13 September 2012 (Day 8):

For the past few days here, it had been so cloudy that I could hardly see the sun. But today, for the first time, it was unusually bright. All the clouds have been lifted and I could see (and feel) the sun glaring at me with fierce intensity.

 

A photo of the afternoon sun today.

(Please note that if you sustain any eye injury due to the sheer glaring intensity of the picture- it’s not my fault.)

 

Today, we had a lecture on Chinese Tradition and Etiquette. I know it sounds similar to yesterday’s lecture but this one is a little different. We learnt more of the Chinese philosophers, traditional virtues and even facts about Chinese weddings.

There were 3 Chinese philosophers that the lecturer talked about. They are Confucius, LaoZi and Zhuang Zi. Admittingly, Confucius is the only one among the 3 that I have heard of. I find some of his sayings, such as the sentence on the 2^nd bullet point (translated as “Do onto others what you want them to do onto you”) to be very true and still relevant in this era.

The presentation slides of these 3 philosophers

 

When the lecturer showed us the slide on traditional virtues, I discovered that the virtues written on it are the same principles that my parents have taught me to uphold. I feel happy to know that even though these virtues are considered as old-fashioned by some, they are good rules to uphold and stand you in good stead as you progress in life.

The list of Traditional Virtues of China

 

As we Singaporeans are rather westernized, we do not hold Chinese Weddings anymore. While I am unsure if such weddings are still held in China, I was surprised to learn of some of the customs traditional Chinese weddings have. For instance, the bride has to cry to thank her parents for raising her up, “stride the fire pan” so as to (if I am not wrong) chase the evil forces away and thirdly, kick the curtain off her carriage. This symbolizes her kicking away her pride (of being married, I suppose).

It was interesting to learn so much more about this kind of traditional of wedding. However, I am glad that we are living in a modern era where we are allowed to choose our own partners and not be forced to wed a complete stranger whom your parents chose as their future son/daughter-in-law.

A slide showing the 6 procedures of the traditional Chinese wedding

 

All in all, this lecture was very interesting and I have learnt so much more about the Chinese culture. However, it is also a sign that I clearly have a lack of awareness of other countries’ culture.

 

If I should travel overseas next time, I will definitely have to do my homework on the culture of the country that I intend to travel to. Not only will I understand their dos and don’ts better, but it also happens to be quite fun to learn facts about their culture and (unconsciously) compare it with Singapore’s.

Here’s a heads up to my readers. From this Friday to Sunday, our class will be going to Beijing for a 3 day- 2 night stay! Keep your fingers crossed for my next 3 blog entries!

Until tomorrow, I wish all of you very pleasant dreams!

Best regards,

Marianne