I have written a lot about Chinese language and culture over the past few years. Some of these posts were inspired by conversations with expat friends who had never thought of things from that angle before. Others were me talking about nuances I found interesting – and was surprised to find others enjoyed reading about. I’ve divided these posts into three categories: Language, Society/Culture, and Festivals.
- Chinese Language
- How I learned Chinese – Part 1: Classrooms
- How I learned Chinese – Part 2: Passenger and Patron
- How I learned Chinese – Part 3: Office Girl
- Saying “no” in Chinese
- Asking for water in Chinese
- How do you 怎么?
- Mind your Ps and Qs: the Chinese thank you
- Mind your Ps and Qs: the Chinese please
- On, up, over – and earlier
- Behind and Before
- Okay tones
- Language battles: 中文 vs ភាសាខ្មែរ
- Chinese Acronyms
- Life by numbers in Chinese
- A whole lot of shi (Chinese homophones)
- Chinese tongue-twisters
- Different names for Chinese
- Chinese Society and Culture
- Yin and Yang of the Chinese Calendar
- Chinese names, part 1
- Chinese names, part 2 – extended family
- Seatbelts in China
- Fun with Bird Flu
- Smoking the Beijing air
- Chinese holiday schedules
- Legislating Fireworks
- Transport and Technology
- Chinese migrants and the hukou system
- Saying “I love you” in Chinese
- China’s One Child Policy – some background
- China’s One Child Policy – enforcing the rules
- China’s One Child Policy – changes in policy and attitude
- Chinese Festivals
Back to Life in China
Stories From Tanya 