On 3rd July 1914, as Ivan Chen made his way down the steps of the Summit Hall building in Simla, he must have been aware of mixed feelings rising up inside him. He had done something which would have far reaching repercussions; and which would for years be remembered by many people on both sides of the Sino-Indian border, albeit in very different ways - He had just left the … [Read more...] about A Brief History of the Sino-Indian Border Dispute and the role of Tibet
Chinese
Shanghai Style: Pajamas in the Great Outdoors
It seems the long held social custom of Shanghainese to walk down the street in their pajamas is causing some discomfort to the organizers of the Shanghai World Expo scheduled for next year and a campaign has been started by the municipal government to end the practice. It's not that unusual to see middle aged women milling around on the street in their pajamas, or even … [Read more...] about Shanghai Style: Pajamas in the Great Outdoors
Cross Cultural Dating
Now that many non-Chinese have moved to China and many native Chinese live throughout the world, cross cultural dating has become far more common. For someone leaving mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or Singapore and moving to a western country, what are some of the cultural pitfalls and traps you need to avoid and adjustments you need to make? For someone moving to any of … [Read more...] about Cross Cultural Dating
(Letter from Joel) How should foreigners feel about being called “鬼子,” “鬼佬,” “老外,” etc.?
I'm on an extended visit back to my hometown, Vancouver, a Canadian city full of Chinese. Chinese is the second-most commonly used language after English. My wife and I were running around a Chinese mall for fun to practice Mandarin and buy some Chinese DVDs when we overheard Chinese people talking about us in Mandarin saying, "Those foreigners are speaking Chinese!" I … [Read more...] about (Letter from Joel) How should foreigners feel about being called “鬼子,” “鬼佬,” “老外,” etc.?
Numbers as Language
NPR once broadcasted an interview talking about why Asian students are better at math (if I can be excused) . The speaker explained that in these mostly agricultural societies, the mindset is you reap how much you plant, hence their greater commitment. In America, there is more emphasis on “working smart” than “working hard”. Translated into educational jargon, he is saying … [Read more...] about Numbers as Language