Tag: mandarin

Well-known Chinese Clothing (中国服装)

Costume in the Han DynastyThe costume of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD) followed the one established in the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). In the Eastern Han Dynasty, people in black had to wear purple  silk(丝绸 sīchóu) adornments to match their clothes. Ordinary people usually wore costume with a long hat at grand ceremonies offering sacrifices to gods or ancestors. The dress of the queen in these ceremonies consisted of dark-purple frock and black trousers.

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Mandarin Chinese Listening Practice: Recommended Films

It’s a simple language learning principle, but many people overlook it for some reason: If you want to learn to speak a language, you must  hear  it a great deal to become fluent. Babies and toddlers spend quite awhile listening and absorbing sounds before they become natural to them. Why shouldn’t we—especially since we may not have any choice in the matter. To wit: During my first year living in China, I couldn’t get a decent Chinese sentence to come out fluently for nearly six months…and I was trying  hard. And then one day my brain seemed to say, "OK, that’s enough input; let’s start  talking, Baby!" (My brain is kind of weird that way.)

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