My Hong Kong | For Chinese people, a smile says so much more than words, so why all the long faces, Hong Kong?
- Chinese people place a lot of importance on smiles, and they can reveal a lot about someone’s character
- Visitors to Hong Kong often remark on the lack of smiles, so maybe we all need to grin and share it a bit more
In a cosmopolitan city like Hong Kong, people tend to judge others by how they dress. This perception is fittingly encapsulated by a local saying that goes, “first respect the silky clothes, then the man.”
I know some people who can “scan” a person, and – within seconds – they can tell precisely how much their ensembles are worth or whether their outfits are out of season.
However, I grew up being taught to judge a person by their character rather than their appearance. Even if someone appears dishevelled, their inherent qualities should always take priority.
Speaking of personal traits, one individual attribute Chinese people put a lot of weight on is a smile. A smile is a social cue and a signal through which we convey messages to others. A smile can also reveal a lot more than mere words, depending on how it is wielded.
There are many Cantonese colloquialisms and phrases used to describe the various types of smiles; two common Chinese sayings come to mind: “to hide a dagger in a smile” and “a smiling tiger”, both of which are used to describe a wicked person wearing a fake smile to hide dangerous intent.