【正文】 Contrastive Study of Western and Chinese Concepts of Politeness, either of them would think the other is being polite. The English speaker is being polite to the extent that by accepting and showing appreciation of the pliment, he avoids hurting the positive face of the person who makes it。”It should be noted that these expressions employed by Chinese guests to show concern for their hosts can only be appropriate for business visits in the English environment. Compliments and ResponsesTo pliment is to praise the addressee’s virtues, ability, behavior, appearance, clothing, personality and belongs. Appropriate pliments can serve as effective supplementary means in interpersonal munication. Western and Chinese culture are plete opposites about pliment. A western hostess, if she is plimented for her cooking skill, is likely to say,” Oh, I am so glad that you liked it. I cook it especially for you.” Not so is a Chinese hostess, who wills instead apologies for giving you “Nothing”. She will say“隨便作幾個(gè)菜，不好吃。 protocol which means system of rules governing formal occasion, e .g, meetings between governments, diplomats, etc. And these words are all from the same French word etiquette. Therefore, most profound cultural ments of the western etiquette are from the Classical Period according to records of western culture. Today, etiquette bees the reflection and manifestation of one country’s politics, economy, and culture in people’s social contact. And it includes the principle and moral that people should obey in daily life. Etiquette formed in the process of the deposition of culture and social contact. So every nation has her own etiquette standards which created with the spirit of her nation which formed the cultural differences between different nations. As language is the carrier of the human culture. The differences certainly can reflect in the languages of different nations. So in the following, we will take British and America as the representation of Western in contrast to China, to look at different kinds of cultural differences in etiquette, and then analyze the factors of causing cultural differences with respect to etiquette. Furthermore, we will discuss how to learn western culture well in order to be perceived as polite.Chapter ⅠCultural differences on politeness between western and Chinese can be found in many aspects of daily munication, including addressing, greeting and parting, pliments, apologies, thanks, etc. In the following, we will look at some cultural differences between China and Western with respect to politeness. AddressingBoth western and Chinese people have two kinds of personal names——a surname and　a given name. But the order and the use of these names in the two languages are　somewhat different. In China, the surname es first and then the given name. And people like add“小”before their family names. Such as“小王”、“小鄭”、“小李”、“小徐”and so on. While westerners’ names are written and spoken with the given name first and the family name last. So John Smith’s family name is Smith, not John. In a formal setting, people address men as Mister (abbreviated asMr.), married women as Misses (abbreviated as Mrs.), and unmarried women as Miss　(abbreviated as Ms.).These days many women prefer to be addressed using the abbreviations　Ms.　Or M., pronounced miz. If the person has an honor of , they will often be addressed as Doctor (abbreviated as Dr.). Faculty is addressed as Professor (abbreviated as Prof.).　 In an informal situation, westerners will introduce each other by first name, without titles, and occasionally by just the last name. If you are introduced to somebody by first name, you can address him or her by first name the next time you meet. The only exception would be for someone who holds an important position, such as the university president or provost. Unless they tell you otherwise, faculty should be addressed using their title and last name (., Professor Smith). When in doubt, use the formal manner of address, because it is better to stand on the side of formality. It is also appropriate to ask how they prefer to be addressed. Children should always address adults in the formal fashion, using their title and last name. Another difference is about the form of addressing. From the viewpoint of sociolinguistics, forms of addressing can serve as an indication of the relationship of power and solidarity in the society. In calling their superiors or elders, Chinese are accustomed to the nonreciprocal or asymmetrical addressing, in other words, they use “title +surname” to address their superior or elders rather than call them surnames, The Chinese tend to obey the polite principle of depreciating oneself and respecting others to show appropriate respects towards the persons being addressed, otherwise, the addresser may be considered as ill mannered, ill educated or rude. But in English speaking countries, people have a tendency to follow the reciprocal or symmetrical addressing. Although they are different in age and status, they can call the other directly, even first names except when they call the doctors, not arousing offence between them, but demonstrating the sense of intimacy and the conception of” Everyone is created equal”. Chinese people feel unnatural addressing a westerner by his given name, feeling that it indicates too close a relationship. While westerners may feel that if a Chinese insists on using his surname, it indicates an unwillingness to be friendly and maintains a gap between them. So the use of forms like “Miss Mary” or “Mr. Smith” may be a Chinese form of promise. With Miss Mary, the use of the given name indicates friendliness, but the addition of the title indicates the respect they feel they ought to show. And with Smith, the lack of a title indicates friendliness, but the use of the surname sounds too intimate. However, both addressing used by the Chinese sound very strange and unfortable to the westerner. Greeting and Parti