Tag: mandarin

Ethnic Minorities in China 中国的少数民族

China officially registers 56 ethnic groups. The ethnic Chinese, known as the Han Chinese, compose 93 percent of the population. Han Chinese speak seven languages, with Mandarin or Putonghua – which means "common speech" — being the official and most-used. Cantonese（广东话，guǎngdōng huà） , which is spoken in Hong Kong and in China's other southern provinces, is the second most popular. Most of the 55 other ethnic groups use their own languages.

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Chinese Language 中国的语言

The Han people have their own spoken and written languages, namely Chinese. It is the most commonly used language in China, and one of the most commonly used languages in the world. All China's 55 minority peoples have their own languages except the Hui（回族，Huí zú） and Manchu（满族，Mǎn zú） , who use Chinese; 21 minorities have their own scripts, in which 27 languages are written. Classes in schools in predominantly national minority areas are taught in the local language, using local-language textbooks, as well as in Putonghua（普通话，Pǔtōnghuà） or Mandarin — the official national standard spoken language of China, based on the principal dialect spoken in and around Beijing.

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Peking Duck of China

Clean the duck(鸭子yāzǐ). Wipe dry and tie string around neck. Hang duck in cool, windy place four hours. Fill large wok with water. Bring to boil. Add ginger, scallion(青葱qīngcōng), honey, vinegar, and sherry. Bring to boil. Pour in dissolved cornstarch(starch prepared from the grains of corn; used in cooking as a thickener). Stir constantly.

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About herbal 关于草药

Food is an indispensable part of our life and the right choice can assist us in maintaining and strengthening our health. The importance of herbs has been highly acknowledged by people from all nations, rich and poor alike. This post is specially written in reply to a request from a dear friend currently living in Hong Kong and my fellow bloggers whom may find this brew useful. I will not be in the position to introduce something I have not tried since I am no doctor but as for ’strengthening the lungs’, I bring to you the well trusted “Cordyceps”. In the mandarin translation cordyceps means ‘worm in the winter, grass in summer’. Many will not try it mainly because it is expensive but if bought from a trustworthy source the investments can be worthwhile. Beware of imitations.

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Chinese grammar: What is a 被bei Sentence?

Bei Sentences, which are called 被字句 (bèizìjù) in Chinese, are a key way to express the passive in modern Mandarin Chinese. In passive sentences, the object of an action becomes the subject of the sentence, and what would have been the subject of the normal (active voice) sentence, the "doer" of the action, becomes secondary, and may or may not be included in the passive sentence.

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Eight Famous Styles of Chinese Cuisine

Of all the Chinese dishes, Sichuan dishes, Guangdong dishes, Shandong dishes, Jiangsu dishes, Zhejiang dishes, Fujian dishes, Anhui dishes, and Hunan dishes, are commonly accepted as the “Eight Famous Styles of Chinese Cuisines” in China with their own unique tastes.

1. Sichuan Cuisines (or Chuan Cuisines)
Features: spicy and hot, sour and hot
Classic Dishes: shredded pork with garlic sauce, stewed beancurd with minced pork in pepper sauce, saute chicken cubes with chilli and peanuts, duck smoked with tea leaves, etc.

2. Guangdong Cuisines (or Yue Cuisines)
Features: fresh, delicate, nutrient
Classic Dishes: braised snake and leopard cat, roasted crispy sucking pig, sweet and sour pork, Dalong fried fresh milk, Chaozhou stewed abalone and shark's fins, fried beef Fillet with oyster sauce, whole winter melon soup, boiled Wenchang chicken with sauce, etc.

3. Shandong Cuisines (or Lu Cuisines)
Features: paying attention to the choosing of materials and cutting skills, usually seasoning with shallot and ginger
Classic Dishes: sweet and sour fish, fried pork joint, fried mutton slice with scallion, fried trepang with scallion, fried beancurd, braised whelk with brown sauce, fried oyster, etc.

4. Jiangsu Cuisines (or Su Cuisines)
Features: fine cooking skill, different cooking methods for different dishes, thick and elegant taste, exquisite sculpts for dishes
Classic Dishes: baked side pork, Huai’an braised meatballs, roast chicken wrapped by lotus-leaves and clay, sweet and sour mandarin fish, braised finless eel, boiled salted duck, etc

5. Zhejiang Cuisines (or Zhe Cuisines)
Features: stressing on cutting skills, various dish sculpts, full of rustic flavor
Classical Dishes: West Lake fish in vinegar gravy, stir fried prawn with Longjing Tea, fried stuffed bean curd paste, stewed spring bamboo shoots, West Lake watershield soup, etc.

6. Fujian Cuisines (or Min Cuisines)
Features: exquisite cooking, artistic shape, fresh taste and color
Classical Dishes: Buddha skipping wall (sea food and poultry), steamed Taichi prawn, seasoned fried peanuts, duck in rice wine sauce, snowflake chicken, etc.

7. Anhui cuisines (or Hui Cuisines)
Features: oily,famous for choosing wild vegetables and animals as cooking materials, skilled in roasting, stewing, steaming.
Classical Dishes: braised masked civet, steamed turtle with ham, stewed honeycomb-like beancurd, Wuwei smoked duck, etc.

8. Hunan Cuisines (Xiang Cuisines)
Features: spicy and sour,with steamed, fried and smoked food as the favorite.
Classical Dishes: spicy and hot chicken, steamed multiple preserved hams, Andong chicken, Dongting wild chicken, sweet semen nelumbinis soup, etc.

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