In the soul of every inhabitant of the Celestial Empire, regardless of education or position, as for many centuries in a row, the union of yin and yang continues to coexist. The interaction of yin and yang explains many habits of the Chinese that seem strange and incomprehensible to us.
In China there are many things completely unlike what other peoples are used to. The word order in a Chinese sentence is directly opposite to that in other languages of the world. The white arrow in a Chinese compass, not red as elsewhere, points south. The color of mourning at Chinese funerals is white. And at the table, the Chinese behave, to say the least, strangely. They sprinkle tomatoes and cucumbers not with salt but with sugar. A meal always begins with green tea, followed by a hot dish, then something vegetarian, and only at the very end is soup poured. By the way, in China soup is not "eaten" but "drunk" - that is the verb used for consuming soup. Tea, on the contrary, is "eaten". Probably because the leaves of green tea constantly stick to the lips and have to be chewed and swallowed.
The main principle of Chinese cooking is "to place the real in the false". That is, to make a dish completely unlike the products from which it is made, and to ensure that its composition cannot be guessed by taste. Therefore, in China, meat is made to look like mushrooms, chicken like shrimp, mushrooms like wood, and fish like egg. There is another subtlety. When visiting, well-mannered Chinese always leave a handful of uneaten noodles or rice at the bottom of the bowl. If the dishes are cleaned to the bottom, it means the eater is still hungry, and the hosts should serve him an extra portion.
Need forced the Chinese to eat everything that grows on the earth or moves across it. No other cuisine in the world has such an extensive assortment of dishes - about five thousand. There are four main schools: Beijing, Sichuan, Shanghai, and Cantonese. Each restaurant specializes in the cuisine of one of these directions.
At times it is hard to believe that human imagination is capable of inventing such refined delicacies. Here is a sausage made from a mixture of pork, chicken, fish, and stuffed into the skin of a bird's neck. Here are famous pickled eggs with dark blue shells and a pungent smell. Any Chinese food can be considered a medicine. Dalian treatment is popular all over the country; there are even special establishments - half-restaurants, half-pharmacies - where you can tell the waiter about your ailment and receive the edible potions necessary for treatment. A rice tincture on snakes and tree mushrooms raises male potency to an unattainable height, and a strong broth from black chicken can resurrect even the dead.
During lively feasts, the Chinese drink 65-degree rice moonshine Maotai with a hint of lotion, or grain vodka "Fengjiu" with a specific aroma. Refusing to drink is considered impolite - anyone who does so may be accused of lacking tact. But if one of the participants of the merrymaking feels that he can no longer "booze", he turns his glass upside down and shows that he has had enough.
Money is paper
Appearing in public drunk means covering oneself with shame, losing face, and getting the nickname jiu gui - "drunk devil". Probably for this reason, alcoholism in Chinese society is rather rare. Another matter is tobacco smoking. The Chinese smoke 30% of all cigarettes produced in the world, and the country itself holds first place in the world's production of tobacco products. However, on the eve of the Olympics planned in China for 2008, state policy towards smokers has tightened. Now tobacco advertising is restricted, bans on smoking in transport have appeared, and the sale of cigarettes to children has become prohibited.
Material punishment and reward, like the carrot and the stick, play the role of a regulator in Chinese society. On the one hand, if a family has a second child, the offending parents are fined heavily. On the other hand, for women who voluntarily undergo sterilization after their first birth, an honorary medal "Du Sheng Zi Nv" - "Mother who gave birth to one child" - has been instituted. A holder of such a title has the right to a huge number of benefits and privileges.
Meanwhile, the policy of "one family - one child" has led to a shortage of women in China. According to research, there are 117 boys for every 100 girls born. Many Chinese women, upon learning that they are carrying a daughter in their belly, immediately have an abortion. The fact is that only a son can continue the family line and ensure a calm old age for the parents. That is why the Chinese try to get rid of girls, and the only boy in the family is showered with "manna from heaven".
One could write a separate article about how gifts are given in China. With the exception of small souvenirs, nothing is presented publicly - only face to face, within the family circle or among close people. A wedding gift must be paired, since, according to belief, a pair is accompanied by luck. In no case should you give an odd number of things, flowers, or fruits. You should not give sharp objects as gifts - this is perceived as a threat to friendship. It is also forbidden to give devices for measuring time, because the word "clock" sounds the same as the word "funeral".
Since we are talking about funerals, it should be said that there are almost no common cemeteries in China. Each family buries its dead on its own plot, often in the middle of a field or on the slope of a nearby hill. An important aspect of the rite is sacrifice to hungry ghosts. The Chinese believe that the soul continues to exist after death. It must not only eat and drink, but also use all the things necessary for life on earth. Skilled craftsmen make houses and cars, refrigerators and radios, fans and computers out of paper—everything almost indistinguishable from the real thing. There are even paper jewelry, French perfume, and securities. All this is burned in a special furnace or right on the tombstone. Having evaporated along with the smoke, things and money come into the full disposal of the deceased relatives. The more of them are burned, the richer their owner will live in the afterlife.
The Secret of Peking Opera
Despite the widespread opinion about their impassivity, mysteriousness, and secretiveness, the Chinese can give themselves entirely to emotions and use any occasion to have fun from the heart. Favorite entertainments include karaoke singing, riding amusement rides, and New Year fireworks. The passionate nature of the Chinese is manifested in their ability to bet on anything: horse race results, card game winnings, car numbers, and even cricket races.
Going to the opera remains a very popular pastime even today. But Peking opera is unlike any other theater. It is a special world: colorful masks with glued-on beards, headdresses with pheasant feathers, flutes, pipes, and pipas—musical instruments resembling guitars. On stage there is a cacophony—musicians beat the spirit out of drums with sticks and clash brass gongs against each other. Actors sing so loudly that it deafens. The characters lack psychology; they are not individuals but types: the 'brave general,' the 'profound scholar,' the 'noble maiden.' Monitors are installed on both sides of the stage, and everything happening is duplicated by a line of running hieroglyphs. But the strangest thing is that all roles, including children's and women's, are played by men.
And yet there is something that makes you hold your breath and watch the progress of Peking opera without looking away until the very finale, even though it lasts three or four hours without an intermission. There are moments when the audience bursts into laughter, and moments when it barely holds back sobs, and after the end of the play, the actors come out into the lobby and take photos with anyone who wishes, in makeup and costumes.
Another Chinese entertainment is the gymnastics 'tai chi chuan,' or 'shadow boxing.' Millions of people take to the streets, boulevards, and embankments in the morning to perform complex physical exercises. Women make smooth movements with colorful fans, men sharply wave swords and fix a blow at a certain point, married couples perform intricate dance steps before each other. People hurry to work, while they, ignoring passersby, freeze for a long time in absurd and comical poses.
But bicycles in China are by no means a sporting hobby. The pedal-powered two-wheeler is transport ideally suited to the Chinese. In large cities, it allows one to avoid traffic jams and reach one's destination faster than by car. Who can you see on a pedal machine with a basket at the front! A military man with shoulder boards and a pioneer with a red neckerchief, a shaven-headed Buddhist monk and a sharply dressed office worker, a mother with three children on the frame and a student in a mini-skirt. The creaky two-wheeler is not a luxury but a lifestyle—just like the car for a European. Perhaps the attitude to a means of transport is the only thing on which East and West can agree.