Before I get to my latest video post, I wanted to make a comment about how I’ve been introducing vocabulary in my posts.  As I’m sure some of you have noticed, I recently changed the way I do this.  From now on, I will highlight an English word, phrase, or sentence in bold, and then include the Chinese characters and pinyin in parentheses.  I made this switch after getting feedback from some readers who said posts were hard to follow when I wrote the Chinese first.  I think this new method will make my posts easier to read through, while still conveniently introducing new words in Chinese.

For today’s video, join me for a day trip to two of Beijing’s most famous temples – 雍和宮 (Lama Temple) and 孔庙 (Confucius Temple).

Hundreds of years ago, the Lama Temple was an Imperial Palace. Today, it is a popular tourist attraction and a lamasery for Tibetan and Mongolian monks.

The Confucius Temple honors China’s most famous scholar, 孔子 (Confucius). Built in 1302, people have come here to pay homage to the master scholar for hundreds of years. Here you can learn a great deal about Confucius and how his teachings have influenced people in the past, and continue to influence our lives today.

雍和宮
Yōnghé gōng
Lama Temple
Palace of Peace and Harmony

藏传佛教
Zàng chuán fójiào
Tibetan Buddhism

燃香
Rán xiāng
burn incense

佛
Fú
Buddha

如果你给佛钱，你的钱将增长
Rúguǒ nǐ gěi fú qián, nǐ de qián jiāng zēngzhǎng
If you give budda money, your money will grow

万福阁
Wànfú gé
Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happiness

北京孔庙
Běijīng kǒngmiào
Beijing Confucius Temple

孔子
Kǒng zǐ
Confucius (Master Kong)

孔丘
Kǒng qiū
his given name

除奸柏
Chú jiān bǎi
touch evil cypress (the famous tree in the temple)

家谱
Jiā pǔ
family tree

叔梁紇
Shū liáng hé
his father

顏徵在
Yán zhēng zài
his mother

夫子洞
Fū zǐ dòng
scholar cave (where it is believed Confucius was born)

小年
Xiǎo nián
youth

入学
rù xué
starting school

孔子三十而立
Kǒngzǐ sān shí érlì
“At age thirty, I stood firm” – this is a famous quote from Confucius

论语
Lún yǔ
The Analects of Confucius

天下 – Tiānxià – all under Heaven

马可波罗
Mǎ kě bō luó
Marco Polo

意大利
Yì dà lì
Italy

伏尔泰
Fú ěr tài
Voltaire

法国
Fà guó
France

美国孔子书院
Měi guó kǒng zǐ shū yuàn
USA Confucius college/academy

从华盛顿到旧金山
Cóng huá shèng dùn dào jiù jīn shān
from Washington to San Francisco

历史上最有影响的一百人
Lì shǐ shàng zuì yǒu yǐng xiǎng de yī bǎi rén
History’s most influential 100 people

知错能改，善莫大焉
Zhī cuò néng gǎi, shànmòdàyān
To know your faults and be able to change is the greatest virtue.

学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。
Xué ér bù sī zé wǎng, sī ér bù xué zé dài.
To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous.

己所不欲，勿施於人。
Jǐ suǒ bù yù, wù shī yú rén.
What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.