Take the opportunity to put in your foot and seize the heart of the enemy, proceed step by step. When a host is so awkward that he does not know how to accommodate a guest, the guest may dictate the necessary proceedings on the host’s behalf. Thus the roles of the host an guest are […]
Each Chinese has a unique name. The naming methods can be generalized in this way. The 1st one is the situational method, which is to name a baby according to the signs around its birth, parents feeling and the situation of the birth. Confucius named his son Kong Li (Li means carp in Chinese) because […]
Chinese people are noted for their discerning eating habits. Prior to the 1980s, straitened financial circumstances prevented access of the majority to their epicurean heritage, but an improved diet was of primary importance for opening up and reform. The problem of “feeding the stomach” was, therefore, resolved 20 years ago. There is more concern now […]
When a Chinese baby is born, he/she is already considered to be one year old: age is calculated from the date of conception not the date of birth. Praise should not be given to a new-born Chinese baby as this is believed to invite the attention of demons and ghosts. Instead, the baby should be […]
In Chinese’s eyes, the dragon is an auspicious deity full of magic power. It has always been respected by Chinese. In the ancient mythology, there was a myth to the effect that the Yellow Emperor went to Heaven on the back of a dragon. It was Liu Bang, the 1st emperor of the Han Dynasty […]
In traditional Chinese opera, the emperor is called “wansuiye” and people have to exclaim “wansui” (ten thousand years old) three times when they meet the emperor. As the living condition was poor in ancient times, to live a long life was the greatest wish for all people. In ancient times, except for “wansui”, there were […]
China is known as a state of etiquette and ceremonies. Many proverbs have been passed down from generation to generation such as “civility casts nothing” or “courtesy demands reciprocity” and so on. Once upon a time, a man went on a long tour to visit his friend with a swan as a gift. But it […]
“Let loose the noose only to catch later” is a tactic of deliberately leaving someone at large to give a false impression that he is safe, and then making a sudden move to catch him when he is off guard. This is a very tactic that Chinese are familiar with because there are many stories […]
Li Qingzhao (1084-1155), self-titled Yi’an Jushi, is one of the most-talented women in China history in the literature field. Her life was a bittersweet story. She married Zhao Mingcheng and shared with him the love of poetry and antiquities. They had enjoyed a happy family life before the emperors of the Song Dynasty were captured […]
Because of the long history of Chinese characters, the vast territory in which they were used, and the large population of people using them, the numbers of books and records written in Chinese continued to grow. Also, for various reasons related to engraving, typesetting and proofreading, Chinese characters developed into what seemed like a state […]