Archive for the year 2011
Confucius says… pt. 2: Analects and Golden Rule (子曰) Posted by Stephen on Jun 24, 2011
Confucius or 孔子 (Kǒng Zǐ) is China’s most famous philosopher, poet and scholar who lived from 551 BC – 479 BC, and is best known for his writings and teachings on Chinese society, culture and everyday life. His impact on Chinese culture has been so profound that some 2,500 years later his teachings are still well…
Chinese Idioms Vol. 2 Posted by sasha on Jun 24, 2011
It’s time for another edition of Transparent Language Chinese Idioms! By learning Chinese idioms, we can learn something about the language, culture, and history of China all at the same time… 半面之交 – bàn miàn zhī jiāo – “A nodding acquantaince” The story behind this idiom says that there was once a man named Ying…
Confucius Says… pt. 1: Analects (子曰) Posted by Stephen on Jun 22, 2011
Confucius or 孔子 (Kǒng Zǐ) is China’s most famous philosopher, poet and scholar who lived from 551 BC – 479 BC, best known for his writings and musings on Chinese society and everyday life. His impact on Chinese culture has been so profound that some 2,500 years later his teachings are still well known and…
Sanlitun (三里屯) Posted by sasha on Jun 22, 2011
Perhaps the most popular spot for entertainment in all of Beijing, the Sanlitun area is a great place to go for summer fun. By day, you can stroll around The Village shopping center, where you’ll find plenty of stores and restaurants. In the evening, relax with a foot massage and a pedicure before hitting Happy…
The Art of Bargaining (谈判技能) Posted by Stephen on Jun 20, 2011
Bargaining or 谈判 (tán pàn), while not very common-place in western society, is a staple of Chinese shopping. While super markets, malls and mega-shopping stores are becoming more common-place in China, street markets, bazaars, expos and old fashion mom and pop stores are still the places to shop when looking for a discounted price or just…
Summer Activities Posted by sasha on Jun 16, 2011
Here is a video I made last summer that somehow managed to evade the TL YouTube page. This will be the first in a series of videos about China summer fun to come in the following months! Summer time in Beijing is a whole lot of fun. In this video, join me for a daytime…
Stackin’ that Kuai! Posted by sasha on Jun 16, 2011
In China, the official name for currency is RMB (人民币 – rén mín bì), meaning “the people’s currency.” However, in daily dealings it is often referred to as yuan (元 – yuán) or the slang term kuai (块 – kuài), kind of like how we say “bucks” in the US sometimes. While American dollars…