标题: Table Manners [打印本页] 作者: choi 时间: 6-4-2013 07:41 标题: Table Manners (1) Don't Be Disgusting. New York Times, June 2, 2013 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/0 ... nni-della-casa.html
(book review on Giovanni Della Casa, Gelateo; Or, the rules of polite behavior. (published in 1558 and now a new translation) University of Chicago Press, 2013)
the first two paragraphs:
"In Renaissance Europe, Italy was Etiquette Central, attracting all the fascination and ridicule that go with that honor.
"English readers in the early 17th century assumed Tom Coryate, a professional jester turned travel writer, was joking when he reported that Italians did not attack their food with hands and hunting knives as did normal people, even normal royalty. Those finicky Italians wielded forks, a nicety that did not become common in the rest of Europe for another two centuries.
My comment:
(a) There is no need to read the rest.
(b) A new year ago, there was a book review on New York Times, about Europeans using a hunting knife to cut meat, before a table knife was invented. The review did not mention the time or how the utensils were spread.
(c) Renaissance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance
(spanned the period roughly from the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in [Florence,] Italy)
(d) Tom Coryat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Coryat
(also Coryate; c 1577-1617; often credited with introducing the table fork to England)
(e) fork http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork
(section 1 History: In Italy, it became quite popular by the 14th century, being commonly used for eating by merchant and upper classes by 1600. * * * most of Europe did not adopt use of the fork until the 18th century)
(f) chopsticks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chopsticks
(section 2 History)作者: choi 时间: 6-4-2013 07:42
(2) Christiana Larson, The Chinese Take Their Etiquette Seriously. Bloomberg BusinessWeek, June 3, 2013. http://www.businessweek.com/arti ... n-western-etiquette
Quote:
"Prices [in Ho's school] run from 20,000 yuan ($3,260) for a two-day dining etiquette course to 100,000 yuan for a 12-day hostessing course.
My comment:
(a) Summary underneath the title in print: Many have riches; now they want Western manners. First step: Don't rattle the teacup
(b) Ritan Park (Beijing) 日坛 公园
(c) "'Both of you are stirring incorrectly. It should be front and back, not in a circle,' says their instructor, Sara Jane Ho"
(i)
(A) Mike Lininger, Tea Etiquette. Etiquette Scholar, undated http://www.etiquettescholar.com/ ... /tea_etiquette.html
("Stirring a cup of tea is done gently and noiselessly by moving the teaspoon in a small arch back and forth in the center of the cup. Do not allow the teaspoon to touch the sides or rim of the cup")
(B) Joy Weaver, Tea-Time Manners. Affluent (magazine), December 2008 http://www.affluentmagazine.com/articles/article/340
("Never stir so others can hear it. Do not allow the teaspoon to touch the sides of the cup. Quietly stir in a little figure-eight motion")
(ii) Sara Jane HO, founder of Institute Sarita 何佩嵘 (香港人) / 瑞雅礼仪 http://www.institutesarita.com/?page_id=2
(iii) Sarita http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarita
(Sarita is a Spanish diminutive of the name "Sara")
(d) "Ho also uses lessons from an HBS leadership class she took to teach women how to 'stand up for yourself' on bad dates. That’s not so intuitive in a society that avoids confrontation and directly saying 'no.' (Often in China, 'perhaps' means 'no.'”)
I really hated the second part. In Taiwan, I asked for a date. Women agreed on time and place to meet. I went, and found myself stood up. What a waste of time. After coming to the US, I appreciate the American way.
(e) "Beijing cultural essayist Lijia ZHANG" 张 丽佳