十万元礼仪课教些啥:中国新贵争相学西方贵族礼仪

They buy more Bentleys than the British, fill their luxury homes with more Swarovski crystal than the Swiss, and spend more on Louis Vuitton and Versace than the French or the Italians. But one precious commodity has eluded the Chinese in their extraordinary rise from peasant nation to superpower: good manners.

比起英国人，他们买了更多的宾利汽车；比起瑞士人，他们买了更多的施洛华世奇水晶；比起法国人或意大利人，他们买了更多的路易威登和范思哲。但是有一样宝贵的商品，中国人却买不到！即使中国已经从一个农民国家一跃成为超级大国，中国人依旧买不到——好礼仪。

Now a school of etiquette is about to open in Beijing with classes based on the deportment of the British aristocracy – and the decorous behaviour of the Duchess of Cambridge. Sara Jane Ho, a Hong Kong businesswoman who grew up in London, is offering lessons in being classy to an exclusive clientele for an appropriately princely sum: courses at her Institute Sarita, based in the five-star Park Hyatt Hotel in Beijing, cost from £2,000 to £10,000.

现在，在北京出现了一所教授英国贵族礼仪和剑桥公爵夫人（即凯特王妃）行为规范的礼仪学校。何佩嵘（Sara Jane Ho），生长在伦敦的香港女商人，在位于北京五星级的凯悦酒店，专门为她的客户提供礼仪课程，教授她们如何像王妃般优雅。每个人的学费从2千到1万英镑不等（约2万到10万人民币）。

Dozens of society wives have signed up for lectures on how to use a knife and fork properly, how to peel a piece of fruit, how to greet a prospective mother-in-law, how to walk in heels and how to eat soup without slurping. High-powered bosses of Chinese state-owned companies are also hiring Sara Jane for lessons on how to conduct themselves at business meetings in Europe and America.

数十位职场女性报名参加她的礼仪课程，学习如何正确使用刀叉、如何给水果剥皮、如何觐见未来婆婆、如何穿高跟鞋走路、如何在喝汤时不发出声音等。国企高层也聘请何佩嵘来指导他们如何在商务活动中与欧美企业打交道。

She says a subtle pro-British snobbery is driving the desire of wealthy Chinese to improve themselves socially: ‘There is an aura of mystery about European royalty that Chinese people can’t resist. Any aristocracy in China was wiped out, so the Chinese are fascinated by the idea of a royal dynasty that stretches back hundreds of years.’

何佩嵘表示，中国的富人们希望自己也能有那种英国贵族范儿，这促使他们努力学习英式礼仪。“欧洲礼仪对中国人来说有一种让人无法抗拒的神秘光环。中国的贵族早已经消失，所以中国人非常迷恋数百年前的那种皇家风范。”

Sara Jane plans to show her students pictures and videos of Kate Middleton – someone who, like China itself, rose from a relatively humble background to take her place at the top table.

何佩嵘计划向她的学员播放凯特王妃的视频，凯特王妃和中国有点像，都是生长在相对普通的背景，如今却在王室有了一席之地。

She says: ‘Kate is probably the most followed Royal in China. She is very elegant, very classy. Even though she is not from an aristocratic family, she carries herself very well and I think she is a role model for the younger generation around the world.’

她说：“凯特王妃大概是在中国最受推崇的王室成员，她优雅、有品味，尽管她不是出身贵族家庭，如今却非常成功。我觉得凯特王妃对于全世界的青年来说都是很好的榜样。”

In her plummy British accent, she says: ‘I am Chinese and very proud of my country. I don’t think the vast majority of Chinese people are purposely offensive. They just haven’t been enlightened to etiquette awareness.’

何佩嵘用纯正的英式英语说到：“我是中国人，并且为我的祖国感到自豪，我认为大多数中国人不是有意表现出粗鲁，只是他们没有受过礼仪方面的教育。”

She is hoping to invite British aristocrats to lecture her students and even has plans to lead classes on a Grand Tour, taking in the opera houses and art galleries of Europe to complete their education.

她希望能邀请到英国的贵族来给学员上课，还计划带学员来一场游学，到欧洲的歌剧院和美术馆去参观，以此来完成她们的礼仪教育。

Sara Jane hopes that the perfect manners she is teaching will trickle down to the rest of Chinese society: a new form of cultural revolution. ‘When I say I’m starting an etiquette school the first thing people say to me is, “Thank you. China needs this,” she says.

何佩嵘希望她所教授的优雅礼仪能够在中国社会其他方面的变革起到一点作用。她认为这是一场新的文化革命。何佩嵘说“当我说我准备开办一所礼仪学校的时候，人们的第一反应是对我说，“谢谢，中国需要这个。”