Learning Chinese While Watching TV Series 看电视剧 学中文

Comedy：大丈夫，离婚律师 （Mainland）；就想赖着你，流星花园 （Taiwan）

Historical period Drama / fiction : 还珠格格，兰陵王，甄嬛传，（旧版的）红楼梦（1987），西游记（1986），三国演义（1994），水浒传（1998）

These TV series can be found on youtube.com,  most of them provide caption. The last four were adapted from the ancient Chinese masterpieces. Bewaring the last two are war theme, depicting many bloody scenes.

For discussion, please go to Basic Chinese.

Chinese Name (2)—— Namesake 同名同姓

According the last census of China, the most popular surnames are: 李、王 、张 、刘 、陈、杨 、赵 、黄 、周、吴; The most popular namesake Chinese have: 刘波、李刚、李海、张勇、王军、王勇、张伟、刘伟、王伟.  

If you want to give yourself a Chinese name, you'd better avoid those names that list above, three characters are better then two, give your name more specific meaning would be a good idea.

For discussion, please go to basic Chinese.

Chinese Name 中文名字 (1)

Chinese name usually has 2 or 3 characters, last name is first, first name is last, it's totally upside down comparing English name. Chinese name has no middle name.

For example:
李(last name)白(first name),     701－762, famous ancient Chinese poet
王（last name)之涣(first name),  688－742, famous ancient Chinese poet
李世民, 601—636, second emperor of Tang dynasty

In tradition, parents give their children's name following the rank of the family's generation, family children in the same generation have the same middle or last character. Some parents like to use their children's middle or last character to embed a big meaning, carrying on their hopes.

For example:

Names from oldest brother's family children:
李文光
李文宗
李文耀
李文祖
the middle characters are the same, four last characters compose 光宗耀祖, means  making family proud.

Names from younger brother's family children:
李文荣
李文华
李文富
李文贵
the middle characters following the middle names from his older brother's children, four last characters compose 荣华富贵, means living with fortune and honor.

Family in China is only allowed to have 1 or 2 kids nowadays, besides, the trend favors Western culture, so, this tradition faded out.

Any questions about Chinese language? Please go to Basic Chinese, drop your questions there.

猴年吉祥 Auspicious Year of the Monkey(对联, couplet)

猴年吉祥

岁         年
岁         年
平         快
安         乐

(top)  Auspicious year of the monkey
(right, vertical)  Happy every year
(left, vertical)  Peaceful always

In lunar new year, Chinese people like to make their wishes by writing "Dui Lian"(对联, couplet), then adhere on their front door. Additionally, wedding room, moving to a new house, company opening, etc, all like to have a pair of Dui Lian on their door for best wish propose.

Steamed Scallion Bun 蒸花卷

Slim down by eating Cantonese food 想减肥长寿 吃粤菜

Hong Kong people have longest life in the world, life expectancy is 83.48, which should be credited to their diet. Cantonese food features rice, vegetable, sea food and soup, drinking tea after having meal. They're used to steam rice, fish and meat,  so their foods have more original taste and less oil and fat, no butter and cheese.

If you try to slim down, eat Cantonese food daily, it won't disappoint you.

The picture shows fry rice noodle.

Cooking introduction:
1, Put the rice noodle into boiling water, cook 95% done, then take it out.

2, Fry the vegetable and meat with a bit oil and salt, when it almost done, put 1 in to 2, mix it well.  Enjoy!

After meal, drinking tea will get rid of grease.

P.S.
Canton / Guangdong is also called 粤（yue),  it's used in special words, e.g. 粤菜，粤语，粤剧。You can also say 广东菜，广东话，but no 广东剧。

枪支管制 About gun control

We hear the gun rampage once in a while, from Sandy Hook Elementary school to yesterday's Oregon community college shooting, American suffered in it too much.

Europe bans gun, Asia bans gun, why not US?  2016, I only vote the president candidate who commits to gun control.

If anyone who pays close attention in Chinese news should know China controls gun strictly, as long as China holds an international event, even kitchen knifes are banned from selling in store. In contrast, American have too many guns in everywhere, it's scary.

愿死者安息，愿生者安宁。（click the words to hear pronunciation)
Yuàn sǐzhě ānxí, yuàn shēng zhě ānníng
May the victims rest in peace. May the alive people live with peace.



P.S.
Words repress grief to someone's death:

节哀顺变----don't be sorrow, looking forward (usually for comfort someone who just lost family member)
例句：请节哀顺便。

哀悼----grieve over death
例句：我对他的死表示深切哀悼

悼念----mourn
例句：追思会在悼念一位死者

九月廿七：中秋 血月 月蚀 Sep 27 / Moon Festival, Blood Moon and Lunar Eclipse

The coming Sunday Sep 27 is very special:
A supper moon in combination with a rare total lunar eclipse, this day is also Chinese's Moon Festival. What an intriguing night! 

It would be a doomsday for Asian people who believe in astrology.
It's an exciting night for scientists.

Interesting, isn't it?

今年中秋很特别：血月+ 月蚀+ 中秋。这要吓倒很多迷信的亚洲人了。

学个词Learn a word：
血月 = super moon, blood moon
月蚀 = lunar eclipse
中秋 = Moon festival or Mid-Autumn Festival
廿 = 20

DIY: Chinese good luck knot 中国结项链

Learn a word

中国结

中国 = China

结 = knot

项链 = necklace

#video, DIY, nacklace,China knot,culture

Moon Festival 中秋节

The ancient China had their own calendar, call peasant's calendar or lunar calendar. As the name suggesting, it's the guide for farming. There are 13 months in a year, telling the seasonal weather, peasants follow this calendar to work on their fields.

The modern time, Chinese use the general calendar instead of their traditional calendar, but still keep the traditional festivals to celebrate, like Lunar year (sprint festival), Moon festival, etc, but the specific date is different every year in the general calendar. This year, Moon Festival is Sep 27, 2015.

The reason for celebrate is,  the moon in this day is the biggest and brightest, and the ancient Chinese people believe there are fairies on the moon, everything is beautiful.

Moon cake is indispensable food in this day, the tastes are various depending the area in China, usually Canton, Beijing and Shanghai styles are the most popular tastes, the ingredients are flour, sugar, bean, water lily seed, nut, yolk and meet, etc. Cheers!

Click the Chinese word to learn the pronunciation.
中秋节快乐
中 = mid
秋 = autumn
节 = festival
快乐 = happy

父亲节快乐！Happy Father's Day!

Click the words to listen the pronunciation.
父亲  father
节  festival
快乐 happy


父亲，usually be used in formal format.
爸爸，another word for father, usually be used in verbal.

There is no Father's day in China, only few people are aware of Father's day and celebrate it.

咏鹅诗 Chanting for the swans

骆宾王（约640～684）七岁时所做
Luo Binwang （640~684） He wrote this poem at age of 7

鹅鹅鹅 The swans are singing, oh, oh, oh
曲颈向天歌  The curved  necks  towards the sky
白毛浮绿水  White feathers are floating on the green water
红掌拨清波  Red palms paddled out the crystal clear ripples

words

鹅 swan
曲 curved
颈 neck
向 towards
天 sky
歌 sing
白 white
毛 feather
浮 float
绿 green
水 water
红 red
掌 palm
拨 paddle
清 clear
波 ripple

This poem is very simple, very vivid to describe the swan's appearance and dynamic through a child's eyes.
You read it not only a poem but also a colorful picture and 3D effect.

Welcome to join with my blog.

春晓 Dawn of Spring

（唐朝Tang dynasty   孟浩然Meng Haoran ）

春眠不觉晓 Waked up at dawn of spring
处处闻啼鸟 Birds are singing around
夜来风雨声 Windy and rainy last night
花落知多少 Whipped out flowers how many?

Chinese Lunar New Year 中国农年/中国阴历年

Chinese lunar year is also known as agriculture calendar.

Every 12 years make a lunar year circle. Each year is presented by an auspicious animal. The array is snake, horse, goat(sheep), monkey, rooster, dog, pig, rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon.

Lunar new year of the sheep羊 in this year starts from Feb 19, 2015.

Bread made with 汉字 (han zi, Chinese character) form.
The words mean Spring 春 and Blessing 福

Understanding Chinese了解中文

Understanding Chinese  了解中文

Chinese languages mainly assort to 3 types : 

1. Simplified Chinese -- it's official language, using in mainland of China.
2. Traditional Chinese -- It's used in Taiwan. The pronunciation is the same with the simplified Chinese.
3. Cantonese -- It's used in Hong Kong. They use traditional Chinese characters, different pronunciation. Cantonese in south China also speak Cantonese, but use the simplified Chinese characters.

In China, there are lots of local languages depending on its regions, but all use simplified Chinese characters. Some areas have their own characters and pronunciation, like Xinjiang, Tebet, Inner Mongolia. Local residents usually speak 2 different languages--local native language and mandarin.