A Westerner said to his Chinese friend. ' Chinese people slurp when drinking soup. It's disgusting. ' The Chinese friend replied, ' Westerners make a lot of noise licking their fingers when eating. It's even worse. '
Everyone has his own habits, but these habits are not very good. The noise often spoils other people's appetite.
I attended a course on table manners while I was in the United States. Some of the things we learnt included how to place the napkin and utensils and how to pass the bread. Before each course, the teacher would ask if we wanted to learn the Continental European way or the American way. We always said ' American way. ' It's amazing that everyone is so used to their own table manners. What is the Chinese way?
The westerners use knives and forks to eat so it is complicated. The Chinese use a pair of chopsticks and eat out of the same plate. I assume it is less complicated, right?
Not really. I did some research about Chinese table manners. The important rule is to remain silent while eating. Of course, this refers to family meals only. Not talking over meals is supposed to be good for the health. It is impolite if people do not talk to each other during a social party. The table arrangements and serving order for a social party are equally complicated. Each dish should be placed in the correct position. When fish is served, the tail should be pointing at the guest because tail meat is supposed to be tasty. If it is in winter, the stomach should face the right-hand side of the guest because that portion of the fish is very rich in winter. Each dish should be commenced by the eldest person who is seated at the head of the table. The diners should sit close to the table so food won't drop on their cloths. No noise should be made when chewing. No one should move food back to the communal plate even if he doesn't like it. One should drink soup slowly and is not supposed to make a lot of noise. All these table manners are very similar to Western habits.
It seems that people share the same basic sense of etiquette regardless of their background. Apart from the different tools used for eating we seem to follow the same principles. We do not let inappropriate manners spoil other people's appetite. Westerners like to say, ' bon appetite ' before meals which is one way to suggest ' mind your table manners. ' Is there such an expression in Chinese?