摘要

中国是礼仪之邦，其餐桌礼仪源远流长。西方餐桌礼仪也是很有讲究。随着中国对外开放程度的逐渐深入，西方社会的文化越来越多地映入了我们的眼帘。由于我们所面对的是来自陌生的文化和国家，思维方式、生活习惯和行为方式与我们迥然不同的人，在与之交往的过程中不可避免的会出现文化冲突的现象，严重影响了交往的顺利进行。餐桌礼仪在交际当中已经占据了重要的地位，学习和运用正确的餐桌礼仪，已不仅仅是自身形象的需要，更是提高双效益、提升竞争力的需要。本文主要从几个不同的方面论述了中西方餐桌礼仪的差异，了解了它们的不同，我们彼此之间才能更好的交流。

关键词：中国；西方国家；餐桌礼仪；差异

Abstract

China is a nation of etiquette where table manners have a long history. In fact, western countries have their own peculiar dining custom .With the development of China’s opening to the outside world, more and more Western culture gets into our sight.  As we face with unfamiliar cultures and countries, some inevitable cultural conflicts might happen in the communication, which will seriously affect the contacts being carried out smoothly. Table manners have a decisive position in the communication between China and Western countries. During communication we will show our best image and avoid cultural conflicts. Learning and using the right etiquette will not only step up our own impression, but also promote the benefit and strife of the company. This paper mainly discusses the differences of table manners between the West and China from several aspects. Knowing these differences, we can communicate well with each other.

Key words: China; western countries; table manners; differences

1. Introduction
As a kind of social customs, table manners are influenced by culture and vary in different areas. This paper mainly discusses the differences of table manners between the West and China from three aspects. Main factors causing the differences are geography, tradition and custom. More say in detail, I put four parts into the main factors, table setting, dinnerware, the order of serving and rules when enjoying the meal.

1.1 Background of the study
Due to the Chinese people and foreigners have different life styles, the way of thinking, cultures, the table manners between china and western countries show a big difference. Chinese table manners have a long history, which date from Zhou Dynasty, at that time table manners have a quite complete system. Those table manners gradually go to a level of mature and perfect, moreover, they took an important part in the past and still have a deep influence in the modern society.