If you are shopping for red envelopes for Chinese new year and you are not sure which ones are authentic, look for packages of 50-100. Why would the Chinese use so many? The Chinese buy them in bulk because red …
Yvonne Wolf was born in Taiwan and educated in the U.S. and Europe. She has extensive experience living and working internationally (Denmark and Japan). She is fluent in English, Mandarin, and Danish, and has studied Japanese, Spanish, and Greek. Between work and personal travel, she has visited more than 20 countries and well-traveled within the U.S. and Canada. She has worked with organizations and business executives focusing on communication strategies working with Chinese and East Asian partners. Among her many skills is mediating across cultural misunderstandings.
Year of the Dog
Like the Native Americans who honor the wolf, the Chinese saw qualities in these chosen 12 animals that we could emulate. During the Year of the Dog we think about five of the dog’s best qualities: 1) loyalty, 2) companionship, …
Measurement of Time
Traditional Chinese geomancy, or science before the scientific age, determined 12 increments of a 24 hour day. Once the 24 hours day became widely used, Chinese language developed “the (little) hour” as a smaller increment. This change does not affect …
Mahjong and Karaoke
Mahjong and karaoke are typical pre-banquet warm up activities at wedding, birthdays, and baby celebratory events. Making some noise brings joyful energy. With the wind tiles of mahjong, your luck is bound to change from bad to good. Karaoke has …
The Man Bun is Old Hat
It’s not a new hairstyle. The terracotta warriors wore it in the 3rd century BCE. Confucius wore it in 6th century BCE. King Wen of Zhou dynasty groomed his hair the same way in 11th century BCE. The top knot …
Gongxi! Gongxi! Congrats! Congrats!
“Gongxi” which sounds like gong shi, means congratulations. This can be said for many occasions, from Chinese New Year to birthdays, promotions, weddings. The Chinese New Year is not a single night like the Gregorian calendar, but rather an ongoing …
Chinese New Year is Red
Red is a highly vibrant color used to express joy and happiness in Chinese culture. It is said a long time ago that the color red scares off ferocious beasts and vermin, and wares off evil spirits and monsters. Now …
Happy Heart Day!
“Love” in Chinese is not a high frequency word, not even in the hottest c-pop songs. The high frequency character in Chinese thought is “heart”, as in “my heart has only you”. According to Professor Michael Puett, the word for …
Shaken or Stirred?
Broadly compared to Western culture, Chinese is a less touchy culture. Although Chinese language TV shows are showing Chinese shaking hands with business contacts, they are not comfortable doing so. Native Chinese interactions often shy away from the handshake and …
To Bow or not to Bow
Bowing in the Chinese context is not used as commonly anymore, except in formal situations to express deep condolences, regret, or deep gratitude. When meeting someone, Chinese people use the mini-bow far more frequently. This is a nodding bow, repeated …