Research on the Differences Between Chinese and Western Dinner Seating Culture from the Perspective of Face Theory: Based on The Dream of Red Mansions and Downton Abbey

Seating arrangements in a banquet are quite complicated because a multitude of factors need to be considered. One of the most paramount is “face”. However, individuals from different cultural backgrounds possess different understandings of face. This paper analyzes the differences between Chinese and Western seating etiquette by comparing Chinese and Western banquet seating arrangements, with The Dream of Red Mansions and Downton Abbey as the text research material. The paper also explores the underlying reasons from the perspective of positive face vs. negative face and collective face vs. individual face, combining Brown and Levinson’s Face Threatening Act (FTA) and Face Saving Theory (FST) in politeness principle. According to the analysis, the Chinese regard “respect for elders” and “distance between superiors and inferiors” as seating standards, adopting positive politeness strategy to maintain collective face, while the westerner emphasize “lady first” and “equality and mutual benefits”, adopting negative politeness strategy to maintain individual face. Understanding the differences between Chinese and Western etiquette is conducive to the exchange and integration of different nationalities and the elimination of barriers in cross-cultural communication.