To mark International Women's Day this year, China's Ministry of Commerce sent a group of employees to finishing school.
etiquette：礼节，礼仪，规矩
About 20 women signed up for a half-day course offered by Rebecca Li of the etiquette school Institute Sarita. For three hours, Ms. Li reviewed elements of dressing and dining, western-style: What does it mean to wear black tie? What's appropriate for a cocktail party? How can a woman dress to flatter her body type? How much makeup should she wear?
cocktail：鸡尾酒 flatter：奉承，谄媚，使高兴
The ministry requested the seminar, says Institute Sarita founder Sara Jane Ho, who offered the class free of charge. Ms. Li, who ran the seminar, says that the women also had questions about how to keep fit and what kind of face cream to wear under makeup. 'They were quite touched when I told them their job is very important' because the rest of the world will learn about China and its government through them, she said.
seminar：研讨班 face cream:面霜，雪花膏
China, meet the world. World, China is enchantee to make your acquaintance.
enchantee：奇妙的，令人喜悦的 acquaintance：熟人，相识，了解，知道
It's not just government bureaucrats who are seeking out polish from the new school, which in effect combines elements of a finishing school with business manners for women.
bureaucrat：官僚，官僚主义者 finishing school：女子精修学校
Women who work at the country's state-owned enterprises are the 'keenest students' of the school, which officially opened its doors in March, says Ms. Ho. Because SOE employees are often invited to Washington, D.C., 'they really understand the importance' of manners training, both from a political and a business standpoint, she says.
Institute Sarita is not the first to bring western-style etiquette to China. Before Beijing's 2008 Olympics, the government launched a campaign to 'civilize' its citizens, handing out leaflets to warn against spitting in public, jumping to the front of lines, and asking foreigners how much money they make. Knigge Akademie, a German company, opened in Beijing in March 2011, offering business etiquette courses on western dress and dining, as well as body language and rules of electronic communication. And vocational schools, including Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Wuhan Textile University, advertise courses in business etiquette.
leaflets：传单 spitting：分散，吐痰，喷溅
But other companies that have attempted to make a go of teaching etiquette, such as Beijing's Etiquette Society, opened its doors in 2008 and closed again in 2011. 'I don't think we thought through the concept,' says Etiquette Society founder Freddie Cull. He adds that at the time, there didn't seem to be enough of a market for the school.
make a go of：使成功，相处的好
Ms. Ho, raised in Hong Kong but educated in the U.S, spent some time working in banking on Wall Street. Every time the 27-year-old Harvard Business School graduate heard about Chinese nationals misbehaving abroad, 'it would affect me on a very personal level,' she said. 'I took it personally.' She knows that when she travels, she's really representing China, 'and I think everyone has a responsibility to represent their country.'
Ms. Ho's high-end school charges 100,000 yuan for a 12-day course in being a hostess and 80,000 yuan for a 10-day 'debutante' course.
Much of the training takes place in her offices in the Park Hyatt Residences. Surrounded by French-made furniture and Raynaud porcelain tea sets, Ms. Ho serves Earl Grey tea and miniature lemon tarts prepared by her chef, who had formerly worked at the French embassy. Women taking her course face a series of challenges: how to handle the dripping cheese of a fondue course, what kinds of topics work for small talk around the table, where to stand on the escalator, how to pronounce Louis Vuitton. She offers a lesson on the history of cutlery and another on gifts and flowers. Each day, they have to set a table based on the items served in a three to five-course lunch prepared by the chef.
porcelain：瓷质的，精美的 miniature：缩图，缩影，微小的 escalator：自动扶梯
cutlery：餐具 rippleb：波纹，涟漪
The goal, says Ms. Ho, is that her students will go on to influence the people around them. 'It's the ripple effect. It's not just China that needs etiquette,' she says. 'It's the whole world.'