Eating together as the basis of communication in Chinese culture

V. Ya. Paramonov

doi:10.28995/2686-7249-2024-12-165-182

Eating together as the basis of communication in Chinese culture

V. Ya. Paramonov

https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2024-12-165-182

Full Text:

Abstract

China is characterized by a special attitude to having a meal. Traditions and customs related to food are basic family and social patterns for the inhabitants of the country. Such a basic pattern is the communicative function of having a meal together as a basis for maintaining the existing and establishing new relationships. That tradition, which was formed on the territory of China many millennia ago, was influenced by socio-cultural, natural, historical, and economic factors. In turn, it itself created the corresponding mental phenomena in the bearers of Chinese culture, reflected in their behavior. The rapid development of global cultural, trade, and economic ties puts on the agenda the need for foreigners to understand cultural distinctions and particularities of cultural connotations, which concern the attitude of the Chinese people to the ritual of eating together and meanwhile discussing various issues. In the article, the interpretation of Chinese tradition is based on analyzing the oldest signs of Chinese writing, which retained information about the socio-cultural component of sharing meals, as well as its place in the Old Chinese worldview.

Keywords

semiotics of shared meals, the Chinese language, cultural values, communication, etymological analysis of hieroglyphics,

About the Author

V. Ya. Paramonov

“Renmin Huabao” publishing house
China

Vitalii Ya. Paramonov

100048; 33, Chegongzhuang Xilu, Haidian District; Beijing

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Supplementary files

For citation: Paramonov V.Y. Eating together as the basis of communication in Chinese culture. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin: “Literary Teory. Linguistics. Cultural Studies”, Series. 2024;(12):165-182. https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2024-12-165-182

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