The Wu Way 無為

Imagine doing jail time — or worse — just because you were related to the offending party.
If you want to understand just how far collectivism goes in China, look no further than lianzuo — or collective responsibility. Throughout China’s 2,000-year feudal history — from at least 7th-century BC all the way to the turn of [...]

I’ve never been to Macau, but I have visited Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and Spain.
What’s wrong with that sentence? Well, if you were publishing something in writing in China, you’d be in violation of the one-China policy.
The one-China policy is where politics meets publishing. It’s one of those odd rules in China that creeps up [...]

While searching for Chinese Jujubes on the internet, this seller stopped me in my tracks — and not because she’s offering a great product. I scratched my head, wondering if anyone would ever buy her “Chinese Jujube with Ass Glue.”
We may laugh — but the real laugh is on the seller, whose unintentionally vulgar title [...]

College entrance exams in China usually end in June and a new term starts at the beginning of September. But the anxiety among students and parents from college entrance exams is still lingering.
Students and parents not only care about whether they can enter college, but also whether they can enter a prestigious school. Anxiety, [...]

As an avid nonsmoker, I was determined to have a smoke-free wedding in China. But my brother-in-law, Hao, had already bought one of the finest Chinese cigarette brands, and everyone in the family — even my mother-in-law — insisted on distributing them at the banquet. How can you ask your guests to refrain when you’re [...]

When I walked into the wedding flower shop in Tonglu, China — my husband’s hometown — I knew exactly the kind of flowers I wanted: roses, just like the roses on my wedding dress. The shop owner, however, didn’t ask us what type of flowers we wanted. Instead, she asked us how much we were [...]

Just yesterday, while doing a little post-nuptial shopping (in China, new couples also need new clothes), my husband and I came upon a typical store with the usual suspects for clothing. He and I were about to write the place off our list until I spied this red thing of beauty on the shelves, nestled [...]

There was a Chinese saying: “no commerce, no evil”. Merchants were thought to be unscrupulous, and commerce was historically considered an ignoble industry in China.
This contemptuous attitude towards businessmen no longer exists in current China. Making money is given priority now.
However, problems come up when this priority may be the only consideration for many [...]