It's All Chinese To Me: An Overview of Culture & Etiquette in China (Updated and Expanded)

by Pierre Ostrowski, Gwen Penner (Illustrator), Matthew B. Christensen (Revised by)

Overview

It's All Chinese to Me is a fun and authentic introduction to Chinese culture that allows readers, tourists, and business travelers to experience what ultimately makes China so unique—its people.

Learn about Chinese customs, proper etiquette for all types of situations, and how to interact effectively while traveling China. Firsthand tips and illustrations offer an authentic view of China and the many cultural differences that foreigners encounter there. This new edition of It's All Chinese to Me is revised and expanded with 25 percent new content, offering international visitors a set of essential insights to help demystify this highly complex and compelling culture.

Readers will learn about:

• Major influences and historical events that guide behavior in modern China
• Fundamental concepts crucial to interacting with Chinese people
• Social idiosyncrasies that may surprise most Westerners
• Dealing with culture shock in China
• Peculiarities of Chinese business culture

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804849173
Publisher:	Tuttle Publishing
Publication date:	12/18/2018
Edition description:	Illustrate
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	1,095,349
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Pierre Ostrowski is a Canadian who left the frozen North for Asia in 1996. He has spent his time in Asia teaching English, studying languages and traveling as much as possible. He studied Chinese at Providence University in Taichung, Taiwan. In addition, he spent his leisure hours studying Chinese cuisine and perfecting his Ma Pou Doufu recipe. Although he has traveled to over twenty countries in Asia and elsewhere, some of his fondest memories are related to China. As far as he's concerned, there's nothing quite as sublime as sitting on a remote section of the Great Wall of China and watching it snake off into infinity over rolling hills of green…the perfect Chinese moment.

Gwen Penner, a graduate of the University of Manitoba's Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honors) program, is the recipient of numerous awards in painting, drawing and printmaking. She has spent the last several years living in Asia. An inquisitive person, Gwen has a profound understanding of Chinese culture, and her insight into the intricacies of Chinese culture comes through in the many subtle nuances she incorporates into her illustrations. She is fond of traveling throughout China and talking with the locals to learn their interpretations of what it means to be Chinese.

Dr. Matthew B. Christensen is the Academic Director of the Chinese Flagship Center at Brigham Young University, where he is also a Professor of Chinese in the Department of Asian & Near Eastern Languages. The Flagship program is a partnership among the federal government, education, and business, meant to help graduates take their place among the next generation of global professionals, by attaining superior level Chinese language and cultural skills. Christensen holds degrees in Chinese, International Relations, and Chinese Linguistics. His focus on the usefulness of cultural codes results from his frequent observations in China of students' difficulties when they try—and fail!—to use U.S. cultural codes there.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 4

Introduction 6

1 Chinese History (The Short Version) 9

Imperial China 9

The Four Great Inventions of Ancient China 12

End of the Empire 14

2 Politics and Society 17

Booming China: A Highly Localized Phenomenon? 17

Emerging Problems 19

One Party Rule 21

3 Major Influences in Chinese Thought: Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism 24

Taoism 25

Buddhism 27

Confucianism 28

The Confucian Hierarchy 29

The Importance of Scholarship 31

The Chinese Education System 32

University Life 36

Focus on the Family 37

Advantages 37

Disadvantages 38

4 Rituals and Superstitions 41

5 "Guanxi" and "Mianzi": Two Concepts Crucial to Understanding Chinese People 50

Guanxi: Who Do You Know? 50

Mianzi: Saving Face 56

The Top 12 Ways of Giving or Gaining Face 58

The Top 12 Ways of Losing Face or Making Someone Else Lose Face 64

6 Culture Shock 70

The Honeymoon Phase 71

The Negotiation Phase 72

The Adjustment and Mastery Phase 73

Overcoming Culture Shock 74

7 Differences in Attitudes & Perceptions 78

First Impressions 85

Issues of Personal Space 88

Some Common Interactions 91

Standards of Beauty: Male/Female Relationships 94

Attitudes on Race 99

8 Out and About: Encountering the Other 104

Communication 105

Being a Celebrity 111

Visiting and Dining 114

Shopping 117

Health and Medicine 123

Traditional Chinese Medicine: TCM 128

9 Transportation Issues 134

China's Thirst for Oil 134

Pollution 135

Safety 136

Public Transportation 141

10 Do's and Don'ts 143

11 Doing Business in China 157

Business Negotiations 168

Chinese Negotiation Tactics 172

Post-Negotiations 178

12 China's Technology Craze 181

Beautiful China 186

Bibliography 189

Editorial Reviews

"A straight-talk, no-nonsense introduction to basic Chinese culture and rules for politeness. The simple, cartoony, black-and-white illustrations help drive home these absolute "must-know" lessons for tourists and business travelers—especially anyone responsible for business negotiations" —Midwest Book Review

"An excellent job of illustrating many of the common issues people may encounter while in China. Bravo!" —Mark Rowswell AKA Dashan, performer/cultural ambassador, "the most famous foreigner in China today"

"It is amusing and breezy, and if that is what you are looking for then it's a good book for you." —Beijing Visitor blog

From the Publisher