Editor's note: Objchina, our blogger from Nigeria, shares his top 9 things that foreigners should avoid doing in China while interacting with the Chinese in order to save them from "certain embarrassment and possibly even outright humiliation." What do you think about the list? Welome to join us for discussions.
編者按:來自尼日利亞的《中國日報》論壇博主Objchina與我們分享了9件外國人在中國不要做的事。在和中國人交往時,不要讓中國人丟面子,不要開過激的玩笑。你是否有同樣的看法?那就加入我們的討論吧。
1. Never get upset in public
不要在公共場合發(fā)脾氣
Public displays of anger are frowned upon by the Chinese and are most uncomfortable for them to deal with — especially if the people getting angry are foreign tourists, for example. This goes right along with making someone (usually the Chinese host) lose face, which you should avoid at all costs. The Chinese place a premium on group harmony, so foreigners should try to swallow hard, be polite, and cope privately.
在公共場合發(fā)脾氣會招來中國人的不滿,而且中國人不善于處理這種情況,尤其是在公共場合發(fā)脾氣還是外國人。這會讓其他人(通常是你的中國朋友)感到丟臉。因此,你要盡力避免在公共場合大吼大叫發(fā)脾氣。中國人崇尚群體和諧,因此外國人應(yīng)該要低調(diào),要禮貌,要私下處理爭端。
2. Never accept a compliment graciously
不要理所應(yīng)當(dāng)?shù)亟邮鼙頁P
You may find yourself at a loss for words when you compliment a Chinese host on a wonderful meal, and you get in response, "No, no,the food was really horrible." They expect you to say works like " mama huhu(馬馬虎虎)" or " Na li, Na li哪里哪里" whenever they tell you words like, "your Chinese is very good" while some will say, "your Chinese is very guda" (No, disrespect but just keeping it real).
These people aren't being nasty...just humble and polite. A little less boasting and fewer self-congratulatory remarks go a long waytowards scoring cultural sensitivity points with the Chinese.
當(dāng)你贊美中國朋友廚藝精湛時,在聽到中國人的回答“不,不,我做的飯挺難吃”時,一定感到困惑。中國人對你說“你的中文很guda(這樣說沒有任何的鄙視之意,只是保持中國人真正的發(fā)音而已)”,他們希望你的回答是“mama huhu(馬馬虎虎)或者Na li, Na li(哪里哪里)”。
他們并不是難相處,而只是過分謙虛而已。少一點自夸自擂能讓你與中國人保持更長久的關(guān)系。
3. Never address people by their first names first
不要一開始就用中國人的名叫他們
Chinese people have first and last names like everyone else. However, in China, the last name always comes first. The family (and thecollective in general) always takes precedence over the individual. For example, my Chinese name is L? Míng, assuming I am a Chinese, you can safely refer to me as Mr. L? (not Mr. Míng).
Unlike people in the West, the Chinese don't feel very comfortable calling each other by their first names. Only family members and a few close friends ever refer to the man above, for example, as simply "Míng." They may, however, add the prefix lao (lao; old) or xiao(xiao; young) before the family name to show familiarity and closeness. Lao L? (Old L?).
像其他人一樣,中國人的姓名包括姓和名。然而,中國人通常使用名。例如,假如我是中國人,中文名叫李明。保險起見,你可以叫我李先生(而不是李明)。
不像西方國家的人,中國人不習(xí)慣別人叫他們的姓。只有家人和關(guān)系非常鐵的朋友才會只叫名,例如,“明”。然而,有時候中國人會在名前面加上修飾詞老(老代表年長的意思)或?。ㄐ〈砟贻p的意思)來顯示關(guān)系親近。老李?(很老的李先生?)