When it comes to travelling to another country, learning about the etiquette of that country is extremely important. For example, saying that you like something in some countries means that the person has to give that to you as a gift. Here are five tips when it comes to etiquette with the Chinese to help you get around China without making a fool out of yourself.

Crossing the Road

Pedestrians do not have the right of way when it comes to crossing the road in China. Avoid crossing the road on your own where you can – look for a crosswalk and a group of people. The Chinese are less likely to continue driving when a group is involved because they will want to refrain from denting their car – it has nothing to do with dangerous driving!

Be Friendly When Bartering

You want a bargain when it comes to buying items and in markets and private stores, this is possible. However, good etiquette with the Chinese is important for this. You will need to be polite and build up a friendly relationship with the seller; the friendlier you are, the more willing the seller will be to offer a better price. Avoid pointing and shouting; as if there is a better deal that the seller will be able to offer or whether there are any extras that can be thrown in.

Public Displays of Affection

Good etiquette with the Chinese when it comes to PDAs all comes down to who you are around. When around younger Chinese people, you will get away with kissing and shows of affection. However, when around the older people, avoid anything more than a peck on the cheek or holding your partner’s hand; it is embarrassing for the people around you.

If in Doubt, Smile!

If you are in doubt of anything in China, just smile. The Chinese smile for a lot of reasons – including during an argument! Smiling during an argument will mean that they do not want to lose a possible friendship; however, people will also smile because they are embarrassed, they do not understand something or just simply because they are happy. There is nothing wrong with smiling while you are in China.

Use Chopsticks Correctly

Good etiquette with the Chinese also comes down to how you use your chopsticks. Avoid pointing the sticks in someone’s face and do not lick them – no matter how tasty the sauce may be! Something to definitely avoid is sticking the chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice. This action is practiced by the Chinese as a way of honoring the dead at their graves and will be considered to be disrespectful.

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Unlike many of the new business practices happening in the US and modern Europe, business philosophy in China still has strong links with the country’s history, and other cultural identities. With Taoism and Confucianism playing a large part in the daily lives of the average person in China, it’s more than understandable that the philosophies of both have found their way into Chinese business etiquette; after all, they have been a part of the way that the businesses have traded over the centuries, so it follows that what has worked until now, should still work into the future, too.

How does this influence China business culture, and maybe point to areas where you can improve when dealing with a Chinese business?

As well as affecting their social behavior, a China business culture that has Taoism and Confucianism at the heart of it will follow a strict social order, too. This hierarchical structure — while not present in all Chinese businesses — means that it is safer to be mindful of the way that it works, rather than take the risk of ignoring it, and offending the company that you are dealing with. Put simply, the way it works is this: if you are dealing with key personnel in the Chinese company, you should have people of equal or higher status from your company dealing with them i.e. you would never have an assistant from your company trying to deal with a manager from there’s.

Also, Chinese business etiquette incorporates the idea of the person that you are negotiating with ‘saving face’. This concept really isn’t as difficult to follow as it might first appear. Confucianism includes the goal of social harmony, and that comes into the business culture of China, too. As you might know, if you have ever had to negotiate with people before, the whole process can become a little heated (not always in a bad way) and that can lead to some disharmony between the two parties.

China business culture allows for negotiating, but, in order to keep the harmony, the representatives of the company may give you a ‘no’ to your offer when they want to take back control of the negotiations, even though they may still be prepared to negotiate with you further.

Of course, if your business plan is to import things from a Chinese company, then knowing a bit about the business culture of China may be helpful to you in your dealings with them, but it may not be quite as necessary as it would be if you were looking to start exporting to China, or have a branch setup over there.

When it comes to China business culture, remember that you should have people of an equal standing working together; they will often operate in smaller groups, so as to make it easier to keep the harmony between everyone; negotiations may take longer because solving things too quickly could involve some element of ‘losing face’; and having a quick read of the works of Sun Tzu could be useful, but not essential, when trying to get to grips with Chinese business etiquette.

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For the second Demo as usual, I painted roses.  Rose is very hard to paint if you think you are painting roses. However, if you think you are only paint forms, shapes and edges, it is will be much easier. Squint as much as you can and observe where the dark is and where the light is. Place your stroke with confidence, and then leave them alone. Very soon your rose will smile to you.

Greeting from Atlanta, GA. I am teaching a workshop here. I want to thank Donna Thomas for organizing this wonderful workshop, and all the artists coming from all over to see me. This is the demo painting I did yesterday. The orange with a yellow ribbon around it is organic, and the other one is not. Well,  they aren’t much different to me. For my painting, they are all light manipulators, I don’t even care if they are oranges or not.

Some expats never get out of the “expat” bubble, frequenting the same Western places in the French Concession, Xintiandi and Pudong over and over again. To them, those Chinese faces – they’re just there, to serve you at overpriced bar venues, to gape at you on the subway, and to hassle you on the streets to buy their junk.

Those expats never get to see the real side of Shanghai like some Chinese-Americans do – they don’t get to chat with the highly opinionated taxi driver who can tell you in vivid detail about the hardships of Chinese working-class life and how the people really felt when politically sensitive events like T-square went down. They don’t get to wave to the old ladies in the park who wake up at the crack of dawn to practice Tai-chi, and then go on to spend their working day in a dinky street corner selling 3 RMB snacks. They don’t get to smile at the little 4-year-old who comes to work with her mother every day, happily helping her mommy pick up litter and mop the grimy floors of the subway station.

Teaching ESL in Shanghai can be a great introduction to the city or it can lead to a fruitful career in education. The vocation has increased in popularity amongst both recent post-graduates and seasoned professionals seeking a break from traditional life. It can provide a stable position to those who want to live and work abroad. The most rewarding aspects of teaching are often intangible; an ESL teacher has the ability to change a learner’s life forever. Developing a rapport with students and witnessing their progress is undeniably the most fulfilling part about being a teacher. Teaching ESL abroad is like traditional teaching’s hip, older sister. Teaching English in China offers a unique allure ranging from the ability to travel to saving money. Here are 5 perks about being an ESL teacher:

I especially enjoyed the explanation toward the end of his use of “Peking Opera masks”:

A few years ago, a few other translators and I were talking with employees of a Chinese publishing house who said that they had some books that they wanted to translate into English — things that they said would show foreigners the real China. There was a brief and intense period of excitement, until the publishers said that these were coffee-table books about Peking Opera masks and different varieties of tea. Ever since then, I’ve used “Peking Opera masks” as mental shorthand for the Chinese habit of attempting to interest the world in aspects of itself that most Chinese people don’t give two-tenths of a rat’s ass about. (This same thing affects Chinese-language instruction, but I’ll save that rant for another post.)

Oh yes… you better believe that plenty of Chinese study materials out there are rife with Peking Opera maskery.

(Note: Just in case you have a burning desire to discuss Peking Opera masks in Chinese, these masks are usually referred to as 脸谱 or 京剧脸谱 in Mandarin.)