Chinese Table Manners: You Are How You Eat

Cooper, Eugene

doi:10.17730/humo.45.2.4034u85x3058m025

Cited by 30 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…In the words of Roland Barthes, "Food has a constant tendency to transform itself into situation" (1979:171). Virtually all aspects of foodways are subject to symbolization, from the phenomenon of food itself to production and procurement (Dubisch 1989;Egri 1997;O'Brien 2003); preservation (Martin 1979); planning and structuring meals (Douglas 1972;Douglas and Nicod 1974;Nicod 1979); preparing items (Brown 1981;Cicala 1995;Goldman 1981); patterns of service and presentation (Allison 1997;Graham 1981;Shuman 1981); placement of diners and the nature of their interaction (Bossard 1943;Humphrey 1988;Whitehead 1984); performance of consumption or manners and eating styles (E. Adler 1981;Cooper 1986;Mori, Chaiken, and Pliner 1987); participants in food events (Georges 1984) and their philosophy or beliefs (Devine et al 1999;Prosterman 1981) as well as their personal food systems (Smart and Bisogni 2001); and even the proscription against food intake as, for example, fasting used for political purposes (Gold and Newton 1998;Levine 1993) and in instances of anorexia. If foodrelated symbolism is complicated, then the relationship between food and identity is no less problematic.…”

Section: Mulling Over the Language Of Foodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food Choice, Symbolism, and Identity: Bread and Butter Issues for Folkloristics and Nutrition Studies (American Folklore Society Presidential Address, October 2005)

Jones¹

2007

jaf

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Research on food abounds, from the history of differing types of fare to the relationship between provisioning and culture, gender roles, and eating disorders. In disciplines concerned with health and nutrition, few studies focus on the metaphorical aspects of alimentation; while many ethnographic works do deal with the symbolic nature of gastronomy, they tend to emphasize eating as commensality and food as an expression of identity in ethnic, regional, and religious groups. Symbolic discourse involving cuisine is pervasive and complex, however, manifesting itself in a wide variety of contexts and exhibiting multiple meanings that may be ambiguous, conflicting, or pernicious. Understanding how messages are conveyed through culinary behavior requires an examination not only of victuals but also of the preparation, service, and consumption of food-for all are grist for the mill of symbolization. Here, I bring together a number of ideas about the iconic nature of cooking and eating: what is fodder for symbol creation, how and why meanings are generated, and what some of the effects of food-related representations are. I also problematize identity as it relates to food. My goal is to suggest directions for future research on foodways as well as applications in fields concerned with nutrition education, counseling, and dietary change.One could not stand and watch [the slaughtering] very long without becoming philosophical, without beginning to deal in symbols and similes, and to hear the hog-squeal of the universe. -Upton Sinclair, The JungleMy points are simply stated. First, not only particular foodstuffs but also the procuring, preparing, and consuming of provisions figure largely in symbolic discourse regarding identity, values, and attitudes. Second, people have multiple identitiesethnic, regional, gendered, or classed, which have dominated inquiry, but also many others that rarely have been examined-and these identities are dynamic, subject to Michael Owen Jones teaches folklore courses in the

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Section: Mulling Over the Language Of Foodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food Choice, Symbolism, and Identity: Bread and Butter Issues for Folkloristics and Nutrition Studies (American Folklore Society Presidential Address, October 2005)

Jones¹

2007

jaf

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“…From infancy, Chinese children are repeatedly reminded that no grain of rice should be left in one's bowl or on the table because “each single grain of rice or corn was obtained through the drops of sweat of the tillers of the soil” (Hsu & Hsu, , p. 305). Sometimes children are threatened that each of the leftover grains “will materialize as a pockmark on the face of their future spouse” (Cooper, , p. 181). Therefore, it is considered disrespectful to leave food, particularly rice, unfinished in the individual bowl.…”

Section: Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Learning to Eat Politely at the Chinese Homestay Dinner Table: Two Contrasting Case Studies

Lee

et al. 2017

Foreign Language Annals

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While study abroad homestays are often credited with providing opportunities for language and cultural learning, at times they can be characterized by communicative, cross‐cultural, or interpersonal discord. In documenting these conflicts and their consequences, research to date has relied largely on students' self‐reports, often focusing on their negative effect on students' orientations to learning. Grounded in Vygotskian sociocultural theory, this study adopts a longitudinal approach to the multimodal, multisensory process of learning table etiquette in Chinese homestays, including the perspectives of both hosts and students. Analysis of communicative interactions, photographs, diaries, and interviews reveals that the hosts directed students' attention to their inadequate etiquette at mealtimes through contextualized directives and accusations. These face‐threatening acts stipulated dos and don'ts while also ultimately cultivating some habits of virtuous eating. Over time, face‐threatening acts became repertoires of communicative resources invoked by students to control their social and mental activity. The findings suggest that students and hosts can collaboratively resolve homestay problems, transforming them into opportunities for learning.

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“…In addition, table manners also distinguish different social classes (Cooper, 1986). Food can still be used as the means to mark a connection with a higher social class.…”

Section: Food and Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Brief Introduction to Anthropological Perspectives on Diet: Insights into the Study of Overseas Chinese

Ing¹

2011

ACH

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Anthropology has long been interested in human diets. The main objective of this article is to introduce the perspective of cultural anthropology about food in culture, and the way by which food embodies the relevant sociocultural significances. The case studies chosen cover the study of the Chinese in Malaysia, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as studies conducted in the Asia and Pacific Islands. The short review in this article aims to provide some ideas and case studies about the interrelationship between food and culture. The anthropological perspective of food in different cultures may provide an insight into the study of Overseas Chinese and help to expand it to a wider concern on a variety of human activities. In this way, the writer believes the study of Overseas Chinese can mark its particularity, research value and potential in world academia.

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Chinese Table Manners: You Are How You Eat

Cited by 30 publications

References 0 publications

Food Choice, Symbolism, and Identity: Bread and Butter Issues for Folkloristics and Nutrition Studies (American Folklore Society Presidential Address, October 2005)

Food Choice, Symbolism, and Identity: Bread and Butter Issues for Folkloristics and Nutrition Studies (American Folklore Society Presidential Address, October 2005)

Learning to Eat Politely at the Chinese Homestay Dinner Table: Two Contrasting Case Studies

A Brief Introduction to Anthropological Perspectives on Diet: Insights into the Study of Overseas Chinese

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