A Complete Guide to Traditional Chinese Table Etiquette

A. Etiquette before dining

1. Seating Order

• People are seated in order of seniority or status, with the elder sitting in the main seat (usually in the center of the main table or facing the door).
• Elderly people or those with higher seniority in the family are given priority to sit down, and younger people should be courteous.

2. Meal etiquette

• Others can only start eating after the elders or the guest of honor pick up their chopsticks.
• The host will first invite the guests to start eating, saying something like "Please enjoy your meal" or "lease help yourself".

B. Etiquette during dining

1. Food etiquette

• Do not use your own chopsticks directly to pick up public dishes. Use serving chopsticks or spoons instead.
• If there is a turntable at the table, make sure to turn it when no one is picking up food, and turn it clockwise at a moderate speed. If you are afraid that others will turn the table when you pick up the food, you can hold the turntable with your hand and then pick up the food.
• Avoid turning over food on the plate and be gentle when picking up food. When picking up food, You shouldn't pick up food from a dish and then put it back, as no one else will want to eat it after that. Only pick up the food that is close to ⅓ of your position on the plate in front of you.
• If you like a dish, you can take more than one serving, but you cannot monopolize the dish and eat it all by yourself.

2. Toasting etiquette

• During important festivals such as the Spring Festival, toasting is an indispensable part.
• The younger generation usually toasts the elders first. When pouring wine for the elders, they should stand on the right side of the elders and hold the cup with both hands while toasting to show respect.
• When toasting, you should hold the cup with your right hand and support the bottom of the cup with your left hand to show respect. When clinking glasses, your glass should be slightly lower than the other person's glass to show respect. If the other person follows your lead, you can support the bottom of his or her glass with your hand.

3. Chopstick etiquette

• When waiting for food, you are not allowed to knock on the bowls and plates with chopsticks, which is commonly known as "eggar knocking on the door."
• Do not stick chopsticks vertically into the rice bowl, as this resembles the incense used for memorial services, which is unlucky.
• Do not point at people with your chopsticks or place your chopsticks randomly.
• Use the cutlery to find your mouth, and never use your mouth to find the cutlery.

4. Food etiquette

• Take food according to your ability to avoid waste.
• Try to avoid making any noise while eating, such as chewing, slurping soup, etc.

5. Communication etiquette

• When talking to your neighbor, avoid making loud noises and interrupting others.
• It is forbidden to talk about unlucky topics at the dinner table, especially during the Spring Festival.
• When speaking at the dinner table, you should finish the food in your mouth and not talk while chewing.

6. Serving tea and wine

• When pouring tea or wine for elders, you should serve it with both hands.
• After pouring tea for others, do not point the spout of the teapot towards others. You can place it facing yourself or somewhere where there is no one.
• Don't fill the teacup or wine glass to the brim; 70% is appropriate.

7. Dining etiquette

• Don’t play with your phone while eating. Put it in your bag or put it on the table in silent mode.
• Sit down in a fixed seat when eating and do not change seats casually. Especially do not sway around while eating. As the saying goes, people who sway around have bad luck.
• Do not spit fish bones all over the table or throw them on the ground. Instead, spit them into the plate in front of you or onto a tissue.
• When eating, you should hold the bowl with your hands. After eating, you should not run around the table or crawl under the table.

8. Restaurant ordering etiquette

• When dining in a restaurant, when ordering food, don’t ask people what they want to eat, but ask them what they don’t want to eat?
• The number of hot dishes ordered depends on the number of people dining together, and the number of cold dishes should be halved.

C. Special table etiquette during the Spring Festival

1. New Year's Eve dinner etiquette

• The whole family reunites for the New Year’s Eve dinner. In some places, it is emphasized that the dinner table cannot be empty and all family members must be present.

2. The fish cannot be eaten

• The fish in the New Year’s Eve dinner symbolizes ‘abundance every year’. Traditionally, some fish should be left over to indicate abundance in the coming year.

3. New Year's money ceremony

• After the meal, the elders will give the younger generations New Year’s money, which means safety and blessings.

4. The importance of auspicious dishes

• Dishes on the Spring Festival table usually have symbolic meanings, such as fish (abundance), rice cakes (promotion), and dumplings (wealth and treasure).

5. Taboo behavior

• It is forbidden to say negative words such as "I don't want to eat anymore" or "That's enough" at the dinner table to avoid committing ‘bad luck’.
• Do not overturn the rice bowl or break the tableware. If it is accidentally broken, say auspicious words such as "peace every year".

D. Etiquette after dining

1. Thank you host family

• After the meal, you should express your gratitude to the host by saying "Thank you for the meal".
• The younger generation should also greet their elders and wish them a Happy New Year.

2. Do not leave first

• During important festivals, younger generations should not leave without permission before the elders leave.
• If you need to leave, you must obtain permission from your elders and explain politely.

3. Packing Etiquette

• According to traditional concepts, it is best not to offer to take away food when dining during the Spring Festival unless the host specifically invites you to do so.

一、用餐前的禮儀

1. 入席順序

• 依長幼順序或身分入座，尊者居主位（一般為主桌正中或面向門口的位置）。
• 年長者或家中輩分高的人優先入座，晚輩要禮讓。

2. 開餐禮儀

• 等長輩或主賓舉筷後，其他人方可動筷。
• 主家會先邀請賓客動筷，說如「請慢用」或「大家隨意」。

二、用餐中的禮儀

1. 夾菜禮儀

• 不要直接用自己的筷子夾公共菜餚，可用公筷或公匙。
• 如果餐桌上有轉盤，一定要在沒人夾菜時轉，而且要慢慢順時針轉。自己夾菜時怕別人轉桌，可用手按住轉盤再去夾菜。
• 避免翻動菜盤，夾菜動作要輕。夾菜不能夾回頭菜，夾起來再放下就沒人敢吃了，只夾自己正前方的盤子中靠近自己的⅓處的菜。
• 喜歡吃的菜，可以多夾幾次，不能霸著菜自己吃。

2. 敬酒禮儀

• 在春節等重要節日，敬酒是不可或缺的環節。
• 晚輩通常先敬長輩，為長輩倒酒時，應站在長輩右則，敬酒同時要雙手持杯，表示尊敬。
• 敬酒時要用右手拿杯，左手托杯底表示尊敬，碰杯時酒杯要略低於對方酒杯以示尊敬，若對方也跟著你低，可以用手託一下對方杯底。

3. 用筷禮儀

• 等菜時不得用筷子敲打碗盤，俗稱「乞丐敲門」。
• 不可將筷子垂直插在飯碗上，因為這與祭奠插香相似，不吉利。
• 不要用筷子指人或把筷子隨意擺放。
• 要用餐具去找嘴，切忌用嘴找餐具。

4. 食量禮儀

• 取菜時量力而行，避免浪費。
• 用餐過程中盡量避免發出聲音，如咀嚼聲、吸湯聲等。

5. 交流禮儀

• 與鄰座交談時應避免大聲喧嘩，避免打斷他人談話。
• 禁止在餐桌上談不吉利的話題，尤其是在春節期間。
• 飯桌上說話前要把嘴裡的飯吃完再説，不能邊嚼邊說。

6. 敬茶與斟酒

• 為長輩倒茶或斟酒時，應以雙手奉上。
• 給別人倒完後，壺嘴不要衝著別人，可以衝著自己或無人地方放。
• 茶杯或酒杯不要倒滿，一般七分為宜。

7. 用餐禮儀

• 吃飯時不要玩手機，把手機放包包或調成靜音模式扣在桌上。
• 吃飯時坐定位置，不要隨便換位，吃飯時更不能搖來搖去，俗話説人搖福薄。
• 吃的魚骨頭不能滿桌亂吐或隨便丟地上，要吐在自己面前餐盤裡或紙巾上。
• 吃飯時手要扶住碗，吃完飯不能在餐桌周圍亂跑，或是在桌子底下鑽來鑽去的。

8. 餐廳點餐禮儀

• 在餐廳用餐的話，點菜時不要問人家吃什麼，而要問人家不吃什麼？
• 熱菜數量依用餐人數來點，冷菜減半就好。

三、春節特別的餐桌禮儀

1. 年夜飯禮儀

• 年夜飯全家團圓，有些地方講究飯桌不能“空席”，所有家庭成員必須到場。

2. 魚不能吃完

• 年夜飯的魚象徵“年年有餘”，傳統上魚要留一點，表示來年有富餘。

3. 壓歲錢的儀式

• 用餐結束後，長輩會給小輩發壓歲錢，寓意保平安和祝福。

4. 吉祥菜餚的講究

• 春節餐桌上的菜餚通常帶有寓意，如魚（富足）、年糕（步步高升）、餃子（招財進寶）。

5. 忌諱的行為

• 飯桌上禁止說「不吃了」「夠了」等否定詞，避免觸犯「不吉利」。
• 不要將飯碗翻倒或弄碎餐具，若不小心摔破需說吉利話，如「歲歲平安」。

四、用餐後的禮儀

1. 感謝主家

• 用餐結束後，應對主家表示感謝，可說「謝謝款待」。
• 晚輩也應向長輩問好並拜年。

2. 不先離席

• 重要節日中，晚輩不應在長輩離席前擅自離開。
• 若需離席，須徵得長輩同意並禮貌告解。

3. 打包禮儀

• 在傳統觀念中，春節用餐時盡量不要主動提出打包，除非主家特別邀請。