As China’s economy boomed in the last two decades, and businesses rushed to make money, sometimes unscrupulously, 诚信(chéngxìn) became a value that is widely espoused by many so as to create a healthier and sustainable business environment. 诚信(chéngxìn) can be understood as 诚实(chéngshí) and 信用(xìnyòng), that is “honesty” and “keeping one’s word”, and the closest English word in my mind is “integrity”.

As with anything else, there will always be black sheeps, but as we talk about fun things to do in Shanghai this week, I would just like to add that the Shanghainese generally have a good reputation of keeping their word when doing business. They will be rather careful and tough in their negotiations, but once a contract is signed, they will generally honour it.

This week’s Dimsum Mandarin bilingual quote is 一言既出、驷马难追(yìyán-jìchū, sìmǎn-nánzhuī). This is a Chinese proverb that literally means “once a word has been uttered, you can’t chase it down even with chariot horses,” or in essence, “words uttered need to be honoured.”