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China Bound, Revised: A Guide to Academic Life and Work in the PRC (1994)

Chapter: Glossary of Chinese Terms

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Suggested Citation:"Glossary of Chinese Terms." National Academy of Sciences. 1994. China Bound, Revised: A Guide to Academic Life and Work in the PRC. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2111.
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Glossary of Chinese Terms

The following Chinese terms, used in China Bound, are listed below for quick reference.

Chinese word (pinyin) Meaning

ayi

female helper

biaozhun

grade or standard

cesuo

toilet

chunjie

"Spring Festival," or Lunar New Year, which symbolically marks the end of winter

danwei

Chinese work unit

dong chuang

chilblains

fen

local currency (the Chinese penny)

fudao

private tutoring

fuwufei

service fees (in research)

fuwuyuan

service personnel

gaoji jinxiusheng

senior advanced student

getihu

"privately owned" (restaurants, etc.)

gonganju

Public Security Bureau

guanlifei

administrative costs (in field research)

guanxi

personal connection, relationship

jiao

local currency (the Chinese dime)

jiating

family

juan

fascicles (of research material)

kuai

Chinese dollar (colloquial)

laobaixing

ordinary Chinese people (literally, old hundred names")

Suggested Citation:"Glossary of Chinese Terms." National Academy of Sciences. 1994. China Bound, Revised: A Guide to Academic Life and Work in the PRC. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2111.
×

Laowufei

work compensation fees (in field research)

Liuxuesheng bangongshi/liuban

The Foreign Student Affairs Office

Luxingshe

China Travel Service

Mao

Chinese dime (colloquial)

maotai

a strong Chinese liquor

mian'ao

cotton padded jacket (same as mianyi)

mianbaoche

mini-buses (literally, "bread trucks," named for their shape)

miandi

yellow minivan taxis

neibu

"internal" or classified materials that cannot leave the country

neiwai youbie

difference between "insiders" and "outsiders" and the treatment thereof

paidui

to line up

pipa

a Chinese guitar-like musical instrument

renminbi

local currency, Chinese dollar (same denomination as yuan)

shaobing

Sesame-seed cake

shifu

Term of address used for Chinese service personnel

suibian

Casual

taijiquan

a kind of traditional Chinese shadowboxing

tiaojie jia

the "adjusted rate" of monetary exchange, higher than the official rate available at the Bank of China

tongxue

Schoolmates

waihuijuan

Foreign Exchange Certificates (FEC) (no longer printed)

waishi banshichu/waiban

The Foreign Affairs Office

wen ya dian yuan

Surge protector

xian

County

xiang

Township

xiuxi

rest, as in the rest period from noon until 1:30 or 2:00 p.m.

xitong

the larger system of which the danwei is a component, such as the CAS, CASS, or SEDC

youtiao

fried dough sticks, most often eaten with shaobing and/or doujiang (soybean milk) for breakfast in North China

yuan

local currency, Chinese dollar (same denomination as renminbi)

Suggested Citation:"Glossary of Chinese Terms." National Academy of Sciences. 1994. China Bound, Revised: A Guide to Academic Life and Work in the PRC. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2111.
×
Page 155
Suggested Citation:"Glossary of Chinese Terms." National Academy of Sciences. 1994. China Bound, Revised: A Guide to Academic Life and Work in the PRC. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2111.
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Page 156
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China Bound, Revised: A Guide to Academic Life and Work in the PRC Get This Book
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Being prepared in China, says one researcher, can mean "the difference between a headache and a productive day." Acclaimed by readers, this friendly and practical volume—now updated with important new information—offers all the details academic visitors need to make long-term stays in China productive, comfortable, and fun.

Academic opportunities have been revived in the years since the Tiananmen Square event, and the book opens with an overview of what we have learned from our academic exchanges with China, the opportunities now available, and resources for more information.

To help visitors prepare for daily life, the book covers everything from how to obtain the correct travel documents to what kinds of snack foods are available in China, from securing accommodations to having the proper gift for your Chinese dinner host.

Frank discussions on the research and academic environments in China will help students, investigators, and teachers from their initial assignment to a danwei, or work unit, to leaving the country with research materials intact. The book offers practical guidelines on working with Chinese academic institutions and research assistants, arranging work-related travel, managing working relationships, resolving language issues, and—perhaps most important—understanding Chinese attitudes and customs toward study, research, and work life.

New material in this edition includes an expanded section on science and social science field work, with a discussion of computers: which ones work best in China, how to arrange to bring your computer in, where to find parts and supplies, how to obtain repairs, and more. Living costs, health issues, and addresses and fax numbers for important services are updated. Guidance is offered on currency, transportation, communications, bringing children into China, and other issues.

Based on the first-hand reports of hundreds of academic visitors to China and original research by the authors, this book will be useful to anyone planning to live and work in China: students, researchers, and teachers and their visiting family members, as well as business professionals.

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