Michelle Li

Courtesy is important in social interactions. Therefore, the first Chinese Pidgin English expression introduced here is chin-chin, an expression of salutation. The featured postcard travelled from Honolulu, Hawai‘i to Hong Kong in 1888. The sender correctly showed us how the word was used then. “Chin Chin to all old acquaintances” Chin is derived from the …

2. Chin-chin Read More »

Postcards are the most representative type of printed ephemera. When the idea of writing a message on a card without an envelope was proposed, people were suspicious of this new mode of communication. For example, one of the concerns was privacy as messages were not covered. The practice of pre-paying the postage for postcards was …

1. The Postcard craze Read More »