Your hair or your uncle? There can only be one!

Wow! I found this article extremely interesting! It literally blew my mind how this is an actual custom in the country of China- a new years tradition carried down through generations and generations.

Updated: 2012-01-06 08:01

By Chloe Chen (陈洁) (China Daily)

With the approach of the Chinese New Year, many Chinese people have to make a choice: to cut their hair or lose their uncles.

It's obvious uncles are much valuable than haircuts, especially during the Spring Festival, when uncles are quite useful for handing out lucky new year's money. So no matter whether you are a boy or a girl, in order to save their uncles' lives, everyone would prefer to have their hair cut before the eve of the Spring Festival. That's why barber shops are always so busy this time of the year.

How did this custom come about?

In the year 1645, one year after Qing troops conquered the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and ruled the Han people, the Qing government issued an order commanding all Han men to cut their hair into queues, bald in the front and braided in the back. It was a traditional hairstyle for Manchu people. In order to enforce this order, all the barber shops posted a large official notice, saying "Your Hair or Your Life.

However, this order was not popular with the Han people. They invented a curse of sorts - if you cut your hair in the first lunar month of the new year, the uncles on your mother's side would die.

Manchu people didn't want their uncles to die either. The Qing government allowed people to refrain from cutting their hair during the first lunar month.

A few centuries later, this custom is still alive. Maybe some people just believe this saying because they're superstitious, but if you look at the history of the custom, you will realize it was born of serious historical conflict. We should feel lucky we were live in an era that doesn't connect hair style with nationality dignity.

I do not have uncles, so I can cut my hair at any time of the year. I prefer the quietest times, and because of this saying, the first month of the lunar new year is a time I can get my hair cut in peace.

China's 2011 foreign trade surges 22.5%

Updated: 2012-01-10 13:34   ;China Daily

BEIJING -- China's foreign trade surged 22.5 percent in 2011 from a year earlier to $3.64 trillion, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said Tuesday.

The country's annual trade surplus narrowed 14.5 percent year on year to $155.14 billion in 2011, the administration said.

The figure has shrunk from $295.47 billion in 2008, $196.07 billion in 2009, and $183.1 billion in 2010.

Exports rose 20.3 percent year on year to reach $1.9 trillion last year, while imports grew 24.9 percent to $1.74 trillion, the GAC said.

In December alone, the country's exports totaled $174.72 billion, up 13.4 percent year on year. Imports increased 11.8 percent year on year to $158.2 billion.

Hong Kong's richest get poorer!

Even as they continued to benefit from the mainland's robust economic growth, Hong Kong's richest people saw their wealth shrink last year in tandem with the sagging stock market, Forbes magazine said on Friday.

The combined wealth of the city's top 40 richest people fell 7.4 percent to $151 billion last year from 2010 as the benchmark Hang Seng index slumped by more than 20 percent, said Forbes.

Property developers, who have featured on the magazine's "Rich List" for many years, suffered the most.

Li Ka-shing, chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd, remained at the top of the list, but his personal wealth shrank by 8.3 percent to an estimated $22 billion.

Lee Shau-kee of Henderson Land Development Ltd replaced the Kwok family of Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd to become Hong Kong's second-wealthiest resident, with a personal fortune estimated at $17 billion, down by 13 percent from 2010. The Kwok family saw its wealth fall by almost 25 percent to $15.4 billion, according to the magazine.

Kenny Tang, a Hong Kong-based analyst from AMTD Financial Planning Ltd, said most developers saw their wealth shrink last year because their stocks had underperformed the benchmark index, which registered an average slump of 25 percent in 2011.

"But they are unlikely to post such a dismal performance again this year - although I am neutral on the market - given that the fundamentals of these developers are basically sound," said Tang.

Cheng Yu-tung, the chairman of New World Development Co Ltd, was the biggest gainer on the 2011 list. His personal wealth jumped to $15 billion from $9 billion in 2010, thanks to the successful IPO of his luxury-goods retailing flagship Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd in December.

Hong Kong's wealthiest people have been "some of the world's biggest beneficiaries" of the economic rise of the Chinese mainland during the past three decades, Forbes said.

That's because most of them either have heavy business exposure on the mainland, or they sell goods to the ever-growing number of visitors from the mainland.

"Now that the mainland is being pinched by the global slowdown and tighter interest rates to tame inflation, Hong Kong's wealthiest are feeling the squeeze," said Russell Flannery, an editor at Forbes.

As an example, Choy Kam-lok, who previously ranked No 27, fell out of the list this time. Choy's wealth declined after the share price of his company, United Laboratories International Holdings Ltd, a pharmaceutical manufacturer, slumped almost 72 percent in 2011 after the mainland authorities capped drug prices.

In contrast, Hong Kong's retailers have benefited from the boom in mainland outbound tourism, and have continued to do well despite a rocky ride for the Hong Kong stock market recently.

Simon and Eleanor Kwok at Sa Sa International Holdings Ltd ranked 35 on the list, with a fortune of $1.09 billion.

China to maintain monetary policy 'prudent': PBOC

BEIJING - China will maintain a prudent monetary policy this year with "timely and appropriate adjustment", the People's Bank of China (PBOC), or the central bank, said Sunday on the closing of a work conference of the central bank.

The PBOC will adjust credit supply and keep social financing at a reasonable growth under a macro-prudential policy frame with a set of policy tools, such as interest rates, exchange rates, open market operations and banks' reserve requirement ratio, said the central bank in a statement on its website.

The PBOC said that it will strive to optimize credit structure and better serve the development of real economy, with more emphasis on the agricultural sector, the affordable housing projects and the small and micro-enterprises.

China's central bank on Sunday said in a separate statement that the country's new yuan-denominated lending in 2011 reached 7.47 trillion yuan ($1.18 trillion), down from 7.95 trillion yuan in 2010.

25 Interesting facts YOU DID NOT KNOW about China!

1. In ancient China, the lotus was seen as a symbol of purity and was sacred to both the Buddhists and Daoists. The peony (“King of Flowers”) symbolized spring, the chrysanthemum symbolized long life, and the narcissus was thought to bring good luck. (I took the picture of this Lotus Flower in a nearby pond in a garden outside restaurant where weddings usually have their receptions at).
2. China is often considered the longest continuous civilization, with some historians marking 6000 B.C. as the dawn of Chinese civilization. It also has the world’s longest continuously used written language.
3. China is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada, and the U.S.). It has an area of 3,719,275 square miles (slightly smaller than the U.S.) and its borders with other countries total more than 117,445 miles. Approximately 5,000 islands lie off the Chinese coast.
4. Fortune cookies are not a traditional Chinese custom. They were invented in 1920 by a worker in the Key Heong Noodle Factory in San Francisco.
5. Toilet paper was invented in China in the late 1300s. It was for emperors only.
6. Cricket fighting is a popular amusement in China. Many Chinese children keep crickets as pets.
7. The number one hobby in China is stamp collecting.
8. Giant Pandas (“bear cat”) date back two to three million years. The early Chinese emperors kept pandas to ward off evil spirits and natural disasters. Pandas also were considered symbols of might and bravery.
9. ^{The name of China’s capital has changed over the centuries. At one time or another it has been known as Yanjing, Dadu, and Beiping. Peking or “Beijing means “Northern Capital.” Beijing is the officially sanctioned pinyin spelling based on the Mandarin dialect. Beijing is the second largest city after Shanghai.}
10. ^{Martial arts are practiced throughout China and were largely developed from ancient farming and hunting methods.}
11. ^{Red symbolizes happiness for the Chinese and is commonly used at Chinese festivals and other happy occasions such as birthdays and weddings.}
12. ^{Chinese is spoken by 92% of China’s population. There are at least seven major families of the Chinese language, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu, Hakka, Gan, Xiang, and Min.}
13. ^{According to popular legend, tea was discovered by the Chinese emperor Shennong in 2737 B.C. when a tea leaf fell into his boiling water. The Chinese consider tea to be a necessity of life.}
14. According to a Chinese legend, silk was discovered in 3000 B.C. by Lady Xi Ling Sui, wife of the Emperor Huang Di. When a silk worm cocoon accidentally dropped into her hot tea, fine threads from the cocoon unraveled in the hot water and silk was born.
15. The oldest piece of paper in the world was found in China and dates back to the second or first century B.C. Paper was so durable, it was sometimes used for clothing and even light body armor.
16. The bicycle was introduced into China around 1891 by two American travelers named Allen and Sachtleben. The bicycle is now the primary transportation for millions of Chinese. The last Qing emperor (Puyi) rode a bicycle around the Forbidden City in Beijing. China is currently the leading bicycle manufacturer.
17. Suspension bridges were invented in China in 25 B.C, 1,800 years before such bridges were known in the West.
18. In some parts of China, “pigtails” were associated with a girl’s marital status. A young girl would wear two pigtails, and when she married, she would wear just one. This may have contributed to the Western view that pigtails are associated with children and young girls. 
19. In ancient China, mirrors were believed to protect their owners from evil, making hidden spirits visible and revealing the secrets of the future. A person who had been scared by a ghost could be healed by looking in the mirror. Mirrors were often hung on the ceilings of burial chambers.
20. The phoenix is the most important bird in Chinese legend and represents the feminine power of the empress. The graceful crane, which is a symbol of long life, is the second most important bird in Chinese legend. Ducks are also important symbols and represent happiness and marital faithfulness.
21. Famous Chinese and Chinese-American actors include Jackie Chan (Hong Kong), Chow Yun Fat (Hong Kong), Bruce Lee (San Francisco), Jet Li (Beijing), Zhang Ziyi (Beijing), and Lucy Lui (New York).
22. The number of birth defects in China continues to rise. Environmentalist and officials blame China’s severe pollution.
23. China has the world’s oldest calendar. This lunar calendar originated in 2600 B.C. and has 12 zodiac signs. It takes 60 years to complete. 
24. The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing were the most expensive games in history.^bWhile the 2004 Athens Games were estimated to cost around $15 billion, the Beijing Games were estimated to cost a whopping $40 billion.
25. While the dragon is typically seen as an evil creature in Western culture, it holds first place among the four greatest creatures in Chinese mythology, including the phoenix, tiger, and tortoise. It is typically associated with the emperor.

Rewards for One Child and Punishments for Extra Children

Marry Late poster Parents who have only one child get a "one-child glory certificate," which entitles them to economic benefits such as an extra month's salary every year until the child is 14. Among the other benefits for one child families are higher wages, interest-free loans, retirement funds, cheap fertilizer, better housing, better health care, and priority in school enrollment. Women who delay marriage until after they are 25 receive benefits such as an extended maternity leave when they finally get pregnant. These privileges are taken away if the couple decides to have an extra child. Promises for new housing often are not kept because of housing shortages.

 The one-child program theoretically is voluntary, but the government imposes punishments and heavy fines on people who don't follow the rules. Parents with extra children can be fined, depending on the region, from $370 to $12,800 (many times the average annual income for many ordinary Chinese). If the fine is not paid sometimes the couples land is taken away, their house is destroyed, they lose their jobs or the child is not allowed to attend school.

 Sometimes the punishments seem more than a little over the top. In the 1980s a woman from Shanghai named Mao Hengfeng, who got pregnant with her second child, was fired from her job, forced to undergo an abortion and was sent to a psychiatric hospital and was still in a labor camp the early 2000s, There were reports that she had been tortured.

Undocumented Children in China

 Additional children born to parents that have reached their one-child limit often have a rough ride. Some are denied a birth certificate and proper documentation. This effects them for the rest of their life. Without proper papers these children can not enter school, find work as adults or do most of anything legally.

 Undocumented children (also called "black permit" children) are children who are born and raised in secret and never registered with the government. To avoid detection by the Family Planning Association the children are shuffled around among uncles, aunts and siblings. Pregnant women who chose to hide in the countryside until they give birth are sometimes called "birth guerrillas."

• Life as a second child is often a great struggle! In society, you are looked down upon and often called a "mistake" or "a niece or nephew" of your actual parents.
• China's population continues to decrease  as less and less amounts of children are born.
• In Canada, we pay people who have just had children baby bonus to help provide for their new family while China prevents its people from having more than one child- often promoting infertility. 

ONE-CHILD POLICY IN CHINA

In China...

 In 1979, three years after Mao’s death, a one-child policy was introduced to reduce China’s burgeoning population. According to the policy as it was most commonly enforced, a couple was allowed to have one child. If that child turned out be a girl, they were allowed to have a second child. After the second child, they were not allowed to have any more children. In some places though couples were only allowed to have one child regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl. This policy is still in effect today. It is unusual for a family to have two sons.

 Posters promoting China's one-child policy can be seen all over China. One, with the slogan "China Needs Family Planning" shows a Communist official praising the proud parents of one baby girl. Another one, with the slogan "Late Marriage and Childbirth Are Worthy," shows an old gray-haired woman with a newborn baby. Another reads: “Have Fewer, Better Children to Create Prosperity for the Next Generation.”

 Slogans such as “Have Fewer Children Live Better Lives” and "Stabilize Family Planning and Create a Brighter Future” are painted on roadside buildings in rural areas. Some crude family planning slogans such “Raise Fewer Babies, But More Piggies” and “One More Baby Means One More Tomb” and "If you give birth to extra children, your family will be ruined" were banned in August 2007 because of rural anger about the slogans and the policy behind them.

 About 63 percent of China’s’ population is subject to the one-policy rule. The conventional wisdom in China has been that controlling China's population serves the interest of the whole society and that sacrificing individual interests for those of the masses is justifiable. The one-child policy was introduced around the same time as the Deng economic reforms. An unexpected result of these reforms has been the creation of demand for more children to supply labor to increase food production and make more profit.