Chapter Six: Taboos of Giving Business Gifts in China
"
Gift giving" is an important part of "
doing business" in China. Cultural traditions play an important role in business life in China. So, there are some important " 
taboos" that business people should be aware of.
First, people should not give clocks to others since the Chinese pronunciation of "
to give clocks" is the same as that of "
to attend upon a dying relative."
Second, people should not give shoes as gifts since the Chinese pronunciation of "
shoes" is the same as that of " 
evil." There is another proverb that says, "If you give shoes to a pair of lovers, it means they will break up."
Lastly, people should not give pears as gifts to others because the Chinese pronunciation of " 
pears" is the same as that of " to separate." The meaning of Chinese character "" is not "
lucky" in Chinese.
Key Learning Points
v. to give a gift
The character "
" means to give and "
" refers to a gift.
Examples
Giving presents during festivals is a tradition.
He is generous in giving gifts.
n. business exchanges/doing business with others
The character "
" means commerce and "务 (wù)" means affair. 
means to go and "
" means to come.
Examples
They have established a new business relationship.
The two companies have very frequent business exchanges.
Vocabulary:
n. taboo
adj. lucky