The business-focused culture penetrates through every tiny aspect of Cantonese life. Compared with striving for the far-reaching ideal, they prefer to put all their energy into practical life. So the actual and real enjoyment is taken seriously, and the traditional Confucius ideology is diluted to a minimum in the business sense (since Confucius plays down realistic enjoyment and commerce).

 Negative traits

But Guangdong's long business experience has led to some negative traits as well. Having benefited from earlier opening to the outside and because of their business acumen, many Cantonese tend to take advantage of inexperienced people from other parts of China. And though many Cantonese make legitimate profits by following good business practices, others have taken to counterfeiting and smuggling. Numerous underground workshops produce counterfeit products from daily necessities to electronics, from labor intensive to technology intensive products.