Table etiquette and customs taboos of Guangzhou people

I remember there were many rules for eating when I was a child. For example, no argument is allowed when eating, no rules before picking up chopsticks, no noise is allowed when eating food, etc. People nowadays know too little.

Leaving three feet away is gentle

When I was a child, because I had many sisters, I would always sit closely around Taiwan to eat. It was easy for elbows to touch elbows. My mother would say,"Being three feet away is polite!" So everyone obediently retreated for the word "gentle".

Respect the land first and then the people

Guangzhou people like to drink Laohuo soup before meals. They don't need to prioritize their elders and drink it whenever they come. However, before drinking, they must use chopsticks to dip a few drops, and then gently bounce it to the ground outside the bowl (it is also a habit for drinking tea and drinking). You can drink it after the ceremony. It is called "respecting the land first and then respecting the people."

There are also rules for pouring tea and wine."Tea is half respectful to others, and wine is half deceiving people." The etiquette for drinking is the same as that for others.

with chopsticks

Before starting chopsticks, the younger generation must invite their elders to eat first, and they must continue to shout from the youngest. From the oldest to the youngest, the elders will say "pick up chopsticks", and then everyone will say "pick up chopsticks!" Only then can I move the chopsticks.

Shiqi

Regardless of whether people in Guangzhou are rich or poor, they can be alone or have nine guis, but they will never cook seven dishes unless they want to do "white things" and "seven" are not good.

Flying elephants crossing the river

Chopsticks are not allowed to be held across the street. If you hold them across the street, my mother will use her own chopsticks to separate them and say: Flying elephants cross the river! In fact, the elephant that "flies across the river" is the elephant of chess. Elephants certainly cannot cross the river.

There are also many etiquette for grasping and placing chopsticks. You should not point with your fingers when grasping chopsticks, and you should not place chopsticks horizontally, etc.

Drop your chopsticks

Once, I accidentally dropped one of the chopsticks on the edge of the table and wanted to bend down to pick it up. My mother's eyes were quick, and before I could pick it up, my mother dropped the other one too. I was curious why my mother did this? My mother said: "Happy, happy, good things certainly come in pairs!" Wait until after dinner before cleaning up with other dishes.

People shake off their blessings

You cannot sit down and eat with one or both legs. In the past, having one leg represented a person who was not serious (working as a prostitute). The building has two legs and represents the poor (water people). Let alone shake your legs. As the saying goes,"People shake their blessings are weak."

fish-eating

When eating fish, you can eat the belly, tail or back first, but you are not allowed to eat the head first, you cannot be picky first, and you cannot turn the fish body over. Guangzhou people like to talk about the head, and of course the fish head will be eaten last. It's even worse to turn over a fish. Fish can represent a boat. car. Room and so on.

Breaking dishes

It is common for children to accidentally break dishes and cups, and they are not happy, so with the sound of falling to the ground, they loudly said,"If you fall to the ground, you will blossom, you will be rich and glorious", and then picked up a piece and placed it high and hid it. (What is the meaning? I still don't know)

Rich rice and leave shade-there are many right and wrong

It is also more important to fill rice. It can be more or less, but it cannot be eaten in one shell. It must at least add one, two or three additions, which means adding more people, wealth, happiness and longevity...

Shade means that rice is put outside the bowl and hung on the edge of the bowl. It is called "Shade". Perhaps "Shade" is similar to "willow shade", which causes trouble.

You must not make a sound when eating, let alone beat the edge of the bowl with your chopsticks. As the saying goes,"Ring the bell when eating rice to stop the hungry ancestors." Why starve our ancestors? I want to know.

You must eat your bowl of rice cleanly and leave no grains of rice left, otherwise you will get a "bean-skinned wife" or marry a "bean-skinned husband" in the future.

You can't eat half of the sky and half of the earth, otherwise you will have no food and clothing (blessings).

All of the above rules should be consciously observed at home or as guests. Otherwise, people will laugh at you as "a father has a life but no education". Some of the so-called "examples in various villages and villages" may be forgotten. I hope everyone can add them and preserve our traditions.

I also hope that foreign daughter-in-law or friends from other places will learn from it to avoid laughing and laughing if they are "uneducated".

When serving, the chicken head should face the elders; when serving fish, do not point the fish ridge at the guest; when eating with crew members, fishermen, and drivers should not turn over the fish; chopsticks should not be inserted directly into the rice; chopsticks should not be used to beat the dishes; You should not order seven courses; never say to others: "Are you done eating?"... Guangzhou people are very particular about eating and eating etiquette. There are many taboos on the table. If you want to deal with Laoguang, you will be in trouble if you don't understand these etiquette taboos.

"You're done eating" angered the boss

"Guangzhou people have too many taboos when eating. I accidentally offend them, and I am still in the dark!" said Mr. Cheng, who works in a large office building in Tianhe.

Once, the dinner was coming to an end. Mr. Cheng saw that the boss sitting next to him had put down his chopsticks and leaned back against the chair to smoke. He casually asked,"Are you done eating?" Unexpectedly, the boss was very unhappy: "How can you talk like this?" Today is the winter solstice, and you said I'm done eating!"

It turns out that Guangzhou people avoid others saying that he has "finished eating" because it means this is the last meal.

According to netizen lalacc1984, Guangzhou people are not allowed to say things like "I'm so full" or "I'm so full" after eating. Because the elderly usually think: "Don't groan when you are hungry!" Netizen Ding Dang "warned" everyone that it was best not to eat with plates. Such people would be "stingy" and easily shed tears. In addition, when chopsticks fall on the ground, we must say "chopsticks fall"; when a bowl is broken, we must say "when they fall on the ground, they must say" wealth and glory ".

Fish cannot roll over, and seven-course dishes cannot be served when guests are invited

Uncle Chen's distant cousin has been staying at his house this time because he came to Guangzhou to find a job. "People are very smart," Uncle Chen said,"They just don't understand the rules." What made Uncle Chen most unhappy was that when his cousin ate fish, he always liked to turn over the fish.

Chen Bo's second son is a taxi driver. Therefore, Uncle Chen's family hated turning fish while eating it. However, his cousin didn't understand. Every time he ate steamed perch, he would turn the fish over to the end. I told him not to read it, but he forgets it every time.

It turns out that in Guangzhou, you can't turn the fish over when eating with fishermen, crew members and drivers. Such taboos are difficult to explain clearly. Another time, everyone went out to eat together. Because Uncle Chen's son had to go late for something, he asked his cousin to order first. After the dishes were served, everyone was dumbfounded. Because there was no more or less, there were seven dishes on the table. "We in Guangzhou are very jealous of this. That's called eating seven! Seven dishes are served only at funerals." Uncle Chen is still very angry when he talks about it now!

When serving the whole chicken, the head of the chicken should be facing the guest and guest to show respect.

Ms. Ren, who works as a waiter in a five-star restaurant, said that unlike the eating etiquette in other provinces, where "the head of the chicken is not sacrificed, and the tail of the duck is not sacrificed", in hotels in Guangzhou, if the dish is cut into pieces and still made into a chicken, the waiter must point the chicken's head at the guest to show respect. When the host and guest move the chopsticks, they usually tilt the chicken head slightly to show humility.

When serving the whole fish, face the fish belly towards the guest of honor to show respect.

Generally speaking, the main reason why the fish belly is facing the guest and guest is because it has few thorns and is plump, tender and delicious. However, there is actually an allusion to this. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu Gongzi Guang (King Helu of Wu) wanted to kill Wang Liao and become self-reliant. Wu Zixu recommended the assassin Zhuan Zhu to Gongzi Guang, but Zhuan Zhu had no chance to get close to Wu Wang Liao in ordinary times. Knowing that his staff liked to eat roasted fish, Zhuan Zhu went to worship Duke Taihe as his teacher. After learning the craft of roasting fish, Zhuan Zhu took advantage of the opportunity of Prince Guang inviting Wang Liao of Wu to come home for dinner. He made a whole fish and hid the dagger in the belly of the fish. When serving the food, he took out the dagger and stabbed Wang Liao of Wu to death. Zhuan Zhu was also killed by Wang Liao of Wu. From then on, all banquet guests had to face the fish belly to the guest and guest to show goodwill.

Do not use chopsticks to beat bowls and basins

Guangzhou people are very taboo to beat bowls and basins with chopsticks while eating. When you come to the house to treat you to dinner, you should not beat your chopsticks indiscriminately on the bowls and basins. A common saying is that only beggars use chopsticks to beat bowls and basins when begging for food. There is also a saying related to the ancient legend of "Gu poison". It is said that Gu is a kind of artificially cultivated poisonous insect. People put hundreds of insects into the jar. After many years, when they open it and look at it, one insect must eat up all the other insects. This winner is called "Gu". When poisoning others with the powder of a poison in food, you must recite a curse and beat the bowl and basin while poisoning so that the poison can work. Therefore, it is a taboo to beat bowls and basins with chopsticks.

Don't use chopsticks horizontally when eating

Stop eating temporarily during the banquet and place your chopsticks straight on the plate or spoon. If you place your chopsticks across the plate, it means that you will no longer eat after being drunk. This etiquette of horizontal chopsticks has existed in our country since ancient times. Horizontal chopstick gifts are generally used between peers or friends who are familiar with each other. In order to show their respect for the elderly, the younger generation must wait for the elderly to cross the chopsticks before doing so. According to historical records, in the Song Dynasty, there was a Tang Su who was accompanying the emperor to eat meals when he committed the crime of disrespectful because he used chopsticks first. As a result, he was sent to the border. Nowadays, when people eat, even if they finish eating first, they do not immediately clean up the bowls and chopsticks. They will then clean them up together after the whole table is finished. It can be said that this is a continuation of the ancient horizontal chopstick etiquette, which means that "people do not accompany you."

In addition, placing chopsticks on the table with uneven lengths before or during a meal is also considered unlucky. This is called "three long and two short" and stands for "death". Because the coffin used to hold the dead is composed of two short wooden boards at the front and back, and three long wooden boards at the bottom on both sides, exactly three long and two short.

In fact, these table manners have a deep historical origin:

When the host pours tea for the guests, the guests should tap the table with their index and middle fingers to express their gratitude. It is said that this custom comes from the story of Qianlong's descent to Jiangnan. Legend has it that when Emperor Qianlong visited Jiangnan, he visited in disguise. Once, he came to a teahouse and poured tea for his servants. According to the rules of the palace, servants had to kneel and accept it. But in order not to expose Qianlong's identity, the servant had an idea and bent his index and middle fingers into a kneeling posture, tapping the table lightly instead of kneeling. Later, when the news spread, it gradually evolved into a etiquette when drinking tea. This custom is still very popular among overseas Chinese in Lingnan and Southeast Asia.

However, during interviews, it was found that many young Guangzhou people no longer pay much attention to these taboos. Miss Li, who works in the media, said that although her grandmother would always remind her of some taboos at home, she didn't pay much attention to these when she got along with friends and colleagues outside. "I often sigh 'I'm so full' after a good meal. Now young people don't believe those superstitions!" However, Miss Li said: "There are still some etiquette taboos to pay attention to, such as not ordering seven dishes when treating guests, not beating bowls and basins with chopsticks, etc."