How to survive a compliment in China (捧杀 – Pěng shā)
Subtle nuances of language and behaviour are an important part of dealing with China, but often totally missed. Receiving or giving...
How to procrastinate in Chinese (拖延症 – tuō yán zhèng)
Procrastinators should not be able to survive in China. Procrastinators, and their procrastinations, are not welcome. To survive and be successful...
Leadership lessons from a 20th century Shanghai drug dealer, Du Yuesheng (杜月笙 – Dù yuèshēng)
There's something called the 'three bowls of noodles philosophy' which was first coined by Du Yuesheng (杜月笙 - Dù yuèshēng) -...
The six meanings of water in Chinese culture (水 Shuǐ)
The meaning of a simple word, water, in Chinese culture is complicated. Drawing on poems, idioms and China's philosophers, there are...
A Chinese idiom about making the right choice – 选择 (xuǎn zé)
The word for 'choose' in Chinese is 选择 (xuǎn zé). The traditional character for zé is 擇, and the bits that...
How to share an opinion in Chinese (意见 – Yì jiàn)
To have an opinion in China is serious stuff. There are at least 10 different ways to say the word, 'opinion'....
Why there is no word for ‘the’ in Chinese – using Cat Theory (猫论 – Māo lùn)
Chinese does not have a word for "the", or "a" or "an". How could such an inoffensive, but fundamental, word be...
Different ways to to say ‘yes’ in Chinese – 是的 (Shì de)
There are lots of different ways to "Yes" in Chinese, with subtle differences. I have counted more than 20. All are...
How to report to your boss in Chinese – 汇报 (Huì Bào)
The word for 'report' - as in to report to a senior is a tricky one in Chinese. It is one...
The different means of ‘me’ in Chinese – 自我 (Zì Wǒ)
“Me” in Chinese is different is quite different than in English. Chinese does not distinguish between “I” and “me”. This is...