This proverb relates to following local customs when away from home. It is something I believe strongly in; that when travelling you should really try out the things that the locals do. Try their food, drinks, nights out and language.

走乡随乡
zǒu​xiāng​suí​xiāng​
To follow local customs

The popular English variation of this Chinese proverb is: 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.'

This Chinese proverb comes from a tale in the Tang Dynasty. It is all about 'A gift of Sincere Wishes'. A man called Mian Bogao offering the emporer some goose feathers as a gift. The full story is below to give an explaination of why this proverb has such a strong meaning in Chinese culture. you may also be interested in the Chinese practise of giving gifts.

Chinese farmer, Gao Xianzhang from the village of Hexia, in Hebia, northern China, has created baby buddha shaped pears. Gao spent six years perfecting the intricate baby shaped pears, carefully crafting each one which grows inside an individual, baby buddha shaped plastic mould.


It is reported that Gao has made 10,000 of the baby buddha pears that he hopes to sell in the UK and EU. In China they are selling very well indeed and have certainly not been affected by the recession.

The pears are snapped up as soon as they are off the tree and Gao says that they are considered lucky and cute. Lucky things in China have a massive marketing boost and catch on very quickly.


This is a bit behind the times... The Daily Mail reported this about two weeks ago, I meant to write about it then, but ran out of time, many apologies

Giving gifts is an important part of Chinese tradition. This custom ranges from a house-warming gift to rites of passage, important events and festivals. Giving and receiving gifts plays a big part in maintaining guanxi, or good relations, and this principle applies to personal as well as business relationships.

The Chinese believe that a gift is in the thought, rather than the expense or extravagance of a gift. This way of thinking came about because the receiver will feel a big debt of gratitude if a gift is too much. There is almost a game to play when it comes to gift giving. If you are the giver, it is important that you present the gift with both hands and to downplay the value of what you are giving. If you are receiving the gift, you should act as if you think you do not deserve a present and politely refuse a few times, before accepting the gift. Remember that to refuse a gift is the height of rudeness because it shows that you are overlooking the gift-giver's sincere gesture. However to take the gift immediately is a sign of a person’s greed.

This also serves as a second lesson; never take a Chinese person's 'No, thank you' literally, if they still refuse after twice, it may be worth asking a third time. Good manners and respect for one another characterizes the Chinese practice of giving and receiving presents. The rules of the game also say that presents are not to be opened right away. This is to show that it is not the present, but the gesture that matters. This also helps avoid awkward situations in case the gift does not really please the receiver.

For me this proverb comes to mean, that friendship relies on the fact you tell the truth. Even, when it is painful to hear. And an argument that is based on honesty can often bloom into a true friendship.

从一个打击，交流，友谊的增长
cóng yī ge dǎjī, jiāoliú, yǒuyìde zēngzhǎng
From an exchange of blows, friendship grows

Tao Xiangli is a Chinese inventor who has created a working submarine from scrap metal. Despite rarely using rulers or measurements and just using his 'feeling' it seems that after tests it works fine. It took him over two years to build and the submarine is driven by electric motors and propellers. It also has some extra fixings including a periscope and a depth control tank.



The entire submarine cost Xiangli $4,366, or about one year's pay. Its maximum cruising depth is an impressive 10 meters (that is more than two double decker buses). Tao Xiangli has been allowed to test his contraption by local officals, unlike this homemade helicopter I talked about last month.





There is a video hosted by Guardian here, but is disabled to embed, so sorry about that. Still overall what impressive stuff from yet another Chinese DIY'er.

This Chinese proverb comes from Mencius, essentially it means; Don't gloat over other peoples mistakes whilst you are making the same ones in a different fashion. Though it is never good to laugh at other peoples mistakes, it is more important not to laugh when you have made the same mistake but not as seriously.

Despite what I thought to be true and right, I posted this proverb the other day:

画蛇添足
huà shé tiān zú
Draw a snake with legs

Dean Qiongxiu, 66, said she discovered the reptile clinging to the wall of her bedroom with its talons in the middle of the night.

"I woke up and heard a strange scratching sound. I turned on the light and saw this monster working its way along the wall using his claw," said Mrs Duan of Suining, southwest China.

Mrs Duan said she was so scared she grabbed a shoe and beat the snake to death before preserving its body in a bottle of alcohol.

The snake – 16 inches long and the thickness of a little finger – is now being studied at the Life Sciences Department at China's West Normal University in Nanchang.

'Biang' is one of the largest Chinese characters still in circulation, with 57 strokes. It is used to desribe a popular type of Shaanxi noodles. Biáng biáng noodles, touted as one of the "ten strange wonders of Shaanxi", are described as being as thick as a belt.



The "Noodle King" chain in Beijing (梆梆麵北京連鎖店) serves biáng biáng noodles.

Here is a clearer picture of what must be one of the craziest characters in existence.




Because the Chinese character for "biáng" cannot be entered into computers, phonetic substitutes like 棒棒麵 (bàng bàng miàn) or 梆梆麵 (bāng bāng miàn) are often used

Thanks to this blog for bringing this character to my attention.

This Chinese proverb is used to describe someone who does something and then prevents others doing it too. In other words someone who is quite a selfish person. This is quite different to the English proverb 'Burning Bridges' though which is more to do with purposefully loosing contact with a person.

过河拆桥
guò hé chāi qiáo
Cross River, Tear Down Bridge

This proverb, relates to things that are ruined because of always adding too much. I am always itching to change things on my blog, but a little scared to change things in case you visitors don't come back, or if you do come back that you won't recognise the site.

Don't overdo things, and the Chinese have the perfect proverb here:

This Chinese proverb is used when talking about someone who is insincere. The English equivilant in the situation described in the Chinese version would be 'Crocodile tears'. This means to shed fake tears, when you are not really upset.

You may recognise the first half of this proverb, as an English saying. I really like the addition that the Chinese have made to this common proverb. It really makes the meaning much more clear. There is much more to a person than you can possibly measure by their appearance.

The people over at NiHao Hello posted this Chinese proverb yesterday and I thought I would re-post it as I really liked it. It is somewhat similiar to one I posted recently, 'The mightiest Oaks....'

I like this proverb to remind me that all of our plans, especially the biggest take a long time. They don't happen straight away. I must keep on reminding myself this, becuase it is often easy to be upset you haven't achieved goals that you have set yourself now. The journey to achieving your aspirations, dreams and goals is in taking the first steps with no fear.

Take a moment and think about what you want to achieve. Then take the plunge, take that first step the journey to your dreams.

This proverb is great for the new school year. In English, this proverb would more commonly be: To turn over a new leaf. To start afresh, to wipe the slate clean.

In other words this proverb is all about clearing your reputation and starting again. With only your actions from now counting towards your new book, (leaf originally meaning page of a book as opposed to a plant).

For me today, this is about trying to really hit my personaly goals and targets. Organise my time a little better and probably try and be a better boyfriend to my other half, who often gets less attention given to her because of this blog.

Sorry Jen. I will try to change the way I have been acting, and be a bit more organised.

The original meaning and use of this Chinese Proverb was probably more like 'a good time to go to war'.

First found by the wonderful guys over at NEOCha. Beijing based Ray Lei (雷磊) animted this lovely and peculiar short. In a wonderful world, where everyone has rubiks cubes as heads, this animated short is fun.



Whilst you won't learn any Chinese through this video, it is a bit of fun, and has a great soundtrack written by by Li Xingyu (李星宇), a mix of 8 bit computer sounds and any of you familiar with Pink Floyd are in for a treat too.

I present to you Magic Cube & Ping Pong:

Magic cube and Ping-Pong from RAY on Vimeo.

Border Project from RAY on Vimeo.