Vivienne (V): Hey Laowinners! This is laowhy86, welcome to another video. Matthew (M): Today we're gonna give you a list of 5 things that you should never do in China. (V): Number 1: Don't talk about uncomfortable topics in front of Chinese people. (M): Like what? (V): For example, of course, politics. (M): Okay. (V): You guys love that, but Chinese people sometimes will approach you to talk about that. (M): Topics like whether Japan or China own certain things, or Taiwan. You should avoid these topics, not matter if Chinese people approach you about it or not. (V): China own everything! Number 2 is don't touch people. Noooooo! (M): Chinese people are not so touchy-feely. Although you'll see Chinese people walk around maybe doing this sometimes with their friends. (V): *hums in affirmation* (M): If you don't know them very well, you won't give them hug, like 'Oh, nice to meet you!' Kinda like this. They don't do any of that hug-y, kinda kiss-y stuff. (V): I will feel like, if I don't know you and you give me a hug or you give me a kiss, uhhhh, are you have something with me? (M): OoOo, some feelings, haha (V): Number 3: Chopsticks (M): Chopsticks are the primary eating utensil here in China and there's a couple things you need to remember about what not to do with them. The first thing is don't put chopsticks in a bowl of rice with them sticking up. Right? (V): Normally, if we visit our ancestors' graves um, there were three bowls of rice in front of us where we'll stick the chopstick on top of it. So, if you're eating with your Chinese friend, do not do that! *laughs* They're not gonna appreciate that. (M): So it's kinda reminiscent of when you visit your dead relatives in the graves. (V): Yes. (M): Okay, I can see where that's- (V): You don't wanna curse them! (M): Also, you never want to take your chopsticks and point it at someone, okay? I imagine in the West it's kinda rude to do that with your fork, but it's much more serious here. You wouldn't wanna point at anyone with your chopsticks. (V): Yes. And some of the rude people, like, we were talking about the rude people, sometimes they will just use their chopsticks like "I think it's like this!" That's really, really scared to do that. (M): If you can't use chopsticks you might have a difficult time here in China because they're used everywhere. However, you are never to stab food with the chopsticks. (V): Yeah.
(M): The whole point of chopsticks is that they were a non-violent alternative to other eating utensils in history, so if you're staying your food with it because you can't pick it up, that's probably a no-no. (V): Number 4: Don't tip. (M): Don't tip? (V): Yes. (M): Then how do the servers make any money? (V): Basically they have the basic salary to cover everything, so don't tip them. (M): Would it be considered offensive if I left a tip at the dinner table at a restaurant? (V): People will steal the tip off the table when you leave. (M): *gasps* Oh my goodness. Probably because they don't think it's a tip, right? They don't understand what it actually is. (V): Or they think about that's the money. (M): *laughs* Nice. Another thing about restaurant bills is in China, you always offer to pay. And it sometimes turns into a fight. People are fighting each other at the cash register in order to get the chance to pay. This is all about (?), but there's another thing. If you're a foreigner and you're invited out to a banquet, you're never ever expected to pay. But, at a normal dinner with Chinese friends, at least make the effort. (V): Yes. Normally you can see there is a big fight crowd near there. No need to panic! No need to worry! Because actually that's Chinese sport. Number 5: Don't make someone lose face. (M): This is a huge thing in China, it's the culture of face. We call it '面子 (miàn zi)'. Now, in China as a foreigner, you don't have to be concerned with face as much as a normal Chinese person would. Face is so important and so integral to Chinese society, particularly among men. You wanna avoid any situation where you could potentially embarrass someone in public. (V): Especially when I was little kid, my parents always, always taught me that never embarrass your man. And we - basically as a Chinese woman, a would train for that. We need to brag about our man; our man is our sky, in the sense that which if even if we don't agree with that, but we gotta give them face ahhh! You are my god! (M): So, do you brag about me in front of your Chinese friends? (V): Yeah, of course. (M): Nice. *whispers* Yes! One more thing is if you're a foreigner, tourist, or living here in China, you want to avoid a situation where you cause a public disturbance. Let's say a shop owner rips you off and doesn't give you enough money back or charges you too much and you cause an argument. You say "Hey! You can't rip me off like that!" You have to keep in mind that there will be a mob mentality. You will get surrounded by people taking pictures and videos, and it will never be someone taking your side. In China, it's always 'China versus the foreigners', so you gotta keep that in mind. It's not super-safe and it's not really good to cause public disturbances here. (V): If you are a tourist, just try your best to keep everything low-profile. (M): Thank you so much Laowinners, I hope you enjoyed this 'Top 5 List of Things Not To Do In China' and we'll catch you on the next episode. (V): Like, comment, and subscribe. I hope we can see you next time! (M): High five!
(V): High five!
