Why You Shouldn’t Learn Chinese

What follows is a reprint of an article I wrote for a now defunct magazine.
Obviously, I don’t think people who want to learn Chinese should give up before they get started. My thesis, which should be abundantly clear after reading the article, is that people should embark on the process of learning Chinese with full [...]

On Learning Chinese

If you’re thinking about learning Chinese, you need to read this August 2005 article from the Washington Post:
How to Learn Chinese in 2,200 Not-So-Easy Lessons
The author of the piece, Jay Matthews, has this to say about learning Chinese:
But let me — just this once because I don’t like recalling the pain — tell you that [...]

Classic Communication Gap: China vs. the West

I cannot tell you how many times I have observed the following conversation between Chinese-speaking and English-speaking businesspeople:
English Speaker: “I need you to lower your price/produce a machine I need/accept a higher price/grant a concession.”
Chinese Speaker: “Hmmm. That will be difficult.”
English Speaker: “Difficult? Well, good then. That means you can do it. If business [...]