View Chinese Culture - #1 for an explanation of this series.
Chinese Custom: Aim your fish to show respect
Fish is a delicacy in China. When having guests for dinner, you almost always need to serve fish when at all possible. And in China, the fish is cooked and server whole: head, fins, tail. A whole fish, to the Chinese, is like a Prime Rib or Porterhouse steak to Westerners. So when you are serving dinner to an honored guest, you want to use that fish to honor that guest.
How do you do that? You point the fish so that he is looking right at that person!
I've done, personally, many times. Make a point of being obvious that you are pointing the fish at your honored guest. Not only will they know what you are doing, and what you mean, but they'll truly will be honored by the gesture, and delighted that you know this custom.
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