Eating in China - Part 2

In my earlier post, I talked about "Etiquette while Eating in China", in this post we would focus more on table manners when gets invited to a Chinese banquet dinner.

The way Chinese people get seated is also an interesting part of the etiquette.

Yes! This might surprise you that a typical seating arrangement is a sign of etiquette in the Chinese culture. Therefore, it is ensured to leave the best place on the dining table for elders. If a group of people is having meal, the respectable members are given the place at the head of the table while the rest take their seats accordingly.

If the dining table is rectangular, the elder member sits on the shortest side with his face towards the front door. The rest of the people would get seated in the descending order of their ages. However, if you are dining on a round table, the elder member should be seated on the inside seat.

                          The first seat that is given to the most respected person of the family gives the best view of the room.

The next rule that governs in the seating plan is linked with the ‘social ranking’ of a person. This rule will be applied even if the dinner is of family get-together. They do it to maintain closeness between the family members and the host of the dinner.

The person with the highest rank gets a closer seat to the ‘guest of honor.’ However, there is no fixed ranking between the seats on the left side and right side. This provides a huge flexibility to the guests.


It is not only the duty of the host to offer the dishes to the fellow members but it is regarded as good manners if you make an offer of a particular to your partner before you take a share for yourself. This indicates that you have come from an educated background and know how to socialize around.


Most of the dining tables in China are round (Yuánzhuō) and rotating.

  

                               Most commonly used tables in Chinese restaurant

The idea behind these tables is to ensure that all the participants have equal extent of accessibility to the served meal. Since the disc can be rotated only if it is round, you would find circular shaped dining tables in most of the Chinese people. The basic purpose of these tables is to make everybody realize that each one is honored. This is one of the signs of hospitality and equality.

During the meal, you should not rotate the table for yourself when someone else on the table is serving himself from the main bowl. It is recommended to wait until he gets himself the sufficient quantity of the dish so as to show respect.