Chinese Language Blog: Language and Culture of the Chinese-Speaking World

Yunnan – Part Two – Cycling and Swimming in Dali

Jan 10 2012

For our second day in the ancient city of Dali, we rented bicycles and went on a cruise of the countryside. We stopped to swim in the Er Hai Lake, rode by a famous temple with its three pagodas, and enjoyed a delicious lunch. In the evening, we strolled the streets and enjoyed some more delicious local food.

云南 – yún nán
Yunnan (south of the clouds)

骑自行车 - qí zì xíng chē
ride a bike

农民 – nóng mín
farmer

这里真的很美 – zhè lǐ zhēn de hěn měi
It’s really beautiful here.

现在我们在大理的洱海 – xiàn zài wǒ men zài dà lǐ de ěr hǎi
Now we’re at Dali’s “Ear Lake.”

你不冷吗? – nǐ bù lěng ma?
Aren’t you cold?

不冷 – bù lěng
No, I’m not cold.

吃午饭 – chī wǔ fàn
eat lunch

我们吃了拍黄瓜和米线 – wǒ men chī le pāi huáng guā hé mǐ xiàn
We ate chopped cucumbers and rice noodles.

崇圣寺三塔 – chóng shèng sì sān tǎ
Chong Sheng Temple and the 3 Pagodas

金凤凰 – jīn fèng huáng
golden phoenix

旅游卫视 – lǚ yóu wèi shì
Travel Channel

比萨烤箱 – bǐ sà kǎo xiāng
pizza oven

晚上的时候女人喜欢跳舞 – wǎn shàng de shí hou nǚ rén xǐ huan tiào wǔ
In the evening, ladies like to dance.

当地的餐馆 – dāng dì de cān guǎn
local restaurant

咖喱炒饭 – gā lí chǎo fàn
curry fried rice

酱油醋和辣椒 – jiàng yóu cù hé là jiāo
soy sauce, vinegar, and chili pepper

饺子 – jiǎo zi
dumplings

Greetings and Salutations!

Posted by Steve No Comments

Jan 8 2012

When beginning to learn mandarin, finding someone to practice speaking with (and endure your tonal deficiencies) is no easy task. Even in China, the wrong pronunciation or a wrong word will leave you with a blank smiling face, and more and more frequently now, a response in English.

Here are some greetings and salutations that will help get a conversation going. Remember, in Chinese culture, interactions between people are often based on their 关系 (guān xì) or relationships based on trust, honor and friendship. Endear yourself to some native Chinese speakers and your mandarin will improve overnight.

Hello/Greetings:

你怎么样? (Nǐ zěnme yàng?): “What’s up?” or “How are you doing?”

幸会 (Xìng huì): “Nice to meet you!” or “It’s a pleasure”

久仰 (Jiǔyǎng): An extremely polite greeting that is not commonly used between friends, but rather between professionals meeting for the first time. This phrase is used to show one’s humble attitude and professional demeanor.

久闻大名 (Jiǔwén dàmíng) This greeting should be reserved for use towards those whom you have extreme respect for, or who is quite well-known. Literally translates: “Your name is famous” which roughly means “I have heard much about you”.

Salutations:

親愛的… (qīn’aì de): “Dear (beloved), …” Often used for leaders and loved ones.

尊敬的… (zūnjìng de): “Revered …” For spiritual, political and famous persons.

敬愛的… (jìng’aì de): “Dear esteemed …” Often used for colleagues and distinguished persons.

Goodbyes/Farewells:

再见 (Zàijiàn), which literally translates as “See you again”.

明天见 Míngtiān jiàn; Literally “See you tomorrow”.

拜拜 (Bàibài), which is a hybrid form of a Chinglish homonym for “Bye-Bye”. Widely used in Hong Kong, Taiwan (ROC) and most urbanised parts of mainland China. 掰掰 is the variant character form that has gained so much popularity, it has actually been inducted into the official Xinhua dictionary.

回头见 (Huítóujiàn), which roughly translates to “see you soon”. Used in northern China.

再会 Zàihuì: Literally “adieu”. Usually used in Shanghai or other part of China, and sometimes used at the end of TV programs, soaps and sitcoms.

Follow Steve on Twitter: @seeitbelieveit

Introduce Myself (自我介绍)

Posted by sasha No Comments

Jan 6 2012

When learning a language, one of the first things you need to learn how to do is how to introduce yourself (自我介绍 – zì wǒ jiè shào). Whether you are making friends, chatting with co-workers, or looking for love, you’ll obviously have to be comfortable talking about yourself and sharing basic personal information. As a way to help you in your Chinese studies, here’s a short personal introduction about myself:

大家好，我叫Sasha。我姓Savinov。今年我二十六岁。我来自美国。我的老家是底特律。我家有九个人：爸爸，妈妈，四个弟弟，两个妹妹，和我。我们也有一只狗。现在我住在北京。我在这儿工作。我是英语老师。我也是视频制作老师。我有漂亮的女朋友。她也是美国人。我们在一起住。我的爱好是：旅行，看书，听音乐，做运动，什么的。周末的时候我们喜欢去玩儿。比如：爬山，看音乐会，去饭馆吃饭，去酒吧喝啤酒。我很高兴认识你！

明白了吗? (míng bái le ma?) – Got it?

OK, I know that’s a lot to digest, so let’s break down my introduction a little bit:

大家好 – dà jiā hǎo – Hello everyone!

我叫Sasha – wǒ jiào Sasha – My (first) name is Sasha.

我姓Savinov – wǒ xìng Savinov – My (last) name is Savinov.

今年我二十六岁 – jīn nián wǒ èr shí liù suì – This year I’m 26 years old.

美国! F*** yeah!

我来自美国 – wǒ lái zì měi guó – I’m from the United States.

老虎加油！(Go Tigers!)

我的老家是底特律 – wǒ de lǎo jiā shì dǐ tè lǜ – My hometown is Detroit.

我家很大 (My family is really big.)

我家有九个人：爸爸，妈妈，四个弟弟，两个妹妹，和我 – wǒ jiā yǒu jiǔ gè rén: bà ba, mā mā, sì gè dì dì, liǎng gè mèi mei, hé wǒ – My family has nine members: dad, mom, four little brothers, two little sisters, and me.

我的狗有点胖 (My dog is a little fat.)

我们也有一只狗 – wǒ men yě yǒu yī zhǐ gǒu – We also have a dog.

现在我住在北京 – xiàn zài wǒ zhù zài běijīng – Now, I live in Beijing.

我在这儿工作 – wǒ zài zhè’er gōng zuò – I work here.

我是英语老师。我也是视频制作老师 – wǒ shì yīng yǔ lǎo shī. wǒ yě shì shì pín zhì zuò lǎo shī – I’m an English teacher. I’m also a video production teacher.

我们在景山公园 (We're at Jingshan Park.)

我有漂亮的女朋友. 她也是美国人 – wǒ yǒu piào liang de nǚ péng yǒu. tā yě shì měi guó rén – I have a beautiful girlfriend. She’s also American.

我们在一起住 – wǒ men zài yī qǐ zhù – We live together.

我的爱好是：旅行，看书，听音乐，做运动，什么的 – wǒ de ài hào shì: lǚ xíng, kàn shū, tīng yīn yuè, zuò yùn dòng, shén me de – My hobbies are: traveling, reading books, listening to music, playing sports, and so on.

周末的时候我们喜欢去玩儿 – zhōu mò de shí hou wǒ men xǐ huan qù wán er – On the weekend, we like to go out and play.

延庆县 (Yanqing County - outside of Beijing city.)

比如：爬山，看音乐会，去饭馆吃饭，去酒吧喝啤酒 – bǐ rú: pá shān, kàn yīn yuè huì, qù fàn guǎn chī fàn, qù jiǔ bā hē pí jiǔ – For example: climb a mountain, see a concert, eat out in a restaurant, or go to a bar to drink beer.

我很高兴认识你 – wǒ hěn gāo xìng rèn shi nǐ! – I’m pleased to meet you!

Well there you go. Now you know how to introduce yourself in Chinese, so find a new 朋友 and get practicing!

Occupy Wukan, Pt. 1: The Leadup

Posted by Steve No Comments

Jan 5 2012

2011 was a year of revolution. From the Arab Spring to the Occupy Wall Street, mass protesting, rioting and police suppression have marked this past tumultuous year. With economic recovery still slow across the globe, and with breakthroughs in social media and mobile tele-communications, people have grown fed up with “business ass usual” and they’ve started talking.

Now nearly anyone, with a few thumb strokes, can start organizing and leading grassroots campaigns to fight the injustices they see around them. Social media has mobilized the masses, and the degree of press coverage is making everyone accountable. Twitter, as it turns out, topples tyrants.

So a few months back, when protests in Wukan or 乌坎 (Wūkǎn), started drawing media attention, people started asking the big question: why? Well here’s the backstory to the Occupy Wukan Movement.

The Backstory:

The Story of Occupy Wukan begins with the jurisdictional breakdown between provincial (state level) and central (federal level) authority. While central party members are often watched with scrutiny for any small slip-up, provincial leaders are turned a blind eye to, and as a result have become exceptionally corrupt throughout China. In Wukan, local corruption has been the catalyst that has sparked protest and retaliation.

Since the abolition of agricultural taxes in 2006, local government has been increasingly raising money through land sales to the extent that this is now a primary revenue stream (and speculation has run rampant because). Conflicts between farmers and local officials have risen throughout China, often because of land seizures (or “land grabs”) for these increasingly more valuable properties.

Over the years, these greedy land grabs have confiscated or stolen property right out from under the villagers. Villagers claim that 400 hectares of farmland have been appropriated without compensation since 1998. They petitioned various levels of government in vain over the years, accused local cadres of “pocketing more than 700 million yuan” of money destined for compensating them since 2006 but local officials blamed villagers for trying to fragment a harmonious society (for them). With little political recourse and growing sense of urgency, villagers decided to unite in the face of blatant corruption. What followed would mark the beginning of the Occupy Wukan movement.

The September Protests:

After years of stewing anger, frustration finally boiled over. On September 21, 2011, hundreds of villagers participated in a sit-in protest against local officials outside government offices in Lufeng. The small protest group–initially about 50 people–yelled slogans and hoisted banners and placards with slogans like “give us back our farmland” and “let us continue farming”.Then as the crowd grew in strength, protesters became restless and started damaging buildings and equipment in an industrial park in the village and blocking roads.Policemen were dispatched, and one villager said that they severely beat some teenagers who were banging on a gong to alert fellow villagers of the protest.

Three villagers were arrested during the first day’s violence. The next day, the police station was besieged by more than 100 villagers demanding the release of the detained villagers. Violence soon escalated as the news that several youngsters had been seriously injured after being set upon by government ‘thugs’. Within no time, hundreds of irate villagers armed with makeshift weapons to besiege a local police station where 30 to 40 officials were sheltering. Hundreds of well-equipped riot police were dispatched; they engaged in a stand-off with the peasants.

Video footage shot by villagers in Wukan showed people of all ages being chased and beaten with truncheons by riot police. One Wukan villager described the police and other security staff as “like mad dogs, beating everyone they saw” including women, children and the elderly:

The footage was instantly broadcasted throughout China and instantly drew ire and backlash from China’s netizen community. Soon, the Wukan protesters had won over public opinion in China and through PR and political pressure forced the issue of local greed and corruption onto the national stage.

For more on the Occupy Wukan movement, check out the NyTimes’ Video Journal on Wukan. In the following posts we’ll discuss the December riots, controversial deaths of movement leaders and lasting affect that the Occupy Wukan movement will have on Chinese society in the years to come. Stay tuned.

Follow Steve on twitter: @seeitbelieveit

Yangshuo (阳朔)

Posted by sasha No Comments

Jan 3 2012

The Li River will take you from Guilin to Yangshuo.

There is a saying in Chinese that goes, “Guilin’s scenery is the finest under Heaven” (桂林山水甲天下 – guì lín shān shuǐ jiǎ tiān xià), and for good reason. Located in Southern China in Guangxi Province (广西省 - Guǎng xi shěng), the beauty of Guilin has been inspiration for artists, poets, and musicians alike for thousands of years. While the city of Guilin is certainly a worthy stop if you are traveling to China, an even better idea is to head a little south of the city to Yangshuo County (阳朔县 - Yáng shuò xiàn). Surrounded by stunning karst (岩溶 – yán róng) mountains and two rivers, this little town is a thriving tourist destination, with plenty of hotels, restaurants, and shops. Spending a few days in Yangshuo can be the icing on the cake of an already incredible trip to China. Sure, the bright lights of Beijing and Shanghai are great, but you can’t beat the natural beauty of Yangshuo. By day, go cycling through the Chinese countryside, hike up the Moon Hill (月亮山 – yuè liàng shān) to take in stunning views of the surrounding mountains, soak in a natural hot spring in the Moon Water Cave (水月洞 – shuǐ yuè dòng), do some rock climbing (攀岩 – pān yán), and then swim in the river to cool off. By night, feast on delicious beer fish (啤酒鱼 – pí jiǔ yú), go out with a local fisherman to observe the art of cormorant fishing (鸬鹚捕鱼 – lú cí bǔ yú), and then take in the jaw-dropping performance of Impression Liu Sanjie (印象刘三姐 – Yìn xiàng liú sān jiě).

Part Two of my video series about my trip to Yangshuo.

Yangshuo is easily reachable by bus from Guilin, or if you are more adventurous and have a little more kuai to throw around, you can cruise the Li River (漓江 – Lí jiāng) all the way there and back. As Han Yu, a Tang Dynasty poet once wrote, “The river forms a green gauze belt, the mountains are like jade hairpins.” In fact, the scenery of the Li River is known all across China, as it was the inspiration for the back of the 20 yuan note.

The town of Yangshuo is very tourist friendly, so you won’t have any troubles arranging your days full of fun when you get out there. The Tripper’s Carpe Diem hostel located just outside of the town comes highly recommended, as it’s in a nice, quiet location, has great food (and Belgian beer), and the staff are incredibly helpful and friendly. I traveled to Yangshuo back in June 2011 with my brother, and it was hands-down the best trip I’ve taken in China. If you can’t make it all the way to Yangshuo yourself, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.