Poem 诗 (shi1)

The author of this poem is Bai Juyi (白居易), he lived between 772- 846AD. He uses very simple language, and is therefore most people can understand his poems easily.









Literal Translation:
Part part plain on grass
One year one wither flourish
Prairie fire burn not destroy
Spring wind blow again life
Distant fragrance invade old path
Clear emerald meet ruined town
Again see off noble friend go
Crowded full parting feeling

Meaning:
The grass is spreading out across the plain,
Each year, it dies, then flourishes again.
It's burnt but not destroyed by prairie fires,
When spring winds blow they bring it back to life.
Afar, its scent invades the ancient road,
Its emerald green overruns the ruined town.
Again I see my noble friend depart,
I find I'm crowded full of parting's feelings.

词 (ci2)

Words in Chinese are called 词，they often come in pairs to mean one thing. Sometimes when a 词 is taken apart, the individual words may have meanings that are vastly different from what they would mean when they are together.

Here are some examples of 词 that contain the word 好 (hao3).
好 : good, right; excellent.

好吃 (hao3 chi1): Delicious.
Literal translation: Good-Eat

好处 (hao3 chu4): Benefit, advantage.
Lit: Good-place/area

好感 (hao3 gan3): Good impression.
Lit: Good-Feeling

好久 (hao3 jiu3): a long time.
Lit: Good-Longtime

好像 (hao3 xiang4): Look alike.
Lit: Good-alike

好笑 (hao3 xiao4): Funny.
Lit: Good-Laugh

好在 (hao3 zai4): Fortunately; thanks to
Lit: Good-Here/Present

好转 (hao3 zhuan3): Turn for the better.
Lit: Good-Turn

Here are some examples of 词 that contain the word 太 (tai4).
太: too, over; excessive.

太多 (tai4 duo1): Too many
Lit: Too-many

太后 (tai4 hou4): Empress Dowager
Lit: Too-Back

太监 (tai4 jian4): Eunuch
Lit: Too-watch (as in 'watchmen')

太空 (tai4 kong1): Outerspace
Lit: Too-Empty

太平 (tai4 ping2): Peace
Lit: Too-Flat

太太 (tai4 tai4): Madam
Lit: Too-Too

太子 (tai4 zi3): Crowned prince
Lit: Too-Son

Chinese Festivals --- "Valentine's Day"

The Double Seventh Festival, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, is a traditional festival full of romance. It often goes into August in the Gregorian calendar.

Scholars have shown the Double Seventh Festival originated from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD220). Historical documents from the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD371-420) mention the festival, while records from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) depict the grand evening banquet of Emperor Taizong and his concubines. By the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties, special articles for the "Qi Xi" were seen being sold on markets in the capital. The bustling markets demonstrated the significance of the festival.

Today some traditional customs are still observed in rural areas of China, but have been weakened or diluted in urban cities. However, the legend of the Cowhand and Weaver Maid has taken root in the hearts of the people. In recent years, in particular, urban youths have celebrated it as Valentine's Day in China. As a result, owners of flower shops, bars and stores are full of joy as they sell more commodities for love.

http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/Festivals/78315.htm

This festival is often associated with the story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl. 7th day of the 7th month in the lunar calendar is the day when they meet each other every year. This is where their love story led to this day into becoming Qi Xi. On wikipedia there are two short summaries on two versions of the legend.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi_Xi

Dragon Boat Festival

Most Chinese traditional festivals were created during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), by the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), they were relatively firmly rooted in the Chinese culture already. Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), was ancient China's most prosperous period and traditional festivals became more than just primitive sacrifice and became more entertaining.

The festival I'm going to highlight here would be the "Dragon Boat festival" or called 端午节 (duan1 wu3 jie2).

Legend has it that the festival commemorates the life and especially the death of Qu Yuan (c. 340-278 B.C.), the first great poet in Chinese history. He lived during the Warring States period (a time when China was divided into several warring kingdoms) and was a high-ranking official in the state of Chu. At that time his homeland was under siege by another powerful state called Qin. The king of Chu did not recognize Qu Yuan’s correct stand or appreciate his suggestions for saving their country. What is more, treacherous officials slandered him, and at last he was sent into exile. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, when he heard news that the capital of Chu had fallen into enemy hands, he threw himself into the Miluo River (in present-day Hunan province) and drowned.

What is the connection between Qu Yuan and dragon boats?
(I’ll get to zongzi later.) Qu Yuan, a great patriot, was loved by the people. When villagers heard he had thrown himself into the river, they rushed in their boats to try to save him, but they were too late. Dragon boat races commemorate their rescue attempt.

http://www.fwcc.org/dragonboat.html

During the festival, people make rice dumplings too. According to some legends, these rice dumplings were thrown into the river, in hope to distract the fishes so that they will not feed on Qu Yuan's body. Another legend says that the people offered zongzi as sacrifices to the soul of Qu Yuan. To prevent the food from being eaten by animals, they wound it with brightly colored thread, which they believed would scare away dragons and other aquatic beasts.

The reason why this festival has been carried on for centuries even though the times of dynastic rulings have long been gone, is because in the Chinese culture, we still hold on to values like "patriotism" and "loyalty" strongly. These two values are embedded in Qu Yuan's story, hence, the continued celebrations and commemorations of this day every year.

Quotable Quotes

wu2 sheng1 ye2 you3 ya2, er2 zhi1 ye2 wu2 ya2

Life is finite,
While knowledge is infinite.
---- Zhuang Zi












zhi1 zhi1 wei2 zhi1 zhi1, bu4 zhi1 wei2 bu4 zhi1 ye3

If you know, recognize that you know,
If you don't know, then realize that you don't know:
That is knowledge.
True knowledge is when one knows the limitations of one's knowledge.
--- Confucius








ji3 suo3 bu2 yu4 wu4 shi1 yu2 ren2

What you do not wish upon yourself,
extend not to others.

Analect ( Lun Yu ) - Confucius 15:24 and 12:5

Taken from:
http://www.chinapage.com/quote/quote.html

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For Fun~!

Click on "Handwrite characters" and see what appears~! It's really fun! Give it a try.

http://www.nciku.com/?gclid=CN_39I_RlJQCFQszbwodhiWUtg

A small bit of Chinese Culture

Tea Session
This form of the art of brewing and drinking tea is appreciated by many people, including non-Chinese. Many people are enthusiastic about the art of tea; they enjoy not only the taste of Chinese tea, but also the process of brewing it. The tea culture involved is attractive besides for the relaxation it generates, allowing them to purportedly forget all the trouble in their life during the process of brewing, serving and drinking tea. Some people enjoy serving others with a cup of tea not just because they want to share their excellent tea but also their peace of mind with others.

But, beware of Beijing Teahouse Scam(s)
Sadly, con artists and some tea houses in tourism hotspots in Shanghai and Beijing are increasingly taking advantage of the fascination with tea culture by luring foreigners into overpriced tea ceremonies. Generally be sure to negotiate the price of a commercial Tea Ceremony before you participate or you may be in for an expensive surprise.

Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_tea_culture


Ribbon Dance
Red Ribbon Dance is the symbol of happiness. It originated from Chinese opera and has been preserved for centuries. It has become a traditional dance to perform during festivals.





Calligraphy


Calligraphy set
The paper, ink, brush, and inkstone are essential implements of East Asian calligraphy: they are known together as the Four Treasures of the Study (T: 文房四寶 / S: 文房四宝) in China, and as the Four Friends of the Study (HG: 문방사우 / HJ: 文房四友) in Korea. In addition to these four tools, desk pads and paperweights are also used by calligraphers.

Types of Calligraphy:
Seal script(Small seal) 篆书 Zhuànshū
Clerical script (Official script) 隶书 Lìshu
Semi-cursive script(Running script) 行书 Xíngshū
Cursive script (Grass script) 草书 Cǎoshū
Regular script (Standard script) 楷书 Kǎishū

Proverbs

玉不琢，不成器。人不学，不成才。
yu4 bu4 zhuo2, bu4 cheng2 qi4.
ren2 bu4 xue2, bu4 cheng2 cai2.
Meaning: Jade must be carved and polished before it becomes an ornament, man must be educated before he can achieve great things.


逆水行舟，不进则退。

ni4 shui3 xing2 zhou1, bu2 jin4 ze2 tui4.
Meaning: When rowing a boat against the current, if one does not move forward, one will definitely end up moving backwards. (Can be used to describe surviving in an increasingly competitive world.)



寸金难买寸光阴。
cun4 jin1 nan2 mai3 cun4 guang1 yin1.
Meaning: An inch of time is an inch of gold but you can't buy that inch of time with an inch of gold.




留着青山在，不怕没柴烧。
liu2 zhe4 qing1 shan1 zai4, bu2 pa4 mei2 chai2 shao1.
Meaning: As long as the mountains remain, there's no need to fear that there'll be no firewood. (Can be used on humans; talking about as long as one is alive, there will always be new opportunities.)