I wasn't actually present during the following vignette, but I got to hear about it afterward. Backstory: Daughter knows she came from China. She knows we went to China to pick up her brother, she knows there are Chinese things in the house and that sometimes (although not terribly recently) we've gone out for Chinese food. We go other places to eat and have plenty of things from Florida/South Africa/Germany/Mexico/India/the Caribbean in the house, but still - she knows Chinese things. She can find China on a map. She may (possibly) even have ... more

This piece of Chinese public art (or "art") is headlined "the dumbest thing I have seen", but really it's not.

Inexplicable, yes. Dumb, I'm not so sure about.

Something to look out for when you're using the public toilets in Chongqing....

Names have popped up before on here a few times, but never in quite this way before.

If you've done any reading on how names work in China (and yes, you should have, because names are important),... more

Lately, I've been looking at this "Trips" application on Facebook. I don't know how well it works in reality, but it's designed to be a way to organize a trip to anywhere with whoever else is interested in going (and who happens to be on Facebook, which seems to be everyone nowadays). So, if, for instance, you're interested in, say, taking your kids on a trip back to Chongqing to see the place where they were born, you could conceivably hook up with other... more

Traditional Manchu papercuts

So, you're stuck with this strange, bawling, squalling, puling creature in a hotel room in a country where they don't even use an alphabet to spell the words you wouldn't be able to understand anyway even if you could read them.

All you want to do is make this infant feel even remotely more comfortable. The baby has never heard "Hush, Little Baby" and saying, "There, there,"... more

Miao musicians rock out on the sheng

ITEM: Last year in April, I was in China meeting this young man. Tonight, I discover that I ... more

One of the things that people seem concerned about with transnational adoption is the idea of respecting a child's birth culture, or incorporating elements of that culture into your family. This is, of course, important (witness that category just off to the right of these words labeled "Chinese culture"), but I tend to follow the reasoning of Cheri Register when she talks about international adoption creating a culture in and of itself. Neither entirely here nor there.

What's... more

Book Review: The Empress and the Silkworm by Lily Toy Hong.

This is a book that spills the beans on a process that was a fiercely guarded secret for 3,000 years: where silk comes from.

Young Chinese empress Si Ling-Chi is enjoying a hot cup of tea in her imperial garden while sitting under the imperial mulberry bushes, and a little coccoon falls in her cup. Being one privileged lady,... more

Curious why this is in a blog about Chinese adoption? Read this explanation.

OK, back to my notes on the Big Text of Chinese Culture, gleaning advice from one of the world's best sources of wisdom.

With da zhuang, we've gone from the last chapter's Retreat to a position of power. Obviously, we weren't running... more

Going to China, but running around in a panic trying to figure out how and what and where? Journeywoman.com's "GirlTalk China" presents a big list of tips for women traveling in China.

Topics include: what to pack (and how), where to shop, how much things are worth, the etiquette of dinner invitations, and a whole bunch of other stuff. As the name implies, it's all geared toward woman travelers, but men can learn a thing or two, too.

There are also some sweet anecdotes (I like the "Will my adopted granddaughter remember?" series.)