On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month (January 22, this year), the Chinese customarily prepare to greet the spring festival by spending several hours brewing up a porridge of nuts and dried fruits.
Tag: Chinese Characters
Chinese elements in Iron Man 3
《钢铁侠3》本周在好莱坞举行了首映仪式，并将于5月1日在中国上映。目前已有多部大片在中国拍摄，并拥有对剧情发展至关重要的华人角色，本片是其中的最新一部，片中中国著名演员王学圻与好莱坞明星小罗伯特·唐尼(Robert Downey Jr)联袂出镜。中国蒸蒸日上的电影票房或能解释其中原因：中国的观影人次正在快速增长，修建多厅型电影院的热潮使得中国的银幕数量以每天10块的速度增长，2012年中国超越日本成为了全球第二大电影市场。The film, which premieres this week in Hollywood, will be released in the US and China simultaneously on May 3. It is the latest in a string of high-profile movies to be filmed in China and has Chinese characters central to the plot, with Wang Xueqi, a renowned actor, starring alongside Robert Downey Jr. The booming Chinese box-office suggests why: Chinese film attendance is soaring, a multiplex boom is adding 10 new screens a day and the market eclipsed Japan in 2012 to become the second largest in the world.
Biáng Biáng Noodles
Biang biang noodles — Biángbiáng miàn Biáng biáng noodles (pinyin: biángbiángmiàn), are a type of noodle popular in China's Shaanxi province, in the middle of China. The noodles, touted as one of the "ten strange wonders of Shaanxi" , are described as being like a belt, due to their thickness and length. The "Noodle King" chain in Beijing serves biáng biáng noodles.
Chinese Knot 中国结
中国结发源于远古时期，又称盘长结，每一个结都是从头到尾用一根红绳编织而成。当时还没有文字，人们为了记住某些事情，在一根绳上盘上不同的结以示记忆，这就是“结绳记事”。当时，人们用这种方法除了记住生产和生活中的重要事情之外，还是年轻人用于表达爱情的物品。The Chinese knot was originated from the ancient times。It is also known as “woven knot” with each knot woven with one single red rope. There were no Chinese characters. To remember something, people make different knots on a rope to help with their memory. And this was called “keeping records by tying knots”. While helping people remember or record important things in life or production, the knots were also used by young people to express love.
作为一种装饰艺术品，中国结给人以纯朴、吉祥的印象。它内含浓郁的民族乡土气息，外形又很雅致，既体现远古时代的神秘，又体现中国人的灵秀。因此，它成为人们在节日期间室内悬挂，或互相赠送的物件。优美的造型、古色古香的韵味营造出祥和、吉利的气氛。As an artistic decoration, the Chinese knot is simple and auspicious. It emits strong national and rural flavor. With graceful appearance, the Chinese knot carries the mystery of the ancient times and presents the wisdom of Chinese people. As a result, the Chinese knots are now used by people during festivities, who hang them in the room or give them to each other as gifts. The beautiful shape and ancient style jointly generate the lucky and auspicious festive air.
Some Mandarin Mispronunciations
Why you mandarin pronunciation always sounds like English pronunciation? In what time there will be easy to make a mandarin mispronunciation? Go on reading, and you will find some answers.
What Exactly Is Pinyin
What's pinyin? Pinyin is a way to represent Chinese characters and express the sounds in the Chinese language using the alphabet.
The Usage of Pinyin
Pinyin is adopted and used by all over the world nowadays. It superseded older romanization systems like Wade-Giles (1859; modified 1892) and Chinese Postal Map Romanization, and replaced zhuyin as the way of Chinese phonetic instruction in mainland China. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) adopted pinyin as the standard romanization for contemporary Chinese in 1982 (ISO 7098:1982, superseded by ISO 7098:1991); the United Nations followed suit in 1986. The government of Singapore also accepted this system, as well as the United States' Library of Congress, the American Library Association, and many other international institutions.
Pronunciation systems of China
Why does every teacher would like to teach students pinyin in their first Chinese lesson? In general, pronunciation can't be derived from seeking at Chinese characters, even though sometimes characters with typical parts have comparable pronunciation. As opposed to other current written languages, Chinese characters will not be phonetic, and surely not alphabetic, but pictographic or ideographic (displaying combinations of images or symbols to convey meaning) like ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Therefore there has required to be a strategy of representing in composing the pronunciation of every character when teaching the language. Many systems are actually used, but pinyin may be the current standard means of writing Chinese pronunciation.
One Character a Day–“丰”
One character a day, easy to master Chinese characters. Let's take a look at the basic knowledge of "丰"
The Prequel To Pinyin
It happens to all language learners, even the best of us. It’s your first day of class, and you’re silently panicking, watching in fear as your professor’s chalk dances across the board with lightning speed, producing the swirls and dots of Chinese characters. With each new slash, your heart sinks a little lower. How will you ever memorize and pronounce all several thousands of these?
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