The Differences of Chopstick Etiquette between China and Japan

陈新星

Abstract：ChopsticksareoriginatedfromChina. SinceintroducedfromChinatoJapan， Chopstickshavegainedpopularityanddevelopmentinlife， andhasspecialchopsticksculture. ForchopsticksaredispensabletablewareinChinaandJapan， andthedifferencesofchopsticketiquetteareunknownoreasytobeignored， soitisnecessaryforustolearnmoreabouttherelatedinformation.

keywords：Etiquette，Chopsticks，China，Japan， culture

1.TheIntroductionofChopstickEtiquette

Chopsticksarenormalasakindoftableware，andserviceforpeopleonthetable. "Nowadays， therearemorethan1.5billionpeopleintheworldusingchopsticks，amongwhichChinaandJapanaccountfor80percent" SowecanknowthatchopsticksareofnecessityinChinaandJapan. Whatischopsticksetiquette？chopsticketiquetteistherulesaboutchopsticksindicatingtheproperandpolitewaytousechopsticks. Iwilldetailthedefinitioninthefollowingpart.

2. MeaningoftheResearch

ChinaandJapanareallcountriesinAsia. WithmoreandmorefrequentcommunicationbetweenChinaandJapan， theculturaldifferencesaregraduallyexposedthoughtheybelongtotheculturalcircleofChinesecharactersandchopsticksculture. KnowingthedifferencesofchopsticketiquettebetweenChinaandJapanisnecessary. Fewscholarsfocusedontheresearch， andresearchmaterialsarescattered. Inthisessay， Iwillmakeacomprehensiveresearchonthedifferencestoenrichthepreviousstudiesandmakeupfortheirdeficiencies， andtodiscusshowtodealwiththesedifferences.

3.DifferencesandFunctionsonChopstickEtiquette

3.1TheDifferencesofChopstickEtiquettebetweenChinaandJapan

3.1.1DifferentLengthandShape

JapanesechopsticksdifferslightlyfromChinesechopsticks. ChinesechopsticksaretypicallylongerthanJapanesechopsticks.InChina， peopleintendtoenjoyavarietyoffoodanddishessittingaroundtabletogether. Sothelongerchopstickscanbemoreconvenientforpeopletopickupkindsoffood. What'smore， youcanserveotherswithyourchopstickstoshowyourenthusiasmandhospitality. WhereasinJapan，peopleputintopracticeIndividualDiningSystem. Theyeatbyhavingseparateportionsoffoodforeachindividual. Therefore， itisnotnecessaryforpeopletopickupfood.

3.1.2DifferentPlacing

InJapan， chopsticksonthetableareplacedhorizontallyinfrontofthedinningpeople. Thetipsofchopsticksaretotheleftandtheendstotheright. BecauseJapanesepeoplethinkitimpolitethepointedpartistowardpeople. Inaddition， Japanusuallyhaveachopstickrest， andtheymustplacechopsticksintherest. Ifhavingnotchopstickrest， foldingasimplechopstickframewithapaperwrapper， andthenputyourchopsticksonit. However， theyarenorthandsouthfacinginChina. Thetipsofchopsticksareallowedtoputontheedgeofplates.

3.2FunctionsofChopstickEtiquette

3.2.1.RelationshipBenefit

Astimegoesby，maybemanythingsareoutoffashion，butetiquettewillneveroutofstyle.Therefore，inrelationships，knowinghowtobehaveappropriatelyinagivensituationmakesothersmorecomfortable.Knowingchopsticketiquetteistherespecttoothers， itprotectsthefeelingsofothersandbreakdownbarrierstomakecommunicationclearer. WhenyoufirstmeetJapaneseorChinesepeopleatthetable， therightchopsticketiquettewillleaveagoodfirstimpression. Thefirstfivetosevensecondsafteryoumeetsomeonearecrucial.

3.2.2.CulturalValue

BothinChinaandJapan，chopsticksareconsiderednotonlyeatingutensilsbutalsoaculture. InChina， chopsticksarerepresentativeofculture. ChopsticketiquetteexistnotonlyonthetablebutalsoinChinesefolk. Chopstickshavethemeaningofgivingbirthtoanoblechildassoonaspossible， sotheyareusuallyusedinweddingtoconveythebestwishestothenewlymarriedcouple.

InJapan， chopstickshaveimportantpositioninJapanesepeople， andtheyareconsideredthesymboloflife. Untilnow， Japanesepeoplehavethecustomthatprayingforprotectiontochopsticks.

4. Conclusion

Fromtheabovenarration， wecanknowchopsticketiquettebetweenChinaandJapanhaseitherdifferencesorthesame. Concerningthosedifferences， onlywhenpeopleatfirstknowtheirdifferencesanditsimportant， cantheyavoidsomeembarrassedthingsandbridgethegapofdifferencesbetweenthetwocountries. What’smore， weshouldrespecteachcultureandanditisthosedifferencesthatconsistofthemulticulturalworld.

Reference

1. WJ. Thestoryofchopsticks. CrazyEnglish. 2017

2. Steve. Chopsticks. TimeEnglish. 2017

3. StephanieButler. Abriefhistoryofchopsticks. NeworientedEnglish. 2016

4. BarPachet. InternationalEtiquette. 2013

5. 趙荣光.中华筷子文化解析. 南宁职业技术学院学报. 2016

6. 李萍.日本筷子文化. 湖北第二师范学院学报 2016

7. 宁波.刍议筷子的起源及其民间文化传承的功能. 文化学刊 2015

8. 刘凯.浅谈日本著文化—兼与中国著文化的比较. 佳木斯学院学报 2015

9. 李梅.日本筷子角色探析. 北京科技大学高等职业教育部 2015

10. 沙媛媛 王晓葵. 筷著与日本文化. 文化学刊 2015

11. 张慧荣.日本著文化刍议. 广东培正学院学报 2015

12. 顾玲玲.中日筷子习俗比较. 信仰农林学报 2015

13. 孙丽娟.从筷子看日本文化. 佳木斯教育学院学报 2015

14. 秦耕.筷著起源于中国. 吕梁学院学报 2015

15. 多田道太郎著. 汪丽影译.身边的日本文化. 南京大学出版社 2013