中西方用餐方式差异完整

Different Eating Customs and the V

alue of Community between

Abstract

this paper analyzes the different value of community between the west and China by comparing

the different eating customs and practices of the two cultures and then tries to probe into

the core

of

the

them

in

terms

of

the relation

between

individual

and

community. The

different

value

of

community can concluded as followed: Chinese culture values collectiveness most, while western

culture believes in individualism.

Key words

：

eating customs; value of community; cultural differences

摘要

本文通过对比对比中西方不同的 用餐方式，

对中西方群体观念的差异进行分析，

并试图探索

基于个人和集体关系的群体观念的核心。

中国文化崇尚集体主义，< /p>

而西方文化则信奉个体主

义。

关键词：用餐方式；群体观念；文化差异

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Introduction

All Chinese are familiar with the ancient proverb “Food is the paramount

(

最重要的

) necessity of

the people.” Coinc

< br>identally

（碰巧）

, there is a equivalent

（相同的）

in the west

——

“Bread is the

stall of

life.” The catering

（酒席）

culture is an important part of human civilization, which is

age- honored

（年龄、尊敬）

and diversified

（多样化）

. Just as there are remote

（远）

distance

between the west and China geographically

（地理）

, there are distinctive

（特殊的）

features in

their dietary

（饮食的）

practices

习惯

. The different eating customs and practices, however, are

not

merely

只是

a

manifestation

表现

of

the

two

different

cultures.

Instead,

they

reflect

the

deeper cultural value of two cultures, to be more specific

特殊的明确的

, the value of community

团体

. Studying

this

subject can

give

us

a

better

understanding

of

the

philosophi cal

哲学，冷静

reason for the diversification

多样化

of western and Chinese catering

酒席

cultures.

differences in the western and Chinese eating customs and practices

1.1 Different Ways of Serving the Food

When having meals, Chinese people sit around the table and share the food in the same plate. No

matter it is a dinner of an ordinary family or a formal banquet, Chinese would always share the

dishes regardless of gender, age and social status. In fact, this practice can be traced back to

the

protohistory

age when

Chinese

began

to

offer

the

sacrifice

to

gods. The

sacrifices couldn’t

be

eaten by gods, so our ancestors shared the food after the fete. This was initially called the “totem

meal”. The totem represented the animal people ate most

frequently, therefore people believed the

animal

to

be

their

forebear,

because

their

life

came

from

and were sustained

by

it.

Of course,

people

couldn’t consume

their

animal

of

totem

at

their

own

will,

yet

they could

eat

it

on

some

special occasions. Since people of the same clan had the same forebear, everyone possessed the so

called

“flesh

-and-

flood

relationship”

with

it

and

should

be

given

his

share

of

the

flesh

of

the

animal.

It

is

the

primitive

practice

of

the

Chinese

way

of

sharing

food

in

the

same

plate.

By

sharing the food together, people also shared the identity of the same community. The most severe

punishment was to prohibit someone from taking part in the totem meal, which meant that he or

she was exiled from the clan. The totem meal later developed into the banquet held after the fete in

Shang Dynasty, then into daily Chinese food-sharing customs in Tang Dynasty.

At the beginning, the westerners shared food in the same plate. They even used hands and dipped

their fingers into the gravy, but they had to wash their hands in front of the others before the meal

in

order

to

show

their

respects

toward

others.

However,

the

table

manners

started

to

change

dramatically

since

the

Renaissance.

In

this

era

of

revival

of

humanism

and

human

dignity,

the

Renaissance

scholars

not

only

tried

to

break

the

shackles

from

the

Catholic

Church

and

till

the

garden

of

art,

but

also

advocated

the reform

of

etiquette.

In

the

book

On

Civility

in

Children,

Erasmus1 prescribed a set of table manners, which the loyal members should obey so as to respect

others dining with them. The separate eating practice we are familiar with finally came into being

in

the

17th

century

.

The

westerner

thought

it

was

necessary

to

eat

separately

for

the

sake

of

sanitation

and

respect

for

individual

dignity.

In this

eating

practice,

people

can

order

their

own

food, enjoy personal freedom and give every person the equal sense of respect.

1.2 Different Tableware

There are many stories about the invention of the chopsticks, but it is unlikely for us find out the

real one. Legend has that Dayu, a king of Xiang Dynasty, already used chopsticks when eating.

The Chinese American Nobel Prize winner, Tsung-Dao Lee considered chopsticks to be a brilliant

invention

for

they

are

the

extension

of

human

hand

and

can

function

almost

like

the

fingers.

Moreover, more cultural connotations can be generated from the using of chopsticks. Holding the

chopsticks and using them to eat require the inward force. From this, we can sense that Chinese

culture is more conservativ

e that expects people to be more reserved. Y

et being reserved doesn’t

necessary mean that we are free from aggressiveness, because Chinese need other ways to release

the force. Through out the history, Chinese never lack the internal conflicts, which we ca

ll “Wo Li

Dou” (internecine struggle). There were countless conflicts in loyal court in every dynasty, many

of

which

were

tragic.

One

of

the

extreme

examples

is

Chiang

Kai-

shek’s

policy

made

when

Japanese

invaded

China.

Chiang

stuck

to

the

policy

that

if

Chinese

were

to

resist

foreign

aggression,

we

must

first

get

rid

of

the

enemy

within

the

nation.

This

policy

proved

to

be

self-destructive and led to the turmoil and catastrophe of the nation. We Chinese focus more on the

internal relation rather than the external matters.

Unlike

Chinese,

the

westerners

use

knife

and

fork

as

tableware.

Knives

were

used

at

least

two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan2 tools. To lift the cut-up meat to

mouth, westerner

began

to

use

fork

alongside

with

knife.

Cutting

and

stabbing

are

movements

using

the

outward

force,

which

also

indicates

westerners’

tendency

of

outbound

expansion.

Interestingly,

knife

was

invented

by

the

western

nomads

to

bring

with

them

for

cutting

meat

whenever they wanted to. The continent of Europe is rather small and surrounded by oceans, so

the resource and land is limited.

As a result, there was no soil for the farming civilization. Since

they couldn’t find enough space for development within their country and even their continent,

the

westerners were

eager

to

explore

the

outside

world

and

extend

their

territory for

more

material

wealth. For instance, during the “Great Discovery” of the 15th century

, Europeans sailed around

the globe and colonized many strange lands. The outbound aggression is reflected in their daily

behaviors and utilities, including the tableware. Compared with Chinese, the westerners pay less

attention to the internal contradictions.

1.3 Different Dining Atmosphere

In China, almost at every banquet, people would urge others to drink, fetch food for others and

chat

loudly.

The

lively

atmosphere

serves

as

a symbol

of

reunion.

Urging

others

to

drink

is

a