在国内，去麦当劳或者肯德基的时候，我们会发现，不论是开在哪个城市，它们的门一律都是朝外开的，就是说，我们进门的时候都要"拉门而入"，出门的时候都要"推门而出"。这个小小的动作变化，在洋快餐们刚开始进入中国的时候，让我们许多人都感到很别扭。
　　我们的门，从古到今，基本上是向里开的，极少向外开。大家都知道"推敲"这个词的典故。唐代的贾岛做诗讲究锤炼字句，原先的诗句写"僧推月下门"，经他仔细斟酌，把"推"改成了"敲"，于是留下了千古佳句，留下了"推敲"的典故，也为世人树立了为诗的典范。从这里我们得知，唐代的时候，我们的门就是从外面"推门而入"的。
　　但是，去过美国以后，确实发现他们的门基本上和国内的洋快餐店面的门一样，是从外面"拉"开的。那么，为什么中国的门是"推"的？而美国的门是"拉"的？
　　中国的门我们很熟悉，建筑的门，尤其是住宅的门，是"颜面、咽喉、是兴衰的标志，是'气口'"。向里开的门，有利于房内的"纳气"，打开门，气是"推门而入"的，这不仅利于室内空气的流动，而且，相关的"财源"、"好运"也会随之入门并向房内聚拢。另外，如果门向外开，当开门的时候，推出去的门会占用公共的空间，比如：走廊、道路、街面等，影响他人的行动，尤其是当外面有人行走时，我们"推门而出"也许对外面行走的人造成伤害。
　　关于美国建筑的门，咨询过一些美国人之后才明白，建筑的门向外开的最主要原因是为了安全。当灾害，尤其是火灾发生时，置身建筑内的人们可以很容易地"推门而出"，逃离危险的建筑。这个原因简单得有些出乎人的意料。经过仔细观察发现，在公共建筑中，人流量会比较多的通道上，的确"门"基本总是朝外开，需要"拉门而入"，不过在一些比较古老的建筑或民居中，是"拉门而入"还是"推门而入"似乎也就不那么严格了。至于他们是在何时约定俗成为"拉门而入"的，尚未能考证。
　　对于我自己来说，到了美国，在进门时我就得习惯，先让出通道，然后"拉门而入"。回到国内，就自然可以按照原来的习惯，"推门而入"。不过，能有机会在一些细微的习惯上仔细观察不同民族、不同文化之间的差别，是蛮有意思的一件事。

In China, when we go to McDonald or KFC, we will soon find that, no matter in which city, the doors there all open to the outside. Every time people reach for the door handle, they push expecting the door to open, then they realize that "pull" is for going in and "push" is for going out. This small change made a lot of people feel awkward when fast food restaurants first entered Chinese market.

Our doors, from the ancient times to the present, just about all open to the inside and seldom open outside. People in China all know the story of "tui qiao" (Push-Knock). Jia Diao, a poet in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), cared to choose the right word for his poetry. At first, the line was "A monk is pushing the gate in the moonlight". After careful consideration, he changed the word tui (push) into qiao (knock), "A monk is knocking at the gate in the moonlight", which set a good example for poetry writing. We can see that even in the Tang Dynasty, doors in China opened inwards and one had to push to get inside.

However, having been to the USA, I realize that their doors like fast food restaurants in China. Pull is for going in. But why in China doors are pushed to open, whereas in USA they are pulled to open?

We are very familiar with the opening direction of Chinese doors. The entrance door, especially for residential building, is like the face of house and "mouth of Qi". It's the place where all the Qi energy enters and flows through entire house, it determines how prosperous the occupants will be. Door opened inwards can invite Qi to come in, and actuallyencourage its accumulation. The Qi flows freely and smoothly through, therefore opportunities come into ones life. Inwards-opening doors not only benefit interiorventilation but also attract and concentrate good fortune and luck. Well, outwards-opening doors actually occupy public space, such as corridors, roads or streets and disturb other people. Especially when someone is rushing out from inside, the person standing or walking in front of that door is more likely to be hit.

About doors of buildings in America, after asked some Americans, I understand that outward-opening design is mainly for safety reasons. Doors that open to outside allow for quick exit in case of fire, just pushing them and running out. This reason is simpler than would be expected. After careful observation, I see that in public buildings or busy corridors, almost all rooms have doors opening out. When it comes to old buildings or residential places, some doors need to be pushed and some need to be pulled to get inside. When the custom of "push the door and come inside" came into being is still a puzzle now.

For myself, when I was in USA, I needed to get used to the doors open in different direction. First, made sure there was enough space in the corridor, and then I could pull the door and step inside. When I am back to China, I can push the door and enter the room as my old habit. It is really interesting to be able to observe small differences in daily habits between peoples and cultures in different countries.

• poetry [´pəuitri]   n.诗；诗意   (初中英语单词)
• consideration [kən,sidə´reiʃən]   n.考虑；原因；体谅   (初中英语单词)
• writing [´raitiŋ]   n.书写；写作；书法   (初中英语单词)
• whereas [weər´æz]   conj.鉴于；因此；而   (初中英语单词)
• opening [´əupəniŋ]   n.开放；开端 a.开始的   (初中英语单词)
• energy [´enədʒi]   n.活力，精力；能力   (初中英语单词)
• prosperous [´prɔspərəs]   a.繁荣的；顺利的   (初中英语单词)
• actually [´æktʃuəli]   ad.事实上；实际上   (初中英语单词)
• encourage [in´kʌridʒ]   vt.鼓励；怂勇；促进   (初中英语单词)
• freely [´fri:li]   ad.自由地；慷慨地   (初中英语单词)
• therefore [´ðeəfɔ:]   ad.&conj.因此；所以   (初中英语单词)
• interior [in´tiəriə]   n.&a.内部地(的)   (初中英语单词)
• concentrate [´kɔnsəntreit]   v.聚集；浓缩；全神贯注   (初中英语单词)
• disturb [di´stə:b]   vt.扰乱；使不安；打乱   (初中英语单词)
• standing [´stændiŋ]   n.持续 a.直立的   (初中英语单词)
• mainly [´meinli]   ad.主要地；大体上   (初中英语单词)
• running [´rʌniŋ]   a.奔跑的；流动的   (初中英语单词)
• observation [,ɔbzə´veiʃən]   n.观测；注意；意义   (初中英语单词)
• puzzle [´pʌzl]   n.迷(惑) v.(使)迷惑   (初中英语单词)
• awkward [´ɔ:kwəd]   a.笨拙的；为难的   (高中英语单词)
• smoothly [´smu:ðli]   ad.光滑地；顺利地   (高中英语单词)
• corridor [´kɔridɔ:]   n.走廊；指定航路   (高中英语单词)
• dynasty [´dinəsti]   n.王朝；朝代   (英语四级单词)
• ventilation [,venti´leiʃən]   n.通风(设备)；换气   (英语六级单词)