餐桌上的軟實力 - 飲食文化禮節之於人際關係的影響力

在每一個人的生命中的不同階段，都有不同的體驗，但是人際關係的培養與維護，是我們必須時時刻刻都要學習的事。在人際關係交往中，可以透過許多形式來互動，傳遞彼此之間的情感、訊息、事實、態度、信念與想法。嶺大中文系蕭欣浩博士指出，飲食文化是飲食相關知識的總集，可分為實質和精神兩個層面。「實質層面」是指有形的、五感官可感受到的元素，譬如像食物的色、香、味，烹調方法與食材等；而「精神層面」則是講在飲食背後一種無形的文化表現，譬如歷史、「思想與哲學」、「宗教與習俗」、地域文化的流通等。本研究是以「餐桌」為出發的角度，來探討在飲食文化的精神層面，對於人與人之間的溝通與人際關係是否有幫助，其影響因素及產生的正向結果的影響效果，並且根據研究效果來提出結論與建議。本論文的研究方法是質性研究論文，以訪談法所得的內容分析提供佐證。探討國人在吃美食的同時，也需要注意餐個人的社交禮節，如餐桌禮儀的執行及宴會安排等注意事項，之對於人際關係在各方面（個人、職場與跨國文化）的發展影響因素。在研究後可以將本研究針對飲食文化對於人際關係的影響面，可歸納為「飲食文化的認知」、「飲食文化的執行」與「飲食文化的影響」。這三大因素是對於飲食文化在「人與人之間的溝通」透過餐桌這個平台上，經由飲食宴請的安排、共享食物的儀式與餐桌禮儀的操作方式，都有顯著的關係和正向的幫助。也同時建議可以從家庭教育開始注重孩童「餐桌禮儀」的培養。學校教育注重學術成績外，更要加強飲食文化知識與餐桌禮儀體驗的提升，都是有助於個人的品格發展。在餐飲、餐旅及觀光等相關學校也更應該加強對於飲食文化知識與餐桌禮儀的體驗。研究結果顯示，透過飲食文化中的禮儀，是可以增強人際關係發展的架構，而且可以延伸在職場、商場跨文化競合關係的合作談判下佔有優勢，進而可協助國家軟實力的多元發展。

關鍵字

人際關係；飲食文化；餐桌禮儀

並列摘要

Everyone has different experiences at different stages of their lives, but the cultivation and maintenance of interpersonal relationships is something we must always learn. In inter-personal communication, there are many ways to interact, conveying each other’s emotions, messages, facts, attitudes, beliefs, and ideas. Dr. Hsiao Xinhao, a lecturer in the Chinese Department of Lingnan University, pointed out that food culture is a collection of food-related knowledge, it can be divided into two levels： “Substance and Spirit”. The substantial level is referred to the visible and sensory elements, such as the color, aroma, and taste of food, cooking methods, ingredients, etc... The spirit level is referred to the invisible cultural expression behind the food, all manifestations as history, ideology and philosophy, religion and customs, and circulation of regional culture, etc... This study uses the dining table as the scope to explore whether the spiritual level of food culture is helpful for communication between people, its influencing factors, and the effect of the positive results, and to put forward conclusions and suggestions based on the research results. The research method is supported by the content analysis obtained by the in-depth interview method of qualitative research. It explores that when Chinese people eating food, they also need to pay attention to personal behaviors and social etiquette, such as performing table etiquette and banquet arrangements, which are important and helpful for interpersonal relationships. Factors affecting the development of various aspects（personal, workplace, and transnational culture）. After the research, we can focus on the influence of food culture on interpersonal relationships, which can be summarized as “cognition of food culture”, “execution of food culture” and “influence of food culture”. These three factors have a significant relationship and positive help to the food culture on the “people-to-people communication” through the arrangement of food banquets, the rituals of sharing food, and the table manners. At the same time, it is also suggested to focus on instilling table manners to children and starting from family education. In addition to focusing on academic performance, school education not only on learning score but also strengthen the knowledge of food culture and the improvement of table manners experience, which are all conducive to the development of personal character. Schools are related to catering, tourism, and hotel management should also strengthen the experience of food culture knowledge and table manners. The results section finding the study that the etiquette in food culture can enhance the development of interpersonal relationships and can extend its advantages in the cooperation and negotiation of cross-cultural competition and in the workplace and business strategy, thereby assisting the diversified development of the country’s soft power.