What Chinese Words Can Teach Us about Culture - Upside Down Signs and Dumplings

The Chinese love play on words and especially for the Chinese New Year Holiday. Many Chinese traditions can be explained using word play and since we're celebrating Chinese New Year with the last couple of posts, let's look at the following examples:

1) Upside-Down Signs: I have always wondered why the signs on the doors/windows of houses and stores were upside down. Did someone drink too much the night before when they were putting up the signs? After some quick research, it appears that a play on words is the reason for all this madness.

The most common sign you'll see upside down is the one containing the character "福" which means fortune in Chinese ("fu" in Mandarin and "fook" in Cantonese - that's why you see fu and fook in many restaurants in US Chinatowns). Anyways, the reason to hang this sign upside down is because the Chinese word for upside down ("dao" in Mandarin and "dou" in Cantonese) sounds like the Chinese word for arrive so when you hang the 福 sign upside down it signifies that "Fortune has Arrived". For the same reason, sometimes you'll see the Chinese character for the season Spring "春" ("chun" in Mandarin and "choon" in Cantonese) upside down.

Looks like a Chinese ingot to me

2) Dumplings "饺子":
It is a well known tradition that Chinese people make and eat dumplings for Chinese New Year. As with long standing traditions, the reason behind the tradition is probably forgotten. There are a few reasons besides the obvious camaraderie and fun of a family getting together to make and to eat dumplings.

The first is that dumplings look like Chinese gold ingots which symbolize wealth. The second reason which is a word play is that "饺子" ("jiao zi" in Mandarin) sounds like "sleep and have sons" which is a traditional blessing despite the sexist connotations. I think the word play only exists in Mandarin which may explain why some of the southern parts of China where Cantonese is more prevalent might not have the same tradition. Also, dumplings are very popular in Northern China.

Chinese Ingot

So there you have it. Two of Chinese New Year's mysteries explained! Stay tuned for other posts providing clarity for things you've always seen or done but couldn't figure out why.

Feel free to leave your comments or to suggest alternate explanations!       　

The Quick Guide to Chinese Lucky Numbers - Good for the Lottery

This guy better not hit and run!

(888) 888-8888

This is the most coveted US-based phone number for the Chinese because the number 8 is considered very lucky. In China a phone number containing all 8's was sold for $270,723 USD which is a lot of money in China (actually it is a lot of money in the US as well).

Similarly, the Olympics in Beijing, was started at 8pm on 08/08/08 (August 8, 2008).

Look on any nice car driven by a wealthy Chinese man and I'll be surprised if there isn't an 8 on the license plate.

So why all the hoopla about 8 (八 - "Ba" in Mandarin and "Baat" in Cantonese)?:

1. It sounds very similar to the word for "prosper" (發 - "Fa" in Mandarin and "Faat" in Cantonese)
2. 88 looks like 囍 (which means double happiness)

On the flip side, the number 4 (四 - "Si" in Mandarin and "Sei" in Cantonese) is very unlucky

Where are those 4's?

because:

1. It sounds very similar to the word for "death" (死 - "Si" in Mandarin and "Sei" in Cantonese)
2. One of the unluckiest numbers is 14 (十四 - "Shi Si" in Mandarin and "Sup Sei" in Cantonese) because it sounds like "10 deaths" (十死 in Mandarin ), "Wants to die" (要死 in Mandarin) or "Certainly die" (實死 in Cantonese) - heavy stuff.

For that reason, many buildings in Asia do not have the number 4 (see picture). If you look at a lot of product lines (Canon Powershot G3 and G5 but no G4), phone numbers, license plates, etc, you'll see that the number 4 is missing.

Other lucky numbers include: 2, 3, 9 and 13

Other unlucky numbers include: 5

Numbers that can be both lucky and unlucky: 6 and 7

Your phone number, license plate, the floor that you live on and/or apartment number are all status symbols to the Chinese. The more lucky numbers you have the higher your status, especially in East Asian countries, since you probably have to pay up in order to get those numbers.

Chinese people have a special relationship with numbers (maybe this is why we're good at math).

Let me know if there are other lucky or unlucky numbers out there!

How to Give Gifts to Chinese People - A Practical Guide to Gift-Giving

The art of gift giving is exactly that in China - an art. If you want to survive in China socially, politically, professionally, etc you will need to master this not-so-simple art.

Note: Pay special attention to the gifts you should NEVER give to a Chinese person!

1. Offer gift 2-3 times: Chinese people will polite refuse an invitation, gift or favor 2-3 times in order to show that they are modest and humble. No one wants to look greedy so continue to offer your gift a couple of times. For the same reason, don't expect the Chinese to open the gift in front of you. 

Note: If they refuse after the 4th or 5th time, then you may need to re-evaluate your gift's appropriateness (happens especially in business since the gift may be seen as a bribe). 

2. If invited to someone's home, bring a gift: If a Chinese person invites you to his or her home, it is NECESSARY to bring a gift! The more expensive your gift, the more respect you have for your host but be careful not to go overboard since the your host will feel obligated to reciprocate. Remember to make use of lucky numbers (e.g. 8 flowers - click here for my article on lucky numbers).

3. Use two hands: As a sign of respect, offer the gift with 2 hands. If gift is offered to you with 2 hands, accept with 2 hands.

4. Be fair: Chinese people gossip and word is going to get around if you get one group a gift and not the other. For groups, you are better off giving something that can be shared by all. When I use to go on business trips, I would always bring my colleagues food from the local regions I would visit. 

5. NEVER give the following items:

No clocks - no matter how cool

• Clocks - If you give a clock, you are pretty much telling the recipient that you are going to count the seconds until their deaths. The Chinese word for gifting a clock (送钟 - "song zhong" in both Cantonese/Mandarin) sounds just like the Chinese word for funeral (送终 - "song zhong" in both Cantonese/Mandarin)

• Fans - Similar to clock, the Chinese word for fan (扇 - "shan" in Mandarin and "saan" in Cantonese) is a homonym for the Chinese word separate/scatter (散 - "san" in Mandarin and "saan" in Cantonese)

Not a happy camper but who can blame him

• Green Hats (to men) - The Chinese expression "wearing a green hat" means the man's wife/girlfriend has been cheating on the him

• Pen with Red Ink, Scissors, Knives, Sharp Objects - All these items symbolize the severing of ties and relationships

Note: One work around for giving these "taboo" gifts is to give the gifter a small amount of money (10 cents, etc) so the gift is no longer a gift but a purchased item.

6. Wrap gifts in lucky colors: Red is always lucky. Gold, silver and pink are also ok. When in doubt consult a department store or just go RED.

7. Red envelopes are always accepted: You can never go wrong with cold hard cash. click here for my article on Red Pockets

If you know of any other Chinese gifting customs not covered, please feel free to share in the comments section!