China has always been a country of etiquette, the world civilization of the ancient country, food culture has a long history, since ancient times to pay attention to the people to eat as the sky, so there are many etiquette about catering. Etiquette. It is mentioned in the "Fortune of Etiquette": "At the beginning of the great ceremony, the beginning of the diet", over time, the etiquette at this table has become an important part of Chinese etiquette. Today we will talk about the table manners of the Chinese nation from the proverb "dishes do not put three, chopsticks do not become five, and seats do not become six".
Dishes are not placed three
First of all, this etiquette emphasizes starting from the serving, and the ancestors believe that the first dish cannot be served to the guests with three dishes. The first meal is to connect feelings, reunion and joy, "three" and "scatter" homophony, "scatter" We all know that there is a meaning of separation, eat a meal to eat "scatter", the meaning is not very good, so for the sake of a beautiful meaning, generally entertain guests on three dishes.
The second is related to the sacrificial traditions of the ancients. Those who have read "Journey to the West" all know that Tang monks and disciples led their disciples to learn the scriptures from the Western Heavens, and experienced eighty-one difficulties to obtain the true scriptures, of which the four roads of the master and apprentice met the temple, and the Tang monks must worship every temple, and when they worshiped, they must hold three incense sticks and bow down three times. This is because the ancients sacrificed heaven and earth and ancestors, and used to follow the "three three systems", so these three dishes are generally used to worship the ancestors of the gods and immortals, such as three incense, three glasses of wine, and three kowtows. The Tao Te Ching says: "Dao Sheng one, life two, two life three, three lives all things", "three" has a special meaning in traditional culture, so in order to show respect for sacrifice, avoid the "three" dishes for people to eat.
Chopsticks do not make five
If you say that on the Chinese civilization catering utensils, chopsticks are definitely one of the symbols of Chinese civilization, many foreign friends contact Chinese culture, the first contact must be Chinese food, and Chinese food must be indispensable is the use of chopsticks.
Chopsticks here are not five can not put five pairs of chopsticks meaning, but the "three long two short" obscure statement, he means that when entertaining guests with chopsticks can not take chopsticks of different lengths, especially can not take "three long and two short" chopsticks, "three long and two short" The original meaning itself is not very good, in ancient times when we died, we will use a coffin to pack the body, the coffin We all know that the opening is large, the chassis is small, so it is composed of three long plates and two short boards, plus a lid, so "three long and two short" The obscure meaning is death, chopsticks and coffin boards are bamboo and wood products, so consider the unlucky meaning, so the ancients must avoid the chopsticks of different lengths.
In addition, the emphasis on chopsticks is also not to insert chopsticks on rice when eating rice, for reasons similar to the chopsticks of "three long and two short", because chopsticks inserted into rice are used at funerals.
Not six seats
The last seat is not six, everyone may be very incomprehensible, why can't you eat at a table for six people?
This has to start from the table where the ancients ate, the ancients and modern people are not the same, the ancients used a square table when eating, commonly known as the "Eight Immortals Table", after reading the Wulin rumors, you know, "Eight Immortals Table" is a square table, sitting on one side of two people, sitting on the four sides of eight people, but if there are six people, then it becomes two people on both sides, one person on both sides, this layout is especially like Wang Eight, so everyone will eat six people at a table called "Wang Eight Seats", in ancient times, the turtle King Eight is a curse word, Therefore, it has become a kind of avoidance for the general gathering of six people to eat at the eight immortals table, and with the birth and addition of modern catering to the round table and the long table, the theory that the table is not six has been slowly forgotten.
epilogue
The table manners of the Chinese nation have changed a lot so far, and we should "take the essence of the bad traditions and etiquette to remove the dross", and we should also inherit and develop the good etiquette.