This book offers a precise and rigorous analysis of the meanings of offensive words in Chinese. Adopting a semantic and cultural approach, the authors demonstra

Swearing plays an important role in everyday language. We swear in the streets, at school, universities, at work and at home, on the means of transport, with fa

During the Cultural Revolution, Mao exhorted the Chinese people to “smash the four olds”: old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas. Yet when the

The Chinese language is rich in slang, vulgarity, & other imaginative words. Now, there is a guide to the hidden underside of everyday speech in China. Outrageo

How was the concept of 'personality' perceived in (late-imperial) China? Re-constructing the main features describing the individual, and firmly based on a vari