Chinese Family Tree

The Chinese family tree is a little bit more complicated than your typical American family tree.  For an expanded version of the above image from the great people at Off the Great Wall, click here.  If you would like to watch an animated video of the above image, you can check it out here as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCFRoILS1jY

The reason for all of these different titles is a result of the importance of family relationships in traditional Chinese culture.  All of your uncles are not equal; your uncle who is older than your father has different responsibilities and expectations than your uncle who is your father's younger brother.  This may not be as significant in today's mainland China, due to the ever-expanding influence of the One Child Policy.  It is still very relevant in Taiwan and many Chinese American families however.

Year of the Water Snake

February 10th, 2013 marked the beginning of the Year of the Water Snake.  The Chinese zodiac (生肖) is most commonly associated with twelve animals; Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.  Unlike the Western zodiac that is divided into twelve months, the Chinese zodiac cycles according to the year.  Each sign is associated with personal characteristics and may indicate what kinds of events will happen in a person's life.

In addition to the cycle of animals, there are five elements associated with the Chinese zodiac - earth, fire, metal, wood, and water.  Each animal sign has a fixed element - fire in the case of the snake - and a contrast with the yearly element may be cause for concern.  Since this year is a water year, people who follow the Chinese zodiac believe we could be in for a tumultuous 2013.

The year of the snake directly follows the year of the dragon, and is considered to be not nearly as auspicious.  The snake represents a time of change with a great flow in economic activity.  People born in the year of the snake are considered to be intellectual though not very talkative.  However, people born under a water sign love to socialize and make new friends.  Money will come in easily but may flow out just as quickly without properly evaluating decisions.

新年快乐!

Happy Chinese New Year's!  Also know as the Spring Festival (春节), Chinese New Year always falls on the first day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar.  The lunar calendar changes from year to year, so this New Year's falls on February 10th, 2013. 

The Spring Festival is the most important holiday in the China and thus a time of family reunions. In fact, the largest yearly human migration occurs during this period.  Families will get together to eat traditional dishes, such as fish, dumplings, duck, and pork, and ring in the New Year with spectacular displays of fireworks. The next morning children will receive red envelopes (红包) stuffed with money and treats from their relatives.  It is also traditional for families to sweep out their houses and deck the walls with red-colored paper cuts and Chinese sayings.  The idea is to clean out of all of the bad luck from the previous year and be ready to receive a prosperous, happy, and healthy New Year. 祝大家春节快乐！

Shēngri kuài lè!

Birthday traditions in China differ from our traditions in America, beginning with when your birthday actually occurs.  In China, the moment you are born you are already 1 year old.  Then everyone ages a year after Chinese New Year's, so it is theoretically possible to be two hours old, but be considered two years old.

Celebrations traditionally occur only for children and the elderly.  The most significant birthdays occur when a child is 1, 6, 10, and then every 10 years afterwards.  The most important birthday when you get older is your 60th, because it is the first time that your zodiac sign is inline since your birth (I will do a blog post on the Chinese zodiac at New Year's).

While China is slowly adopting some Western traditions like celebrating your birthday every year and eating cake, the traditional celebration involves a few other practices.  Instead of a cake,  you must eat longevity noodles (长寿面).  The noodles are really one long noodle, and the birthday boy or girl tries to eat the entire noodle without breaking it.  The longer one can eat, the longer one will live.  You also enjoy "peaches," which are really cooked buns with sweet meat and red bean paste to symbolize bliss.

Children are often given gifts decorated with tigers, as the tiger is believed to protect children from evil spirits.  Children also receive red envelopes (红包) that contain money.  Denominations are usually related to lucky numbers - 6, 8, 9 - or the child's age.  Finally, you never want to give a gift with a clock.  The clock represents death and is considered very unlucky.

Typing in Pinyin

Some of you have been asking about how to type in Pinyin on your home computers.  There are applications you can download, but I use one found online at the University of California Long Beach campus site.

It's very easy to use (the tonal mark automatically goes over the appropriate letter) and as long as you keep the browser window open it will work even without an internet connection.