ABSTRACT
In 1985, the Australian writer FrankMoorhouse published The Cultural Delegate, a short story about cultures meeting in unexpected ways. The delegate in the story was Francois Blasé. Before taking up an Australian diplomatic post in Beijing, Blasé conducted research on Chinese etiquette. He read that Chinese were punctual, took speech-making and banqueting seriously, and preferred to avoid displays of drunkenness and boisterous behaviour. He read guide books on protocol, which told him that Chinese were moralistic about sex, did not display affection publicly, and were embarrassed about receiving large gifts. Unbeknown to the cultural delegate, however, the Chinese hosts were conducting their own research how Australians preferred to interact with strangers. When Francois Blasé attended his first banquet in Beijing, he acted according to his acquired stock of knowledge; the Chinese responded accordingly by getting drunk, slapping him the back, throwing food at each other, kissing him on the mouth, and asking not too subtly for gifts including cars and motorbikes.
