Cultural tips

Modesty is a traditional virtue of the Chinese people. There is a Chinese saying "谦受益,满招损" (qian1 shou4 yi4, man3 zhao1 sun3) meaning "Pride hurts, modesty benefits". Here modesty refers to being open minded and being able to accept others' suggestions and comments. Modesty also means behaving well when interacting with others. For instance, the Chinese people often say "过奖了" (guo4 jiang3 le.)", "我做得还很不够(wo3 zuo4 de hai2 hen3 bu2 gou4.) , when they are praised by others.

In fact, the essence of modesty that Chinese people promote is to respect others, to be kind and to be self-restrained. Only when one carries the merit of being modest can he or she be welcomed and respected in return. Nowadays modesty is still not out-dated, because it makes people realize their shortcomings even when they are successful and are making progress.