On the Differences between Chinese and American Dinning Cultures in the Joy Luck Club

吴婷

ABSTRACT：In The Joy Luck Club Tan offers a new interpretation of mother-daughter relationships and culture conflicts between the Chinese and American. This novel tells stories of eight women， four mothers and their American-born daughters. The mothers as the first immigrant generation abandon their mother land behind and live in a foreign land， but they still adhere to traditional Chinese values and customs. The daughters， however， born and living in America， have different values from their mothers. As a result， disparities in background and values cause cultural conflicts. Although culture differences emerge in varied aspects， this paper attempts to focus on the dining culture differences between China and America in the novel and the influences the disparities result in.

Key words：The Joy Luck Club;dining culture difference; cross-cultural communication

中图分类号：I712.074     文献标识码：A        文章编号：1005-5312（2016）30-0060-02

一、Introduction

Amy Tan， born in Oakland of California， is one of the most famous Chinese American writers. Tan started her career as a writer at the age of 33， and her first novel the Joy Luck Club settled her fame in the literary circle. This novel has not only won the annual National Book Awards for Tan， but also been adapted for the screen， which achieved a box office success.

There must have great difference between the Chinese and American dining culture. Generally speaking， food has achieved a dominant position among Chinese daily necessities. As the old Chinese saying goes， food is the paramount necessity of people. On contrast， American fast food has accomplished great success worldwide like MacDonald and Kentucky Fried Chicken. These brands stand for peoples distinctive dining culture， pursuing convenience and efficiency.

This paper tries to analyze the dining culture differences between America and China through the distinction between individualistic and collectivistic culture， the distinction between inner-direction and outer-direction culture， and the distinction between sequential-time and synchronous-time culture.

二、Individualism Versus Collectivism

Individualistic cultures take the individuals as the most important unity of society. Individualists attach great importance to independence and believe in taking risks.  Collectivists， however， think obligations to the society take priority. They appreciate concerted efforts and do not get accustomed to independent action. This kind of cultural conflicts are clearly shown through the dining differences in the novel.

Dining culture has become a typical and important part of Chinese culture which is different from American dining in many aspects. The American people have their own plate of food when having dinner together， which they consider healthy while in China the dishes are placed on the table and everybody shares together because people think it has an atmosphere of family and community.

Waverly took Rich to her mothers house for dinner in the hope of getting her parents permission of her marrying Rich. Chinese people have the habit of solving something important at table. But， as an American， Rich ignores the fact that he is having dinner with Chinese.

“And then he had helped himself to big portions of the shrimp and snow peas， not realizing he should have taken only a polite spoonful， until everybody had had a morsel.”

From this behavior， Rich shows his neglects of the differences between American and Chinese culture. His strong self-awareness and direct way make his future Chinese mother-in-law consider him as an impolite and rude person. To the Chinese， they are used to be considerate for others at the table， trying not to have their favorite dishes too much， so as to share them with everyone else.

Actually the variation on tableware not only represents difference on dining culture， but also reflects disparities on the values and ideas of the two nations. The using of knife and fork for dinner inevitably results in individual serving of dishes， while chopsticks match with the scene in which family members sit around the table and have dinner together. American from the very beginning enjoyed individual serving， which leads to their praise for individualism and parents encouragement to children to explore the outside world independently. On contrast， the custom of sharing meals together brought about by the using of chopsticks highlights the idea that every single person belongs to a unit and thus strengthens home values of Chinese. Moreover， knife and fork are the direct reflection of the western industrial civilization and rational spirit. Americans tend to behave unconventionally in daily life and emphasize reasoning and analysis， which is beneficial for forming individualism. On the contrary， Chinese highlights the harmony among persons in a group. Collectivistic Chinese never encourage individuals to behave differently from others as they speak highly of the conformity and despise differences. The tableware chopsticks， is a symbol for Chinese to some extent， cutting the edges and being smooth and slippery.

三、Inner direction versus outer direction.

In some cultures， people are rewarded for following their conscience， while in others， following ones own route is considered to be selfish. In fact this distinction is the contrast between two values， namely the inner direction and outer direction. Inner direction implies that virtue is inside each one of us， inside our souls， desires， convictions， principles， and beliefs. As such， we need to follow conscience. People holding this value believe that they can control nature or their environment to achieve goals. Contrarily， outer direction implies that virtue is outside of us， in natural rhythms， and in the beauties and powers of nature. So we have to conform to these forces. People living in this culture believe that nature or their environment controls them， and thus they must work with their environment to achieve goals.

China is a typical outer-direction culture as its people usually cares much about others opinion， especially peoples attitude who mean much to them， such as their parents. When Waverly falls in love with Rich， she takes Rich to meet her parents and does much preparation for the meeting， for example， buys her mother present， teaches Rich some Chinese dining customs and so on. All the things they do are to please mother and achieve mothers support for the marriage. But when Waverly finds her mother do not like Rich， she becomes so upset and depressed. In my opinion， this typical Chinese character reflects the outer-direction values. Chinese people show tendency to follow rules of the majority and set their own rules according to most peoples behaviors.

In China， people do not encourage the different voice as they argue harmony of interpersonal relationships. If they turn down the request of an acquaintance， they may worry about losing face and harming their relationship. Americans， representing the inner-direction culture， feel free to decline demands at odds with their wills without anxieties of disappointing others. This contrast is well presented by Richs behaviors when having dinner with Waverlys parents.

“He had declined the sautéed new greens， the tender and expensive leaves of bean plants plucked before the sprout turn into beans.”

As an American， Rich does not realize his impoliteness and his breach of etiquette certainly makes a bad impression on Waverlys mother. In Chinese culture， the reject of the hosts offer is considered as an impolite behavior as the host shows his hospitality through taking food for guests. But for the individualistic Americans， they are used to make choice on their own instead of accepting others offer to help.

四、Sequential time versus synchronous time

This distinction speaks to our respective concepts of time. In sequential-time cultures， people place a high value on punctuality， planning as well as sticking to plans， and staying on schedule. In synchronous-time culture， however， people see the past， present， and future as interwoven periods. They often work on several projects at once， and view plans and commitments as flexible.

In Chinese dining culture， people tend to order many dishes and have all of them on the table at once， then share the food together. While in America， there is a sequence of ordering， with the appetizer the first， the main course the next， and the dessert the last， one plate at a time. Actually this is a reflection of the difference between the sequential-time culture and the synchronous-time culture.

五、Conclusion

By the comparisons and analyses we have made so far， one conclusion may be drawn that on one hand， it is difference hidden in the deep structure of Chinese and American cultures that leads to those disparities reflected in each individual dining culture. In a word， culture is the deposit of a nations specific historical experience and norms， which need our consistent learning and comprehension. Only with the realization of the differences among cultures can we reduce failures in cross-cultural communication effectively. Characters in the novel always encounter culture shock because they usually ignore the cultural variations. Last but not least， there are both good and bad sides of each style， but the difference does not suggest the superiority of any specific one to the others. In cross-cultural communication， we need to be inclusive to other styles and respect the differences.

References：

[1]谭恩美，程乃姗，严映薇.喜福会[M].杭州：浙江文艺出版社，1999.

[2]胡文仲.跨文化交际学概论[M].北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1999.

[3]童安剑.解读《喜福会》中的食物意象[J].海外英语，2014（08）.

[4] Amy Tan. The Joy Luck Club [M]. New York： Ivy Book. 1989.

[5] Gately P. The World of Amy Tan [M]. Paintbrush. 1995.