Chinese Culture >> Chinese Society Traditions
Chinese Body Gestures
Social life and culture always go hand in hand.
Culture will affect how people act and speak, and the way people socialize with
one another. So, while doing business with Chinese people, or just having a
genuine conversation, do you ever find yourself in an awkward position? You
don't know how to react or what is appropriate? This short article will outline
how to behave during a conversation, and explain why Chinese act the way they
do.
Do
In China, people stand more close to each other while talking than Westerners.
The reason Chinese people do this is to show politeness, trust, willingness to
fit in, and simply because people do not have enough space.
The natives show more affection to their same gender, for example, to their best
friend. Males will put their arms over another male shoulder, and females hold
each other's hands. This gesture shows that they are the best of friends, and
not that they are homosexual.
If you are a woman, and feel that your space is being violated by an overly
friendly Chinese person because of excessive physical contact, you should not
hesitate to yell "Boo" (meaning "No") directly to that person.
Don't
Even though people stand close to each other, it does not mean that you can
touch the opposite sex. After the initial handshake, you should avoid creating
physical contact.
When greeting or saying goodbye, Chinese people will not hug or kiss. So, you
should keep that in mind.
As a couple, Chinese people also do not show public affection towards each
other, such as kissing or hugging, but this tradition may change over time.
While talking, you should not use too many hand gestures. Hand gestures can
sometime look childish. Or you may poke somebody's eyes out because you're
standing too close.
Don't show emotion when you are angry or mad. In Chinese tradition, only lower
class people cannot control their emotions.
Don't ever touch a person's head (including children's) on any occasion. This is
the most disrespectful gesture that you can do to an Asian person.
About the Author
My name is Dat Nguyen. Thank you for taking your time off to read this article.
The article comes from
culture-4-travel.com. The site is concentrate on helping people to
communicate in different culture, explain what is appropriate in each country,
and all the dos and don'ts. You can visit me at this link
http://www.culture-4-travel.com/index.html Hope to see you there.