China - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture [Paperback]

Kathy Flower (Author)

Book Description

Series: Culture Smart! | Publication Date: September 5, 2006

Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships.

Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include:

* customs, values, and traditions
* historical, religious, and political background
* life at home
* leisure, social, and cultural life
* eating and drinking
* do's, don'ts, and taboos
* business practices
* communication, spoken and unspoken

"Culture Smart has come to the rescue of hapless travellers." Sunday Times Travel

"... the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries." Global Travel

"...full of fascinating-as well as common-sense-tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas." Observer

"...as useful as they are entertaining." Easyjet Magazine

"...offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world." New York Times

Editorial Reviews

Review

Culture Smart! has come to the rescue of hapless travellers, Sunday Times Travel - ...the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries, Global Travel - ...full of fascinating, as well as common sense, tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas, Observer - ...as useful as they are entertaining, Easy Jet Magazine - ...offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world, New York Times.

About the Author

KATHY FLOWER is a radio and television producer, scriptwriter, and trainer who has specialized in the teaching of English as a Foreign Language. After training teachers for the British Council in Paris, she worked in Beijing from 1981 to 1983 and presented China’s first major English-language teaching series, “Follow Me”, on Chinese TV. She is still known to millions of viewers as laoshi, or “teacher”. She has returned to China many times and now works for the BBC World Service.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Kuperard; Reprinted edition edition (September 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857333047
• ISBN-13: 978-1857333046
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 0.5 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #727,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Writing > Travel
  • #49 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Customs & Traditions
  • #92 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Etiquette > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Over-priced, and full of filler, March 7, 2007

By 

S. Harrison (Clements, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: China - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture (Paperback)

I am disappointed with this book on a variety of levels. First of all, about half of it is devoted to Chinese history, which is not why one would buy such a book. One needs a "quick guide to customs and etiquette" to avoid social faux pas and to keep from accidentally offending people, not to learn about Chairman Mao's Long March. (The historical information is interesting, but sketchy at best, and shouldn't it be found in a different kind of book anyway?) It would seem that a whole bunch of this historical information has been added as filler to double the size of the book.

Secondly, somehow the discussion of how foreigners are viewed by the Chinese made me feel vaguely uncomfortable, and I am not sure why. There was just something awkward there. (Maybe I just don't like stereotyping..?)

Thirdly, while there is discussion of customs there is a dirth of "watch out for this" warnings. For example, we are warned that the Chinese view blowing the nose as being somewhat gross, so if you have to do that, leave the room. This is the kind of information that visitors need - no one likes rude folks, but it's hard sometimes to know what is considered rude in another country.

Fourth, there is lots of other kinds of filler besides the historical information - like spending two whole pages explaining that cell phones have been very quickly and widely embraced in China, and how it was in the bad old days, like ten years ago. (Who cares...)

Finally, the author seems to suddenly switch over in the last quarter of the book from giving advice to the tourist to giving advice to the business person, and goes on and on for pages and pages and pages about how to behave at a business banquet. Then she says that such banquets are becoming increasingly rare. So why did we just waste all that space talking about them??? Sigh....

Save your money, and look up "Chinese customs and etiquette" on Google.

Update, August 2010: Interestingly, since I posted this review, the title has changed from promising a "quick guide to customs and etiquette" to "the essential guide to customs and culture." I guess someone figured out that the original version didn't deal too well with etiquette...

UPDATE AGAIN, November 2010: HELLO? Before you write a snarky comment, kindly read the update above. When I bought this book in 2007, it had a different title. I wanted a book on Chinese ETIQUETTE, (what part of that word don't you understand?) and this book did not deliver what the title promised.

5 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Concept in Travel Guides, May 17, 2007

By 

Bonnie Neely - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: China - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture (Paperback)

A Quick Guide To Customs and Etiquette is a new series of travel guides which seems so ideal I had to wonder why it has been such a long time coming. Each guide focuses on the customs and etiquette of each specific country and tells pleasure and business travelers what they need to know in order not to make embarrassing or insulting blunders in a foreign country. With a brief overview of the history, geography, and religious customs that helped develop the country, the reader gains an understanding of what to expect and how to respond. There are sections on the land and people, values and attitudes,religion & festivals & rituals, banquets and entertaining, visiting in a home, conducting business, communicating, food and drink, and more. These little guides fit into our purse so you can read one on the plane en route and be familiar with the society's do's and don't's as you arrive. These guides are terrific and important to each of us as the world grows smaller. You may even be visiting a cultural section within your own city, such as China Town, and want to have this guide to help you understand and appreciate another way of life. Excellent! Buy one for each place you travel.