Chapter 16 Section 4 Hospitality

Hospitality has been a traditional custom of the Chinese nation since ancient times. Confucius once said: "It is a great pleasure to have friends coming from afar." ("The Analects of Confucius Xueer") hospitality also reflects the virtues and customs of the Chinese nation.The so-called hospitality is not only to treat guests with courtesy, but also to feel at home. Therefore, enthusiasm, frankness, friendliness, and harmony have become a kind of civilized behavior of hospitality, which has been passed down from generation to generation. The ancients attached great importance to interpersonal communication, "it is inappropriate to come and not to go", since there is a visit and a return visit is necessary, this is called etiquette.It is a kind of etiquette to show hospitality.From welcoming guests and friends to seeing them off, there is always a warm and hospitable atmosphere.Whenever guests and friends come to visit, the host first greets the guests outside the door, greets the guests, and then enters the door after exchanging greetings. This is a common greeting ceremony used by the ancients.Afterwards, the host led the guests up the steps and into the main room to talk.When climbing the steps, there was the etiquette of "gathering on the steps" in ancient times. "Book of Rites · Qu Lishang" says: "The host and the guest give way to the climber, the host climbs up first, gathers up the steps, and steps up." That is to say, the host's front foot climbs up to the first level, and then the rear foot is in line with it.Then go up to the next level, and then join the feet.The purpose of climbing the steps in this way is to take care of the guest so that he can keep up with the master without making the guest feel left out and nervous.When climbing the steps and entering the main room, there are two kinds of etiquette in ancient times: one is "when you go to the hall, you must raise your voice".That is to say, the speaking voice should be raised appropriately so that the people in the main room know that the guests have arrived.The second is "when you enter the house, you must look down" (same as above). This is the etiquette that guests should observe, that is, when entering the main room, the eyes should look down.Because although the host knows that the guests are coming, there are still things that have not been cleaned up in time.In doing so, you can avoid causing embarrassment and embarrassment to the host.

After entering the main room, the host and guests sit at the table.However, the ancients were very particular about the number of seats, that is, the arrangement of seats.According to the regulations of etiquette, if you meet guests indoors, the seat facing east is respected; if you meet guests in the hall, the seat facing south is respected.Visitors will of course be invited to sit in honorable seats.The ancients attached great importance to the arrangement of seats. It not only shows the host's respect for the guests, but also shows that the honored seat is the core of all seats. The person sitting in this seat will naturally become a figure admired by others.After the fall of the Qin Dynasty, the "Chu-Han War" between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang broke out.At that time, Xiang Yu had 400,000 soldiers, known as one million; Liu Bang had only 100,000 soldiers, known as 200,000.The disparity in strength forced Liu Bang to take the tactic of delaying his troops. Accompanied by Zhang Liang and Fan Kuai (kuai kuai), he went to Hongmen (now northeast of Lintong, Shaanxi) in person to plead guilty to Xiang Yu.Xiang Yu hosted a banquet in honor of Liu Bang and his party.But in terms of seating, Xiang Yu made careful arrangements: Liu Bang's seat was arranged on the south side and north, while Xiang Yu and his uncle Xiang Bo sat on the west side and east.This was arranged by Xiang Yu who thought he was the overlord of Western Chu and respected Liu Bang.Generally, the order of the seats in the room is east (facing east), south, north, and west; while the order of the seats in the hall is south, west, east, and north.Therefore, the emperor sits on the hall and faces south, which means he is superior to the officials and the common people.In Chinese history, when civil and military officials went to court, there was also the etiquette regulation of "Wen left and Wu right", that is, civil officials stood on the left side of the emperor, and military generals stood on the right side of the emperor, that is, Wen Dong Wu Xi.This is because the emperors believed that fighting the world with martial arts and governing the world with literature.After the establishment of the regime, the emphasis was naturally placed on "cultural governance", so there was a ranking of civil officials in the court above military commanders.This rule of etiquette was also reflected in the layout of Beijing during the Ming and Qing dynasties.On the left (i.e. east) of Chengtianmen (later renamed Tiananmen) South Zhengyangmen (i.e. Qianmen) is Chongwenmen, and on the right (i.e. west) is Xuanwumen.However, in Chinese history, there were also some ethnic groups who respected the right, such as the Mongolian people, who respected the right, so the ranking in the palace would be respected from the east to the west.In daily life, arranging the guests in honorable positions actually shows the respect of the host.In ancient times, four people sat at a table.However, if there are many people and two or more people need to sit on one side, the end of the seat will be the position of the venerable.If you are alone, sit in the seat, and the Venerable usually sits alone.Therefore, young or humble people "cannot sit in the middle seat", that is, they cannot sit in the middle of the seat.

During the conversation of the guest of honor, the ancients also paid great attention to etiquette. In addition to using words appropriately, they should also pay attention to the solemnity of appearance, and no frivolous or dissolute behavior is allowed.Even when laughing, a toothless smile is advisable. "Ordinary people will show their teeth when they laugh a lot, and they will show their teeth when they smile moderately, but they will not see them when they smile." Tooth cold" to ridicule those who make fun of others. When guests and friends come to visit and gather together, the host will inevitably host a banquet.Even though it was a feast, the ancients still attached great importance to etiquette.First of all, when making dishes, pay attention to fineness and hygiene. "The smell of cattle, sheep, and fish should be eaten and cut to eat; the elk is used as the oyster [zuzu], and the wild hog is used as the porch, and neither should be cut; the fructus [junjun, deer] is the chicken, and the rabbit is the spleen. , All of them should be cut. Cut the green onions like scallions [xiexie], and the real acyl [xixi, vinegar] to soften them." ("Book of Rites·Shaoyi") is about raw meat such as cattle, sheep, fish, etc., First cut into thin pieces, and then cut into thin slices; elk meat is cut into slices, and wild boar into slices, but they are all cut into thin slices, and no more finely cut; deer meat should be cut into shreds, and rabbit meat should also be cut Shredded meat is first cut into thin slices, and then finely cut into shreds.In addition, cut the onions and scallions into thin shreds, soak them in vinegar, and mix them with the meat to remove the fishy smell and make the meat more tender.After all kinds of dishes are ready, there are also rules of etiquette when they are served at the banquet. "Fan Qi, hold it to the right and live to the left", which means that for all soup-like foods mixed with seasonings such as salt plums, when serving, you should hold the container with your right hand and hold it with your left hand. To keep it steady and avoid spills.When arranging the dishes, "the one who is ashamed of the fish enters the tail; the right side is fat in winter, and the right fin is in summer." If the fish is served together with the soup, the tail of the fish is facing the guests; in winter, the belly of the fish is facing the right of the guests. ; If it is summer, point the fins to the right of the guests.There are also certain rules for the placement of wine glasses, "guests are on the left, and drinking is on the right", that is, when the host entertains guests, the drinking glass is placed on the left, and then moved to the right when drinking.

The ancients were also polite when eating. "When Yan serves food to a gentleman, he eats first and then finishes. Don't let the rice go, and don't let it flow [chuo Chuo]. The small meal is urgent, and the number of 噍 [jiao] is not for the mouth." When dining with the elders , you should pick up the chopsticks to eat first, but you can only put down the chopsticks after the elder has finished eating.Don't drop rice grains on the table when eating, let alone spill soup on the table.The meal needs to be eaten in small bites, but the second bite of rice can only be eaten after one bite of rice is swallowed.You can't put several mouthfuls of rice into your mouth at the same time to make your cheeks swell.Although guests and friends are guests at the host’s house, after the meal the guests have to help the host to clean up the tableware. hands on.

The etiquette of entertaining guests in ancient times seems to be too cumbersome in the eyes of today's people, but it is precisely these seemingly trivial etiquettes that reflect the hospitality and civility. In the etiquette of hospitality in ancient China, there is also a "throwing pot" ceremony.After the banquet begins, the host and guest not only toast each other and express their friendship, but also use "throwing pots" to cheer up the wine during the banquet.It not only shows the host's kindness, but also enlivens the atmosphere during the banquet, makes the guests feel relaxed and happy, and at the same time enables the guests to drink more wine. "If you want to have fun with wine, you must throw songs into the pot" ("Book of the Later Han·Cai Zun Biography").Touhu is actually an ancient game. The ancients used it in banquets, and it became a popular banquet etiquette, which was recorded in "Book of Rites: Touhu".During the banquet, the host took out an arrow (also known as a thorn, with a sharp end like a thorn), and warmly invited the guests and friends present: "There is a wrong arrow (meaning the arrow with a bent shaft), and the whistle pot (meaning the arrow with a crooked mouth). pot), please treat me as a guest of joy." The guests thanked: "I have given you wine (meaning good wine) and delicacies (meaning delicacies), I have given you a gift, but I also value pleasure, so I dare to say goodbye." The host invited Three times, the guest refused three times. Seeing that the host's hospitality was hard to turn down, he accepted the arrow.Among the guests who are older or respected than the host, after receiving the arrows, they can put the arrows on the table, take one and throw one; if they are younger or inferior, they can only hold the arrows in their arms and cannot Put it somewhere else.According to the regulations of the "Ceremony of Throwing Pots", the throwing of pots is carried out in rounds, and each person is given four arrows in each round.In different places, the arrows used in throwing pots are different in shape: for indoor throwing pots, the arrow length is two feet; for hall throwing pots, the arrow length is two feet and eight inches; for courtyard throwing pots, the arrow length is three feet and six inches.This is because in different places, the space for activities varies in size. The larger the space for activities, the longer the arrow will be, and the actual throwing distance will be farther.The pitcher, that is, the wine pot placed in the banquet, has a smaller mouth and a longer neck.After the start of the pot throwing, the host and guest take turns to throw their arrows to the mouth of the pot, and the one who throws more arrows into the pot is the winner.Generally, when throwing pots, everyone must first jointly select a referee——Ji She, who is responsible for determining the location of the pots, usually two and a half arrows away from the south of the seat.The guest of honor starts to throw pots, and Si She uses "筭 [suan suan]" (an ancient counting chip) to count the number of each person's hit. Last one.Everyone takes turns holding one arrow and throwing the pot, and then holding the second arrow and throwing the pot in turn.After all the four arrows have been cast, the shooter will determine the winner according to the number of arrows each person gets.Then send four arrows to each person for the second round of pot throwing.After three rounds of pot throwing, the winner will be the winner with two or three wins, and the loser will be punished to drink alcohol.When holding the pot throwing ceremony, there is no distinction between seniority and inferiority, and the order of throwing pots is only in accordance with the order of seats, and of course the arrows must be thrown in sequence.If the thrower is out of order and throws first, even if he hits the shot, the shooter will not be counted, and he will even be fined to drink.Because throwing pots is a very interesting game activity, which can not only harmonize the relationship between the guests and hosts, but also enliven the atmosphere of the banquet, making the guests lively and cheerful, so it is very popular among people and generally appears in banquets of people from all walks of life. , It was still very popular until the Tang Dynasty.

When the ancients held a banquet, there was also a game of drinking orders, which was also used to add to the fun and enliven the atmosphere.Before the drinking order, the guests mainly jointly elect one person as the ordering officer, and the others must obey the ordering officer's decision, or play games or compose poems according to the order. Those who violate the order or those whose poems are not good will be punished for drinking.This kind of etiquette for banquets has been very popular since the Tang Dynasty, especially among literati who prefer this kind of civilized and elegant etiquette game.Of course, there are certain requirements for the elected wine order officer. He must drink first to show that he is ordered by everyone to perform the wine order.Cao Xueqin wrote in the fortieth chapter "Shi Taijun Two Banquets in the Grand View Garden, Golden Mandarin Duck and Three Proclamation of Teeth" that when Jia's mother, Grandma Liu, Shi Xiangyun and others were having a banquet in the Grand View Tower, Jia's mother first laughed and said: "Let's have two cups first. It would be interesting to make an order today." So Wang Xifeng recommended the mandarin ducks to carry out the wine order.The mandarin duck half pushed and half agreed, thanked him for sitting, sat down, drank a cup of wine, and said with a smile: "The wine order is as big as a military order. No matter how high or low, I am the master. If you violate my words, you will be punished." Then she used "domino pairs" (two or three dots on the dominoes to form a set, called a pair) as a rhyme, so that everyone could use poems, songs, idioms and sayings to rhyme with it.Because of the game of drinking orders, there is no distinction between high and low in the banquet, so that the host and guest have no sense of restraint, chat and laugh happily, and the atmosphere is lively and harmonious, and the guests and friends do not feel like "guests".The friendship between the host and the guests is thus more profound.

When the banquet is over, the guests take their leave.At this time, the host has to see the guests off, usually outside the gate, and the guests will thank them again before leaving. Hospitality, as a fine tradition of the Chinese nation, in the long history of development, although the form of hospitality has been changing, but the degree of enthusiasm has not diminished at all.In history, our country has had friendly exchanges with neighboring and adjacent countries.When foreign envoys came to our country on orders, the imperial court at that time showed great enthusiasm for these guests who came from afar, and gave them thoughtful hospitality without losing the demeanor of a civilized country.Today, the Chinese nation's tradition of hospitality is still praised by all countries.