Giving Gifts in Chinese Culture, Important Taboos

There are many taboos when giving gifts in Chinese culture and most other Asian cultures. So far I have been able to avoid making any mistakes in this regard. Many of these taboos come from traditions related to death or beloved ones dying.

Items that should never be given as a gift include:

1. White Candles - White candles are usually burned at funerals. Most things that are white and/or incences can often represent death.
2. Clocks - Giving clocks sounds like 'attending upon one's dying parent or a senior member of one's family'. Both said as "song4 zhong1".
3. Hand Towels - In the past, the family of the deceased would give hand towels to people who paid a condolence call, intending to break off their relations with the deceased.
4. Fans - They are cheap and fragile. They are used to relieve summer heat. Since it gets cooler by late autumn, there is an idiom that says "Qiushan Jianqian" (literally, to put away the fan in autumn).
5. Scissors - Scissors are sharp and hurtful, implying to sever relations with one stroke or one cut.
6. Umbrellas - The word in Taiwanese Chinese sounds like 'parting'. In the Taiwan dialect, "伞" (san, umbrella) shares the same pronunciation with "散" (san, parting).
7. Mirrors - Fragile and break easily, and hard to put back together. Metaphorical of a friendship/relationship.
8. Sweet Cakes - Given to deities during festivals or offerings.
9. Rice Dumplings - Another thing given when one is deceased.
10. Ducks - The type of meat women eat one month after giving birth.

Most of the things are bad to give as gifts because they represent death or represent a person's relationship with the other person as being fragile, temporary or unimportant. The best gift to give is something permanent and well thoughtout, which really isn't that much different from Western traditions.

Check out this page for reference on Taiwan http://scenery.cultural-china.com/en/146Scenery2785.html