistinctdifferencesinChineseandwesterntablemanners.ThecomparativestudyoftheChineseandWesterntablemannersplaysanimportantroleinculturalexchangeandcomplementun
2、derthebackgroundofinterculturalcommunication.【Keywords】tablemanners;differences;interculturalcommunication【作者簡介】夏钰雯，南京师范大学。.IntroductionAstheinternationalcommunicationbecomesincreasinglyfrequentinthedailylife，theculturesofvariouscountriesareconstantlycollidingandblending，whichwillinevitablyaccelerat
3、ecommunicationdefinedbyChenStarostaas“aninterdeterminingprocessinwhichwedevelopamutuallydependentrelationshipbyexchangingsymbols.Underthebackgroundofsuchaninterculturalcommunication，tablemannersarealwaysanunavoidabletopic.Ononehand，tablemannersexistinourdailylife.Whenweeat，weusetablemanners.Ontheoth
4、erhand，ourtablemannersreflectourculturaltraditionsandvalues.Whetheryouwanttoshowkindnessatthetableorinadeeperrelationship，youshouldfirstunderstandtablemanners.Inotherwords，tablemannersareamicrocosmofacountrysculturalconnotation，modeofthinkingandvalues.Itisagoodwayforpeoplefromdifferentculturestounde
5、rstandandcommunicatewitheachother.1.Chinesetablemanners.TheearliestappearanceofChinesetablemannersisthefoodritual，inwhichfoodwasdedicatedtothegodstoshowaweandsacrifice.IntheZhouDynasty，Chinahadformedarelativelycompletesystemoftablemannersconsistingofseveralsteps：sendinginvitation，greetingguests，seat
6、ingguests，toasting.IntheTangDynasty，tablemannerschangeddramaticallybecauseoftheintegrationofminorities.AlargenumberofminorityfoodandfurnituresuchaschairpouredintothecentralPlains.IntheQingDynasty，manyforeigntablemannerswereintroducedtoChina.Nowadays，Chinesetablemannershavebothtraditionalelementsands
7、omeforeignculturalelements.2.Westerntablemanners.WesterntablemannersoriginatedfromtheMerovingiandynastyinFrance.WhenitdevelopedintotheRomanEmpire，itbecamemorecomplicatedandhadanauthoritariancolor.“Emperormusttakeupthechair，whenmusicsounded，dishesmustbespreadtothenobilityoftheEmperorhands.Beforethese
8、venteenthcentury，thetraditionaldinninghabitsincludewearinghats.Europeantablemannerswereevolvedbythechivalry.Lefever.199：35.ComparisonbetweenChineseandWesternTableManners1.Seatingarrangement.InancientChina，theseatingarrangementwasontheprincipleof“theseatsontheeastandleftaresuperior，soistheseatfacingt
9、hedoor.ThereisasayingintheBookofRites，“taketheleftofthedrinkerasthesupremehonor.However，incontemporaryChina，especiallyinforeignandformalbanquets，theseatingarrangementhaschanged，adheringtotheprincipleof“theseatsontherightaresuperior.Inaddition，Chinesepeopleareaccustomedtousingaroundtable，whichsymboli
10、zesthereunio.Theelders，highlyrespectedpeopleormastersusuallytakethetoptable，andguestsarepositionedbydistance.Thecloseryouaretothetoptable，themorehonorableyoure.WhileinWesternbanquets，longtablesaregenerallyused.Theprincipleofseatingarrangementisthatwomenarepreferred，theseatsontherightaresuperior，andm
11、enandwomenarecrossseated.Inotherwords，thehostandhostessoftensitatthetwoendsofthetable，andmaleandfemaleguestsarecrossseatedonbothsidesofthetable.Besides，themanwillhelpthewomantoopentheseatsoshecansitdowneasily.2.Tablewareusage.InChina，thecommonlyusedtablewarearechopsticks，spoons，smallbowls，plates，amo
12、ngwhich，chopsticksarethemostimportanttableware.Beforethemeal，thechopsticksshouldbeplacedneatlyontherightsideofthericebowl.Afterthemeal，theyshouldbeplacedverticallyinthemiddleofthericebowl.Themaincutleryinwesterndiningistheknifeandfork.Intheofficialwesterndining，upto15kindsoftablewarecanbeused，suchas
13、dishfork，dinnerfork，saladfork，soupspoon，etc.Thetraditionalwesternplacesettinghastheforksontheleftsideandknivesandspoonsontherightside.Thesilverisplacedinorderofusesothatyoucanfollowtherule“beginattheoutsideandworkin.Afterthemeal，theforkshouldbeturnedupandtheknifeshouldbeplacedontheplateinparallelwit
14、hthefork.3.Orderofcourses.TheorderofChinesediningiscolddishes，drinksandwine，hotdishes，maincourse，dessert，andfruits.BecauseChinesepeoplethinkthatevennumbersareluckynumbers，thenumberofmaincoursesisusuallyeven，likefour，six，andeight.Thesecoursesaremadewithdifferentmaterialsandareusuallycooked，steamed，bo
15、iled，grilledandfried.Maincourseusuallyendswithsoup.Formalwesterndiningconsistsofsevencourses：appetizer，soup，fish，maincourse，salad，dessertanddrink.However，itsnotalwaysnecessarytoorderallthemeals.Appetizer，maincourseanddessertarethemostappropriatecombination.TheimportanceofthisStudyinInterculturalComm
16、unicationDifferencesintablemannersreflecttheculturaldiversity，whichfurtherreflectsthediversityofmankind.Itisthesedifferencesindiversitythatconstitutetheculturalecologyofthehumansociety.Fromthesedifferences，wecanhaveaninsightintodifferentlifestyles，values，thinkingpatternsandculturalconnotations.Firstly，thecomparisonbetweenChineseandwesterntablemannersindicatedifferentlifestyles.Chinesepeopleadmiretheslow-spokenandslow-pacedlife，sothethreemealsadaya
