Why do people in China have the habit of persuading them to eat?

China has one thing that best embodies the spirit of cooperation, and that is eating. Ten or twelve people eat a dish and drink a bowl of soup. At the banquet, I pay attention to lifting chopsticks and putting food in my mouth at the same time, but I have never chewed the same rhythm. There is a joke in legend. A foreigner asked a China man, "I heard that there are 24 people in China who hold banquets. Is it true? " China people said, "This is true." The foreigner said, "The food is too far away, how can chopsticks hold it?" China people said, "We have a kind of chopsticks three feet long." The foreigner said, "It's okay to hold it with those three-foot chopsticks, but how do you get the food into your mouth?" China people said, "We help each other. You gave me food and I gave it to you! "

China people not only show the spirit of cooperation, but also conform to the principle of economy. Everyone in the west has a dish, and eating the rest is a waste of time; Let's eat a dish for ten people in China. What you don't like is exactly what I like. Everyone adjusts to each other and takes what they need. So China people's banquets often have no leftovers; Even if there are leftovers, the total amount is not as much as that of western food-if the dishes at Chinese and western banquets are equivalent.

With these two advantages, China people should be complacent and think that the system of sage rites and music finally has the perfect idea of eating this layer. However, our sages are still not satisfied. They think that eating without giving is close to animals, so they advocate giving in food. At first, it was passive concession, that is, let people pick up food first and let them eat more good things; Later, positive concessions were added, that is, putting good things into other people's plates, rice bowls and even mouths. In fact, positive concession is also born of negative concession: I don't eat or eat less when I meet good food, so that you can eat more; At the same time, I am a gentleman's belly, knowing that you won't eat more, in order to let me. In this deadlock, I must contend with you in order to make my concession overcome yours! Therefore, persuading dishes has become an important part of "rural drinking ceremony".

The custom of persuading dishes can be found everywhere, but it is especially popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and other well-known comity towns. Men advise sloppy, just put the food on your plate; Women are the most attentive, and they must send the food to your rice bowl. As usual, the host advised the guests, but after the host advised, anyone who thinks he is a close friend of the host can advise the guests on behalf of the host. Sometimes, a dish of "good food" is spread by ten pairs of chopsticks, and after traveling all over the world, it is returned to its original owner! If you are the new uncle, the situation is different. You are always the target of public criticism. Everyone on the table piled up "good dishes" in your rice bowl, so full that your nose touched abalone, your eyes touched diced chicken, your lips were covered with gravy, and you could hardly eat a bite. I often think, why not design such a bowl of bibimbap from the beginning, especially for distinguished guests, but ask everyone to be busy for a while?

Persuading food is a virtue, but there is also a question of whether hobbies are the same. Mencius said: "The mouth is for taste, and there are similarities and differences." I think this sentence of his old man's house is somewhat inappropriate, and at least a "proviso" should be added. I prefer a French proverb: "Taste and color are indisputable." This means that people like the taste of food and the color of clothes, and there is no certain standard of good and evil. In this way, the "good food" that the host likes may not be what the guests think is delicious. The raw materials and cooking methods of Yaozhuan can easily lead to different opinions (especially people from different backgrounds). Sometimes, forcing a guest to eat something he doesn't like is more embarrassing than being polite. Ten years ago, I was a guest. After my rice bowl was full of fish, shrimp, chickens and ducks, I suddenly put down my chopsticks and declared that I was full. I didn't say, "Then please change a bowl of rice for me!" " Until the host repeatedly persuaded. Looking back now, I feel that I was still relatively young at that time; However, until now, if I encounter the same situation again and feel anxious for a while, it is hard to guarantee that I will not handle it in the same way!

China people are harmonious, perhaps because of the exchange of body fluid. Although some people advocate sharing food, at the same time, others deliberately make it irreconcilable. For example, a bowl of new soup, the owner likes to stir the contents with his own spoon first; The host also likes to mix a new dish with chopsticks. As for persuading food, I don't care so much. After traveling around the world, there are six or seven people's body fluids on it. In the future, science will be more prosperous, and maybe there will be a microscope to let us see the details of body fluids spreading germs at banquets. Now, as far as I can see with the naked eye, I'm concerned that it doesn't occupy a seat. The host is a man with rich body fluid. When he speaks, he spits out a lot of saliva, and there are often body fluids like cobwebs between his upper and lower teeth. After sitting down, the owner's chopsticks come in and out of this "spider web". Later, when he advised me to eat vegetables, he took his chopsticks, which had hurried in and out of this "spider web", and respectfully sent them to my plate. I can hardly believe my tongue! It's a plate of fried pheasant slices. Why did it taste delicious when I put it in myself just now, but it didn't taste good when the host respectfully put it in to persuade me? I failed my master. I admit that my temper is not suitable for social communication in China at all, but I don't deny that persuading food is a virtue. Isn't it right to sacrifice a little hygiene discipline to fulfill a virtue? (Wang Li)