If applicable, please also tell me
a) if you are of Chinese descent
b) whether your mother tongue is Mandarin or Cantonese
c) how long it has been since you lived in "China" or any version thereof
d) which city or region in "China" is "yours"
- In general, how do Chinese prefer to say "No" (as in, no, I don't want to do what you're asking of me)?
- Would Chinese prefer to be introduced to strangers or to meet them casually?
- Do Chinese bow at the waist like Japanese or Koreans? What do they do?
- Where do you put someone's name card after they give it to you? Why?
- What's the appropriate resonse when someone flatters you? Why?
- How impartant is the Welcome and Send Off for the Chinese? Why?
- Do most Chinese preer a phone call or a face-to-face visit? Why?
- Are individual expression and rugged independence praised by the Chinese?
- Do some Chinese have an Us-Them view of foreigners? Why? (My addition: how is the affected by marrying in or marrying out?)
- Is China a classless society? How can you see this? Explain.
- Name eight of the confucian values which are still important for many Chinese in the 1990s. (I guess he's been using this assignment for a while.)
- How important is Mianzi (saving/giving/taking face) to Chinese today? Explain.
- Explain the term Reciprocity (huxiang). How important is it?
- How do Chinese deal with the concept of "privacy"? Why? (My addition: within the family? outside the family? for children/teens? This one really hit a nerve for one student in my class.)
- How different are Canadian Chinese from other Chinese? Explain.
3 comments:
In response to #6 in a business setting - you can really feel a difference when you travel in asia vs. north america. In asia they REALLY take care of you - make sure that you are never stuck by yourself for any meals, noon or evening, or on the weekend. It's a sharp contrast to when we get visitors in Canada, usually you kind of scramble around to get people to take the person out to lunch, and then nobody wants to take care of them on their spare time after work.
In response to number 2 - many Chinese people definitely will prefer to be introduced before approaching strangers. I think part of it is that they don't want to impose themselves on strangers, and the other part is that they don't have the practice making the effort to take a risk and engage a stranger. It can actually translate deeper to a relationship level, create barriers to opening up emotionally. But of course, one size doesn't fit all.
Good luck with your homework!
gina
Here are my attempts to your little quiz:
a) if you are of Chinese descent
yes
b) whether your mother tongue is Mandarin or Cantonese
Cantonese
c) how long it has been since you lived in "China" or any version thereof
37 years
d) which city or region in "China" is "yours"
Canton
1. In general, how do Chinese prefer to say "No" (as in, no, I don't want to do what you're asking of me)? - The "no" may be given in a round about way - the person may get into an explanation where by you can derive the answer yourself.
2. Would Chinese prefer to be introduced to strangers or to meet them casually? - an introduction would be preferrable.
3. Do Chinese bow at the waist like Japanese or Koreans? What do they do? - no. Handshakes are more likely these days.
4. Where do you put someone's name card after they give it to you? Why? - in a card holder. I keep 2 card holders, one for family & friends and one for everything else. I sometimes write a short note at the back of the card in reference to where I got the card from.
5. What's the appropriate resonse when someone flatters you? Why? - the appropriate response would be to acknowledge the flatterings by thanking the person, but instead, we sometimes would say things that counter the flattering, in an attempt to be humble I guess.
6. How impartant is the Welcome and Send Off for the Chinese? Why? - Quite important. That shows we care about the person.
7. Do most Chinese preer a phone call or a face-to-face visit? Why? - A face-to-face visit as it is deemed more polite, but it may have changed in the modern days.
8. Are individual expression and rugged independence praised by the Chinese? - I don't believe so.
9. Do some Chinese have an Us-Them view of foreigners? Why? (My addition: how is the affected by marrying in or marrying out?) - Yes, especially some older folks because of the different ways of looking at things. The marrying in/out will require a lot of understanding by either/both parties. As long as we acknowledge & respect the differences, this is a non issue.
10. Is China a classless society? How can you see this? Explain. - No. China is a class society. eg. in marriages: the rich marries the rich, and the poor goes for the poor.
11. Name eight of the confucian values which are still important for many Chinese in the 1990s. (I guess he's been using this assignment for a while.) - the confucian values shape us - they were taught in school & at home and we live & breathe it. The one saying that I always remember is "don't do to others what you don't want done to you". We have a paperback on confucius sayings if you want to cheat.
12. How important is Mianzi (saving/giving/taking face) to Chinese today? Explain.- used to be very important, not any more
especially for the folks that have been out of the country for a long time. I personally think it is nonsense and never practice it.
13. Explain the term Reciprocity (huxiang). How important is it? - Sorry, I don't understand this question.
14. How do Chinese deal with the concept of "privacy"? Why? (My addition: within the family? outside the family? for children/teens? This one really hit a nerve for one student in my class.) - pending on the up bringing, some people may not
respect privacy as much as others. I can see this a big thing when it comes to children as the over-protecting parents may
sometimes cross the line.
15. How different are Canadian Chinese from other Chinese? Explain. - Canadian Chinese are more Canadian than Chinese. They are usually more out-spoken, less timid, and less afraid of the unknown.
Have fun with your class.
... Mrs. Gandolf
Thanks for your comments so far. Here are some comments that were generated over email with a university friend of mine... His comments in bold, mine in italics.
1. I think it's bad to say no directly. People usually say they are busy or otherwise occupied.
2. I'm not sure about this one. I think usually it's the esponsibility
of someone to at least introduce strangers.
3. I've never observed the same bowing at the waist. Usually there is a lot of shaking of hands, bobbing of heads and smiling a lot.
The only time I've seen bowing at the waist is at funerals and at the yearly graveside ceremony. A colleague (semi-recent immigrant from near Beijing) tells me that
there is bowing at weddings by the bride and groom to each other, the ancestors/elders, and the congregation.
4. I think it's similar to the Japanese here. Usually I will at least read it, and then put it in my inside pocket if I have a jacket, or in a pant pocket otherwise, or in my wallet if I also give a name card.
5. To deny being deserving of the flattery.
6. I'd say these are quite important. It's quite rude I think not to get up and say good-bye. This is one thing I think that is quite different between eastern and western culture, less emphasis in western I feel.
7. I'd say face-to-face, but I don't think there's a strong preference.
8. No, it's better not to cause trouble. Chinese people rarely go into politics or distinguish themselves if they don't have to.
I wonder how this affects the arts (literature...), technology, and academic pursuits. It usually takes rugged independence to create something truly innovative.
9. I think there is a bit of an us-vs-them. As for marrying, I think people from the mainland are more liberal on this than elsewhere.
my wife's theory is that there was some much suffering during the
cultural revolution and 2nd world war that most parents are just happy
if their kids are happy.
10. China was a classless society under communism. I believe this is
changing now. When resources are tight, corruption, nepotism and
connections are very important. These in itself do not form classes,
but I believe they can lead to classes.
I cannot believe that there is ever truly any classless society. There may not be titles in some societies but wealth becomes a pretty good proxy for class. I think the big difference is in mobility. Is a society enough of a meritocracy that those born in a lower class have a
reasonable opportunity to enjoy the benefits of the higher classes?
11. I don't know any of his values off-hand.
12. Face is pretty important, more so along the older generation.
I think Face is everything to some. And although it is more strictly defined in Chinese culture, do not all people want others to think highly of them?
13. I think this is considered very important. Personal relationships
(among peers) should never be perceived as unequal in any way.
14. I think chinese people are less private in general. It is not
uncommon for a chinese person to ask you how much you make (I've had
waiters at restaurants ask me this). Back under communism, everyone
made the same amount of money so what did it matter anyways...
I guess it is a matter of topic. My colleague was saying that for some things, people are very secretive, usually to save face. You're not going to tell anyone if your kid has
serious problems at school, if the family has learning disabilities/mental health problems... or any kind of personal problems.
15. I think it's pretty different, though we are not that different from those born in the states.
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