Learn Chinese: culture of Unit 8

The Unit 8 text is a self-introduction: Gao Xiaoyu (高小雨 Gāo Xiǎoyǔ) introduces himself to his classmates. Three things to take from it: the way people introduce themselves in China, the prestige of certain universities, and the place of pets.

1. The order of self-introduction in China

高小雨 Gāo Xiǎoyǔ introduces himself in an order that says a great deal:

  1. his name and nickname: 我是高小雨。大家叫我小雨。 Wǒ shì Gāo Xiǎoyǔ. Dàjiā jiào wǒ Xiǎoyǔ.
  2. his age: 我二十岁了。 Wǒ èrshí suì le.
  3. his appearance: 我很高。 Wǒ hěn gāo.
  4. his university: 我是北京大学的大学生。 Wǒ shì Běijīng Dàxué de dàxuéshēng.
  5. his field of study: 我学中文。 Wǒ xué Zhōngwén.
  6. his nationality: 我是中国人。 Wǒ shì Zhōngguó rén.

The order is not a matter of indifference. In China, the university is a social marker of the first rank. For a young Chinese person, saying that he studies at 北京大学 Běijīng Dàxué is not one piece of information among others: it is a social identity card. The university shapes a good part of a person's professional path and network of relationships.

2. 北京大学 Běijīng Dàxué: Peking University

Peking University, commonly called Beida (北大 Běidà, short for 北京大学), is one of the most prestigious in the country. Founded in 1898 under the name 京师大学堂 Jīngshī Dàxuétáng, it is one of China's first modern universities.

Together with Tsinghua University (清华大学 Qīnghuá Dàxué), Beida forms the leading pair. Getting in is the supreme goal of the 高考 gāokǎo, the national university entrance examination.

3. Pets in China

The text tells us that Xiaoyu's family has a dog (狗 gǒu) and two cats (猫 māo). Attachment to pets has grown a great deal over the past few decades, above all in the cities.

Historically, animals were there to be useful: the dog guarded the house, the cat hunted mice. With urbanization and the rise in living standards, the animal has become a member of the family. Pet shops, veterinary clinics and cat cafés (猫咖 māo kā) have multiplied in the big cities.

Do Chinese people eat dog or cat?

The question comes up often, and it deserves better than a one-word answer. Dog meat has historically been eaten in certain regions of the south, notably around the Yulin festival (玉林 Yùlín). The practice is clearly receding, however, and it is contested within Chinese society itself.

The vast majority of Chinese people, in particular the young and city dwellers, eat neither dog nor cat. Since 2020, several cities have banned it. Shenzhen was the first to classify dogs and cats as pets, and no longer as livestock.

If you were to remember only one thing: this is the kind of subject a Westerner arrives at with a ready-made idea, and leaves with a different one.