Legendary Chinese Eunuchs – How They Made History
Chinese eunuchs across history belong to a vast, anonymous clan, sharing the same unspoken shame in service to emperor and court. Several of these brave souls, however, rose to such prominence as to...
View ArticleThe Motion of Emotion
You know that uneasy feeling before interviewing for a job, giving a speech in public, or making a major life decision? The Chinese have a variety of expressions to convey these universal emotions....
View ArticleLearning Chinese For Long Term Success: Top Tips From The Experts
The sheer volume of language learning advice out there is overwhelming, so why not let us streamline it for you into six highly practical and actionable recommendations? As Typhoon Chan-Hom drenched...
View ArticleChinese Inventions: Those You Know, Those You Don’t
China’s prolific history of innovation has generated much debate and speculation. Rather than wade through a long list of Chinese inventions, let’s focus on four major game-changers plus four...
View ArticleMozi – The Martin Luther King of Ancient China
They were born nearly 2400 years apart, but the similarities between these two great thinkers are well worth considering. This article written by Leo Timm was originally published in Epoch Times on...
View ArticleFinding Yin Yang Balance In Your Food Choices
Duck is cooling, chicken is heaty. Green tea is cooling, black tea is heaty. Crabs are cooling, shrimp are heaty. To an outsider, these classifications might seem as random as the gender of French...
View ArticleMooncake Gifting and Reconnecting with the Warm Traditions of the Mid-Autumn...
The modern Mid-Autumn Festival has, to some observers, become yet another example of our world’s rampant materialism, in which the act of gifting an expensive box – with all its inherent social...
View Article“The Mercedes Bends” – Chinese Lucky Numbers & Superstitions
The China Simplified team shows what can happen when a naive foreigner turns what should be a “big face” gift into a complete disaster. Human beings throughout history have engendered numbers and...
View ArticleViral Marketing: Mao’s Little Red Book as a Case Study
Ever wondered how the Quotations from Chairman Mao started as an internal military handbook and became a blockbuster advice guide with total copies in print rivaling the Bible? Our curiosity got the...
View ArticleChina-themed Halloween Costumes
Halloween is coming fast! Is your costume ready? To kick-start your creative process, here’s our shortlist of five Chinese culture-inspired Halloween costumes guaranteed to spark interest at parties,...
View ArticleChina Insiders: Jesse Appell on Cracking the Chinese Stand-Up Comedy Market
This week we spoke with Jesse Appell, an American comedian living in Beijing, about his views on Chinese comedy and performing for a Chinese audience. read short versionread full version How’s the...
View ArticleBeijing Opera – Unmasking Five of its Biggest Myths
Let’s remove the common misperceptions surrounding Beijing Opera as a Chinese art form to better understand its unique and multifaceted storytelling approach. Here are five common myths eager to be...
View ArticleChinese Mass Migrations: Past, Present & Future
Humanity has been on the move since the beginning of recorded time. Our world in 2016, in some ways, is not dissimilar, with the Economist reporting 60 million displaced people now roam our planet....
View ArticleThe Monkey King: A Furry Superhero Heads West
Sinophiles who’ve yet to read the Journey to the West (西游记, Xīyóujì) can still recognize the novel’s shapeshifting protagonist by name. Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) author Wu Cheng’en based his fictional...
View ArticleComplimenting Male Partners & Friends – Five Phrases Showing Cultural Awareness
When you face a moment where it would help to dish out a compliment, say to a male partner or a friend or a friend’s son, China Simplified wants you to be armed and ready! The current trendy...
View ArticleA Daoist Master on Conflict Resolution
The Daoist/Taoist philosophers were known for their unforced approach to life, serving as a welcome relief to stultifying Confucian perfectionism. And the Daoist Master, Zhuangzi, more than perhaps...
View ArticleAmCham Future Leaders Committee Event
Stewart Lee Beck represented China Simplified in today’s Shanghai AmCham Future Leaders Committee Event on “Language Learning – Approaches, Strategies, Tips and Tools.” Joining Stewart on the panel...
View Article“Dying” to Sound More Casually Chinese
Modern Chinese have developed the habit of using the character 死 sǐ (die) to spice up their colloquial expressions. Let’s take a closer look to see what we can learn from these colorful language...
View Article3 Words to Avoid in China if you want people to take you seriously
Want to put your best foot forward and create better impressions while working and living in modern China? Here are three seemingly harmless words that, when used in certain contexts, can create...
View ArticleMeet the Gods of Chinese New Year
People of many cultures call upon a God or gods for guidance and protection in their daily lives, and the Chinese are no exception. Let’s meet three traditional deities who play starring roles during...
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