【正文】 people are expected to take the initiative in advancing their personal interests and happiness. Etiquette is after all a very basic part of social heritage. Daily munication etiquette is seriously affected by collectivist or individualist preferences within various countries, where the human relationshipsthe relationships between the king and the minister, between father and son, between husband and wife, between the old and the y。 people tend not to be emotionally dependent on anizations and institutions。 what is good and what is bad. Value systems are culturally diverse, and they determine the differences of municative acts among different cultures. In the following we will discuss the basic concepts of value systems in Chinese and English. Collectivism and Individualism Collectivism is characterized by individuals subordinating their personal goals to the goals of some collectives and by a rigid social framework that distinguishes between ingroup and outgroup. People expect their ingroup relative, clans, and anizations to look after them, so that they feel they owe absolute loyalty to the group. Collectivism in the Chinese culture is “we” consciousness and collectivityorientation. It values interdependence and denies individual aggressive behavior. Group achievement is emphasized, and a harmonious ingroup interaction is the goal. Collectivism is the core of Chinese culture. And naturally, Chinese etiquette manifests many collectivistic features. The stress on social harmony explains the Chinese emphasis on placing social needs over individual needs. This need for social harmony is a very important aspect of the psychological reality with a perceived need to reduce tension, to reduce uncertainty and to maintain harmony between interactions. Individualism is characterized by individuals subordinating the goals of collectives to their personal goals. The major characteristic of individualism in the English culture is “I.” Consciousness a nd selforientation: petition rather than cooperation is encouraged。 between the senior and junior, the senior should extend first. Man can’t hold too tight while shaking hands with lady. People generally use right hands to shake hands. If one can’t use the right hand, he should use left hand and give the reason to the other side in order to gain the pardon of others. Generally speaking, host’s initiative enthusiastic handshaking is the essential courtesy, which can add the cordial sense. Handshaking is a courtesy for the first meeting, congratulation, thanks or encouragement. This etiquette in EuroAmerican countries is a little different from China. The protocol of kissing is a traditional and popular behavior in foreign countries, which like China’s traditional protocol of bowing to show friendship and goodwill. But shaking hands is still popular in Englishspeaking countries。 therefore eating came to bee a big problem. It was recorded in history books that our ancestors only had two meals a day in ancient times. Even so, those poor people still had one meal without knowing where the next one was. People in some places haven’t begun to have three meals a day until the Han Dynasty. They economized on food and clothing. So when people met each other, they liked to greet each other with “ 吃了嗎？ ”(“Have you eaten?”). Now this greeting still used by Chinese people when greet each other. “Have you had your meal?” Chinese people know that it’s not a question but a greeting, and the speaker usually does not expect to receive a clear answer. Although it takes the form of a question, it is a mon Chinese greeting around a meal time, nothing more than “Hello” or “Hi” in English. But foreigners who are greeted in this way do not think this way and may feel annoyed, and even offended. To some Americans, this question might suggest “I haven’t either. Come on, let’s go together and get something to eat” or “If you haven’t, I am just going to invite you to my place.” That is , it would suggest an invitation to a meal. So, in the interaction with foreigners, Chinese should avoid such greetings as “Where are you going?”, “Have you eaten?” The most mon forms of greeting among the Englishspeaking people are “Good morning”, “Go od afternoon” “Good evening” “How are you?” “How do you do?” “Hello!” “Hi!” “How’s everything going?” Etc. In today’s China more and more people, especially those in urban areas, tend to use ni/nin hao (你 /您好 ) which is close to “How are you ?”or “Hello!” or “Hi!” But some traditional ways of greeting in China differ a lot from English greeting. When people in Englishspeaking countries, especially people in the United Kingdom, meet each other, they often greet each other by talking about the weather. For example, they often begin their talk by saying “It’s a fine day, isn’t it?” or “its terrible weather today.” They use these expressions to greet because these “small talks” serve th e functions of creating friendly atmosphere. In addition the weather is a neutral topic which does not refer to any privacy, so talking about weather is safe enough not to touch the others’ privacy. As we all know, when people in Englishspeaking countries meet each other, they also use “Good morning!” “Good afternoon!” “Good evening!” “How are you?” “How are you doing?” or “How is everything?” to greet one another. Acquaintances even use “Hello!” or “Hi!” to greet each other4. In addition, when most native Englishspeaking people meet for the first time, they often say something like “I’m pleased to meet you.” “I’ m very glad to meet you.” etc. and when they depart， they often remark “its nice meeting you.” or “It’s nice to have met you”, while Chinese peopl e have no such expressions for such occasions. Etiquette of First Meeting When people meet for the first time they conduct gen