Abstract and Key Words

Abstraction：This paper aims to analyze the differences of table manners between China and western countries. Firstly, it introduces and compares the differences from three aspects: tableware, service order, and table taboos. Secondly, it briefly explains the differences of personality, hierarchy and interpersonal approach, the reasons that cause the difference of table manners. This paper is intended not only to study the differences of table manners but also to promote cross-culture communication.

Key words：China and western countries; table manner; difference

摘要：本文旨在研究中西方餐桌礼仪的差异。首先，文章从餐具、上菜顺序、餐桌禁忌三个方面入手，对其分别进行解释说明，并对比差异与不同。其次，文章从个性差异、等级观念差异和人际交往方式差异三个角度简要阐述造成餐桌礼仪差异的原因。本文不仅对餐桌礼仪差异进行研究，其研究成果也将对跨文化交际起到一定的推动和促进作用。

关键词: 中西方；餐桌礼仪；差异

1．Introduction
Since ancient times, people have regarded diet as a vital issue in life. At the same time, diet is a type of culture, or an important part of the whole cultural structure. Chairman Mao once said to his colleagues that China has two contributions to the world, one is the Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the other is the Chinese Diet. Yang Liguo, a famous scholar, has also said that diet not only meets our demand of survival, but also reveals differences in culture and civilization. That is to say, different culture forms different diet concepts and diet habits, which are important elements of diet culture. Obviously, there are distinctive differences of diet between the Chinese, mainly influenced by Buddhism, and the westerners, mainly believers of Christianity.
Many scholars have studied the differences of diet culture between China and western countries. One of the most famous scholars is Huang Tao, whose book compares the different diet concepts, diet objects and diet methods existent respectively in Chinese and western diet cultures. Xushu Xia thinks that Chinese diet is delicious, informal and collective, while the western diet is nutrient, formal and individual. 
This thesis will focus on the differences of diet manners which are an important portion in diet culture. Table manners are often different between cultures. For example, Chinese people use chopsticks; western people use knives and forks, while Indians use hands. These differences reflect the characteristic of different culture. Through the analysis of differences in table manners between Chinese and western diet cultures, it is hoped that the influence of Chinese culture can be promoted; the barriers in cross-cultural communications can be reduced.