Cultural tips

Modesty of the Chinese
Modesty is a traditional virtue of the Chinese. There is a Chinese saying "谦受益，满招损" (qiān shòu yì mǎn zhāo sǔn) 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" (guò jiǎng le), "哪里哪里" (nǎ lǐ nǎ lǐ) when someone praises them. In fact, the essence of modesty Chinese promote is to respect, to be kind and to be self-restrained. It is not the modesty where you would cower (畏缩不前, wèi suō bù qián) or self humiliate (自卑, zì bēi). Nowadays modesty is still not out-dated, because it makes people realize their shortcomings even when they are successful and are making progress.