There was once a rich man who was very happy with his wine collection. There was one bottle of old wine that he kept for a special day. But he wouldn’t tell anyone what that day was. A state official visited him one day. The official asked about the man’s old wine. The man said, “That bottle of wine will not be opened for a mere official.”

Then a businessman visited the man. The man said again, “I will not open that bottle. You wouldn’t know its value. You’ll never taste it.”

Then a best friend of his came to eat dinner with the man. But again, the man said, “My wine is too valuable for a mere man.”

Even on the day his own son got married, the man said to himself, “No, these guests will not drink my special wine.”

As the years passed, the man got older. One day, he died, as old men always do, and he was buried just like any other man.

On that day, the man’s bottle of old wine was opened. It was shared among the man’s neighbors among many other bottles. None of them knew its age or history. To them, it was just wine.

China is a large country. The population is over 1.4 billion. It has a special culture with a very long history.

Chinese food plays an important role for Chinese families. Different foods have special meanings. The main difference is that Chinese people eat their meals with chopsticks. One of the main foods in Chinese culture is rice. Tea is a favorite drink and it is popular in the market.

Chinese calendar is different from the one used in western countries. New Year’s Day is in late winter. It is also called the Spring Festival. It has special foods and traditions. For example, sweeping the floor before New Year’s Day sweeps away all the old year’s bad luck.

The Chinese zodiac, known as Sheng Xiao, follows a twelve—year cycle(循环). Each year is named for an animal. These animal signs are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. For example, the year that begins in 2022 is the year of the tiger.

Chinese is a complex (复杂的) language. Chinese writing developed almost 4,000 years ago and may be even older. Chinese writing has thousands of characters. A character stands for a word and also a meaning. Besides Putonghua, Chinese people speak six more forms of the language, and there are many kinds of dialects (方言).

The world is a much smaller place now. A person can fly from New York at lunch time and arrive in London in time for dinner. People like to enjoy local food when they are in different countries. The following tips will help you avoid making mistakes while dining around the world.

France ◇Keep your hands above the table. Do not rest them on your lap. ◇It is OK to use bread to soak up sauce (吸收酱汁). ◇If you haven’t finished eating, cross your knife and fork on your plate with the fork over the knife. ◇Finish everything on your plate. Leave your wine glass nearly full if you do not want more.

Japan ◇Drink directly from a soup bowl as spoons are uncommon. ◇Do not cross your chopsticks or stick them into a bowl of rice. ◇Make a loud noise while eating to show that you like the food. ◇Do not pass food using chopsticks, which takes place at funerals (葬礼) only.

Italy ◇Always follow the lead of the host. ◇An honored guest should make a toast (祝酒) later in the meal. ◇The host is the first to sit, eat, give a toast and get up at the end of the meal. ◇It’s very impolite to put extra cheese on top of your pizza, and worse still to add it to seafood.