Archive for August, 2010
It’s So Stupendous, Riding the Beijing Tube Posted by sasha on Aug 9, 2010
To go along with Steve’s post about riding the 地铁, I put together a short video showing the madness of rush hour on the subway in Beijing. I’m doing my best to provide subtitles that are readable in the video, but it can be difficult at times, for example when I give you a whole…
The Silk Road, Pt. 1: Introduction Posted by Stephen on Aug 5, 2010
The Chinese word for China (中国 ) literally is translated as “middle country”, or more accurately “center land”–and justifiably so. The China of old was at the center of all trade, commerce, invention and advancement, rivaling the Greek, Roman and Ottoman Empires. Whatever China had, be it fine silks, porcelain, printed books, calendars, silver or…
Studying Chinese isn’t THAT Difficult (学习汉语不太难) Posted by sasha on Aug 4, 2010
As I’ve said before, Chinese can be quite intimidating for beginner learners. Believe me, I’ve been there. The tones (声调) and the characters (汉字) alone can be enough to send you running for the hills. For yours truly, throwing in the towel often seemed like a good idea when I first started learning Chinese. Luckily…