Abstract: Etiquette is a series of courtesies and civilization norms which have been developed and inherited by a nation under the specific historical conditions and geographical environment, and it can also be considered as a kind of symbol or embodiment of a cultural type(Jin Pinzhuo,2007).This paper aims at analyzing some aspects that can be shown for different etiquette patterns between Chinese culture and western culture, such as “title”, “name”, “meeting”, “banquet and dining” and “lady first” in order to find the differences between Chinese and western culture. The study shows that different thinking and values between people is the cultural root of Chinese-western etiquette differences and concludes that to approach the differences of eastern-western culture and etiquette with “harmonization and difference”, to recognize and respect the differences, and to explore the interoperability in culture and etiquette can help us not only strengthen the sensitivity to cultural differences but also improve the ability for adapting to a foreign culture, and as a result, improve the communication efficiency in the world.

Key words: etiquette; cultural differences; reasons

摘要：礼仪是一个民族在特定的历史条件和地理环境中发展和承袭下来的礼节文明规范，是一种文化形态的象征和体现。本文通过分析中西方文化在称谓与称呼、见面、宴客与餐饮、禁忌、女士优先等五个方面表现出不同的礼仪形态，从而了解中西方文化的差异。研究发现不同民族的思维方式和价值观念差异是中西礼仪差异的文化根源。文章认为用“和而不同”的态度来对待中西礼仪文化差异，承认和尊重差异，探寻礼仪文化的互通性，有助于增强对文化差异的敏感性和对他文化的适应力，从而提高交际效率。

关键词：礼仪；文化差异；原因

CONTENTS

1. Introduction1

2. Differences in Chinese and Western Etiquette Culture..1

2.1Differences in Titles and Names

2.2Differences in Meeting Etiquette

2.3Differences in Banquet and Dining Etiquette 

2.4Differences in Customs and Taboos

2.5Differences in the View of “Lady First”

3. Reasons for the Differences.4

3.1Different Ideologies

3.2 Different Values

3.3 Different Religions

4. Enlightenment for Chinese and Western Cultural Communication..7

4.1 Understanding the Importance of the Etiquette

4.2 Accepting Studying and Respecting the Etiquette Differences

4.3 Absorbing the Western Outstanding Achievements and Enriching Our Own Traditional Culture

5. Conclusion..8

Bibliography... .10