Tag: ယဉ်ကျေးမှု

How to Get Your Drink On

One of the first things that any new arrival to China learns is that food is a priority, so much so that rather than saying “Hi,” neighbors and friends are more likely to great each other with “Chi le ma?” (吃了吗?, Have you eaten?)

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The Scroll that Says It All清明上河图

“Along the River During the Qingming Festival” (清明上河图 Qīngmíng Shànghé Tú), a panoramic painting reputedly created by Song Dynasty (960-1279) artist Zhang Zeduan (张择端), celebrates not only a festival, but an entire culture. The resounding spirit of life captured in this grand painting has played muse for centuries, most recently inspiring a series of animated TV episodes.

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Chinese Cultural Tip: 曹操 Cao Cao

Cáo Cāo shì Dōnghàn mò nián yí wèi jiéchū de zhèngzhì jiā 、jūnshì jiā 、wénxué jiā. Cáo Cāo (gōng yuán 155~220 nián), zì Mèngdé, ānhuī rén. Dōnghàn mò nián, Cáo Cāo zài zhènyā nóngmín qǐyì de guòchéng zhōng, jiànlì qǐ yì zhī qiángdà de jūnduì.
曹操是东汉末年一位杰出的政治家、军事家、文学家。曹操(公元155~220年),字孟德,安徽人。东汉末年,曹操在镇压农民起义的过程中,建立起一支强大的军队。Cao Cao (155-220 AD) was an outstanding statesman, strategist and man of letters of the late Eastern Han Dynasty.He was born in today's Anhui Province. He built up a powerful army in the course of suppressing peasant uprisings.
Zuòwéi yí gè jūnshì jiā, tā xǐ'ài yánjiū bīngshū, rènwéi dǎzhàng yào suíjī-yìngbiàn. Zài Guāndù zhī zhàn zhōng, Cáo Cāo jǐn yǒu 2 wàn jūnduì, tā zhèngquè fēnxī le dí wǒ xíngshì, yǐ shǎo shèng duō, dǎ bài le Yuán shào de 10 wàn dà jūn, zhuàngdà le zìjǐ de jūnduì. Jūnduì zhuàngdà le, jiù xū yào gèngduō de liángshí. Cáo Cāo biàn ràng shìbīng men zài bù dǎzhàng de shíhòu jìnxíng gēngzuò, zhè zhǒng "túntián "de bànfǎ, bùjǐn jiějué le jūnliáng, érqiě shǐ běifāng shèhuì de jīngjì zhúbù hǎozhuǎn.
作为一个军事家,他喜爱研究兵书,认为打仗要随机应变。在官渡之战中,曹操仅有2万军队,他正确分析了敌我形势,以少胜多,打败了袁绍的10万大军,壮大了自己的军队。军队壮大了,就需要更多的粮食。曹操便让士兵们在不打仗的时候进行耕作,这种"屯田"的办法,不仅解决了军粮,而且使北方社会的经济逐步好转。Devoted to the theory of military strategy, Cao Cao had some resounding successes in warfare. At the Battle of Guandu, with only 20,000 men, he soundly defeated Yuan Shao's force of 100,000. A strong army needed more food. Between campaigns, Cao Cao made his soldiers cultivate the land to supply themselves with food. This not only solved the army's food supply problem, it also improved the economy in the north.
Zài zhèngzhì shàng, Cáo Cāo kàn dào háoqiáng dìzhǔ shìlì de fāzhǎn, zào chéng le Dōnghàn mò nián de fènliè júmiàn, yīncǐ, tā hěn zhùyì kòngzhì háoqiáng dìzhǔ de shìlì. Tā céng zài guānfǔ mén qián shè lì yì xiē dàbàng, zhuānmén dǎjī nà xiē yǐqiáng-qīruò de rén, hái ràng gǎn dǎ jī háoqiáng dìzhǔ de rén zuòguān. Zhè xiē zuòfǎ, yǒulì yú gǒnggù tǒngzhì. Zài yòngrén fāngmiàn, Cáo Cāo tíchū "wéicái-shìjǔ "de fāngzhēn, yě jiùshì zhīyào yǒu zhēncái-shíxué, bùguǎn chūshēn zěnyàng, dōu bèi lùyòng. Yīncǐ, zài tā dāngquán de shíhòu, hěn duō yǒu cáihuá de rén dōu shòudào le zhòngyòng. Zhè xiē rén wèi Cáo Cāo tǒngyī běifāng chū le bú shǎo lì. Yóuyú zhè xiē yōushì, zài jiā shàng tā kòngzhì le Hànxiàn Dì, suǒyǐ cóng gōngyuán 200 nián Guāndù zhī zhàn hòu, Cáo Cāo xiān hòu xiāomiè le běifāng gè zhǒng jūnfá shìlì, jiéshù le běifāng fènliè zhuàngtài. Zhè bùjǐn yǒulì yú zhōngyuán dìqū shèhuì jīngjì de huīfù , yě wèi hòu lái Xījìn tǒngyī quánguó dǎxià jīchǔ.
在政治上,曹操看到豪强地主势力的发展,造成了东汉末年的分裂局面,因此,他很注意控制豪强地主的势力。他曾在官府门前设立一些大棒,专门打击那些以强欺弱的人,还让敢打击豪强地主的人做官。这些做法,有利于巩固统治。在用人方面,曹操提出"唯才是举"的方针,也就是只要有真才实学,不管出身怎样,都被录用。因此,在他当权的时候,很多有才华的人都受到了重用。这些人为曹操统一北方出了不少力。由于这些优势,再加上他控制了汉献帝,所以从公元200年官渡之战后,曹操先后消灭了北方各种军阀势力,结束了北方分裂状态。这不仅有利于中原地区社会经济的恢复,也为后来西晋统一全国打下基础。On the political stage, Cao Cao saw the rise of powerful landlords in the late Eastern Han Dynasty as a threat to the unity of the country. Therefore, he encouraged the local authorities to punish magnates who bullied the weak, and gave government posts to anti-landlord elements. In fact, Cao Cao insisted on promoting any person of talent, no matter what his background was. Because of these advantages, added to the fact that he had the Han emperor under his control, Cao Cao put down all the warlords one after another in the north after the Battle of Guandu in 200.
Cǐwài, Cáo Cāo hái hěn zhòngshì wénhuà, tā duōcái duōyì, tā de liǎnggè érzǐ Cáo Pī 、Cáo Zhí yě dōu shì yǒumíng de wénxué jiā.
此外,曹操还很重视文化,他多才多艺,他的两个儿子曹丕、曹植也都是有名的文学家。Cao Cao was not just a statesman and general; he was a man of cultured tastes too, as were his two sons Cao Pi and Cao Zhi.

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Chinese film: A Chinese Odyssey Duology大话西游

Comedy film "A Chinese Odyssey," directed by Jeffrey Lau, starring Stephen Chow, Karen Mok and Man Tat Ng, was released in two parts – "Pandora's Box" and "Cinderella". Jeffrey Lau and Stephen Chow use main characters from the ancient classic novel "Journey to the West," including the Monkey King, the Pig Guy, the Monk Sha and the Master to create a far-fetched fantasy. The films are a mixture of miscellaneous elements like love affairs, kung fu and time travel.

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Chinese film:Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 卧虎藏龙

This kung fu-love tale by Chinese-American director Ang Lee was quite a curious phenomenon back in 2000. It was a highly acclaimed, commercially successful hit in the West, raking in nearly US$130 million in ticket sales in North America alone, propelling Zhang Ziyi to international stardom. In China, it was coldly received and dismissed by moviegoers as choreographically and verbally ridiculous.

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NATIONAL DAY国庆节

Break out the little red flags and get ready for Chinese National Day! Legally, everyone gets three days off for this major holiday celebrating the foundation of New China, but usually it stretches to seven or eight days, plus the weekend. Expect to see fireworks, reception banquets, large-scale theatrical evenings, park-tour activities; there’s really no excuse for not having anything to do. Last year there was a grand festival for the 60th National Day, complete with military review and mass parade. This year won’t be as extravagant, but it’s still well worth experiencing.

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The Knowledge about Chinese Proverb

Chinese proverbs(中国谚语Zhōngguó yànyǔ) can be split into chengyu (accepted phrases), yanyu (familiar sayings), suyu (popular sayings), and xiehouyu (two-part allegorical sayings). Unique to the Chinese language, xiehouyu proverbs are vivid with images and dramatic results. Based on puns of homophonic words, the majority of xiehouyu(歇后语xiēhòuyǔ) is simply not translatable(capable of being put into another form or style or language). Therefore only a few such sayings will be included in this small sample of the unfathomable(if you describe something as unfathomable, you mean that it cannot be understood or explained, usually because it is very strange or complicated) reservoir of Chinese proverbs.

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Features of Chinese Clothing (中国服装特点)

Different from costumes of other countries, Chinese clothing features(特点 tèdiǎn) is very distinctive and with profound Chinese culture. Features of Traditional Chinese Clothing because of relatively plain design and structure of traditional Chinese clothing, embroidered edgings, decorated bands, draped cloth or silks, patterns on the shoulders, and sashes were often added as ornamentation. These varied designs came to be one of the unique features of traditional Chinese dress.

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