Sa1jiao1 – check the Pinterest to learn a bit more. You’ll run into this a lot in China… Kinda annoying.
Category Archives: Culture
How to Remember Chinese Dynasties
I’ll report back in a few days, let you know if it’s effective or not. lol. Possibly with a video. 😉
Week In China Invite
I read and use articles published in HSBC’s Week in China quite frequently. It’s very insightful, and surprisingly non-biased. They report issues with more journalistic integrity than you’ll find in most major newspapers, and offer quality reports on everything from the state of the Economy to Politics. Essentially, it’s a great hub of information for those of you lost in the milieu of Chinese info out there. The only thing is, you need an invitation to access this great material. So if you like the reports that I’ve uploaded, such as the Chinese Tycoons, send me a request at chinesecraze1@gmail.com and I’ll send you an invite.
Globalization Vocabulary
The Asia Society is a great academic resource, and also features lot’s of information regarding programs which are attempting to link the US and China. While browsing through their website, I found this set of vocabulary cards related to the globalization of societies. Learn these and you can possibly have some discourse on whether or not globalization is a recent phenomena… (doubtable in my opinion. lol)
Things Asian Girls Like/Hate
Pretty sure 90% of this is shaded by American “Banana” Asians (香蕉人), but it’s definitely helpful for those of us who are interested in interacting with Asians in America. Not to say that this is necessarily true, because everyone is unique, but it at least tells you a bit about the differences that go beyond the broadest and most racist stereotypes. It was made by the Feng Bros, who are hilarious. I suggest you subscribe after watching.
Chinese Getting English Tattoos
We have all heard of the hilarious mishaps that befall drunken expats abroad in the tattoo parlor, but what about the opposite? Sober Chinese getting erroneous English tattoos. Yep, apparently it’s starting to become a thing in China. I don’t know if tattoos will ever catch on quite as much in the East, but these pictures seem to indicate that the exotic, expressive and sometimes erudite movement of “marking-up” has a hold in some sub-pockets of culture in China. One notable thing is, as can be seen above, they’re not all “tramp-stamps” and “arm-bands”. At least these are a bit more unique… juuuust a bit. Read about it here –> Telegraph Article on “Chinese Craze for Tattoos”
Graffiti in Beijing
I was born and raised in LA, so naturally I appreciate the inherent value of street art. I know that not everyone shares my view, but I find this particular form of artistic expression to be more egalitarian than others, and therefore support it. While traveling around China and Taiwan, I would snap photos of the street art I saw posted around town, but never knew the culture was growing quite so rapidly. Lance Clayton captures the burgeoning underground scene with raw footage, and allows the viewer to enter the world of the graf-artist in a way that depicts their political, spiritual and artistic motivations. It’s a great view if you’re looking to find something out of the ordinary… and btw, graffiti in Chinese is 涂鸦 tu3ya2.
Making Out in Chinese
Lunar New Year is tomorrow, prep the 马年吉祥！新年快乐！
新年快乐 ｜马年吉祥 ｜工期发财 ｜ 恭喜发财 ｜恭贺新禧 ｜新年进步 ｜新年好！
In light of the fact that Chinese new years will be starting tomorrow evening, I thought this a perfect time to post all the info I have on Chinese New Year. Although I lived in Taiwan last year during the holiday, I found that I still held many misconceptions concerning the significant holiday. To give you a picture of what I mean, I’ll simply start by talking about what I thought Chinese New Year meant; then contrast that with my current understanding. Perhaps you will find yourself holding some of these misconceptions, and be intrigued to learn more about the holiday.
My perception of Chinese New Years took shape primarily while I was in Taiwan last year, becuase before that, the celebration held no significance to me. Last February, I was living in a small five-bedroom flat with my expat roomies in Guting, Taipei. I was attending a local language school, Shida, so of course I was aware that the holiday was coming, but kinda shrugged it off because I didn’t think it would affect me outside of school. I learned the phrases, ate the specialty foods, and went on with my expat life when suddenly I was hit with the hard and lonely reality of Chinese New Year. I say lonely, but really, it was just lonely for me and whoever else was hit with the same predicament.
I remember coming home the night of the 31st, and how clueless I was about how much of a fervor there was around me concerning the New Year. Granted, I did notice the ubiquitous red signs (春联，chun1lian2) and cankerous cracking of fire in the streets, but I wrote it off as being nothing more than celebretory custom. While this may be partially true, the term “celebratory custom” does not mean the same thing in the West as it does in the East. The two things I failed to notice was 1) the fact that there was more to the story, a rich history that infused the holiday with so much significance that 2) everyone observed it!
To me, “New Years” meant partying, parties and more partying. But to the Chinese/Taiwanese/those who follow the lunar calendar, it meant family, tradition and custom. Because of this cultural gap in understanding, I completely was shocked when I woke up on the 1st to find that no stores were open, no Taiwanese friends were in town, and more problematically, there was nowhere to eat! lol. I’m serious, the only place I found was, of course, McDonalds and TGIFridays, both Western restaurants. Aside from that, only the supermarkets were open, and at that time I didn’t cook at home because I didn’t have a kitchen. It literally felt like I had missed the rapture, or was on the set of the Walking Dead (although not quite as post-apocolyptic). Even more disconcerting was the fact that my roommates were all gone, except for a new German guy who was quite antisocial. They all left for the week to Kending, and I was stuck at home until midweek due to budgetary constraints. Perhaps I’ll write more about the adventures me and my German flatmate had while looking for food another time, but suffice it to say I was absolutely shocked by the predicament I found myself in.
Now you might be thinking to yourself, “cool story bro”, and perhaps your a bit more cultured that I was and would have predicted the rapture of tradition; but recently I traveled down a bit further into the rabbits hole and found some facts that perhaps you might not have been aware of. For instance, the Chinese don’t even celebrate Chinese New Year’s… because there isn’t one. I mean, there isn’t one exclusive beginning to a year based on a clander which only the Chinese follow. Instead, the Chinese celebrate the Lunar New Year, or 农历新年nong2li4xin1nian2, along with 10+ other EA coutries and billions of other people across the world. You might think this a bit anal, but just think, what would your impression be of a Chinese individual who unrepentently thought our New Years would last for 15 days, involved lots of superstition and called it Lunar New Years, only because that’s how he celebrates it back at home? The key word there is “unrepentently”, because that’s how most of us Americans tend to approach the holidays of other nations. We know they contain particular history, particular traditions and particular significances, but never come to truly appreciate them due to the fact that it belongs to “them”… I’m not saying we have to go put on a Nian dragon suit and go dance around in the streets, (though you’re certainly welcome to, although those suits are STUFFY!) but we can at least come to appreciate the holiday that holds so much value to our East Asian friends; and perhaps even refer to it by its proper title… baby steps. But to show that I’m not just being anti-American here, I’ll leave the “Chinese New Year” title, becuase that’s what WE have come to refer to it as.
Anyhow, you can probably tell that I was doing a bit of projecting in that last paragraph, but it shows the stark contrast between the self-satisfied, arrogant American I was a year ago and the culturally sensitive, open-minded person I am trying to embrace now. Of course such cultural importing should not be limited only to China, but since this is ChineseCraze, I’ll end my rants here.
Also, due to the fact that there is so much rich history and culture associated with the lunar new year, I’ll be dividing this into different sections to make this a running archive. But to start things off, I’ll list a few interesting facts about the lunar new year below, to set the tone for this section.
1. Good Luck
Those born in the year of the horse should wear red articles of clothing every day until the 15th for good luck! My auntie was adamant about this, again, showing that it means a lot to others even thought it doesn’t mean much to us.
2. Firecrackers
Yes, there is a purpose to all the dangerous chaos that takes place in the streets. No, it’s not due to a positive happening in history like our 4th of July, but rather is done to prevent the bad from maurading prosperity… or more precisely, to prevent Nian the dragon from destroying our cities. This one might be rooted in complete superstition, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun. Practice some safety and you can turn the nonstop crackling into some memorable good times!
3. New Years…. Plural?
While there may be only 1 beginning to the year, the holiday associated with it lasts for 15 days. Since the lunar calendar changes every year, the two-week stretch also varies.
4. 15 Days of Custom/Tradition
While most in my generation tend to only think of this time as annoying, filled with interrogating questions from Aunties about salary and marriage, others see it as a time to embrace tradition. I won’t spell out what goes on during all 15 days just yet, but if you’re curious, some of the more interesting ones involve not showering and lots of drinking….
5. The Lunar New Year is celebrated by MANY countries
Including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore,Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Philippines. This may not seem like a lot, but the variation from region to region is quite vast and interesting. I’ll be posting some articles on the differences at a later time.
Until then, check out this video for a solid explanation of the Lunar New Year – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EUsmbqnuw8&feature=youtu.be
China’s Manufactured Pop-Stars… Not Quite Korean
China’s manufactured pop-stars
Ruhan Jia sponsored by the state to become a “state star that can attract western audiences”. The only thing is, she isn’t doing anything particularly fresh, or “western”. In fact, she believes that Western music is too harsh, preferring the refined Chinese classics which she defines as a “woman with Chanel”. If she does not like or even “get” the west, why is she the designated spokesperson? This Party Popstar Posterchild has only received a mild welcome within China (only about 500k Weibo followers), so I don’t think she’ll be signing with Capital Records or perform a duo with Taylor Swift anytime soon. Just goes to show, China can’t manufacture quality, only creativity and genuine innovation can…. and that’s what will continue to give the West an edge in all things entertainment. For more, check this BBC Article. Also, check out her introduction of her new album here.
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