菜文化的英语论文(英语论文中西方餐桌礼仪文化差异开题报告创新点)

1.英语论文中西方餐桌礼仪文化差异开题报告创新点

英语论文中西方餐桌礼仪文化差异开题报告创新点

西方餐桌礼仪的差异是很多的。

下面就我所知道有一些方面与你共享一下：

不少人在吃西餐时，都会担心“失礼”。其实，所谓餐桌礼仪是为了让餐膳可以不受阻碍和破坏，而得以顺利流畅地进行的实用守则。谨记“整齐、清洁和保持安静”三项原则便可无往而不利。

一、宴会礼仪

(1)在当你应邀赴宴时，你对同桌进餐的人和餐桌上的谈话，大概要比对饮食要更感兴趣。因此进餐时，应该尽可能地少一些声响，少一些动作。

(2)女主人一拿起餐巾时，你也就可以拿起你的餐巾，放在腿上。有时餐巾中包有一只小面包；如果是那样的话就把它取也，放在旁边的小碟上。

(3)餐巾如果很大，就双叠着放在腿上；如果很小，就全部打开。千万别将餐巾别在领上或背心上，也不要在手中乱揉。可以用餐巾的一角擦去嘴上或手指上的油渍或脏物。千万别用它来擦刀叉或碗碟。

(4)正餐通常从汤开始。在你座前最大的一把匙就是汤匙，它就在你的右边的盘子旁边。不要错用放在桌子中间的那把匙子，因为那可能是取蔬菜可果酱用的。

(5)在女主人拿起她的匙子或叉子以前，客人不得食用任何一道菜。女主人通常要等到每位客人都拿到菜后才开始。她不会像中国习惯那样，请你先吃。当她拿起匙或叉时，那就意味着大家也可以那样做了。

(6)如果有鱼这道菜的话，它多半在汤以后送上，桌上可能有鱼的一把专用叉子，它也可能与吃肉的叉子相似，通常要小一些，总之，鱼叉放在肉叉的外侧离盘较远的一侧。

(7)通常在鱼上桌之前，鱼骨早就剔净了，如果你吃的那块鱼还有刺的话，你可以左手拿着面包卷，或一块面包，右手拿着刀子，把刺拨开。

(8)如果嘴里有了一根刺，就应悄悄地，尽可能不引起注意地用手指将它取出，放在盘子边沿上，别放在桌上，或扔在地下。

此外，我对法国餐桌礼仪的忌讳有些了解，如后：

二、法国餐桌礼仪七忌

答应对方的邀请后如果临时有事要迟到甚至取消约会，必须事先通知对方。赴会时稍迟是可以接受的，但若超过15分钟便会给对方不重视约会的坏印象。在点菜时自己应选定想吃的食物，如果看遍菜牌也没有头绪的话，可请侍应为你推荐餐厅的招牌菜，但要给明确的表示，如想吃海鲜、不吃红肉等，切记事事拿不定主意，只懂说“是但（随便也罢）”的人只会为同台客人添加麻烦。用餐要注意的细节甚多，但其实大部分也是日常的礼仪，只要保持冷静，不做大动作，不出声响或阻碍别人用餐的话已算合格。

1、使用餐具最基本的原则是由外至内，完成一道菜后侍奉收去该份餐具，按需要或会补上另一套刀叉。

2、吃肉类时（如牛扒）应从角落开始切，吃完一块再切下一块。遇到不吃的部分或配菜，只需将它移到碟边。

3、如嘴里有东西要吐出来，应将叉子递到嘴边接出，或以手指取出，再移到碟子边沿。整个过程要尽量不要引别人注意，之后自然地用餐便可。

4、遇到豆类或饭一类的配菜，可以左手握叉平放碟上，叉尖向上，再以刀子将豆类或饭轻拨到叉子上便可。若需要调味料但伸手又取不到，可要求对方递给你，千万不要站起来俯前去取。

5、吃完抹手抹嘴切忌用餐巾大力擦，注意仪态用餐巾的一角轻轻印去嘴上或手指上的油渍便可。

6、就算凳子多舒服，坐姿都应该保持正直，不要靠在椅背上面。进食时身体可略向前靠，两臂应紧贴身体，以免撞到隔壁。

7、吃完每碟菜之后，如将刀叉四边放，又或者打交叉乱放，非常难看。正确方法是将刀叉并排放在碟上，叉齿朝上。

2.浅析中英饮食文化的差异字数6000左右

略谈中西方饮食文化差异 餐饮产品由于地域特征、气侯环境、风俗习惯等因素的影响，会出现在原料、口味、烹调方法、饮食习惯上的不同程度的差异。

正是因为这些差异，餐饮产品具有了强烈的地域性。中西文化之间的差异造就了中西饮食文化的差异，而这种差异来自中西方不同的思维方式和处世哲学。

中国人注重“天人合一”，西方人注重“以人为本”。 这里简要从下面三个方面谈谈中西方饮食文化的差异。

一、两种不同的饮食观念 对比注重“味”的中国饮食，西方是一种理性饮食观念。不论食物的色、香、味、形如何，而营养一定要得到保证，讲究一天要摄取多少热量、维生素、蛋白质等等。

即便口味千篇一律，也一定要吃下去——因为有营养。这一饮食观念同西方整个哲学体系是相适应的。

形而上学是西方哲学的主要特点。西方哲学所研究的对象为事物之理，事物之理常为形上学理，形上学理互相连贯，便结成形上哲学。

这一哲学给西方文化带来生机，使之在自然科学上、心理学上、方法论上实现了突飞猛进的发展。 但在另一些方面，这种哲学主张大大地起了阻碍作用，如饮食文化。

在宴席上，可以讲究餐具，讲究用料，讲究服务，讲究菜之原料的形、色方面的搭配；但不管怎么豪华高档，从洛杉矶到纽约，牛排都只有一种味道，无艺术可言。作为菜肴，鸡就是鸡，牛排就是牛排，纵然有搭配，那也是在盘中进行的，一盘“法式羊排”，一边放土豆泥，旁倚羊排，另一边配煮青豆，加几片番茄便成。

色彩上对比鲜明，但在滋味上各种原料互不相干、调和，各是各的味，简单明了。 中国人是很重视“吃”的，“民以食为天”这句谚语就说明我们把吃看得与天一样重要。

由于我们这个民族几千年来都处于低下的生产力水平，人们总是吃不饱，所以才会有一种独特的把吃看得重于一切的饮食文化，我想，这大概是出于一种生存需要吧。 如果一种文化把吃看成首要的事，那么就会出现两种现象：一方面会把这种吃的功能发挥到极致，不仅维持生存，也利用它维持健康，这也就是”药补不如食补”的文化基础；另一方面，对吃的过份重视，会使人推崇对美味的追求。

在中国的烹调术中，对美味追求几乎达到极致，以至中国人到海外谋生，都以开餐馆为业，成了我们在全世界安身立命的根本！遗憾的是，当我们把追求美味作为第一要求时，我们却忽略了食物最根本的营养价值，我们的很多传统食品都要经过热油炸和长时间的文火饨煮，使菜肴的营养成分受到破坏，许多营养成分都损失在加工过程中了。 因而一说到营养问题，实际上就触及到了中国饮食文化的最大弱点。

民间有句俗话：“民以食为天，食以味为先”。就是这种对美味的追求，倒使我们忽略了吃饭的真正意义。

中国人在品尝菜肴时，往往会说这盘菜“好吃”，那道菜“不好吃”；然而若要进一步问一下什么叫“好吃”，为什么“好吃”，“好吃”在哪里，恐怕就不容易说清楚了。 这说明，中国人对饮食追求的是一种难以言传的“意境”，即使用人们通常所说的“色、香、味、形、器”来把这种“境界”具体化，恐怕仍然是很难涵盖得了的。

中国饮食之所以有其独特的魅力，关键就在于它的味。而美味的产生，在于调和，要使食物的本味，加热以后的熟味，加上配料和辅料的味以及调料的调和之味，交织融合协调在一起，使之互相补充，互助渗透，水乳交融，你中有我，我中有你。

中国烹饪讲究的调和之美，是中国烹饪艺术的精要之处。菜点的形和色是外在的东西，而味却是内在的东西，重内在而不刻意修饰外表，重菜肴的味而不过分展露菜肴的形和色，这正是中国美性饮食观的最重要的表现。

在中国，饮食的美性追求显然压倒了理性，这种饮食观与中国传统的哲学思想也是吻合的。 作为东方哲学代表的中国哲学，其显著特点是宏观、直观、模糊及不可捉摸。

中国菜的制作方法是调和鼎鼐，最终是要调和出一种美好的滋味。这一讲究的就是分寸，就是整体的配合。

它包含了中国哲学丰富的辩证法思想，一切以菜的味的美好、谐调为度，度以内的千变万化就决定了中国菜的丰富和富于变化，决定了中国菜菜系的特点乃至每位厨师的特点。 二、中西饮食对象的差异 西方人认为菜肴是充饥的，所以专吃大块肉、整块鸡等“硬菜”。

而中国的菜肴是“吃味”的，所以中国烹调在用料上也显出极大的随意性：许多西方人视为弃物的东西，在中国都是极好的原料，外国厨师无法处理的东西，一到中国厨师手里，就可以化腐朽为神奇。 足见中国饮食在用料方面的随意性之广博。

据西方的植物学者的调查，中国人吃的菜蔬有600多种，比西方多六倍。实际上，在中国人的菜肴里，素菜是平常食品，荤菜只有在节假日或生活水平较高时，才进入平常的饮食结构，所以自古便有“菜食”之说，菜食在平常的饮食结构中占主导地位。

中国人的以植物为主菜，与佛教徒的鼓吹有着千缕万丝的联系。他们视动物为“生灵”，而植物则“无灵”，所以，主张素食主义。

西方人在介绍自己国家的饮食特点时，觉得比中国更重视营养的合理搭配，有较为发达的食品工业，如罐头、快餐等，虽口味千篇一律，但节省时间。

3.求一篇中英饮食文化差异的英文论文

中文 中西方的饮食方式有很大不同，这种差异对民族性格也有影响。

在中国，任何一个宴席，不管是什么目的，都只会有一种形式，就是大家团团围坐，共享一席。筵席要用圆桌，这就从形式上造成了一种团结、礼貌、共趣的气氛。

美味佳肴放在一桌人的中心，它既是一桌人欣赏、品尝的对象，又是一桌人感情交流的媒介物。人们相互敬酒、相互让菜、劝菜，在美好的事物面前，体现了人们之间相互尊重、礼让的美德。

虽然从卫生的角度看，这种饮食方式有明显的不足之处，但它符合我们民族“大团圆”的普遍心态，反映了中国古典哲学中“和”这个范畴对后代思想的影响，便于集体的情感交流，因而至今难以改革。 西式饮宴上，食品和酒尽管非常重要，但实际上那是作为陪衬。

宴会的核心在于交谊，通过与邻座客人之间的交谈，达到交谊的目的。如果将宴会的交谊性与舞蹈相类比，那么可以说，中式宴席好比是集体舞，而西式宴会好比是男女的交谊舞。

由此可见，中式宴会和西式宴会交谊的目的都很明显，只不过中式宴会更多地体现在全席的交谊，而西式宴会多体现于相邻宾客之间的交谊。与中国饮食方式的差异更为明显的是西方流行的自助餐。

此法是：将所有食物一一陈列出来，大家各取所需，不必固定在位子上吃，走动自由，这种方式便于个人之间的情感交流，不必将所有的话摆在桌面上，也表现了西方人对个性、对自我的尊重。但各吃各的，互不相扰，缺少了一些中国人聊欢共乐的情调。

所以，归根结底还是感性与理性之间的差异。但是，这种差异似乎在随着科学的发展而变的模糊。

越来越多的中国人以不再只注重菜的色、香、味，而更注重它的卫生与营养了。尤其是在经历了非典以后。

还有，人们因为越来越繁忙的工作，觉得中餐做起来太麻烦，不如来个汉堡方便等。这样一来在饮食上差异也就不太分明了。

ENGLISH Center the western diet way has very greatly differently, thiskind of difference is also influential to the national disposition. InChina, any banquet, no matter is any goal, all only can have one kindof form, is everybody sits in a circle all round, shares. The banquetmust use the round table, this formally has created one kind ofunity, politeness, altogether the interest atmosphere. The delicacydelicacies put on table of people's centers, it not only is the objectwhich table of people appreciates, tastes, also is a table of peoplesentiments exchange intermedium. The people mutually propose a toast,mutually offer food to a guest, urge the vegetable, in front of thehappy thing, has manifested the moral excellence which between thepeople mutually respects, gives precedence out of courtesy. Althoughlooked from the hygienic angle, this diet way has the obviousdeficiency, but it conforms to our nationality "the happy ending" theuniversal point of view, had reflected in the Chinese classicalphilosophy "and" this category to the descendant thought influence, isadvantageous for the collective emotion exchange, thus until now withdifficulty reforms. Western-style banquets, food and liquor although count for much, butin fact that takes the set-off. The banquet core lies in thefriendship, through with the adjacent seat visitor's betweenconversation, achieves the friendship the goal. If and the danceresembles the banquet friendship compared to, then may say, theChinese type banquet is just like is a group dance, but thewestern-style banquet is just like is men's and women's socialdancing. Thus it can be seen, the Chinese type banquet and thewestern-style banquet friendship goal very is all obvious, onlyChinese type banquet more terrains now complete meal friendship, butthe western-style banquet manifests much between the neighboringguest's friendship. Is the western popular buffet is more obviouswhich with the Chinese diet way difference. This law is: Will possessfood 11 to exhibit, everybody 各取所需， will not need to fix onthe seat eats, takes a walk the freedom, this way will be advantageousfor between individual emotion exchange, will not will certainly allspeeches to suspend on the tabletop, also has displayed the westernperson to the individuality, to the self- respect. But respectivelyeats each, mutually did not harass, lacks some Chinese to chat thehappy altogether happy affective tone. Therefore, in the final analysis or between perceptual and rationaldifference. But, this kind of difference as if in the fuzziness whichchanges along with the science development. More and more many Chineseby no longer only pay great attention to the vegetable the color, thefragrance, the taste, but paid great attention to its health and thenutrition. In has experienced after in particular the non- standard.Also, the people because of the more and more busy work, thought theChinese meal starts too troubles, was inferior to Hamburg 。

4.关于"食物与文化"的英语文章

chinese take pride in their food culture just as french do. to taste a dish , what would you care most, the nutrition of the ingredients , the taste of the dish , the atomsphere you enjoy or the fun you may have when you are eating. The way i see it, chiese pay more attention to the atomsphere. it is easy to prove . Just think of how many things do you take during the spring festival dinner. people talk ,laugh ,but seldom eat. They spend most of the time on drinking and toasting. My father say that he cannot eat anthing after several bouts of wine. Can we say dishes made during the Spring Festival not dilicious ? On the contrary , the courses are exquisitely prepared. so chinese enjoy the dining atomsphere most. there has been a heat debate about what kind of cuisine is the best in the world. some say french cuisine, others say italian cuisine, still some say Thai cuisine. As for me, chinese cuisine is the best. i have three points to support my view. Firstly, chinese cuisine can be categorize into eight items, namely, Lu Yue , Chuan ,Xiang, Ming , Zhe, Su, Hui. moreover, there are various subtypes under the eight items. Secondly, chinese cuisine is a important communication tool. a good numer of business or deal get done and gratidudes or apology are readily accepted during the dinning . last but not the least , chinese cuisine has a long history which seldom countries have had. There is a popular joke enjoyed by both people from home and abroad. We are know pizza, but where does it come from. You may quickly respose that it originate from Itali. While some say it derives from china. back to Tang dynasty(618-907AD), a italian saw chinese people put the filling into the thin flat dough to make dumplings. when he went back to itali, he tried to make dumplings by himself , but unfortunatly, he forgot how to put the piling in to the dough, thus , he just sprayed them on the surface of the pizza and baked it. Naturally the first pizza came into being. There are countless reasons to prove the strengh of chinese cusine, here i just pick three of them to show the advantage of the chinese cusine.some people may ask why chinese food cannot enjoyed by the people across the world while western food has already penetrating to the heart of chnese dietary habbit. i admit that there is a distavantage right here. however why we don't see things from anther angle, just the diversity of chinese food make it impossible to be globalized. can we people in differnt only speak a language, lead the same lifestyle and our offerspring be born in the same color. Obviously ,the answer is no. it's the diversity that makes the world full of wonder . even the western food does a lot change in itself in order to care to the special need of differnt peoples. Above all, chinese food can never be golobalized, if it did , then our world would be ruled by machine.。

5.英语毕业论文题目是中西方饮食文化的交融

你说的是西方的饮食资料吗？我这里有一些，不知道有没有用~餐饮产品由于地域特征、气侯环境、风俗习惯等因素的影响，会出现在原料、口味、烹调方法、饮食习惯上的不同程度的差异。

正是因为这些差异，餐饮产品具有了强烈的地域性。中西文化之间的差异造就了中西饮食文化的差异，而这种差异来自中西方不同的思维方式和处世哲学。

中国人注重“天人合一”，西方人注重“以人为本”。 这里简要从下面三个方面谈谈中西方饮食文化的差异。

一、两种不同的饮食观念 对比注重“味”的中国饮食，西方是一种理性饮食观念。不论食物的色、香、味、形如何，而营养一定要得到保证，讲究一天要摄取多少热量、维生素、蛋白质等等。

即便口味千篇一律，也一定要吃下去——因为有营养。这一饮食观念同西方整个哲学体系是相适应的。

形而上学是西方哲学的主要特点。西方哲学所研究的对象为事物之理，事物之理常为形上学理，形上学理互相连贯，便结成形上哲学。

这一哲学给西方文化带来生机，使之在自然科学上、心理学上、方法论上实现了突飞猛进的发展。但在另一些方面，这种哲学主张大大地起了阻碍作用，如饮食文化。

在宴席上，可以讲究餐具，讲究用料，讲究服务，讲究菜之原料的形、色方面的搭配；但不管怎么豪华高档，从洛杉矶到纽约，牛排都只有一种味道，无艺术可言。作为菜肴，鸡就是鸡，牛排就是牛排，纵然有搭配，那也是在盘中进行的，一盘“法式羊排”，一边放土豆泥，旁倚羊排，另一边配煮青豆，加几片番茄便成。

色彩上对比鲜明，但在滋味上各种原料互不相干、调和，各是各的味，简单明了。 中国人是很重视“吃”的，“民以食为天”这句谚语就说明我们把吃看得与天一样重要。

由于我们这个民族几千年来都处于低下的生产力水平，人们总是吃不饱，所以才会有一种独特的把吃看得重于一切的饮食文化，我想，这大概是出于一种生存需要吧。如果一种文化把吃看成首要的事，那么就会出现两种现象：一方面会把这种吃的功能发挥到极致，不仅维持生存，也利用它维持健康，这也就是”药补不如食补”的文化基础；另一方面，对吃的过份重视，会使人推崇对美味的追求。

在中国的烹调术中，对美味追求几乎达到极致，以至中国人到海外谋生，都以开餐馆为业，成了我们在全世界安身立命的根本！遗憾的是，当我们把追求美味作为第一要求时，我们却忽略了食物最根本的营养价值，我们的很多传统食品都要经过热油炸和长时间的文火饨煮，使菜肴的营养成分受到破坏，许多营养成分都损失在加工过程中了。因而一说到营养问题，实际上就触及到了中国饮食文化的最大弱点。

民间有句俗话：“民以食为天，食以味为先”。就是这种对美味的追求，倒使我们忽略了吃饭的真正意义。

中国人在品尝菜肴时，往往会说这盘菜“好吃”，那道菜“不好吃”；然而若要进一步问一下什么叫“好吃”，为什么“好吃”，“好吃”在哪里，恐怕就不容易说清楚了。这说明，中国人对饮食追求的是一种难以言传的“意境”，即使用人们通常所说的“色、香、味、形、器”来把这种“境界”具体化，恐怕仍然是很难涵盖得了的。

中国饮食之所以有其独特的魅力，关键就在于它的味。而美味的产生，在于调和，要使食物的本味，加热以后的熟味，加上配料和辅料的味以及调料的调和之味，交织融合协调在一起，使之互相补充，互助渗透，水乳交融，你中有我，我中有你。

中国烹饪讲究的调和之美，是中国烹饪艺术的精要之处。菜点的形和色是外在的东西，而味却是内在的东西，重内在而不刻意修饰外表，重菜肴的味而不过分展露菜肴的形和色，这正是中国美性饮食观的最重要的表现。

在中国，饮食的美性追求显然压倒了理性，这种饮食观与中国传统的哲学思想也是吻合的。作为东方哲学代表的中国哲学，其显著特点是宏观、直观、模糊及不可捉摸。

中国菜的制作方法是调和鼎鼐，最终是要调和出一种美好的滋味。这一讲究的就是分寸，就是整体的配合。

它包含了中国哲学丰富的辩证法思想，一切以菜的味的美好、谐调为度，度以内的千变万化就决定了中国菜的丰富和富于变化，决定了中国菜菜系的特点乃至每位厨师的特点。 二、中西饮食对象的差异 西方人认为菜肴是充饥的，所以专吃大块肉、整块鸡等“硬菜”。

而中国的菜肴是“吃味”的，所以中国烹调在用料上也显出极大的随意性：许多西方人视为弃物的东西，在中国都是极好的原料，外国厨师无法处理的东西，一到中国厨师手里，就可以化腐朽为神奇。足见中国饮食在用料方面的随意性之广博。

据西方的植物学者的调查，中国人吃的菜蔬有600多种，比西方多六倍。实际上，在中国人的菜肴里，素菜是平常食品，荤菜只有在节假日或生活水平较高时，才进入平常的饮食结构，所以自古便有“菜食”之说，菜食在平常的饮食结构中占主导地位。

中国人的以植物为主菜，与佛教徒的鼓吹有着千缕万丝的联系。他们视动物为“生灵”，而植物则“无灵”，所以，主张素食主义。

西方人在介绍自己国家的饮食特点时，觉得比中国更重视营养的合理搭配，有较为发达的食品工业，如罐头、快餐等。

6.关于中西方餐桌礼仪的英语论文

With the development of China's opening-up, 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 focuses on the differences of table manners between the West and China, and analyzes the reasons that caused the differences. The main difference between Chinese and western eating habits is that unlike the West, where everyone has their own plate of food, in China the dishes are placed on the table and everybody shares. If you are being treated by a Chinese host, be prepared for a ton of food. Chinese are very proud of their culture of cuisine and will do their best to show their hospitality. And sometimes the Chinese host use their chopsticks to put food in your bowl or plate. This is a sign of politeness. The appropriate thing to do would be to eat the whatever-it-is and say how yummy it is. If you feel uncomfortable with this, you can just say a polite thank you and leave the food there. Eating No-no's Don't stick your chopsticks upright in the rice bowl.Instead,lay them on your dish. The reason for this is that when somebody dies,the shrine to them contains a bowl of sand or rice with two sticks of incense stuck upright in it. So if you stick your chopsticks in the rice bowl, it looks like this shrine and is equivalent to wishing death upon a person at the table! Make sure the spout of the teapot is not facing anyone. It is impolite to set the teapot down where the spout is facing towards somebody. The spout should always be directed to where nobody is sitting, usually just outward from the table. Don't tap on your bowl with your chopsticks.Beggars tap on their bowls, so this is not polite.Also, when the food is coming too slow in a restarant, people will tap their bowls. If you are in someone's home,it is like insulting the cook. Drinking Gan Bei! (Cheers! “Gan Bei” literally means “dry [the] glass”) Besides beer, the official Chinese alcoholic beverage is Bai Jiu,high-proof Chinese liquor made from assorted grains. There are varying degrees of Bai Jiu. The Beijing favorite is called Er Guo Tou, which is a whopping 56% alcohol. More expensive are Maotai and Wuliangye. Of course, the main difference on the Chinese dinner table is chopsticks instead of knife and fork, but that's only superficial. Besides, in decent restaurants, you can always ask for a pair of knife and fork, if you find the chopsticks not helpful enough. The real difference is that in the West, you have your own plate of food, while in China the dishes are placed on the table and everyone shares. If you are being treated to a formal dinner and particularly if the host thinks you're in the country for the first time, he will do the best to give you a taste of many different types of dishes. The meal usually begins with a set of at least four cold dishes, to be followed by the main courses of hot meat and vegetable dishes. Soup then will be served (unless in Guangdong style restaurants) to be followed by staple food ranging from rice, noodles to dumplings. If you wish to have your rice to go with other dishes, you should say so in good time, for most of the Chinese choose to have the staple food at last or have none of them at all. Perhaps one of the things that surprises a Western visitor most is that some of the Chinese hosts like to put food into the plates of their guests. In formal dinners, there are always “public” chopsticks and spoons for this purpose, but some hosts may use their own chopsticks. This is a sign of genuine friendship and politeness. It is always polite to eat the food. If you do not eat it, just leave the food in the plate. People in China tend to over-order food, for they will find it embarrassing if all the food is consumed. When you have had enough, just say so. Or you will always overeat!。