Chinese Language Blog

Studying a foreign language can be difficult and frustrating at times, but luckily, it can also be tons of fun. Of course, the best way to really study a language is to fully immerse yourself into it. As such, I’m here to help you plan a day full of the Chinese language. From the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed, your day will be full of 中文, and you don’t even have to live in China to pull it off!

1. Build Your Vocabulary

To start off your day, get a cup of coffee ready… or, wait, this is supposed to be a Chinese day – scrap the coffee and get a big ole’ cup of tea (茶 – chá). Seeing as how different people may be at different levels in their Chinese studies, a good way to begin building your vocabulary is to check out some awesome resources that we have for you, right at your fingertips. Start out with our Chinese word of the day page; if you do this every day, you’ll learn 365 words a year! Then, download yourself a FREE COPY of our Byki Express software. This is a great way to build your vocabulary, and you can focus on specific areas that interest you. If you want to kick it up a notch, there are also Deluxe and Mobile versions of the program. Spend a solid hour working through some interactive flashcards, and your brain will be thinking in Chinese and ready to seize the day.

2. Practice your calligraphy

You'll be like this guy in time!

Writing Chinese characters is not easy, sure… but the ancient art of Chinese calligraphy (书法 – shū fǎ) is incredibly interesting. Plus, having an understanding of how to properly write characters will go a long way in helping you better understand the language. My advice on your Chinese immersion day is to sit down with a good dictionary, a pencil (you will probably make a few mistakes), and some post-it notes. For print, I’m a big fan of this Chinese-English picture dictionary, which is easy to follow and quite useful. If you prefer sticking to your computer, check out the amazing online dictionary at nciku, where you can click on individual characters and get a stroke-by-stroke tutorial on how to write them. Now that you’re ready to rock, practice your calligraphy skills by making post-it notes for the things in your apartment/house. It’s easy to forget the Chinese words for everyday things, like: refrigerator (冰箱 – bīng xiāng), cabinet (柜子 – guì zi), or mirror (镜子 – jìng zi). Having a post-it stuck there will reinforce the Chinese word every day!

3. Go for a walk

After a few hours of racking your brain indoors, it’s time to step outside. Don’t leave home without your MP3 player, though, as it’s time to practice your listening and speaking skills. As you know, we’ve got you covered with a sweet audio course featuring over 40 lessons. If you’re on iTunes, you should check out Chinese Pod, which has plenty of useful, fun, and free lessons. So load up your iPod with Chinese lessons and take a stroll. Don’t worry about other people looking at you like you’re crazy when you say, “Excuse me, where is the bathroom?” (请问，卫生间在哪里 – qǐng wèn, wèi shēng jiān zài nǎ lǐ) in Chinese to yourself.

4. Grab lunch in a Chinese restaurant

Chopsticks for dummies.

Food is a huge part of Chinese culture, and you can find a Chinese restaurant just about anywhere (I’m pretty sure they’ve got a noodle shop or two in Antarctica), so go practice some Chinese and get your chopstick skills up to par at the same time. In my experience, Chinese people living abroad are usually thrilled to speak their native language with a foreigner in a foreign country. Don’t worry if you’re just a beginner; they are very patient and encouraging as you stumble through the tones!

China <3s the Internetz.

Find a coffee shop or any place with a good, relaxing atmosphere, and plop down with your laptop for an hour or so. However, instead of updating your facebook status, create a Renren (人人网 – rén rén wǎng – lit. “everyone network”) account. Instead of having a brain-fart on Twitter, get yourself a Chinese Weibo (微博 – wēi bó); you can say a lot more in 140 Chinese characters, after all. Instead of watching “Fail” videos on YouTube, jump onto China’s Youku (优酷 – yōu kù) or Tudou (土豆网 – tǔ dòu wǎng – lit. “potato net”) and waste your time watching funny videos in Chinese. A full post on this topic from last year can be found HERE.

6. Read a freakin’ book!

There are thousands upon thousands of Chinese characters to learn, so you’d better get crackin’ and build your reading skills. For beginners, there are plenty of basic Chinese textbooks or children’s books available, and if you’re a bit more advanced, try to snag yourself a copy of a Chinese newspaper (you’ll need about 3-4,000 characters to actually read one).

An important part of studying any language is understanding the culture. As such, it’s a good idea in your busy immersion day to take a break and try to relax – the Chinese way. Grab a friend and play some ping pong (乒乓球 – pīng pāng qiú), do some tai chi (太极拳 – tài jí quán), or fly a kite (放风筝 – fàng fēng zhēng). If you live in a place where there are lots of Chinese people, chances are you’ll find some of them doing these same things, which will give you even more chances to practice!

Get your tai chi on!

8. Cook yourself a Chinese dinner

Whip up some tasty 饺子!

Go home and whip up a Chinese dinner. If you know how to make dumplings (饺子 – jiǎo zi), Kung Pao Chicken (宫保鸡丁 – gōng bǎo jī dīng), or any other Chinese dish yourself, you will wow and impress Chinese people. To challenge yourself even more, try following along with the recipe in Chinese, or try inviting some Chinese friends over for dinner and speaking only their language!

Chances are you’ll be pretty exhausted by this point in the day, so kick back, relax, and zone out to some Chinese TV. Watching something like CCTV News will be too difficult for most of us, so it’s best to go with a fun kids program instead. Try China’s most popular cartoon, “Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf” (喜羊羊与灰太狼 – xǐ yáng yáng yǔ huī tài láng). It’s like a Chinese version of “Tom & Jerry,” only with a few goats and wolves instead. Oh yeah, and it’s all in Chinese! Or, for those of you who want more of a challenge, try watching “The Last Emperor” with the Chinese audio, subtitles, or better yet, both. Learn about China’s history and improve your language skills at the same time!

Watch a little bit of “Xi Yang Yang” on YouTube.

It’s been a while, but it’s time for another installment of Chinese idioms, or 成语 (chéng yǔ). For this edition, we’ll look at three very different animals – a horse, a mantis, and a bird:

按图索骥 – Àn tú suǒ jì – “judge a horse by the book”

Not quite a noble steed...

Once upon a time, in the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋时期 – chūn qiū shí qí) (770-476 BC), there lived a man named Sun Yang (孙阳 – sūn yáng). He was an expert at judging horses (相马大师 – xiāng mǎ dà shī), and he wrote a book on the subject. People even called him Bole (伯乐 – Bó lè), the name of a celestial being that was said to be in charge of heavenly steeds. One day, his son decided to go out in search of a great steed. However, the boy had never actually seen a horse, so he just relied on the book. The boy was thrilled to find a creature with a protruding forehead, two bulging eyes, and four big hoofs – “It must be a great steed!,” he thought. Full of pride, he took the creature back to show his father. The boy said, “Dad, I’ve found a good horse, except that his hooves are not good enough” (爸爸，我找到了一匹好马，只是蹄子稍差些 – bà ba, wǒ zhǎo dào le yī pǐ hǎo mǎ, zhǐ shì tí zi shāo chà xiē). Sun Yang was unsure whether to laugh or cry, as his boy had brought home a toad (蛤蟆 – há ma). Sun Yang told him, “Son, this horse is not bad, but it likes jumping too much, and you can’t ride it!” (儿子，这马不错，就是太喜欢跳了，没法骑 – ér zi, zhè mǎ bù cuò, jiù shì tài xǐ huan tiào le, méi fǎ qí).

Meaning: To adopt a mechanical approach that is inflexible; doing things strictly by the book.

Usage: It can be used ironically to describe a person who is inexperienced and follows everything by the book, or it can be used in a neutral way to describe someone who looks for something through clues.

螳臂当车 – táng bì dāng chē – “a mantis trying to stop a carriage”

What a cocky mantis...

As this story goes, there was a very strong mantis (螳 – táng) who could destroy all other mantises in fights. Of course, this mantis got a little cocky as a result of this. One day, a coach was driving by on his horse carriage (马车 – mǎ chē). The over-confident mantis decided to raise his arms in an attempt to stop the rolling carriage. The driver ignored the stupid mantis, and kept driving straight (车夫没有理会这只愚蠢的螳螂，径直往前行驶 – chē fū méi yǒu lǐ huì zhè zhǐ yú chǔn de táng láng, jìng zhí wǎng qián xíng shǐ). Of course, the mantis was run over and killed as a result of his foolishness.

Meaning: Overstating one’s abilities and trying to do what is beyond one’s power.

Usage: Used to describe an over-confident, self-important person.

得过且过 – dé guò qiě guò – “muddling along”

Silly bird.

Atop of the famous Wutai Mountain (五台山 – wǔ tái shān), there lived a bird named Hanhao (寒号 – hán hào). In the summertime, the bird would be covered in beautiful, colorful feathers (羽毛 – yǔ máo). He would proudly sing out everyday, “The Phoenix is not as good as me!” (凤凰不如我 – fèng huáng bù rú wǒ). In the autumn, the bird would continue to sing loud and proud, while others would go about building their nests. Finally, in the dead of winter, even though the bird was really cold, he would not build his nest (它虽然很冷，但还是不搭窝 – tā suī rán hěn lěng, dàn hái shì bù dā wō). With his feathers shed, Hanhao was left shivering through the night. When the sun would rise, he would go right back to singing and dancing…

Meaning: Muddling along; being satisfied just to get through

Usage: This can be used to describe a person who dawdles the hours away with no plans for the future.

Honoring the deceased for Qing Ming Jie.

Today is a national holiday in China, the Clear Brightness Festival (清明节 – qīng míng jié). Taking place two weeks after the vernal equinox, this is one of the few Chinese holidays that follows the solar calendar. Although there are many English translations this holiday, such as the Clear Bright Festival and Ancestors Day, the name most commonly used is Tomb Sweeping Day, and for good reason. While this festival is about celebrating the arrival of spring and the start of the planting season, its most important aspect is honoring the deceased. Before we discuss the customs associated with Qing Ming, let’s take a look at the long history of this important Chinese festival.

History

As with just about everything in China, there is a fascinating story behind the history of this festival. Thousands of years ago, a prince named Chong’er (重耳 – lit. “double ears”) of the Jin had fled the kingdom and was on the move for 19 years. One particularly hot day, Chong’er found himself tormented by hunger. Luckily for him, one of his loyal followes, Jie Zhitui (介之推) prepared some delicious meat soup for him. Thankful for the sustenance, Chong’er was always curious as to where his friend obtained meat, seeing as how they were in exile and were constantly moving around. To his surprise, Jie had cut off a piece of his own thigh to make the soup; that’s how dedicated he was to serving his Prince. One day, promised Chong’er, he would reward his friend for his selfless deed.

So, you really fed me your thigh?!

Eventually, Chong’er ascended to the throne as Duke of Jin. At this time, Jie resigned and went to live in the forest with his mother. After returning many favors to people who had helped him in his struggles, the Prince decided it was time to repay Jie. He extended invites to Jie and even went out in the forest in search of him, but to no avail. In a desperate attempt to get Jie out of the forest, the Duke ordered a fire in order to force him out. Unfortunately, this plan didn’t work out so well – Jie and his mother both ended up dying in the fire. Feeling guilty, Chong’er named a mountain after his deceased friend, and he ordered that a period of three days every year be used to remember Jie. During this time, fire was banned (for obvious reasons), and all food was eaten cold. Hence the name, the Cold Food Festival (寒食节 – hán shí jié). The county where Jie died in Shanxi Province is still called Jiexiu (介休), meaning “the place where Jie rests forever.” This practice of remembering the deceased eventually evolved into the Qing Ming Festival.

Although this festival was suppressed by the Communist Party of Mao Zedong back in 1949, it was reinstated as a public holiday in 2008.

Customs

Visiting grave sites is a big part of the festival.

According to Chinese folklore, the spirits of deceased ancestors continue to look after the family from the great beyond. As such, it is believed that sacrifices of food and paper money will keep the spirits happy, thus blessing the family with good luck. On Qing Ming, Chinese families will visit the grave site of ancestors to do some landscaping and spring cleaning. With the massive increase in China’s population over the past few decades, private grave sites have given way to public cemeteries, and most people are cremated these days. Families will make an offering of bland, dry food at the tomb of their ancestor; this keeps the other ghosts in the area from being tempted to have a taste for themselves. It’s a different story at home, though, as families will cook up the favorite dish of their deceased ancestor and offer it at an altar in their home.

Fat stacks of paper money.

Another tradition is the burning of joss money (金纸 – jīn zhǐ – lit. “gold paper”) at the tomb. With families often burning billions worth of this fake currency, it is believed that this practice allows the deceased to continue living a comfortable existence in the afterlife. However, just as with the fireworks during the Spring Festival, this poses serious fire hazards every year -  so much so that Chinese police have been beefing up the security for this festival in recent years. Burning paper money has actually been illegal in Beijing since 1995, and chrysanthemums (with their flame-like petals) have overtaken the capitol for the holiday.

Burning down the (paper) house.

Paper iPhones and iPads are now a big part of the festivities.

The tech savvy youth of China have also found more economical and environmentally friendly ways to remember the dead – on the internet. In an example of just how much technology and its byproducts influence our daily life, some stores are even selling paper iPhones and iPads to offer to those on the other side. In addition to being able to enjoy a nice bowl of rice and chicken, great-great-great grandfathers everywhere in China will now also be able to join the rest of the world in playing Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja.

Here is a famous poem about Qing Ming, written by Du Mu.

"A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day; The mourner's heart is breaking on his way. Where can a wine house be found to drown his sadness? A cowherd points to Almond Flower (Xing Hua) Village in the distance."