Find out what the top 5 cultural differences between China and the West
Everyday Easy Chinese
Hi, I'm Michelle from Everyday Easy Chinese and welcome to our 'Ask Us' series.
Today, you'll be learning,
5 different cultural differences between China and the West.
These top 5 cultural differences will either make or break your success.
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5 business cultural differences between China and the West,
Number 1,
'face',
miàn zi (面子),
what is face?
'Face' is pronounced as miàn zi (面子) in Chinese
and it is similar to reputation or honour.
One very popular term is 'maintaining face'.
This means that one should avoid embarrassing themselves,
while maintaining a good standing with others in society.
In western cultures feelings are openly expressed,
but in China it is rare for someone to openly express their true feelings.
For example, if you compliment someone in a western society,
they would normally reply by saying 'thank you'.
However, in China
people will maintain face by being humble and saying that they are not good enough,
even if they know that they are.
In business, the concept of maintaining face is sometimes tested,
for example if a Chinese client or a business partner is telling you humble statements,
such as, 'our company is very tiny and insignificant',
you can maintain by expressing, that you disagree with this phrase, even if it is true.
This ensures that you avoid embarrassing the other party and have maintained face.
Maintaining face is essentially that act of keeping everyone on the same level
and not lower the other party, in terms of reputation or respect.
Actions that can make you lose face are those that show disrespect,
such as, publicly criticising someone,
directly rejecting someone
and failing to suppress ones emotions.
Number 2,
Relationship building,
guānxì (关系),
is a network of relationships designed to
provide support and cooperation among the
parties involved in doing business.
It is very similar to the concept of networking in the western world,
where it is not about what you know but who you know.
In China, you need to build trust with business partners and colleagues
over a long period and understand the relationships between different parties
and the background to these relationships.
The more time and effort you build in these long-term relationships,
the higher the chance of success.
From my personal experience, it's easy to become someones best friend
after a few meetings in the western world.
But, this is something that usually doesn't happen in China.
Number 3,
gift giving,
gift giving is a common practice in China,
as the older generation in China remember a time when there was a shortage
of high quality produce.
That's why giving gifts are warmly welcomed.
When receiving a gift it is normal for the Chinese to protest
and refuse the gift several times before they finally accept it.
That's right they will outright refuse and protest,
but this doesn't mean that they don't really want it.
Persevere after the few rejections,
this goes for you too,
if someone gives you a gift you should also refuse several times before accepting.
One important tip,
here is that business gifts usually come in pairs
because it is more auspicious
and lucky to give two gifts tied together.
Number 4,
business formality,
Chinese people are generally less formal than westerners,
in how they dress for business.
Whereas, in the western world, where business meetings usually take place
at the office.
In China, it is very common for business meetings to occur
in the form of an informal meal, at a restaurant.
Number 5,
business related dining,
talking about meals at restaurants,
eating and drinking are a very important part of Chinese culture.
And meals are often shared with everyone
at the same time in a restaurant.
Although Chinese people do accept that the palette of westerners is different to theirs,
they will greatly appreciate it if you simply tried an unusual dish.
This would be taken as a compliment
and will maintain the face of the host.
Never, openly criticise the food because the host would have gone through
lots of time in thinking of what to order and this lowers the face of both parties.
While eating you should watch to see if other diners are using their own chopsticks
to take shared food
or if there is a spoon that they use to take the food from communal dishes.
When pausing or at the end of the meal
make sure that you do not leave your chopsticks upright sticking out of your bowl.
This reminds Chinese people
of the incense sticks placed in foods at funerals.
If you are ever unsure of your dining etiquette
you should observe and follow the lead of your host.
Some mealtimes may include drinking.
It is seen as impolite to have a drink or eat before someone at the table has made a toast
or signalled to eat.
Even after the initial toast, it is rare to see people drink from their glass without making a small toast
to some or all of the other diners.
This is a rule that only applies to alcohol and not tea.
If there is a toast remember to keep in mind,
the hierarchy of everyone.
If you are superior in terms of job title,
feel free to raise your glass higher than the person who is toasting you.
If not, be sure to hold it lower than theirs to show that you are respectful and not dominating.
干杯 (gān bēi),
is the equivalent to 'cheers' in English,
this literally means 'empty your glass or cup',
so be prepared to do so.
Thank you for watching if you enjoyed the video
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If you have any questions about China,
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and we will see you for another 'Ask Us' episode.
Goodbye!