你会说中文吗?

The language and ancient culture of China includes not just the world's most enormous country but spreads across various countries of Asia - and increasingly, well beyond. Here we explore all aspects of that culture.

Here, too, is your spot for asking questions, finding resources, and/or just hanging out & chatting in Chinese (mostly Mandarin, but Cantonese and others welcome, too!).

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Chinese Opera: Compelling, Fascinating - but Definitely an Acquired Taste

Hung Chung Chih When I first witnessed a performance of Peking opera (the best-known form of Chinese opera, with Peking by the way being the traditional English spelling of Beijing) years ago in Beijing’s ornate, early-19th-century Huguang Guild Hall, I admit I was mesmerized by the gestalt of this elaborate art form. Unlike Western opera, it’s even more stylized, with exaggerated gestures, vocalisations, and heavily symbolic costume and makeup (and in some cases obviously extremely fakey…

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Using Chinese astrology for travel guidance

  RootOfAllLight Lunar New Year 2024 has just ended, landing us in the year of the Dragon, and it got me to thinking: there´s quite a bit out there on where/how to travel according to Western star signs, aligning destinations with your astrological characteristics, but you don´t hear much of anything on the subject when it comes to Chinese astrology. As someone who´s studied Chinese and Sinic culture, I looked into it a bit, and here´s what I came up with, with a couple of destination…

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How they celebrate New Year's in China

  You might wonder why this is even a question. But in fact, the Chinese-speaking world has its own big Lunar New Year celebration (in 2021, it's 12 February), and so while much of the rest of the planet makes a big deal out of New Year's Eve tonight, for many of the nearly 1½ billion inhabitants of this vast country, it simply isn't all that much of a thing. There are of course exceptions, and that's what I'm here to talk about. read post

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  • And because I'm nerdy like that, here are the full lyrics of 心墙 with my very quick (and somewhat feeble) stab at a translation thereof, with the title in Chinese, Pinyin, Wade-Giles and English. Enjoy/comment/criticize/ridicule/delete as you wish! :)

    心牆 (Xin Qiang/Hsin Ch’iang-“Heart Wall”)

    一個人眺望碧海和藍天
    Alone, looking at the emerald sea and the blue sky,
    在心理面 那抹灰就淡一些
    The greyness in my heart becomes a little lighter.
    海豚在眼前飛越
    Dolphins fly by before my eyes,
    我看見了最陽光的笑臉
    And I see the sunniest of smiles.
    好時光都該被寶貝
    The good times should be treasured,
    因為有限
    Because they’re limited.
    我學著不去擔心得太遠
    I’m learning not to think too far ahead,
    不計畫太多反而
    Not to plan too much, but rather
    能勇敢冒險
    To be brave and take risks,
    豐富地過每一天
    To live each day fully,
    快樂地看每一天
    And view each day with happiness.
    Wooh~

    第一次遇見陰天
    The first time I saw clouds
    遮住你側臉
    Darken your profile.
    有甚麼故事好想了解
    I really wanted to know the story behind it.
    我感覺我懂你的特別
    I sense that I understand your specialness.
    你的心有一道牆
    There’s a wall around your heart,
    但我發現一扇窗
    But I’ve found a window
    偶爾透出一絲暖暖的微光
    Through which a thin ray of warm light occasionally escapes.
    就算你有一道牆
    Even if you have a wall,
    我的愛會攀上窗台盛放
    My love will climb onto the window sill and blossom.
    打開窗你會看到
    When you open the window you’ll see
    悲傷融化
    Sadness melt away.

    Break

    我學著不去擔心得太遠
    I’m learning not to think too far ahead,
    不計畫太多反而
    Not to plan too much, but rather
    能勇敢冒險
    To be brave and take risks,
    豐富地過每一天
    Living each day richly.
    快樂地看每一天
    And viewing each day with happiness.
    Wooh~

    第一次遇見陰天
    The first time I saw clouds
    遮住你側臉
    Darken your profile.
    有甚麼故事好想了解
    I really wanted to know the story behind it.
    我感覺我懂你的特別
    I sense that I understand your specialness.
    你的心有一道牆
    There’s a wall around your heart,
    但我發現一扇窗
    But I’ve found a window
    偶爾透出一絲暖暖的微光
    Through which a thin ray of warm light occasionally escapes.
    就算你有一道牆
    Even if you have a wall,
    我的愛會攀上窗台盛放
    My love will climb onto the window sill and blossom.
    打開窗你會看到
    When you open the window you’ll see
    悲傷融化
    Sadness melt away.



    Oh你的心有一道牆
    Oh there’s a wall around your heart,
    但我發現一扇窗
    But I’ve found a window
    偶爾透出一絲暖暖的微光
    Through which a thin ray of warm light occasionally escapes.
    Oh 就算你有一道牆
    Oh even if you have a wall,
    我的愛會攀上窗台盛放
    My love will climb onto the window sill and blossom.
    打開窗你會看到
    When you open the window you’ll see
    悲傷融化
    Sadness melt away,

    你會聞到幸福晴朗的芬芳
    And you’ll smell the sweetness of happiness and sunshine.
  • Hi Michelle, thanks for the link! We'll list that too as a resource. I majored in Chinese at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and went to Hong Kong and China (Shanghai, Dalian, Beijing) and Hong Kong a few years ago. I'm sure it's changed tremendously since then!
  • Hey Scott, great tune!! Love Chinese pop music. Any time you have something good to share, we're, er, all ears!
  • Great clip, Scott, xiè xie! We can feature it on the site, but would need the transliteration.
  • Hi everyone,
    I'd like to share the most requested song in "KTV" in Taiwan right now, it's called 心牆 by a female artist named 郭靜, let me know what you think :)
    - YouTube
    Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
  • http://www.j4.com.tw/big-gb/

    Hope this helps - Can't type, but at least, you can transfer from one another.
    Where did you learn Chinese? Have you ever been to China or Taiwan?
  • Thanks, Michelle! Excellent suggestions. No prob with traditional Chinese characters, hey, they're the real McCoy! I was taught both traditional and simplified characters, and the simplified just don't have the beauty and feel of the originals. Unfortunately I haven't figured out yet how to do traditional characters on my computer........... but it will happen. 谢谢你!
  • Jose & all,

    I was born and grown up in Taiwan. A journalism major, and a reporter for 5 years before moving to the US.

    I only type traditional Chinese though (although I can get it converted). While I can't call myself an expert, my Chinese is definitely much better than my English! I'll be happy to help if anyone has any questions! Cheers!

    And Jose, maybe we should add a section for useful phrases.

    Feel free to add this, if it helps your members.

    http://www.yourprivatechina.com/panorama.html

    Phrase Card can be helpful to people traveling to China.

    And here are the introduction of some of the most beautiful cities in China -

    http://chinaluxurytour.com/city14.html

    If you want to use any of the materials, feel free to, and we will appreciate if you can credit our companies. Cheers!
  • Hi, Scott, thanks for the suggestion re ChineseTeachers.com. We've added it above!
    Learn Chinese online with native Chinese teachers
    Learn Mandarin Chinese online by speaking with native Chinese teachers, anytime you want, for as long as you want
  • 谢谢Scott! 关于那个chineseteachers.com我觉得我们应该用英文说明,对不对?要不然不会说中文的人一定不知道这是什么东西! 谢谢!
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