The Chinese Seating Philosophy

By Wang Chonglyu

It is of utmost significance how the seating is arranged in a conference. Commonly applied rules for not only conferences but also daily life events and banquets are: the front is more honorable than the back,and the middle is more honorable than the side. Additionally, the left side is also more honorable than the right.

As it is widely recognized,middle, left and front seats are more important, the identities of those sitting there should be carefully indicated with signs.As such, attendees should immediately be able to recognize the identity, status, level, and rank of each person on the rostrum the moment they enter the room. A mistake in the signs could cause more than a small stir.

A story has it that at one conference, the cleaner mixed up two signs on his left and right and had put them back in the wrong way. As a result, before the VIPs showed up, attendees who had already arrived started whispering to each other. Those whispers rose to a din. The top leader walked in with his management team and soon realized the atmosphere wasn’t right. With a careful look, they realized the misplaced signs had caused all the restlessness.Attendees, misled by the signs,interpreted that the No. 2 leader had been demoted and that No.3 had been promoted. After the meeting, the office manager was scolded and had to write a letter of apology.

In university or school anniversary celebrations, it’s also common to seat alumni according to their rank, status,and importance. In 2012, Nanjing University celebrated its 110 year anniversary, and they changed the rules. They argued that while studying in a university, all students were equal. Therefore,they broke the tradition and chose to seat people according to seniority. They didn’t have VIP seats but seated the “silver headed” in the front rows.When the master of ceremonies introduced guests, the top of the list were not high achievers but the two oldest alumni who came to the university in 1939 and 1944, respectively. Nanjing University was widely praised for its innovative approach.◆

(From Quintessence: Cultural Legacies, Peking University Press.Translation: Zhang Lei)

會議座次格局非常重要。現(xiàn)在的會議安排以及日常生活、飲食禮儀所奉行的基本規(guī)則是：前為尊，后為次；中為尊，側為次；左為尊，右為次。

中為上、左為上、前為上已經成為公認的規(guī)則，而且，由指示牌一一標出。這樣，與會者一進會場，立刻就能知道主席臺上每個人的身份、地位、等次、職級。如果偶爾不慎，出現(xiàn)差錯，就會造成混亂。

據(jù)說，一次大會上，服務員在收拾主席臺桌面時，不慎把一把手左右兩側座位的標示牌給弄顛倒了。結果，沒等班子成員入席落座，會場上的人們就竊竊私語，亂哄哄攪成一團。一把手和幾位副手進入會場后，發(fā)覺氣氛有些不對勁兒，仔細一看，原來是主席臺上座位標示牌惹的禍。大家誤以為二把手降為三把手，三把手提升為二把手。會后，辦公室主任挨了批評，寫了檢討。

常見的大學、中學舉行校慶活動，與會校友的座次，一般都按職級、身份、地位排列。2012年，南京大學慶祝建校110周年，對此進行改革。他們認為，當年在校讀書時，同學都是平等的，于是，破例實行“序齒不序爵”，亦即只認長幼不序尊卑的做法。于是，沒有主席臺嘉賓席位，“銀發(fā)校友”全部在前排就座，主持人介紹出席慶典嘉賓時，最先介紹的不是領導，而是兩位分別在1939年和1944年入學的年齡最長的老校友，此舉博得社會各界的普遍好評。◆