Culture

The norm of any culture is different, and in most cultures anything but teh norm would be considered weird but sometimes also rude. Of course everyone is going to have ethno-centric feelings when certain ethnicities do acts one may find abnormal. Should a person be judged by habits or practices they are used to? As many have found out simple activities such as dinning habits can differ immensly from culture to culture.

As reguards the Chinese in particular, one's eating habits supposedly show what kind of a person they are. Table manners wasn't thought to be important in Chinese history, but that may due to the fact that there was a scarcity of food. Although there are really no clear guidelines for chinese eating, there is certainly an almost set routine. Chinese cusine has a distint 2 foods, fan, and tsai dishes. During the morning event however, rice is not usually eaten.

History of China

Rare Golden Chinese Coins

Chinese Brush for Writing Calligraphy

The later are the main meals and rice are a biger part of these meals. Tsai dishes are generally shared, something many westerners find unhygenic. In chinese culture this dish is to be handled with care, one's own bowl is private and food is eaten from there. If the food is eaten slow and picked at, this is taken as an insult to the host or hostess. For westerners eating off a plate with chopsticks may be a difficult task and this display may seem rude to chinese. In addition, it is seen as disrespect or carelessness to resieve a rice bowl with one hand, one is suppose to recieve the bowl with both hands, set on the table in front of them, and wait till everyone is served. At a banquet one is expected to fill up on tsai dishes whereas normally eating too much of any tsai dish is to be rude. When taking from the common dishes one shold only take in such proportions that everyone will recieve the same amount.

Flickr Chinese Dragon Year Statue

Flanders, Netherlands

Chinese meal in Suzhou with rice, shrimp, eggplant...