Chinese social etiquette and customs: It is a mystery; why do Chinese people consider you polite when slurping your soup whereas rejecting someone’s gift is considered impolite? Although it seems too ancient, concerning societal norms, manners and etiquette of China are filled with traditions, which aim at ensuring harmony and avoiding offending anyone. Understanding these distinctions would make an individual more comfortable in social situations as well as business transactions or while eating in the country.
In this article, we will take a close look at some key issues regarding greetings and gift-giving, dining culture and public behaviour.
Chinese Basic social etiquettes
1. Using both hands, give and receive everything. Tipping is seen negatively as it is an act of subordination by a superior towards a subordinate.
2. Being respectful to elders is always appropriate while interacting with people in China.
3. When speaking with an old person, it is customary to speak quietly and with a small stoop of the head.
4. Never question the wisdom or judgement of the elderly. It is quite impolite to respond to them or dispute their assertions.
5. Especially when meeting someone for the first time, Chinese people are usually on time and will show up at the appointed hour.
6. China tends to place less value on timeliness when it comes to informal get-togethers with friends and family.
China’s Visiting etiquettes
1. Typically, invitations are used in formal contexts. In other cases, someone will show up without warning.
2. Chinese people are usually on time when they are invited to someone’s house.
3. It is required of guests to behave responsibly and to avoid making loud, boisterous noises or gestures.
4. When friends come, they frequently bring presents to express their “xin yi,” or “blessings” or “good intentions,” to the host, like as tea, cigarettes, fruit, chocolates, or cake.
5. Typically, hosts include snacks like almonds or fruit.
6. Hosts offer them refreshment multiple times when the guests say no.
7. Dining table manners demonstrate respect for the age-based social structure.
China’s Eating etiquettes
1. Rice is typically served with several dishes, all of which are typically arranged in the middle of the table.
2. As you eat yourself, put the things that combine with rice in your rice dish and keep it near your lips.
3. When dining as a visitor at someone’s house, it is customary to try and taste everything that is given.
4. Consuming large amounts of rice without balancing it with other foods is a sign that you dislike the dish.
5. Never consume the last of something that is placed on a serving platter.
6. Refuse the host’s offer of a second serving once before taking it.
7. When eating is done, leave a modest bit of food on your plate. An empty plate signifies that you need your plate to be refilled with meals because the host did not supply enough.
8. Any bones or seeds should be put in the designated dish or on the table next to your plate. Never place them back in your dish of rice.
9. After using chopsticks, remove them from the rice bowl. Set them out on the table.
10. Don’t put your chopsticks in a bowl of rice upright. This is said to suggest death since it looks like the incense used at funerals.
China’s Gifting etiquettes
1. Using both hands, deliver a present to the recipient.
2. To be courteous, a Chinese individual would initially deny a present two or three times before taking it.
3. Presents are not always opened right away or in front of the giver.
4. A gift’s wrapping is given careful consideration since it makes a big first impression. The finer the covering, the more ornate. Presents wrapped in gold and crimson paper symbolize good fortune, whereas wrapping in white, blue, or black suggests unfavourable feelings.
5. Don’t give pricey presents that are hard to match or return. Giving such presents will make the recipient in China look bad, which might lead to the gift being declined.
6. Gifts like candies, fruits, flowers (not white ones), or spirits are preferable.
7. Gifts that total four should not be given. The word “death” in Chinese sounds similar like the word for “four.”
8. There are a few gifts that must be avoided like scissors, knives, white and yellow flowers etc. these flowers are used when somebody dies thus, they are considered as a taboo to be gifted.
China’s Social Customs
Chinese culture is one of the oldest in the world and has some very unique traditions and customs, here we list few of them that one must know.
1. Hongbao giving on Chinese New Year’s Eve
Spring festival also known as Chinese New Year is the happiest time of the year for youngsters. They often receive hongbao (lucky money), regardless of the area or origins of their families. Hongbao is typically offered by the family’s elders and comprises of brand-new banknotes enclosed in a red envelope. The hongbao is a symbol of good fortune for the upcoming year. When people start working, they usually cease getting hongbao, however in some regions of China (including Guangdong and Hong Kong), they can continue to obtain hongbao until they are married.
2. Dumplings and winter solstice.
On the Winter Solstice, foreigners may experience confusion. There is an extreme overabundance of patrons at almost every dumpling (jiaozi) restaurant, regardless of size. Even your Chinese pals who decide against going out to eat will probably request a delivery of dumplings. This is due to a legend that says the wind will rip your ears off if you don’t eat dumplings on the Winter Solstice.
3. Saying “ganbei” and then downing your drink
Drinking up the alcohol in one’s glass rather than taking a slow sip is what happens in China after “Ganbei” (Cheers) and glass clinking. If you do not finish your wine, you may be considered rude in China. That being said, there is a Chinese ritual that states, “Replace the wine with tea (Yi Cha Dai Jiu),” so those who are unable to consume alcohol need not fear. This makes it easy for everyone to celebrate by raising a glass of wine.
4. Never share a pear; always share an apple or an orange.
This isn’t because cutting apples and oranges is simpler. This Chinese tradition has a similar origin to the previous one. Chinese for “dividing a pear” is “Fen Li” (分梨), homophone for “分离,” which means “departure” in the language. It’s true that some people make a great effort to stay together.
5. Planting plants and veggies everywhere
When foreign community gardeners visit China’s cities, they will cry. Anywhere you look—in a typical residential neighbourhood, on the balcony of an apartment, on the side of the road, or even in a tiny area of productive land—you may find vegetables that regular people have grown growing organically. The joke that “planting trees is in their DNA” is even made by the Chinese themselves.
Conclusion
Chinese culture is known for its customs and their people for their etiquettes this article has listed few of their etiquettes and 5 known customs.
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Chinese social etiquette and customs- FAQs
In China, receiving red cards (hongbao) for lucky money is a popular tradition among youngsters during the Spring Festival. When do these young adults typically switch from taking hongbao to serving it instead?
When people start working, they usually cease getting hongbao, however in some regions of China (including Guangdong and Hong Kong), they can continue to obtain hongbao until they are married.
According to a Chinese legend, what falls on you if you don’t eat dumplings on the winter solstice?
A legend that says the wind will rip your ears off if you don’t eat dumplings on the Winter Solstice.
In Chinese culture, one is expected to speak quietly and bow slightly before elders. How can one be disrespectful to an older person during a conversation?
Never question the wisdom or judgement of the elderly. It is quite impolite to respond to them or dispute their assertions.
What number if gifts one should avoid and why?
Gifts that total four should not be given. As the word for “four” and “death” sound similar in Chinese.
As a guest in someone’s home in China, if you end up with all the rice on your plate, what might your table manners accidentally communicate?
When eating is done, leave a modest bit of food on your plate. An empty plate signifies that you need your plate to be refilled with meals because the host did not supply enough.