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《跨文化交际学概论》第七章
社会交往
五、宴请招待
p132
Case One: Setting Rules for a Guest
–
American Hospitality
案例：
When
Zhang
Tao
traveled
in
America,
he
lived
in
the
home
of
his
American
friend, Bill. Once after he had
traveled back, he found Bill was in a bad mood.
When
he asked what the problem was,
Bill told Zhang Tao that his son Adam got furious
about the noise Zhang made when walking
upstairs and also because he was using too
much water in the solar powered shower
and Adam had to have his shower in cold
water. Bill told Zhang Tao that he
should walk more softly in future, and have a fast
shower to save water. Zhang Tao felt
uneasy. How could the host set such rules for his
guest!
Question: Why did
Zhang Tao feel uneasy?
分析：
1) In China,
when people host someone, they put the guest in
the place of honor to
show hospitality.
They try to take care of the
guest
，
and try to make the
guest feel
comfortable and at ease.
2)
In
America,
people
tend
to
give
the
guest
great
freedom
and
treat
a
guest
more
casually, naturally and
truthfully.
3) Zhang Tao knew he was a
guest, and thought in terms of Chinese
expectations of
hospitality. He thought
Bill should treat him courteously
instead of setting rules for
him.
4) Since Zhang Tao lived in American
surroundings, he should have known about the
customs there sooner.
Case Two:
案例：
Lin had
traveled 20 hours from Beijing to New York. He
needed a good meal.
His American
friend, Mike, met him. But Mike only offered him a
plate of roasted
chicken and a glass of
orange juice. Lin was used to having a main
course, and asked
Mike if he had any
rice. Mike said he only had fried noodles, and Lin
had to make do
with it. Though Lin knew
Americans didn’t care very much about
what food they ate,
he still felt
surprised because he had taken Mike to the most
famous duck restaurant in
Beijing --
Quanjude -- when he arrived in Beijing.
Question: Why did Lin feel surprised?
Offer some advice to him about adjusting
to his new environment in America.
1
分析：
1) 0n the
topic of hospitality, the Chinese stress
on warmth and demonstrating
friendship.
They
take
the
guest
to
a
famous
or
luxurious
restaurant
to
have
a
very
good (expensive) meal to show their
hospitality. And the Chinese are used to having a
big meal. The more dishes they put
out
，
the greater the warmth
and friendship they
show.
2)
In
western
countries,
people
stress
on
freedom.
They
give
the
guest
great
freedom to choose
their own foods. And westerners tend to have only
one main course
and some juice or
dessert
，
which is viewed as
casual in the eyes of the Chinese.
3)
Lin lived in American surroundings and should have
adjusted himself quickly
to
the
new
world
(lifestyle).
He
should
have
known
the
custom
there
first,
and
felt
more at ease in Mike’s h
ome.
Case Three: Equality or
Hospitality for Table Manners
案例：
Lin
Hua
has
accompanied
an
American
delegation
to
visit
China.
They
have
experienced the hospitality of the
Chinese people. After returning to America, Linhua
once visited them. They were so glad to
meet again. Linhua offered to host the meal,
but they
refused. They
ordered their
own dish,
and
Linhua ordered
her
own. When
footing
the
bill,
they
only
paid
their
part
，
and
no
one
wanted
to
pay
for
Linhua.
Linhua
found
them
so
inhospitable,
though
she
knew
the
Americans
would
usually
pay for their own
food.
Question: Why did Linhua find
them inhospitable?
分析：
1) In China, to show hospitality,
people tend to host the meal. And if they cannot
do
this, they at least will struggle to
pay for the guest.
2) In America,
people tend to pay for themselves to show equality
and independence.
3)
Linhua
knows this
custom, but
from
a Chinese point of view, she still
finds this
hard to accept, and feels it
a little inhospitable.
Case
Four:
案例：
I have an
American friend. I have invited him several times,
and at long last he
invited me to his
home one day. He told me to get there at 3 p m. I
thought we could
chat and have a meal
together. I gave him a Chinese calendar,
a woman’s
scarf and a
bottle of Chinese white wine. He only
took out a dish of nuts, a plate of bread and a
bottle of wine. After two
hours’ chat,
I found there
was no hint of a meal
and said
good-bye to him. He only gave me a box
of chocolate as a present for the New Year.
After I got home, I found the box
already been opened. I was very surprised,
Question: What surprised me?
2