Chinese Etiquette
Impressions about Chinese etiquette vary. Many come to China with heads full of a richly cultural country, filled with traditions and customs celebrated for thousands of years. Though there remains a veil of this laying on top of modern day China, it is thin and sometimes hard to see.
In fact, what most do see upon stepping off the plane is a lot of what is generally considered quite rude in the West. People spitting and littering on the street, men relieving their bladders just behind the bushes (or not behind anything, as is often the case), and a general disregard of the fine art that we call queuing are all common sights. At the dinner table it is not much better, as it isn't considered out-of-the-norm to eat with your mouth open, while trying desperately to say as much as you can before you need to swallow.
Chinese History
Chinese history is nearly as diverse as it is long. Though the line you'll hear in China reads something like "5,000 years of uninterrupted history", this is a bit misleading.
The country can certainly take pride in that it is one of the oldest areas to hold civilization - "uninterrupted", however, is a bit of a distortion.
What follows is our attempt at a China history primer - a graphical representation of China's dynastic past, with a smattering of details to give you just a taste. Simply click on the dynasty or era to get a bit more info.
Understanding Chinese Pinyin
Simply put, pinyin is a way to take the many thousands of ideograms that make up the Chinese language and put them into a more accessible Romanized format (read: use letters us Laowai are familiar with, as opposed to the random lines that Chinese seem to have no problem with)
Software For Learning Chinese
There is no shortage of software vying for the growing market of Chinese language learners. Here we list a few of the ones that stand out due to popularity, quality or personal experience with it. Should you have any suggestions for the inclusion of specific software on this page, please let us know.More Articles...
Page 3 of 4
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 Next > End >>