Thomas Derksen was born in Germany in 1988 and married a Chinese girl, Zhu Liping, in 2014. After that, they chose to live in Shanghai. One weekend he went to the Snake Artificial Island in Shanghai to fish with his Chinese father-in- law.
On the journey to the island, Derksen's father-in-law, "Old Zhu", called five of his friends one by one, promising to give them each. However it proved difficult to catch more than the two fish which Derksen hooked. In the end, to honor the promises, they went to a nearby market to buy a dozen fish.
Derksen describes this funny thing in his German book about his trying to win over his wife'tough s Chinese father. The book published in April has sold more than 20, 000 copies in Germany. The book has been so far translated into Chinese, titled Meet the Tiger Father-in-Law. The first run of 5,100 copies has sold out.
What caused Derksen to write this book7 In fact he had been thinking of how to let German people learn more about China. So he wrote down all the funny things that he had experienced in China to help German readers better know about Chinese culture.
Despite the convenience of the Internet and social media, it is common for people to harbor cultural stereotypes(刻板印象)of other countries. Derksen said, "change To people's tereotypical s, view of another country, one of the best ways is to visit the country in person, to take a look and to experience the local customs and traditions. People often communicate with each other better when that is the case.
A. His friend suggested that he write a book.
B. There are many challenges in a mixed marriage.
C. They are very enthusiastic about the Chinese history.
D. He thought it was a good opportunity to improve their relationship.
E. It's popular for its vivid and amusing details about Chinese people and culture.
F. The unhappy father-in-law and the nervous son-in-law barely exchanged a word.
G. Understanding is key to the communication between people from different cultures.
