The Insanity of Gift-giving in Asian Cultures - Part 2

Chinese Gift Giving (Part 2)

As we talked about yesterday, giving gifts in Chinese/Taiwanese/Japanese cultures can be a daunting task. Not only do you need to find something that is very unique and it needs to be nicely wrapped; you also need to insist that the receiver accept it.

Today let's go over some additional points about gift-giving.

1. You cannot give anything which can be construed as a weapon that can possibly harm the receiver. This means knives, scissors, etc are a no-no. While Americans may love the idea of getting a Samurai sword, you probably shouldn't give this in Asia.

Oddly though, vice items such as booze, cigars, cigarettes (which probably kill more than swords and knives each year) are absolutely no problem. In fact these are the ideal gifts for Asian men.

2. Do not give CLOCKS as they can signify death (ie running out of time). However watches are okay.

3. If you are in a relationship with an Asian, do not give him/her shoes as this can signify an impending break-up (ie putting on shoes and walking away)

4. Do not give anything associated with the number 4 since this word in Chinese sounds very similar to the word "death". (My mom complained when I got her a CD titled "Beatles - the fab FOUR")

5. Finally, fake items are an absolute no-no. While we Americans love the idea of getting a fake Rolex or LV bag, in Asian cultures, this is almost a taboo. If you are going to give a high-class item, YOU NEED TO GET SOMETHING THAT'S AUTHENTIC with an authentic certificate which ideally should be made in the local country ("MADE IN FRANCE" - GOOD, "MADE IN CHINA" - BAD). In addition make sure you get the box, wrapping and bag from the same place as well. This means if you are going to give an LV bag, EVERYTHING should say LV; box, wrapping, gift bag, etc ... (As we talked about earlier the wrapping is just as, if not more important than the actual item.)