Whenever Chinese people meet our children, they pay special attention to their ears. They either compliment our son on his big ears and large ear lobes or praise our daughter for having perfectly formed ears for a girl.

It turns out that big ears with thick and large ear lobes are auspicious signs. People who have them are thought to be very lucky in life. They are likely to have happy childhoods and become successful adults. Similarly, if someone has a fleshy nose, he is likely to be well off financially in his forties and fifties. When I asked people why they believe that, they say, "Look at the Happy Buddha, he has huge ear lobes and a fleshy nose!"

This is why many Chinese people will look at someone's nose and ears to see whether that person is lucky. Even some of Bryan' s Chinese joint venture partners would comment on Bryan' s facial features. One partner told Bryan during their first face-to-face meeting that he trusts Bryan and can foresee a good working relationship ahead because Bryan has a rounded face, a fleshy nose, and big ear lobes.

The funny thing is, now we begin to notice people's ear lobes and noses. Much to my surprise, when I browsed through Forbes magazine's richest individuals in the world, I saw almost all of them have big ear lobes. Bryan joked that he should pull on his ear lobes everyday to make himself even luckier!

(selected from 101 Stories for Foreigners to Understand Chinese People by Yi S. Ellis and Bryan D. Ellis, published by China Intercontinental Press in 2012)