China's various ethnic groups are known for their hospitality, but there are many taboos in receiving guests, hospitality, and courtesy, and at the same time, guests should also pay attention to following the local customs and asking the forbidden when entering the countryside, and do not violate the taboos, so as not to have an embarrassing situation.
1.Hospitality and social taboos
1) Do not stay in the accommodation for the elderly. As the saying goes, "Seventy doesn't stay overnight, eighty doesn't leave food." "This is mainly because I am worried that the other party is getting older, and I am afraid that something will happen.
2) Do not associate with monks, Taoist priests, nuns, etc. As the saying goes, "No nuns at the front door, no monks at the back door." "People believe that monks, Taoist priests, nuns, etc. walk the streets and alleys all day long, and it is easy to provoke right and wrong.
3) Use both hands to hand cigarettes, alcohol, and tea, not one hand. Take the initiative to light cigarettes for guests, and do not use a match to light three cigarettes when lighting cigarettes. Because when Chinese worship ancestors, worship heaven or worship gods, they use a match to light three incense sticks in succession. Interestingly, in addition to the number "13", the British also taboo the number "3", and it is equally taboo to use the same match to light cigarettes for three people in succession.
4) When pouring tea, keep the spout facing the guest. Because "spout" homonym "tiger's mouth" (5) Hospitality dishes should avoid singularity, and it is advisable to use even numbers, one takes the meaning of "good things come into pairs", and the other is singular dishes that worship gods and ancestors.
6) In Shandong and Hebei, guests generally avoid eating dumplings at the first meal, and there is a general saying among the people that they welcome guests with egg dumplings. Because dumplings are a send-off food, commonly known as "egg dumplings", eating dumplings at the first meal means that guests are not welcome.
7) The common Xi of the Han people is that guests should greet the host, especially the housewife, when they enter the door, and avoid entering the door without making a sound. In the Changyang area of Hubei, guests even shouted "congratulations" when they entered the door.
8) Go to other people's houses, avoid entering two rooms: the account room and the embroidery room. Because the "account room" is the place where the money goes in and out, and the "embroidery room" is the room where the girl lives.
9) Do not visit people with medicine bags or incense sticks. The folk saying is that these people have ghosts behind them and will bring them into the door.
10) During the mourning period, people are not allowed to enter other people's homes at will.
11) In Shandong and Hebei, when you are a guest at someone else's house, you should avoid turning the fish over, which is called "the guest does not turn the fish".
2.Gift-giving is a taboo
Some gifts have a certain symbolic meaning, so there are some taboos when giving gifts:
1) Do not give away with hand towels, as the saying goes: "Send a towel, break the roots; Send a towel, off the roots. In mourning, mourners give hand towels to the deceased to show that they have "severed" contact with the deceased.
2) Do not give fans to others. As the saying goes: "Send a fan, don't see each other."
3) Do not give away with knives and scissors, so as not to be suspected of hurting the other party.
4) Avoid sending steamed rice cakes and jujube cakes. During the Chinese New Year, every family must steam rice cakes and jujube cakes, and usually only the mourning family is steamed to keep filial piety.
5) Do not visit patients in the afternoon. If you can bring dates, chestnuts and oranges, the patient will be very happy. If you send someone to set off, send apples and oranges, and avoid sending raw pears, because "pear, leave" has the same sound, and "raw pear" is homophonic to "life and death", which will be reminiscent of "life and death".
6) It is taboo to send "bells" and "chrysanthemums". "Send the bell" is homophonic to "send the end" and "send the end" meaning is "to handle the funeral for the deceased, and also refers to the relatives taking care of them when they are dying", and "sending the bell" is obviously unlucky; And "chrysanthemum" is mostly used to worship the ancestors and pay tribute to the dead.