★In china, two people with the same family name while without a relationship of blood belong to the same 家门. China is geographically very large with a very long history. It is very difficult to trace back to the same ancestor according to the same family name. therefore people from the same 家门 seem not close to each other. It is only for throwing oneself at somebody. Only the family is most important. Generally there is a book recording and planning the development of the entire family in each family. This book is called Jiapu. There are generally 3 Chinese characters in the name of one following Jiapu. The first one is the surname. The second one stands for generation character. The last one stands for oneself. Pitifully, lots of Jiapus were destroyed by the Red Guards as “the Four Olds” at the period of the Cultural Revolution. Therefore every family gets smaller and fewer people would follow Jia-pu.

★There is a red plague for worship of “香火”in the living room in lots of Chinese families.香火 is literally a kind of burning material made of straw. Lighting it means上香.上香 is for memorial of the past ancestors in china. There are the past ancestors’ names with an auspicious classical poem on the red plague. Chinese record the origin of their families in this way. It is also their spiritual belief. Meanwhile 香火 means propagation of the family. It is necessary to 上香 at festivals.

★Chinese can call old strangers as grandparents. They are very filial to their elders. This doesn’t only mean respect but also means giving a lot. To most olds in china, there is no retirement fund or pension. The younger have to take care of their elders during their daily life with financial support. Chinese old people are the weak in the society. Young people’s taking care of the elderly is really a virtue. It seems naturally necessary to Chinese to be generous to the elder, for instance, giving up seats to the elder in a bus or the elderly first in a queue.