Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.