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Todays weather:
- Day: 36 degrees and sunny.
- Night: 21 degress
Sentence of today:
Thank you for dinner. I'm full!
谢谢您的招待。我饱了!Xiè xiè nín de zhāodài. Wǒ bǎo le!
Todays - Good to know:
Whether you're wheeling and dealing in China, or just trying to get a few yuan knocked off the price of a portrait of Mao, there are a few points to keep in mind to help your negotiations go smoothly.
The concept if "saving face" (miànzi 面子) is important in Chinese culture. Essentially it's about avoiding being made to look stupid or to back down in front of others - a concept which isn't limited to the Chinese of course. Negotiated settlements that provide benefits to both parties are preferable to confrontation. A desire to save face may lead people to disguise uncomfortable truths.
Chinese men and women are generally reserved with hand and facial movements. The animated gesticulating of Westerners can seem undignified and even comical to them.
A smile doesn't necessarily mean happiness. Chinese people may also smile when they're embarrassed or worried.
Todays tip:
Take off your shoes when visiting a Chinese person's home, or offer to.
Dish of today:
拌拌鸡 bànban jī
chicken' -cold dish featuring cooked shredded chicken, cucumber & cellophane (bean thread) noodles with a sesame paste, sesame oil, garlic, ginger & chilli sauce dressing
Todays Historical fact:
In February 2009, China was in uproar about the sate of two bronze animal heads by the auction house Christie's. The saga was the latest twist and turn in a story stretching back to 1860 when the Old Summer Palace in Beijing was torched by Anglo-French troops at the end of the Second Opium Was and the animal heads were pilfered.
The 12 heads belonged to a dozen statues with human bodies and animal heads (representing the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac) that jetted water from their mouths in 12 two-hour sequences, part if an elaborate structure called the hǎiyàn táng.
Four of the original 12 animal heads have been repatriated (by being bought at auction or donated) and can be seen at the poly Art Museum. Of the eight still abroad, the rat and rabbit heads became the focus of a powerful Chinese sense of injustice in 2009 when they appeared at Christie's.
A convincing moral argument exists that the animal heads should be returned to China; however, others pointed to the lack of conclusive evidence that the animal heads had been stolen by French and British troops; the possibility also existed others argued, that they had been plundered by Chinese for sale abroad to international clients.
The animal heads are perhaps a peculiar choice of national ire for the Chinese, considering they are evidently Western in fashion, designed by the Jesuit minds, which also fashioned the Western palace buildings at the Old Summer Palace. It has also been suggested that the Empress Dowager disliked the heads so much that she had them removed; if that story is true, where were they stored? Although the Old Summer palace was certainly torched by the French and the British, there are also indications that some Chinese also joined in the looting, eager to get back at Manchu rule.
What is evident is that the ruins, and the animal heads, have become eternal symbols of China's humiliation at the hands of the foreign powers, and icons that increasingly resonate as the country assumes a more central role in international affairs.
Book of today:
Wild Swans by Jung Chang; 1992
Price-winning autobiographical saga about three generations of Chinese women struggling to survive the tumultuous events of 20th-century China.
My day:
Had a crazy morning. The neighbour grandma knocked me up telling me that Jiaojiao and I could get a lift if we hurried up, she kept saying, Kuaile ba! Kuaile ba! 快了吧!快了吧!(Means hurry up!)
I couldn't do anything else then grab some clothes, take my back and hurry down, where the daughter waited in the car.
We planed yesterday that we wanted to go to Beijing Zoo, and afterwards Summer Palace, so they drove us to the entrance of the zoo. First we ate breakfast, and then went to a market indoor, same kind as the famous Silk Market, but this one, only Chinese people shop. There are several floors, and each floor have many small shops (about 4-5m2) selling shoes, bags, clothes. Funny to visit these places and very cheap too. And you really have to bargain to get the right price, the seller often starts at a price 10 times higher, and remember, they wont sell anything they don't have a profit on.
When we were done we went to the zoo, just across the street. The zoo is very big, and the most exciting you can see there, is the Panda bears and the lions. I got some really good pictures of the Panda's, they are soo cute, but would say, they don't have the best conditions. From the zoo you can take a both to the Summer Palace, it takes about 1 hour. I was sleeping in the both, when its 36 degrees and sunny you get easily tired. The Summer Palace is a place you at least have to see ones. Nothing really exiting, but a beautiful nature and big lake around it.
From the Summer Palace we took the subway to Renmin Daxue, The People's University, where JiaoJiao lives, she wanted to take a shower and have some new clothes, meanwhile two of the girlfriends companied me at the local restaurant. Two sweet girls, but their English was very poor, so had to get along with Chinese.
When we got home at around 6 we all sat at the table, Mama, Baba, Jiaojiao and I, Chatting, and then played Chinese Poker (斗地主)。I played once home in Sønderborg with a Chinese friend, so I knew how to play. Thank you Maurice!
Bed time! Good-night!
Ps: I miss you Vince!
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