Chinese Song: ‘Red Dust Inn’ 红尘客栈 by Jay Chou
‘Red Dust Inn (红尘客栈, Hóngchén kèzhàn)’ is included in the Taiwanese Mandopop artist Zhou Jielun ( 周杰伦, Zhōu jiélún) aka Jay Chou‘s latest album Opus 12 (十二新作, Shí'èr xīnzuò), which was released on December 28th, 2012. This ”Chinese-style ( 中国风, Zhōngguó fēng)” song is about a swordsman who pursued a reclusive lifestyle with his love but was eventually killed by the enemy.
Chinese in the Restaurant
A: Fúwùyuán, nǐhǎo！
服务员，你好！
(Hi, waiter.)
B: Wǒmen yǒu liùgè rén, wǒ men yào dà zhuōzi.
我们有六个人，我们要大桌子。
(We have 6 people. We want a big table.)
Fúwùyuán, nǐmen yǒu càidān ma？Wǒmen yào diǎncài.
服务员，你们有菜单吗？我们要点菜。
(Water, do you have a menu. We want to order dish.)
A: Zhèshì càidān. Nǐmen yào chī shénme? Nǐmen yào hē shénme？
这是菜单。你们要吃什么？你们要喝什么？
(This is menu. What do you want to eat? What do you want to drink?)
B: Jīntiān wǒ qǐngkè, nǐ yào chī shénme? nǐ yào hē shénme?
今天我请客，你要吃什么？ 你要喝什么?
(Today it is my treat. What do you want to eat? What do you want to drink?)
C：Wǒ yào zhègè, zhègè hé zhègè. Wǒ yào hē zhègè.
我要这个，这个和这个。我要喝这个。
(I want this one, this one and this one. I want to drink this one.)
A: Wèi nǐ de shēngrì gānbēi！
为你的生日干杯！
(Drink for your birthday!)
C: Gānbēi！
干杯！
(Cheers!)
A: Fúwùyuán, wǒ yào mǎidān. Yí gòng duōshǎoqián？
服务员，我要买单。一共多少钱？
(Waiter, I want to pay the bill. How much is it totally?)
B: Yígòng 376 kuài, nǐ fùqián háishì shuākǎ？
一共376块，你付钱还是刷卡？
(It is ￥376. Do you pay it by cash or card?)
A: Wǒ shuākǎ. Wǒ yào fāpiào.
我刷卡。我要发票。
(I pay it by card. I want receipt.)
Key words:
服务员fú wù yuán: waiter
要yào: to want
有yǒu: to have
大dà: big
桌子zhuō zi: table
菜单cài dān: menu
点菜diǎn cài: to order dish
请客qǐng kè: treat sb.
吃chī: to eat 喝hē: to drink
这个zhè gè: this one
生日shēng rì: birthday
干杯gān bēi: cheers
买单mǎi dān: to pay the bill
Evolution of Female Beauty and Fashion in China
In ancient China, there were Four Great Beauties－Diaochan, Lady Yang, Xi Shi and Wang Zhaojun [*note] － who were so famed for their beauty that, like Helen of Troy, they could overthrow states and cities(倾国倾城qīngguó qīngchéng). Their beauty has been depicted in countless traditional paintings, but unlike the art that came much later, ancient painting techniques make it hard to tell how accurate these depictions are.
By the end of the 19th century, however, calendar posters had begun to gain popularity in China. In 1914, the revolutionary painter Zheng Mantuo created a painting technique that could vividly portray the lively charm of women at the time.
From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, marketing and promotional materials that depict female beauty have influenced the ways in which our ideas of beauty have evolved. More importantly, these pictures represent a snapshot of women's lives at the time.
Liubo 六博
Apart from xiangqi(象棋xiàngqí) (Chinese chess) and weiqi(围棋wéiqí) (the game of go), liubo(六博liùbó) was another board game popular in ancient China. It's a game between two players, each of whom has six chess pieces, hence the name "liubo" or "six sticks".
Chinese Song: ‘The Song of An Older Artistic Woman’ 大龄文艺女青年之歌 by Shao Yibei
‘The Song of An Older Artistic Woman’ (大龄文艺女青年之歌, Dàlíng wényì nǚqīngnián zhī gē) was created by Shao Yibei ( 邵夷贝, Shào Yíbèi), a Peking University alumni from the class of 2006. This song discusses what kind of men an older “artistic” woman should marry. 大龄 (dà líng) means “older than the average age for marriage”. In China, the average age for a man to have his first marriage is 25.3 years old, and the average age for a woman to have her first marriage is 23.4 years old. This song first became an internet hit in 2009 but drew a lot of attention again at the beginning of 2013 because the female host Zhu Dan sang an adapted version of this song on Hunan Satellite TV‘s New Year’s Eve Gala without Shao Yibei and her record company’s permission.
Chinese language lessons:How to Shop in the Market
A: nǐ hǎo, zhè shì shén me？
你 好， 这 是 什 么？
(What is this?)
B: zhè shì tǔ dòu.
这 是 土 豆。
(This is potato.)
A: nà shì shén me?
那 是 什 么？
(What is that?)
B: nà shì fān qié？
那 是 番 茄？
(That is tomato.)
A: nǐ de fān qié xīn xiān ma？
你 的 番 茄 新 鲜 吗？
(Are your tomatoes fresh?)
B: wǒ de fān qié hěn xīn xiān. nǐ yào duō shǎo？
我 的 番 茄 很 新 鲜。 你 要 多 少?
(My tomatoes are fresh. What do you want?)
A: wǒ yào liǎng jīn. nǐ hái yào shén me？
我 要 两 斤。你 还 要 什 么？
(I want 1 kilogram. What else do you want?)
B: wǒ hái yào yì jīn tǔ dòu.
我 还 要 一 斤 土 豆。
(I still need 1 half of kilogram potatoes.)
A: yí gòng duō shǎo qián？
一 共 多 少 钱？
(How much are these totally?)
B: wǔ kuài liù.
五 块 六。
(It is RMB 5.6)
A: gěi nǐ qián.wǒ bú yào dài zǐ.
给 你 钱。 我 不 要 袋 子。
(Here is money. I don’t need plastic bags.)
Key words：
这zhè：this
那nà：that
要yào：to want
什么shén me：what
新鲜xīn xiān：fresh
还hái：still
斤jīn：half of kilogram
土豆tǔdòu：potato
番茄fān qié：tomato
钱qián：money
袋子dài zǐ：plastic bag
Have You Eaten Yet?
Recently, scientists at NASA discovered seven Earth-sized planets just about 40 light-years away from us, three of them are situated in a habitable zone. Findings like this one make one wonder if this means that we’re a step closer to contacting intelligent life elsewhere.
The Mongolian Chess 蒙古象棋
The Mongolian chess(蒙古象棋Ménggǔ Xiàngqí) is a popular sport game in Inner Mongolia. It's also one of the most attractive items on the Nadam Fair.
Chinese Song: ‘To Youth’ 致青春 by Faye Wong
Zhao Wei (赵薇, Zhào wēi) aka Vicki Zhao‘s first movie So Young has been a hit with ( 致我们终将逝去的青春, Zhì wǒmen zhōngjiāng shìqù de qīngchūn). Chinese audiences and a Chinese box office success, which in turn helped its theme song “To Youth (致青春, Zhì qīngchūn) ” by Wang Fei (王菲, wáng fēi) aka Faye Wong go viral. At time of translation, this song had 2,103,472 listens on popular Chinese online music streaming service Xiami.
Chinese language lessons: How to Say Goodbye to Others
（一） A: Zàijiàn！
再见！
(Goodbye！)
B: Zàijiàn！
再见！
(Goodbye！)
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