China - understand-culture

Hidden Overtime

Ms. Li joined a technology company in April 2019 and was dismissed in December 2020. She claimed pay for more than 500 hours of overtime. Her evidence included chat records, screenshots from the DingTalk app and a duty roster for the company’s social media accounts on weekends and holidays. The court of first instance rejected her claim.

On appeal, the Beijing No. 3 Intermediate People’s Court ordered the company to pay her 30,000 yuan. According to the reports, the court held that the idea of a workplace should be weakened. What counts is whether the employee provided substantive work. The Beijing News called it the first case in China to address yinxing jiaban, hidden overtime, in a judgment.

In 2024, the Supreme People’s Court wrote the test for hidden overtime online into its annual work report: “substantive work” and “obvious use of time.”

The Iron Rice Bowl

A very secure job is called tie fanwan, the iron rice bowl. The Handian dictionary defines it as “a very stable occupation or post.” The Taiwan Ministry of Education dictionary’s example: “Many people think that a job in a government office means holding an iron rice bowl.”

The enterprise looked after much more than the job. In June 2017, four central government bodies issued guidance on this. State enterprises were to hand over, step by step, the water, power, heating and property management of their workers’ housing compounds to specialized companies or institutions. The same guidance called for “positive progress” in reforming the schools and hospitals that enterprises still ran.

Regard the Soldiers as Infants

In the Terrain chapter of the Art of War, Sunzi writes: “Regard the soldiers as infants, and they will go with the general into the deepest valleys. Regard them as beloved sons, and they will die with him.” (视卒如婴儿，故可以与之赴深溪。视卒如爱子，故可与之俱死。)

The next lines set a limit. “Kind but unable to use them, loving but unable to command them, disorderly and unable to be controlled, they are like spoiled children. They are of no use.”

Twelve Grades of Rank

The Regulations on Parallel Posts and Ranks for Civil Servants took effect on June 1, 2019. Article 7 sets twelve ranks for civil servants in general administration. They run from first-class inspector and second-class inspector, through four classes of researcher and four classes of principal staff member, down to first-class and second-class staff member.

Article 8 ties each rank to a band of grades, jibie. A first-class inspector sits between grades 13 and 8. A second-class staff member sits between grades 27 and 19.

The Order of Toasts

An etiquette column in the Handan Daily, reprinted by Sina Finance in February 2023, explains how to toast at a dinner. “In general, toasts follow the order of age, of rank in the job, and of host and guest.” (一般情况下敬酒应以年龄大小、职位高低、宾主身份为序) The toasts begin “with the guests of honor and the elders” and come only then to the ordinary guests.

No Deputies at Wahaha

For many years, the beverage company Wahaha had no deputy general managers and no board of directors. A business profile from January 2022 described how its founder, Zong Qinghou, ran it: “To avoid infighting, Wahaha had no deputy post and no board. Zong Qinghou stood alone at the front of Wahaha.” He approved even budgets of a thousand yuan himself.

The Three Pats

拍脑袋决策 To decide by patting one’s head.

拍胸脯表态 To state a position by patting one’s chest.

拍屁股走人 To pat one’s backside and leave.

On August 31, 2026, the website of Qiushi, the Party’s theoretical journal, republished an article from the Tianjin magazine Branch Life that criticized all three together: “The ‘three pats’ phenomenon means deciding by patting the head, stating a position by patting the chest, and leaving by patting the backside.”

Ren Zhengfei’s Veto

In April 2019, Huawei’s board secretary, Jiang Xisheng, explained the powers of the company’s founder. “Ren Zhengfei does have a veto, but only on major matters. He does not veto everything.” He added: “He has only a veto, not the power to decide.” The company charter lists the matters it covers, among them capital increases, changes to the charter and the nomination of directors.

Ren described how he would use it: “When I want to veto something, I go and talk it over with them, and discuss my ideas together with everyone.” A 2020 report said that he had never used it.

Concealing for the Honored

In the first year of Duke Min of Lu, the Spring and Autumn Annals record a visit by “Zhongsun of Qi.” The Gongyang Commentary explains that the visitor was in fact Qingfu, a prince of Lu, who had killed the ruler Ziban. The chronicle calls him a man of Qi “to place him outside.”

The commentary then states the rule: “The Spring and Autumn Annals conceal for the honored, conceal for the close, and conceal for the worthy.” (春秋为尊者讳，为亲者讳，为贤者讳)

Naming Taboos

In imperial China, the personal name of the ruler had to be avoided in writing. Words were changed instead. For Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, Mount Heng was written Mount Chang, and the moon goddess Heng’e became Chang’e, the name she still has. For Emperor Jing, Liu Qi, the spring solar term Qizhe became Jingzhe, and Qifeng county became Kaifeng.

A popular story holds that Guanshiyin, the bodhisattva of mercy, became Guanyin to avoid the name of Tang Taizong, Li Shimin. Chinese Wikipedia rejects it. Taizong required the taboo only when the two characters of his name appeared together, and the short form Guanyin was in use before the Tang.