Chinese Language Blog

Throughout my time blogging for Transparent Chinese, I’ve put together many different series of posts. From music, to love, to history, to Chinese idioms, and much, much more, a lot of topics have been discussed here over the years. In case you’ve missed any of them, here’s an easy-to-follow guide to a few of the best:

What’s in a Chinese Character?

The evolution of the character for "ear."

Last year, I did a few posts about Chinese characters. In case you missed this helpful series that explains a lot about the written form of Chinese, here they are:

• Volume 1: Learn about the evolution of Chinese characters by studying a few basic ones – the numbers 1-3, person, man, woman, day, and month.
• Volume 2: This post takes a closer look at people, with the Chinese characters for face, eye, ear, mouth, and hand.
• Volume 3: In this post, we move from humans to nature, as we take a closer look at the characters for water, fire, mountain, and rain.

Chinese Love

Learn how to say “I love you” in Chinese.

• Part One: Learn how to show your love in Chinese with the Chinese character for love, and different ways to express your affection.
• Part Two: Get the dirt on dating in China, including how people end up dating, making commitments, and differences between Western and Chinese culture.
• Part Three: You’ve heard about the Cultural Revolution in China, but how about the Sexual Revolution? Did you know that Chairman Mao was actually quite the playboy? Read this to find out more.
• Part Four: Planning a traditional Chinese wedding is a lot of work. Learn about some of the customs related to engagement and getting ready for the big day in China.
• Part Five: Now that the wedding has been planned, there’s tons to do. Find out more about some interesting customs on the day of the wedding, such as how a man must face challenges from his bride-to-be’s bridesmaids.
• Part Six: Finally, it’s time for the wedding! In this post, get the details about the wedding tea ceremony, as well as the big banquet and all of the food and booze that comes with it.
• Part Seven: You know the old saying… first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the Little Emperor in the baby carriage. Learn about raising kids in China and how the one-child policy has changed things over the years.

Chinese Cuisine

A video about Chinese cuisine called “Discovering China.”

Chinese food is famous all over the world, but how much do you really know about it? If sweet and sour chicken, egg rolls, and crab rangoons come to mind when you think of Chinese food, you could probably use a littler schooling…

• Northern Cuisine: Get an introduction into the 8 Culinary Traditions of China, and learn about the food from Beijing, Shandong, and the northeast part of the country.
• Western Cuisine: If you don’t like it spicy, then this post may not be for you. Set your taste buds on fire with the cuisine of Sichuan and Hunan provinces.
• Southern Cuisine: Dim sum, drunken prawns, and more in this post about Cantonese food.
• Eastern Cuisine: Dive deeper into the cuisine of four eastern provinces – Anhui, Fujian, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang.

Chinese Reading Comprehension

In an effort to practice my Chinese writing and help you all with your Chinese reading, I put together a series of basic articles all in Chinese. As my Chinese friend said, “It’s like the homework I did in primary school!” That’s quite the accomplishment for me, as writing Chinese has always been the hardest part about the language.

• Introduce Yourself in Chinese: Get to know more about me in Chinese, and then introduce yourself!
• A Day in the Chinese Life: This article will teach you a lot of useful vocabulary for talking about daily activities.
• Life in the ‘Jing: Find out what I like and dislike about living in the Chinese capital, and then try to talk about where you live.
• My Family: This post teaches a lot of family related vocabulary, seeing as how my family is so big!
• My Job: Get a glimpse into the life of an ESL teacher in China and learn a lot of Chinese at the same time.
• My Hobbies: Talking about your hobbies is a fun way to practice a language. Read about mine and then try writing about yours.
• My Diet: Eating is a big part of our lives, so you should learn how to talk about it in Chinese!

Idioms

Learning idioms helps you learn more than just the language; it also teaches you about the history and culture of a country. Through these posts, you can learn 18 common Chinese idioms.

Why does "horse horse tiger tiger" mean "so-so" in Chinese? Read on to find out!

• Volume 1: Want to know what “Causing the fish to sink deep in water and the geese to fall to the ground” means? Read on to find out!
• Volume 2: Learn the Chinese equivalent of “don’t put all of your eggs into one basket” and more.
• Volume 3: Why is it said in Chinese that “a fool tells about his dreams”?
• Volume 4: How can you use a Chinese idiom to describe Ronald McDonald?
• Volume 5: What on Earth could “a mantis trying to stop a carriage” mean?
• Volume 6: Learn some idioms and Chinglish in this post, which features “horse horse tiger tiger” and “people mountain, people sea.”

Stay tuned to the blog in the months to come as we continue on our journey around China with the ongoing “Better Know a…” series, as well as the rest of our Top 10 Places in Beijing countdown. Don’t forget, you can always subscribe to the blog to get new posts sent directly to your e-mail so you never miss one!

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.

2011 - The Year of Transparent Chinese.

It’s been an amazing year for Transparent Chinese. Our Facebook page passed the 50,000 fans mark, our YouTube and Twitter pages have had great success, and our blog looks better than ever. Of course, we couldn’t have done it without YOU! We’d like to thank all of our readers for supporting us and making 2011 the best year yet, and we look forward to bringing you an even better year in 2012. For those of you who may be newcomers, here’s a list of our personal favorite posts from this year:

Chinese Idioms: Explained, Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four

Musical Instruments: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Pipa, Bianzhong (bells), Drumming, Bamboo Flute, Erhu (Chinese violin), Guqin (Chinese harp)

Chinese Love: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven

Saying Yes and No in Chinese: Written Post

How to say Yes and No in Chinese.

School: Vocabulary, Chinese Universities

The Web: Internet Slang, Chinese Websites, Social Media

Chinese Food: Breakfast, Wanfgujing Snack Street, Fast Food, Restaurant Lingo, Table Manners, Chuan’er (kebabs), Making Dumplings Video, Beijing Roast Duck

Jian Bing – Beijing breakfast.

History: From the Last Emperor to Chairman Mao

Sports: Shaolin Kung Fu, Shaolin Photos, Wushu, Enter Kung Fu, Basketball, CBA

Chinglish and Funny Stuff: Chinglish, More Chinglish Fun, Cultural Quirks

Chinese Medicine: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven

Travel: Riding that Train (Steve’s, Sasha’s), Hangzhou, Suzhou, Thousand Island Lake, Shidu, Shang Fang Mountain, Qingdao Beer Festival, Xi’an

As far as travel goes, here are a few of my personal favorite travel videos from 2011:

Impression Liu San Jie in Yangshuo.

The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival.

Pingyao Ancient City in Shanxi Province.

The best, and most fun video of them all – the Qingdao Beer Festival.

Well, there you go, that should keep you busy for a while! If that isn’t enough for you, cruise by our website for even more resources to help you in your quest to study Chinese. See you in 2012… until then, Happy New Year (新年快乐 – xīn nián kuài lè)!