Chinese Culture (General)
Chinese Culture (General)
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Dear Anon, 1. The Chinese are very particular about phonetics or `sound like.. '. 2. For example, the Chinese dialect group: Cantonese, do not like number 4 because, to them it is `die'. 3. While number 8 to that is `Fatt' or prospher. 4. Unfortunately, the Chinese phonetic meaning for butterfly implies a person in his seventies. Which means `old age' or about to die. Warmest Regards, Cecil
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, 1. Please find pictures of a `small version' of the Chinese Abacus:- 2. The above is a small, abacus. There are larger ones. 3. Usually, they are made of wood. 4. What is the Chinese Abacus? It is a calculator. Where beads are moved up and down and by feel and looking at the beads, complex calculations are made. 6. An expert abacus user can easily calculate numbers faster than one can key in to a modern liquid display calculator. 7. Generally, one can say that the movement of the beads like the computer `bits' and `bytes' i.e. On and off system. 8. In fact, Singapore, introduced the abacus to the schools and this enable students to `fair' better at mathemat…
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear cecil, Can you tell us what each figurine is holding since we cant tell by looking at the picture and also what is the significance of different poses. Thanks.
Last reply by moon88, -
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Dear Anon, Chinese food can be classified under Yin or Yang. This can even be further classified into one of the five elements based on taste. Generally, Yin foods are `softer' such as through boiling, steaming etc... Yang foods are fried etc... Chinese food especially in the rural areas are often preserved. For example, lettuce or cabbage is preserved for winter time. As food cannot be kept for too long without spoilage. Thus Chinese do have lots of preserved food such as Chinese susage, pork etc.... But this is not much a choice as food is scarce especially in the country side. This does not mean that they eat `preserved' food all the time. Only during the cold seasons…
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, Yes, the foundation of Chinese belief is to take care of their elders. It is also due to `Confucianism' or teachings on respect for the elders. Thus `filial piety' is prevalent in Chinese society. Warmest Regards, Cecil
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, Thus, when one is born, he/she is already 1 year old! In olden days, even now, we still consider ourselves + 1 to our birthday. But due to government reports and Identity cards etc... we have to show our true age (western age). No, this is not true. We are proud to celebrate birthdays. Especially of the elderly. For the elderly, special dishes especially in the restaurant include: 1. "Long noodles". Noodles that are long (uncut) as long as possible to signify longevity. 2. Peach shaped loaves of bread. It is common to find this bread served for an elder's birthday. Warmest Regards, Cecil
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, China is a very vast country and as many of the citizens are living in the country side, and agriculture is their stable, they are more inclinded to living a `clean' life. It is only in the cities or areas designated with factories that need more of these control. But, we seldom hear of the need for environmental protection as China is endowed with huge resources. For example, they have huge dams to generate electricity etc... In my opinion, I believe China can be considered a `peaceful' country also. It is more fearful of being exploited by foreigners. If one looks at the history of China, when the Qing Empire was ravaged with `foreigners' out to `exploit' th…
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, In the past, arranged marriages are very common. Couples were even paired up as young as 12 years and below. From my personal opinion, I have seen many cases of arranged marriages that are successful. I have yet to see any ended in divorce (so far). Perhaps, because, divorce is a `taboo' and a `shame'. In the past, even if the wife was severely beaten or `ill' treated by (more so by their in-laws) she still patiently `waits' or attends to her husband. Nowadays, as more and more Chinese ladies enter the workforce, are pretty modernized and the divorce rate can match the statistics of any other western countries. More... For the Chinese, usually when the girl ma…
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, The official Chinese site is: http://english.china.com/cdc/en/travel/0,1020,0,00.html Yes, tourists are allowed to visit China. In fact, China which has a 5,000 year culture is worth the visit if one is `young'. This is because, it is more advantages to visit China on `two feet' (or legs) than on a wheel chair as walking is part of the `thrill'. The only major complaint is the toilet facilites or `lack of it'. If one is interested one can visit Guilin, the beautiful landscapes where the Shapes and Form Feng Shui was said to have originated. There are many many more cultural and historical sites available... Warmest Regards, Cecil
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, You will be surprised to learn that there are equal amounts of Chinese women priests. These priests (depending on their denomination) some wear greyish or `pastel sky blue' clothings. They have their own temples and live a life of celebracy similiar to (the Catholics: Fathers and Sisters). Warmest Regards, Cecil
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, Under symbolism, a `live' crab shape is auspicious because, it is alive i.e. vibrant and active. While a dead crab (fried or steamed) ie. turned Red, is already dead or no more `activity.' Warmest Regards, Cecil
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, Yes, I agree with you. It is quite true that the traditional Chinese cuisine does not include turkey. More commonly, the Chinese rear goose, ducks and chickens. Perphaps, the turkey was less well known thus not popular with the Chinese. (My personal guess). I believe, the turkey is less well known and personally, the meat is coarse as compared to those of other smaller birds. Warmest Regards, Cecil
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, 1. Pearls signify pure and precious. 2. Chinese learned to cultivate pearls long before the Japanese cultivated them. 3. Chinese associate `tears' as beads of small pearls and it is common to place a pearl in the mouth of a dead person. 4. If one has seen mother-of-pearl inlay in an antique furniture, one will be amazed by the `glitter' of the inlay. It is like ebony and ivory, where the ivory gleams and `glows' in different shapes. Simply lovely! Warmest Regards, Cecil
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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1. Find out more about the Nanking 1937 to 1938:- Unlike the holocaust in Europe of the Jews, few people have heard of the Nanking Masscare. Nanking then was the capital of China and within a short span of 6 weeks, 300,000 Chinese were slaughtered in sadistic ways. Click this link to find out more:- http://www.nanking.org/ Click this link for :- Another good starting point Some of the above links contains gruesome pictures of rapes, beheading etc... not for the faint hearted. For example, this gruesome picture shows a picture of a mutliated lady. Others were roasted, nailed to the wall etc.. Click here for picture of:- Mutliated lady who was tortured and raped. Clic…
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear cecil, Thank you for answering the above question (though diplomatically). We are glad to know that you believe in the freedom of speech and the protection of human rights. Since it is important for some users/readers like me to know that since this is a moderated site. So wanted to sure that this site believed in the freedom of speech of the user.
Last reply by moon88, -
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Dear Anon, The Chinese consider the Owl inauspicious and there are three different reasons for this: 1. The Chinese do not like the sound or hooting that the Owl makes. In Chinese phonetic meaning, it gives the expression for digging of a grave. Here, one of the ancient Chinese belief was that when a person is about to die, one would hear the Owl hoot calling out `dig and dig'. 2. It was believed that when the young of an Owl was about to fly, it is believed to dig out its mother's eyes. Thus the association that the Owl is blind. Of course, this is not true. Owls have excellent eye sight. Para 2, is just a tale! 3. The Mandarin word for Owl is the same word / character …
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, Sometimes it is difficult to combine what some of us feel necessary while others may not. Other reasons could also be based on monetary e.g. attract tourism. Another reason is also because of space constraints. In my country, the zoo adopts an open concept i.e. you cannot see any cages (especially for the large animals). Clever use of water holes or canals to prevent animals from escaping. Sometimes because of sensitivity, government officials do not seem to be a participant in Feng Shui. They may for example, call for a discrete FS survey or get advice from a Fortune Teller. But these are usually kept in confidential and hardly released. The logic is that, if …
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, 1. From what I can understand, when I was young, my house used to have an urn i.e. collecting water and we used to rear turles. 2. I believe their bite can be quite nasty. 3. I have also seen large pools of turles e.g. in a public garden. 4. It is my belief that if they are not properly `fed' may tend to eat fishes. Apologise if what I said may be `silly' or whether, it is the truth... erh.. I am really guessing it could be because of the above reason. If I am wrong, please accept my sincere apologies as I have little knowledge of this. Have anyone any experience in this? Would love to hear from you:) Warmest Regards, Cecil
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, Usually, this applies to family owned companies where the patriot e.g. founder believe strongly in Chinese astrology. Here, more importantly, new venture partners are checked discretely by their regular Geomancers. Warmest Regards, Cecil
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, 1. In the past, a large percentage of Chinese do not have tatoos. During the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's, tatoos especially elaborate ones are found on Chinese gangsters or secret society members. 2. You can really see lots of tatoos on their bodies, hands and legs. 3. It was not difficult for the Police Secret Society Supression unit to run them up. 4. Even in the 1980's, tatoos on these youths but lesser. With the advent of model `equipment' or status symbols, at one time, many of these youths or secret society members carry instead at one time `expensive' Motorola `brick' handphones of the 80's. Suddenly, handphones, from my personal observation became the st…
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, It is true that some Chinese consider it inauspicious to keep caged birds. The significance is based on `symbolism'. Where it is cruel to keep the birds. Rather, they should not be `imprisoned' but to be allowed to fly freely in the wild. Warmest Regards, Cecil
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, 1. Many of the bones come from dead animals. Bones range from elephants to buffalo and other animals. 2. Bone carvings are intricate carvings and a unique art. In my opinion, thus there is relatively no specific reason other than creating `art' on the bones. Warmest Regards, Cecil
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, Please see below:- It certainly made sense for babies to wear old clothes especially their own siblings clothes. I remembered at the time when pampers were not `invented' yet. Once upon a time, we use to use cotton nappies. It does make sense to `re-use' those that were purchased for an earlier sibling. Or even those given by relatives. In my personal opinion, this makes practical sense. As an adult, if you were to ask me, I would prefer to wear those that I bought because, we are not growing so do not need to buy clothes so often. Anyway, the only belief is that one should not wear torn clothes even if it is one's personal clothings. Frankly, being s…
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, 1. The most common colour associated with Jade is green. 2. Many people believe that the darker the colour of jade, the more valuable it is. 3. In the past, it is common for a lady to wear a jade bracelet around their wrist. 4. Sometimes when they grow `fatter', it is difficult for the jade to come off. But usually soap does the trick. 5. Many believe that the longer the jade is worn, it turns a `darker' colour. Perhaps, it is due to the jade being porous and absorbing the contaminants surround it? 6. For those who have noticed, the Free resources on the website, (under Chinese tombs, The Landscape Feng Shui) there is a body covered entirely with green jade. To…
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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Dear Anon, 1. The lotus root is a `root' grown underground. It is equivalent to potatoes where it grows underground and `harvested' by digging it out. 2. Like all food, it is much `respected' because of its cooling properties. For example, if one has a sore throat, some Chinese steam it with water and pork or peanuts or other ingredients. The soup is usally drank and the lotus root slices are eaten or thrown away after the soup is made. (Some people like eating it while others obtain the soup). The tea-pot in one of the links is a replica of how the lotus root looks like. Warmest Regards, Cecil
Last reply by Cecil Lee, -
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