Archive for March, 2012
Nixon’s Chinese Legacy Posted by Stephen on Mar 30, 2012
In 1972, President Nixon (尼克松 pronounced: Ní kè sōng) did something Western powers had been unable to do since the Opium Wars: open China to the rest of the world. Sure it took years of negotiations, the (timely) death of Chairman Máo Zé Dōng (毛泽东), and the ascension of Deng Xiao Ping as a policy…
The Strong Stuff: BáiJiǔ (白酒） Posted by Stephen on Mar 28, 2012
Seeing as we’ve already covered beer in a previous post, it’s time now to move on to the strong stuff and talk about China’s most popular spirit: 白酒 (bái jiǔ). If you want to experience drinking culture in China, baijiu will give you an epic crash course in boozing (not to mention a one hell…
A Day in the (Chinese) Life Posted by sasha on Mar 28, 2012
To help you learn about telling time in Chinese and describing daily activities, I’m going to describe a typical day in my life, all in Chinese: 我早上九点起床，然后吃早餐。早餐的话我喜欢吃水果和面包，喝果汁和咖啡。我十点去健身房做运动。我喜欢打篮球，跑步，或者游泳。我中午十二点回家吃午饭。我常常吃三明治或者沙拉。饭后我洗澡，然后去公司上班。如果天气好，我骑自行车。如果天气不好，我坐公交车。我下午一点上班。我的工作是教大人英语。我先有三节课，然后休息。休息的时候我喜欢上网或者看书。从六点到九点我还有三节课。我晚上九点下班回家。有时候我在家里做饭，有时候我去饭馆吃中国菜。我的公寓附近有很多好饭馆，比如桂林米粉，东北菜，麻辣烫，什么的。吃晚饭以后我喜欢看电视。因为我是夜猫子，我很晚睡觉。 For beginner learners of Chinese, I realize that can be a lot to digest, so let’s break down my daily routine sentence-by-sentence, with pinyin and English to assist…
Chinese Pronouns and the Verb “To Be” Posted by sasha on Mar 26, 2012
This basic video teaches you personal pronouns, the verb “to be”, and how to use them together to describe jobs in Chinese. With Chinese characters, pinyin, and English.
Impression West Lake Posted by sasha on Mar 19, 2012
Every night from March to December, you can catch the amazing Impression West Lake performance in Hangzhou. Taking place on the beautiful West Lake itself, this show has it all: music, lights, elaborate costumes, and a great story. Check out some highlights in this video.
20 Questions Posted by sasha on Mar 14, 2012
We’ve already covered how to introduce yourself here on the Chinese blog (click here for the written post, and check out the video here), so now it’s time to equip you with some questions that you will certainly come in handy when you meet people in China: 1. 你叫什么名字? (nǐ jiào shén me míng zì)…
“China-Pop” (中文流行音乐) Posted by Stephen on Mar 9, 2012
What’s the music you hear on the subways and in taxis? Those love ballads mixed with wailing guitar rifts that serenade you throughout department stores and malls? Why that’s C-pop, China’s very own brand of pop music. C-pop or Chinese popular music (中文流行音乐 pronounced: zhōngwén liúxíng yīnyuè), is a loosely defined musical genre by artists originating from mainland China, Hong…