Chinese Culture (General)

When these are displayed in supermarkets, again this is a timely reminder that Chinese New Year is round the corner

An interesting article, showcasing some traditions and customs...

SOURCE & CREDIT: THE STRAITS TIMES, SINGAPORE, SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2011 Potted beauties Pots of kumquats, pussy willows and chrysanthemums - Chinese New Year would not be complete without them. 1. Crinum superbum also known as the Fa Cai Suan. Fa cai means getting rich in Mandarin, while suan, meaning count, also refers to how its stems resembles that of a leek, which has the same sounding name. Unlike the leek, this is not edible. 2. Hoya Multifora: Gardeners nickname this nian nian you yu, as its flowers appear like yu or fish in Mandarin. Nian nian you yu is a Chinese idiom, meaning having surpluses every year. 3. Ardisia crenata: An evergreen shrub with dark g…

Hell Paper money & paper ingots at Sheng Siong Basement 1 at Thomson Imperial Court Condo

Hell notes of various designs...apologies.. many of the photos are inverted...

Dear Anon, Thus, when one is born, he/she is already 1 year old! In olden days, even now, we still consider ourselves + 1 to our birthday. But due to government reports and Identity cards etc... we have to show our true age (western age). No, this is not true. We are proud to celebrate birthdays. Especially of the elderly. For the elderly, special dishes especially in the restaurant include: 1. "Long noodles". Noodles that are long (uncut) as long as possible to signify longevity. 2. Peach shaped loaves of bread. It is common to find this bread served for an elder's birthday. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, This depends on the country they stay. I believe that nowadays in China, the incident of pet dogs got stolen is minimal. Mostly, these are stray dogs where some mainland Chinese catch and eat. Otherwise, there are few exotic shops that trade in or buy dog meat. The Shitzu (I hope I spelt correctly) this intelligent dog `originated' from China. In my country, you will be surprised to learn that many are prepared to buy expensive imported pedigree dogs as pets. Dogs are not openly eated here. In Singapore, the Malay race, instead do not rear dogs at all because they find them dirty. Nor do they eat pork as they felt that this is a `dirty' animal. In other countr…

Mee Suah Flour Vermicelli offerings to God’s why? Unbroken lengths of noodles implies longevity. Thus even on one’s birthday celebrations; uncut noodles are served to signify longevity.

Dear Anon, I believe the older generation of Chinese, arranged marriages are very common. My parents have arranged marriages. There's is not the arrange marriage where it is determined from birth but rather later years of their life where my grandfather saw the `need' for my father to get married. I believed, he asked a matchmaker to find a match for my dad. When I was young, my parents used to bring us to visit relatives and close friends. I recalled one close friend of my family who said that she was invited to her prospective in-laws home. She was viewed from top to toe. The in-laws also looked at the type of `bone structure' and the `shape' of her legs. In a `crude w…

Dear Anon, In my country, which is predominatly Chinese i.e. 70% of the population are Chinese. It is interesting to note that, the Ministry of Environment officals can give a fine or summons to hawkers (selling drinks or food) found to serve food on broken crockery. Personally, I inherited an antique Goddess of Mercy figurine. Unfortunately, one of the lotus leaf (has a small chip). I personally could not throw it away. But I had a fingure of the Chinese Monkey God, it's hand was broken, when I shifted to this home 5 years ago. Since this is a major `damage' I had no choice but to throw it away. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Users, This is inscribed on an ancient Chinese tomb...

To the Chinese, red is auspicious... here goes

More photos...

Some Fa Gaos combined either with a fake gold ingot or a pink apricot: There are no white Fa Gaos as white symbolises “death”. By the way these are CREAM ones with four red dots .... acceptable : Pink apricot = Shou represents longevity:

Some of the many CNY 2019 greeting cards

God of Wealth and the 12 Chinese zodiac animals...

Sights of CNY 2011, gone past...

Some Chinese belief that spirits can reside (or built) a home inside a reasonable large tree trunk. Five oranges were offered I suppose to the Five Spirits. A common theme in many "praying rituals" is to respect the Five spirits: North, South, East, West and Central. What is unique here is the entire tree trunk is wrapped in the "worship" YELLOW coloured cloth. Kind of remind me of the winter "clothing" that some trees in cold countries are wrapped in... during my wintervisits to countries such as Korea...

Dear Anon, There is truth in what you mentioned as one seldom if ever come across anyone printing red background business cards. 1. Most likely also because red background with black letterings is difficult to read. Red background with white letterings is considered not auspicious. White represents mourning or death to the Chinese. Maybe gold letterings can be used. So far, I have yet to receive or be given a red background business card. It is ok if the company logo e.g. is in red etc... and majority of the time, business cards are mostly white background or shades of white/grey/off-white/beige etc... Warmest Regards Cecil

Source & Credit: MyPaper, Singapore Monday, January 17, 2011 Extracts: ONE: "Education thrives in China and the rest of Asia because it is a top priority - and the US has plenty to learn from that." TWO: "Americans think of China's strategic challenge in terms of, say, the new Chinese stealth fighter jet. But the real challenge is the rise of China's education system and the passion for learning that underlies it. We are not going to become Confucians, but we can elevate education on our list of priorities without relinquishing creativity and independent thought. That's what we did in 1957 after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. "

Dear Anon, Yes, usually, chopsticks (for eating) i.e. placed on a dining table should preferably be placed on horizontal. In restaurants and some home, a small chopstick stand e.g. a porcelain shaped fish or other objects is used. The front portion of the chopstick is resting on this `stand'. As for placing chopsticks vertical on a dining table, so far, it usually cannot be done unless it is placed in a cup or glass. But this seems `rude' and so far never in my life, did I see such a thing before. Usually, in a restaurant, a porcelian recptacle is used where many chopsticks are kept prior to `displaying' them on dining tables. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, Like all other races, celebrations depends very much on the `class' of a person. Such as the lower-income, the middle-income, the rich and the very rich. Unfortuantely it is a fact that each `class' has its ability to celebrate weddings differently. some middle class may resort to borrowing to come to the same level of the rich etc... Although we do not like to bring the subject of `class', this would affect the scope of celebrations. 1. In the past, many Chinese weddings are conducted as a group wedding. This is cheaper due to economies of scale and widely practised there. 2. Overseas Chinese prefer: 2.1. If they are Chinese Christians, may hold their weddings…

In China, it is quite common to find children catch crickets in the autumn. These children will train the crickets for fighting. And in some cases, the prize for a winning cricket is an handsome reward of an animal. The cricket signifies `fighting spirit'. Thus, it is generally considered auspicious. But it is not necessary true that it should be given as a gift i.e. the real insect. For a piece of jewellery, it depends on marketing of the piece as it is not a well known `object'. Warmest Regards, Cecil

1. Although we all know that a vehicle/car is wasting asset, one has to really open our eyes that the price Singaporeans pay for a car. 2. I believe, this will come as a shock to readers outside of Singapore. 3. This is one of the rationale why, I mentioned that boys in Singapore may end up asking their parents: " Daddy, can you give me money to buy a car?" Please note that the average exchange rate for Singapore S$1.00 is equal to US$1.70. Average prices (Source and Credit: The Highway magazine, July 2003) All prices are for brand new cars on the road: BMW: BMW318i (Auto) S$149,000 BMW520i (Auto) S$179,000 FORD: Mondeo 5dr (Auto) S$102,900 Galaxy Ghia 2.3 (Auto) S$123,90…