CHINESE CULTURE
Celebrating Chinese New Year
Brian Hennessy. Cairns, Australia. January, 2023 Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival as it is known locally, is China’s longest and most important festival. It begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon, 15 days later. Chinese New Year 2023 is the year of the Rabbit starting […]
Culture shock – in brief
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. January, 2016. Psychologist. All change is stressful, and although we may not think so at the time, culture shock is a normal reaction to change. With a little self-knowledge it can be managed successfully. This article looks at the nature, stages, and causes of culture shock; and provides guidelines for managing […]
China’s three wise men
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. February, 2016 Three ancient sages who lived 2500 years ago continue to influence modern Chinese society. The are Laozi, Buddha, and Confucius. These three wise men laid the foundation for a practical Chinese philosophy – a blend of the three – which has quasi-religious overtones. If you want to […]
Culture shock in China
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. DipT; BA; MEd; DipPsych. Psychologist All change is stressful, and although we may not think so at the time, culture shock is a normal reaction to change. It is not a mental illness, and with a little self-knowledge it can be managed successfully. If we hope to adapt to […]
Cultural diversity & common language
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. It would be fair to say that most Australians assume that Cantonese is the language spoken in mainland China.This is not surprising because their exposure to things Chinese has been limited to, for example, Chinese restaurants which in the main employ Cantonese speaking staff and serve Cantonese style cuisine. […]
In Cairns: Mandarin or Cantonese?
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. Any effort we make to understand and appreciate mainland Chinese language and culture will be rewarded by word of mouth recommendations to visit Cairns. China has the largest internet grapevine in the world: satisfied customers will provide more free advertising than we could ever dream of or afford. Most visitors […]
On Confucius, culture, & government
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. May, 2014 Although Western people have heard many jokes about Confucius, very few understand his main ideas and how important his thinking has been to Chinese culture and society. If we are serious about understanding China it is imperative that we acquaint ourselves with this ancient sage. On […]
On attracting Asian tourists to Oz
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. 2014 David Scowsill, President and CEO of The World Travel & Tourism Council has urged the Australian Government to extend e-visas to high spending Asian travellers following a disappointing year for Travel and Tourism. This observation aligns with comments made by prominent Australians who have worried for years that […]
Chinese tourists: knowing the unknowns
Brian Hennessy and Yirong Li. China Australia Consult. March, 2014 Although Cairns works hard to attract tourists from mainland China, perhaps it might be time to pause for a moment and reflect on what we don’t know as well as what we do know about Chinese tourism in Australia. Chinese tourists in Cairns: […]
Traditional Chinese values
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. In order to appreciate this ancient civilisation, we should understand a few of the traditional values which underpin it. They have endured for millennia and form the bedrock of Chinese society today. A few of these values are addressed briefly below. Understanding traditional Chinese values ______________________________________________________________ Hierarchy. Throughout […]