The Chinese Woman and Her Value

Story's time...

Let me tell you a story, I know I have not told a story in a while.

Once, there was a famous poet in the Hans Dynasty returning home after five long years of serving the emperor. As he walked onto the bridge, there was a woman walking from the other side toward him.

She was described as a gorgeous young girl just about to turn twenty, with an oval face of a golden ratio of 1.61803399 (I think I have too much imagination).

Anyhow, there was a slight shower in the afternoon, which in turn makes the bridge a bit slippery. As they meet each other in the middle of the bridge, her feet slip, and when she is about to fall down the poet reaches out to help her. He is able to catch her in time. However, accidently he rips a part of her hand sleeve off, which reveals the inside of her arm.

After saying thank you, the girl turns around and walks away and so does the poet. After walking a couple of steps, he hears a scream. As he turns around, he sees the girl has jumped into the river and committed suicide. He realizes that when he tried help, the poet accidently has erased her value.

After returning home, the poet created a famous poem for this memorable event.

That is how the Chinese woman took care of herself in the ancient time. You may ask, "That was then, what about now?"

Superwoman...
Chinese Woman waiting

After the Communists came in, they gave the women more power, and consider them to have an important role in China. Mao Zedong once said "The women will hold the other half of the sky." That is an ideal, which in theory works.

Today, the Chinese woman has more power in the workplace and in society. As I mentioned before, when you are doing business in China, you should not ignore the women's voices in the workplace. However, the woman is still very traditional and cares very much about her value.

When doing business in China, you should limit your physical contact with women. Many experts (my international friends) said that the only physical contact you are able to make is the handshake, and none after that. This will show your respect as well as protecting her from any rumor that may ruin her value in the future.

This is very different from the West where the ladies are more relax and friendly. For example, I have a Columbian woman friend who always greets me with a kiss on a cheek. Don't do that in China.

In their personal lives, the majority of Chinese woman will only start a relationship with the men that they know there they have a future with. Rarely will Chinese couples ever break up. The woman believes that she will marry her first boyfriend or first lover. In a lifetime, a woman probably has about two or three boyfriends at the most.

Thank you for stopping by, hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing this. You should get ready because Chinese New Year is about to start. From where I am and to wherever you are, good night and good luck everybody.

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Raphita Tobing