【正文】 ral cultivation and acplishment level as well. With the deepen of open policy in our country and the strengthen of munication between East and West, it is necessary for us to improve the consciousness of crosscultural munication and know the differences of table manners, such as sense of arriving time, seat arrangement, order of serving dishes, tableware, behaviors, munication and so on. The fully understanding of the differences can prevent the failure in politeness and promote personal status on the dinner table. Only if we realize cultural connotation of table manners and the differences between East and West, can we talk and behave decently in crosscultural munication and make social munication harmonious. With an acute eye and an irrepressible wit, Margaret Vassar takes a fascinating look at the way we eat our meals in the book The Rituals of Dinner. From the ancient Greeks to modern yuppies, from cannibalism and the taking of the Eucharist to formal dinners and piics, she thoroughly defines the eating ritual. She takes the different table manners in different areas and races to show the development of the world civilization. In the book Culture on Dinner Table, Mr. Yi Zhongtian (2004) says that the core thought of Chinese culture is group consciousness while the western core thought is individual consciousness. Westerners order respective dishes by themselves rather than ask others for what they want. On the contrary, Chinese agrees that personal will should obey group mon thought. In the book Differences and Syncretism of Etiquette Culture between East and West, Mr. Li Xiaojun explores the syncretism of etiquette culture between East and West on the basis of table manners to achieve the harmonious society. Yu Lin and Zhou You pare the cultural differences between East and West from the point of view on tableware, seat arrangement, dinner atmosphere and language. It aims at warning people to treat exotic culture with an objective, tolerant and respectful attitude while insisting on their own culture, in order to municate properly and appropriately in crosscultural munication. 3. Main Factors Causing the Differences GeographyAs we all know, different areas have different culture and custom. Because of the different location, natural conditions and geographical environment, different areas formed different regional culture which shows in that different nationalities using different language expression forms for the same kind of phenomenon or things. The geographical location and the environment lead to the differences between Chinese and western cultures. China is a big country with a vast territory abounding in natural resources, and the people’s way of life, customs, economic and cultural development, as well as general local conditions, all vary. For example, Chopsticks and, knife and fork are the most basic differences between Chinese and western table manners. You Xiuling, the professor of Zhejiang University, said that east and west appear different tablewares are related to the environment. Chopsticks should be originated in the place of lots of bamboo. There are much wood in north China and much bamboo in south China. So ancestors use local materials to make chopsticks and they became China39。s most primitive raw materials of chopsticks. The emergence of knife and fork is much later than that of chopsticks. According to the research of professor You Xiuling, the origin of knife and fork is related to the life habit of ancient European nomads, who always took knife along them and live on horseback. They cut down and eat meat as soon as it cooke