2000-06-02 | Shanghai Star
Yue-Sai Kan, a well-known Chinese American in China who made her name in cosmetics and beauty tips for Chinese women, has turned her attention to inner beauty.
Her latest book "Etiquette for the Modern Chinese," which came off the press a few weeks ago, is a sister book to her previous "Yue-Sai Kan's Guide to Asian Beauty" in which she claimed there were no ugly women in the world, only those who did not know how to make up properly.
In her new book, Kan states that the saddest man in the world is the one who has nothing but money.
Unlike many other books in the category that introduce Western etiquette, Kan has based the book on her personal experience in China, a place that has become her second home since 1986.
She feels strongly that while many Chinese have become rich overnight in the last two decades, their manners do not match "international practice."
In her book, Kan explains how to behave properly on a variety of occasions, such as on a plane, a bus or an elevator, how to answer phone calls, how to drive, how to conduct oneself in a theatre and even how to behave in a public lavatory.
Kan cites the time she was in the audience at the magnificent Shanghai Grand Theatre, which as a music major she loves so much, with the man sitting next to her shaking his legs and eating loudly.
Besides etiquette, Kan also discusses dress and table manners and many other issues in daily life.
Kan believes she has had ample experience of etiquette across the world interviewing State leaders and monarchs of many countries in her job as a TV producer.
The book , which Kan finished in more than a year's time, is written in simple, easy language to make it accessible to as many readers as possible.
Since coming off the press last month, it has received rave reviews in the local Chinese language newspapers and was number one in the non-art category book sales of mega bookstore Shanghai Book City. People lined up to get Yue-Sai Kan's autograph when she attended a book launch at the Book City.
Yue-Sai Kan became famous in China when she hosted the weekly TV programme "One World" on China Central Television (CCTV) in 1986.
Since then she has been very active in the country. Her cosmetics company, founded in 1991, formed a $20 million joint venture with cosmetics giant Coty in 1996.
Her image has graced both TV and street billboards, making her a familiar face to lots of Chinese people.