Unit 6: Festivals and customs

 China has traditional festivals and current festivals  Ethnic minorities have their own festivals  In mainland of China both current and traditional festivals are observed now

 Traditional festivals Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar New Year) Lantern Festival (yuánxiāo) Clear and bright (qīngmíng) Dragon boat festival (duānw ǔ ) Seven-seven festival (seventh month seventh day) Double nine festival (chóngyáng, climbing mountains) Mid Autumn festival

 First day of the first lunar month 正月初一  Celebration: 1. New Year’s Eve dinner for family reunion 2. Posting red couplets, firecrackers 3. Mutual visit on the new year’s day 4. Giving gift, red envelope 5. Habits: say lucky words, avoid taboos

 The fifteenth day of the first month 正月十 五  End of the Spring Festival celebration  Eat yuánxiao 元宵  Hanging the red lanterns

 Around 5 April  Tomb Sweeping Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day  Visit, clean, and make offerings at ancestral gravesites, spring outing

 The 5 th day of the 5 th lunar month  Dragon boat race, eat dumplings wrapped in lotus leaves 粽子 Zòngzi.  Commemorates the ancient poet Qū Yuán  Drink yellow rice wine

 Also called Chinese Valentine’s Day  7 th day of the 7 th lunar month  The legendary story goes that the cow herder Niulang and Zhinu, a weaver of clouds fell in love and got married, but their bond was met with disapproval by Wangmu, Zhinu's mother and the queen of heaven. Niulang is viewed as the star Altair and Zhinu as the star Vega. With a swift move of her hairpin, she separated the two with a river in the sky, known today as the Milky Way. But the queen took pity on them and gave them one night of the year to spend together. On Qi Xi Jie, the queen is said to send magpies to bridge the gap between the two star lovers.

 In Yi Ching, the Yang line is represented by 9.  The ninth day of the ninth month is a double Yang day, hence the name "Chong Yang Festival". (Chong means "repeat" in Chinese.)  Climb mountains, appreciate chrysanthemum flowers, drink chrysanthemum wine, and eat double-ninth cakes.

 The 15th day of the 8th lunar month  Family reunion, eating moon cakes  Appreciating the Moon

 Current festivals New Year May Day (Labor Day) Children’s Day June 1 CCP anniversries August 1 Army Day September 14 Teachers Day October 1 National Day

 Festivals of minorities (omitted) Please do your reserch on Tibetan and Mongolian festivals

 Names, title and addressing habits  Zodiac signs  Guānxi (connections, relationship) and Gift giving  Face saving issue  Color and taboo

 Strong-self reliance  Confucian virtues  Social structure  Collectivists-group loyalty  Kinship networks  Verbal agreement (gentlemen agreement)

 Family name first, given name last  Three characters are common, two characters are possible. Four characters are rare: 谢天蔚 (myself) 平茵白 (my wife) 谢平 (my son) 钟灵毓秀 (my niece)  Avoid addressing the seniors by name  Address seniors, officials, teachers, professors, boss by Title+Surname

 The following address terms are appropriate: 王老师 Wáng l ǎ oshī (Wang teacher) 张经理 Zhāng jīngl ǐ (Zhang manager) 李总经理（李总） L ǐ zong-jīngl ǐ (Li general manager) 马校长 M ǎ xiàozh ǎ ng (Ma pricipal) 周博士 Zhōu bóshì (Zhou doctor)

20 Break

 In China friendship is a substitute for a legal system.  Guanxi (connections, personal relationships and pull) are seen as critical.  Hugging and kissing less prevalent in Asia than here.

 In China, guānxì provides the necessary social glue between parties who interact over an extended period.  Guānxì refers in this context to a long- term relationship based on mutual obligation.  One begins to build guānxì by doing small favors, taking one out to dinner, or bringing a gift.  Trust also grows with the relationship, and one relies on the honor of his guānxì partner rather than legal remedies to vouchsafe an agreement.

 Gifts are very important  Chinese people decline gift three times before accepting, be sensitive to genuine refusals.  Chinese do not open gifts when received. Do not think that they neglect your gift.  Do not open gift unless they insist

 Foreign cigarettes, cognac, fine whisky, quality wine  Do not give clocks, cut flowers (particularly chrysanthemums), white objects these object carry association with death  Wrap gifts; red and gold are best wrapping paper.  Don’t use red ink to write.

 Saving face plays some role in almost every culture, but in China and other Confucian countries it is a constant preoccupation.  One never speaks or acts in a social setting without calculating the effect on face.  A primary goal at a social or business gathering is to avoid embarrassing or offending one's associates.  One is humble and soft spoken  One does not show or provoke anger

 Red – celebration, wedding, political implication (good)  White – mourning, funeral, political implication (bad)  Black – mourning, funeral political implication (bad)  Yellow – for temple and emperors  Green (hat) – humiliating for not knowing that one’s wife has affairs with others

 Readings Chinese Festivals Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Zodiac Chinese customs  Internet search and sharing in class  Chinese Festivals (2 students)  Minorities’ festival (2 students)  Customs and habits (2 students)