Menu
Table manners intervene in many cultures whether it is the etiquette to use a fork correctly in Western culture or even chopsticks is also important in Eastern culture. The first people to invent chopsticks were the Chinese who have been using chopsticks for thousands of years, so various teachings and cultures are passed on from generation to generation until it becomes a meticulous chopstick etiquette at present. Today, ACU PAY will present to you about manners and prohibitions in using chopsticks. ANyone who still has doubts about it should read this article!
Putting chopsticks uneven is bad and not auspicious. Chinese people have the saying “sān cháng liǎng duǎn” meaning “three long and two short.” This phrase means “death” or “woe”.
The Chinese belief is that knocking on a cup, bowl, or table would be like being a beggar who knocks on a bowl and demands mercy from a kind-hearted person.
You have to aim them well when you would like to pick meat but there are vegetables on top of it because Chinese belief is that using chopsticks to scoop up food on a plate is like pirates who dig graves for treasures from the dead, which would be considered lacking in etiquette.
Licking, biting, and sucking are the behaviors that look unsanitary and also considered impolite and rude to the table participants. It’s even ruder if you suck until it’s loud.
Pointing at someone with chopsticks is the same as pointing with your finger which is considered rude behavior.
In Chinese beliefs, using chopsticks to stab food is considered an insult to each other’s spirit. The mood is the same as raising the middle finger of Western culture. When you join a table with the Chinese, don’t forget this.
The Chinese only put chopsticks on rice bowls when the ancestors or the deceased were worshiped, because putting chopsticks into rice looks like putting incense on a pot of incense but putting chopsticks into other people’s bowls is like cursing a person to death.
Chinese people will not like to put chopsticks in the form of a cross because it will be like a symbol of feeling bad and dissatisfied with the table participants or those who cook for them to eat.
When picking food with chopsticks, you must be careful not to drop the water from the food or drop the food on the table or other dishes because doing this is very rude.
Dropping chopsticks on the floor is considered very rude and ungrateful because when the Chinese die, they will be buried underground, which the Chinese believe was disturbing to their ancestors. So if you accidentally dropped chopsticks on the floor, you should apologize quickly.
Table manners are important things we should learn to understand different societies and cultures. Regardless of nationality, good table manners also show respect for one another.
So what’s your idea about this? Have you ever done some prohibited thing mentioned above unintentionally? Anyone who grew up in a Chinese family and wants to share other ways of using chopsticks can share!
