News on Chinese Society

Heaven’s mandate
An old idea gets a new airing
Feb 20, 2009 (WiC 3)

Throughout China’s long history, a belief has prevailed – since the time of the Zhou dynasty in 1000 BC – that the ruler’s legitimacy is conferred by the “mandate of heaven”. Natural disasters and social uprisings occur when that ...

You lazy pig!
Why Zhu Jianqiang wants to be alone
Feb 20, 2009 (WiC 3)

In a country that eats 5 million metric tonnes of pork per year, there is a certain kudos to being the nation’s most favoured pig. Such is the blessed lot of porker, Zhu Jianqiang. Zhu’s name, which translates as ‘strong willed or ...

Hugs and fishes
How the Chinese celebrate Valentine’s Day
Feb 20, 2009 (WiC 3)

The Chinese are such fans of Valentine’s Day that they celebrate it not once, but twice every year. Qi Xi, the Chinese version of the amorous day falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, and has been ...

Sex bomb
Another kind of cultural revolution is underway in China
Feb 13, 2009 (WiC 2)

When the French movie, The Slipper and The Rose, was first released 30 years ago, it caused controversy in China. The movie poster showed the two lead characters kissing. The poster was deemed “vulgar” and removed from China’s ...

Size matters
Why China’s tallest people are in Gansu
Feb 13, 2009 (WiC 2)

The Chinese are walking tall, and nowhere more so than in Gansu’s Yongdeng County where they reach 5.8 metres. About 4 metres of that is thanks to the wearing of stilts. (The average Chinese male is 1.77 metres, according to Alvanon, a ...

Grandpop Idol
The over-eighties triumph yet again in China’s national science awards
Feb 13, 2009 (WiC 2)

Reality shows now dominate much of our television schedules. They often double up as talent shows too, in which contestants warble and dance their way into a brief burst in the limelight. Youthful good looks usually trump intellect and experience ...

The counterfeit culture
Why 2008 was the year of the Shanzhai, or fake
Feb 6, 2009 (WiC 1)

It should come as little – or, in fact, no – surprise that China should originate an entire movement celebrating fakery. China has long enjoyed a reputation for counterfeited goods – indeed many visitors to Hong Kong relish the idea of ...

Welcome to China’s city of bathing
Bath house town looks to clean up
Feb 6, 2009 (WiC 1)

As far as rebranding efforts go, Maanshan’s announcement that it would like to be known forthwith as China’s “City of Bathing” has been both a success and a disappointment. The city, in the eastern province of Anhui, has pushed itself ...

Cowed or bullish?
What does the Year of the Ox hold for China, Obama and the economy?
Feb 6, 2009 (WiC 1)

China’s Lunar New Year is traditionally celebrated with jiaozi – boiled dumplings – and enough fireworks to make the Fourth of July look like a pyrotechnic pygmy. This year was no different. Despite the grim economy, firework sales were ...

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