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Embrace the culture and get the most out of your time in China.
Going to China for the first time can be an intimidating experience, even for those who have studied the language. In fact, traveling to China for the second, third, or fourth time can also be a challenging experience, especially if you intend to be fully immersed in daily life, get off the beaten path, and experience the "real" China.
This China etiquette and culture guide is about how to get things done in China. Decoding China gives you down-to-earth information on how to deal with everyday situations—like eating at a restaurant or shopping at an outdoor market—that present unique and unexpected challenges for foreign visitors.
- Why being polite when you board a bus is a big mistake
- Finding a toilet (and what to bring along!)
- How to bargain for anything in a Chinese market
- Which train ticket to buy—hard seat? Soft seat?
- How the Chinese view privacy, and why it may make you seem suspicious
- Working in a Chinese office, and the politics of lunch
As the Academic Director at the Chinese Flagship Center of Brigham Young University, Dr. Matthew B. Christensen has seen countless foreigners arrive in China…and fail to accomplish simple tasks like ordering food, boarding a bus, or making friends with a Chinese colleague. Why? Because they didn't understand China's basic cultural codes. This travel book will help you crack these codes. And with it, you'll soon be able to navigate your way in any situation.
- Sales Rank: #558143 in Books
- Published on: 2013-04-02
- Released on: 2013-04-02
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.00" h x .90" w x 5.13" l, .64 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 288 pages
Review
"This makes a change from all the big-picture studies that allegedly empower people who want to do business in Beijing. Instead of once-over lightly explanations of China's eternal values, Christensen explains how to order dinner and get on with people you need to know. There is a mass of information on business etiquette and the routines of life…" —Stephen Matchett, The Australian
"Based on his own experience of teaching and traveling in China in the past decades, Christensen's book Decoding China serves as a reminder to anyone who will be living, studying and working in China that understanding the culture codes that help develop and maintain relationships is more important than just mastering a bundle of linguistic skills." —Shanghai Daily
About the Author
Dr. Matthew B. Christensen holds degrees in Chinese, international relations, and Chinese linguistics. In addition to directing the Chinese Flagship Center, which is a partnership among the federal government, education, and business that works to help graduates attain superior-level Chinese language and cultural skills, he is also Professor of Chinese in the Department of Asian & Near Eastern Languages at Brigham Young University. He blogs about his adventures exploring the wide-flung corners of China at intothemiddlekingdom.com.
Most helpful customer reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
A long overdue guide for anyone living or traveling in China
By Tacul
I have lived, worked, studied, and traveled in China. I wish that this book had been available several decades ago when I first went to live there. It would have saved me a lot of puzzlement, frustration and occasional embarrassment. This book is full of very practical advice and insight for the non-Chinese visitor, and can help ease your transition and aid your communication, whether you're a tourist who is just travelling for a short while, or someone who plans to live in China long-term.
There are other books on Chinese culture and language, but nothing I've seen approaches the everyday practicality of this book. Even as a person who is quite familiar with China, I found the book to be extremely useful, and I found explanations and solutions for a number of frustrating cultural dissonances that I had never really figured out on my own, but make perfect sense when I saw them explained.
Anyone from the U.S. who is living in China or is planning on visiting China would do well to read this book. It will go a long way towards reducing unnecessary friction and making your stay much more enjoyable.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
Don't be a foreigner who speaks Chinese, be a local that knows his/her way around
By Pokarface
Cliff notes:
- It Will establish the core cultural knowledge you need to know before moving on to more specific contexts (for example: doing business in China, modern life in China, Dating in China, etc.)
- Written as a practical guide with real life examples from the author or his acquaintances (some are formal, some are funny, and some are both!).
- A little bit of everything for everyone, from ordering from a Chinese menu to dating in China.
- Covers common scams that some people WILL attempt on you.
- Lots of useful tips and links for learning mandarin (some of them free!), booking trips, shopping in China, finding apartments, etc.
- Includes useful phrases and words in pinyin and Chinese characters.
- Pictures covering the culture as well as the, how-to, including: how to order train tickets from ticket vending machines, how to use the train station's digital board, how to use long distance phone cards (since the instructions are only written in Chinese), how to read your train's ticket information, etc.
Having studied Mandarin for 10 months while practicing my language skills around the city, it eventually became apparent that I was doing well but that I kept expecting things would get easier the more Mandarin I could speak. I was wrong! The more I could speak, the more I would get in awkward situations. Mainly because I kept being a foreigner who could speak Mandarin, instead of a local that knew his way around town.
I own a lot of Chinese language learning books and resources that I'd like to review, but today I will cover one that talks about something that is sparingly covered in language learning books, culture. More specifically as Dr. Christensen writes about it, behavioral culture, "This would include such seemingly mundane things as eating habits, how to greet people, protocols of transportation, etiquette, how emotions are displayed, how to develop and maintain relationships, and other related everyday things."
For those who simply think about traveling to those who plan in studying abroad or even working in China, the topics covered in the book will build your core knowledge of values that are practiced in modern China, and while it is true that as a foreigner you may not be expected to understand them, showing an interest and being able to fit in, will take you a long way towards connecting with China, its people, and lifestyle (and you'll realize soon why you should care about these things).
A quick chapter breakdown and my favorite sections (note: there's way more things covered in the book)
This guide starts by covering the traveling essentials with detailed directions on where to find your way around the main Chinese airports in Beijing and Shanghai. Common scams to avoid from taxi drivers and sellers around the city. Booking hotels and other lodging resources (did you know you can stay in a college dorm without being a student? That's covered in this book!).
What to expect when invited to a banquet and what not to do. Information on mobile phone plans and browsing internet in China (you'll need this information as many websites can't be accessed from China)
Opening a bank account, currency exchange, sending money, and avoiding counterfeit money.
Finding the different kinds of markets (including the fake designer brand ones, haha!), and the art of haggling.
An insight into the Chinese educational system, studying Chinese (and even how to apply to a non-language college degree) in China, tips on learning Chinese as well as free and commercial learning software reviews.
Business etiquette, the concept of face (reputation, dignity and repect. Very serious in China), making connections and how this will benefit you to get things done quickly, working in an office and its hierarchy.
Visiting friends and hosting a banquet, building and maintaining relationships, dating and expressing your affection (Differences in western and Chinese dating and what couples actually say and do once in a relationship), giving and receiving gifts.
The phases of cultural shock and how to cope better with them, surviving in China (literally how not to die by showing you how to access hospitals, prescription medicines, or traditional Chinese remedies)
Since a detailed book review covering all the chapters would have been huge, I hope this quick breakdown and the cliff notes gives you enough information to realize that whether you are learning or not Mandarin, you will need to have a basic idea of the behavioral culture that takes place in China in order to enrich your experience regardless of the time limit you plan on spending there. I hope you have as much fun reading the anecdotes and watching the pictures as I did, and I'd like to invite you to the author's blog for more colorful pictures and experiences from China that he shares at, intothemiddlekingdom.com/
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Accurate and useful China "survival" guide...
By Roxpert
Just finished the e-book this week, and can say with confidence that the author has a good grasp of Chinese cultural norms. He gives excellent advice for both short-term visitors and longer-term expats as to how to have the greatest chances for a happy experience and success in the "Middle Kingdom".
My wife is Shanghainese, and while we live in Denver, we go to China frequently as she needs to care for her widowed mother often. I've personally been there six times for a total of over six months since 2009. It is a wonderful and fascinating country to experience, and everyone who can do so should absolutely visit China at least once. However, it can be rather difficult to adjust and get most out of the journey, especially if the visitor isn't fluent in Mandarin and is traveling independently (and not with a group or packaged tour). I am lucky in that my wife can act as my private guide and interpreter since I don't know the language well, but most others aren't so lucky. That's where a book like Decoding China comes in so handy.
It is a useful handbook even for those fluent in the language and studying in China, or those working or with business activity there. Many of the "codes" of the culture are discussed, such as how to behave in restaurants, at banquets, the practice of gift-giving, taking off shoes in someone's home, or even how to read and obtain train tickets. I have personally experienced many of the situations discussed in the book, and can confirm that the cultural norms described in the book are true. This is often vital information to know, especially in advance of actually finding oneself in any of the many situations being discussed. Chinese culture is often about face and being polite, not offending those with whom one interacts. Decoding China will really help the typically loud and gregarious Americans, especially, in mixing well with this great but often challenging culture to get used to. It could actually help in making friends and lifetime relationships!
I highly recommend picking up a copy of Decoding China, or downloading the e-book, in advance of traveling to China. The tips and advice given are numerous, sound, and accurate based on my own experiences. No other China travel books that Ive seen are quite like this one, and you'll be glad you got it!
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