The Chinese Seating Philosophy

By Wang Chonglyu

It is of utmost significance how the seating is arranged in a conference. Commonly applied rules for not only conferences but also daily life events and banquets are: the front is more honorable than the back,and the middle is more honorable than the side. Additionally, the left side is also more honorable than the right.

As it is widely recognized,middle, left and front seats are more important, the identities of those sitting there should be carefully indicated with signs.As such, attendees should immediately be able to recognize the identity, status, level, and rank of each person on the rostrum the moment they enter the room. A mistake in the signs could cause more than a small stir.

A story has it that at one conference, the cleaner mixed up two signs on his left and right and had put them back in the wrong way. As a result, before the VIPs showed up, attendees who had already arrived started whispering to each other. Those whispers rose to a din. The top leader walked in with his management team and soon realized the atmosphere wasn’t right. With a careful look, they realized the misplaced signs had caused all the restlessness.Attendees, misled by the signs,interpreted that the No. 2 leader had been demoted and that No.3 had been promoted. After the meeting, the office manager was scolded and had to write a letter of apology.

In university or school anniversary celebrations, it’s also common to seat alumni according to their rank, status,and importance. In 2012, Nanjing University celebrated its 110 year anniversary, and they changed the rules. They argued that while studying in a university, all students were equal. Therefore,they broke the tradition and chose to seat people according to seniority. They didn’t have VIP seats but seated the “silver headed” in the front rows.When the master of ceremonies introduced guests, the top of the list were not high achievers but the two oldest alumni who came to the university in 1939 and 1944, respectively. Nanjing University was widely praised for its innovative approach.◆

(From Quintessence: Cultural Legacies, Peking University Press.Translation: Zhang Lei)

会议座次格局非常重要。现在的会议安排以及日常生活、饮食礼仪所奉行的基本规则是：前为尊，后为次；中为尊，侧为次；左为尊，右为次。

中为上、左为上、前为上已经成为公认的规则，而且，由指示牌一一标出。这样，与会者一进会场，立刻就能知道主席台上每个人的身份、地位、等次、职级。如果偶尔不慎，出现差错，就会造成混乱。

据说，一次大会上，服务员在收拾主席台桌面时，不慎把一把手左右两侧座位的标示牌给弄颠倒了。结果，没等班子成员入席落座，会场上的人们就窃窃私语，乱哄哄搅成一团。一把手和几位副手进入会场后，发觉气氛有些不对劲儿，仔细一看，原来是主席台上座位标示牌惹的祸。大家误以为二把手降为三把手，三把手提升为二把手。会后，办公室主任挨了批评，写了检讨。

常见的大学、中学举行校庆活动，与会校友的座次，一般都按职级、身份、地位排列。2012年，南京大学庆祝建校110周年，对此进行改革。他们认为，当年在校读书时，同学都是平等的，于是，破例实行“序齿不序爵”，亦即只认长幼不序尊卑的做法。于是，没有主席台嘉宾席位，“银发校友”全部在前排就座，主持人介绍出席庆典嘉宾时，最先介绍的不是领导，而是两位分别在1939年和1944年入学的年龄最长的老校友，此举博得社会各界的普遍好评。◆