【正文】 e that tableware should be convenient to the guest. Chinese food requires that the appliance is in readiness, forming with clear, spacing with equal and looking tidy and beautiful. Usually, the tableware includes a small soup bowl, chopsticks, a plate, a ladle and a cup for water or a goblet for win. Since different places have different custom, there are differences in using tableware. I only introduce a mon principle of setting a table. Put the plate on the table nearby the table side about 1 centimeter. The goblet is facing to the plate. If there are two kinds of goblets, usually the one for the red win is facing to the plate, and the other for the liquor is on the right of the plate and the left of the plate is the cup. In the cup is the napkin. The bowl is placed to the left front of the plate with the ladle lying in. The chopsticks are to the right of the plate. Besides, there should be a serving spoon. In a word, the setting of tableware should be balance and convent to the guest. Americans have a standard way to set a table. The dinner plate is in the center. A knife is on the right with the sharp edge facing the plate. A teaspoon is to the right of the knife. A soup spoon is to the right of the teaspoon. A napkin is usually folded in half and placed to the left of the plate. Tow forks are on top of the napkin, a big diner fork and a small salad fork. The salad fork is to the left of the dinner fork. The dessert fork may be above the plate rather than to the side of the plate. E. Different Ways of Sending Foods Sending food is throughout the course of banquet. According to the Chinese food custom, in different places there are different ways of sending foods. Here I just introduce the usual way. The meal usually begins with a set of at least four cold dishes, and then the following is the main courses of hot meat and vegetable dishes. Soup then will be served (unless in Guangdong style restaurants) to be followed by staple food ranging from rice, noodles to dumplings. If you wish to have your rice to go with other dishes, you should say so in good time, for most of the Chinese choose to have the staple food at last or have none of them at all. Perhaps one of the things that surprise a Western visitor most is that some of the Chinese hosts like to put food into the plates of their guests. In formal dinners, there are always “public” chopsticks and spoons for this purpose, bu t some hosts may use their own chopsticks. This is a sign of genuine friendship and politeness. It is always polite to eat the food. If you do not eat it, just leave the food in the plate. People in China tend to overorder food, for they will find it embarrassing if all the food is consumed. When you have had enough, just say so. Or you will always overeat! Unlike China, The main difference between Western and Chinese eating habits is that, in Western countries, dinner may e in courses or parts. A “five course” meal is an appetizer, soup, salad, the entr233。e (main course), dessert, and coffee or tea. Water, milk, soda, or wine may be served with the main meal. A main course may be meat and vegetables, a pasta dish, or a casserole. F. Different Manners of Drinking China has an old saying: “No alcohol, No Banquet”. Alcohol is a big part of eating in China. Especially when dining with Chinese hosts, you may expect to drink beer. If you are not a drinker, or don39。t feel up to the challenge, just say I don39。t drink. It is generally acceptable to use Coke or tea as an alcohol substitute. Chinese think that only drinking alcohol is bad for the body. So they usually have some dishes, but not too much, just some peanuts or some other nuts. While drinking, they usually don’t add ice or water into the alcohol. Besides, they always make the ladle full and give the ladle to the old to show respect. And the host must propose a toast to the guest and the younger to the older. On the contrary, the Westerners usually drink some cocktails or wine before lunch and supper. And they drink different wine before and after a meal. The Westerners do not persuade others to drink if they refuse. Ⅴ. Conclusion By the parison and analysis we have made, one conclusion may be drawn, that it is the difference hidden in the Chinese and Western cultures that leads to those disparities reflected in each individual food culture. Chinese and Western food culture should deserve the same respect from each other. Certainly, Chinese and Western food culture do not exist in isolation. Many ponents in a culture, such as customs, traditions, and behaviors can spread from one nation to another. More and more crossculture contacts have brought many changes and new elements into the development of each culture, not just confined to the food aspect. However, this does not mean that everything from other cultures will be accepted immediately without any selection or consideration. On the contrary, during this process of exchange, cultures usually adopt only those elements that are patible with their values and beliefs or that can be modified without causing major disruption to enrich themselves and achieve a new integration on a higher level, as pointed out by Professor Gu that culture is of pensation and The study of table manners is a broad issue, which involves a wide rang of aspects, and a parative study of Chinese and western table manners from the crossculture munication perspective contains even more. This paper is mainly focused on a small part of the whole study. Actually, there are many other aspects to be studied. Besides, table manners in Western countries concerned in the research are mainly confined to American and Britain due to the fact that the available information or materials is limited.