Showing posts with label Chinese Culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chinese Culture. Show all posts

Monday, December 9, 2013

"Eat" (吃chī) in Chinese Culture


中国吃的文化
zhōng guó chī de wén huà
"Eat" (吃chī) in Chinese Culture

岗位 = 饭碗
gǎng wèi = fàn wǎn
Job

谋生/受雇 = 糊口/混饭
mòu shēng/shòu gù = hú kǒu/hùn fàn
Be employed

混得好 = 吃得开
hùn de hǎo = chī de kāi
Well done

受欢迎 = 吃香
shòu huān yíng = chī xiāng
Be welcome

受单独照顾 = 吃小灶
shòu dān dú zhào gù = chī xiǎo zhào
Separate care

不干活,花积蓄 = 吃老本儿
bú gàn huó, huā jī xù = chī lǎo běnr
No job and cost savings

活干太多了觉得累 = 吃不消
huó gàn tài duō le jué de lèi = chī bù xiāo
It's too much to take

受委屈或有经济损失 = 吃亏
shòu5 wěi qū huò yǒu jīng jì sǔn shī = chī kuī 
Suffer losses

没事找事 = 吃饱了撑的
méi shì zhǎo shì = chī bǎo lē chēng de 
Ask for trouble

犹豫不决 = 吃不准
yóu yù bù jué = chī bù zhǔn
In hesitation

Thursday, December 5, 2013

The 3 Plans of 2014 Chinese National Holidays

Do you know there are 3 plans of 2014 Chinese National Holidays? Let's start to talk about them now. 

Three of the holidays are simple, Qingming, Duanwu and Mid-Autumn Festivals are straight up Monday off work. Three day weekends with no make up work days on the weekends. Brilliant.
Now it gets a little interesting. For Chinese New Year we’ll potentially be working the extra Sunday before and the Saturday after the holiday. So before a full 7 days of holiday we’ll have a 1 day weekend, 4 days of work, 7 days off, then after another 3 day work week with a 1 day weekend! Lets look at that another way:

5 days work (normal work week)
1 day off (Saturday)
4 days work
7 days off
3 days work
1 day off (Sunday)
5 days work (normal work week)

Confused? Me too!

Moving on, May Day (Labor Day), is a little disappointing with a work day on the Sunday following the 3 day holiday (Thursday to Saturday), which gives us a 6 day workweek after a long (but too short) weekend holiday.

Now for the good stuff. For next year’s National Day, on October 1, there are three “proposed” plans that offer 3 days, 5 days and 7 days off:

The 7 day plan is the only one that shows working weekends, with a similar set up as the Chinese New Year plan. For this proposal they haven’t counted the weekend as holiday, but added 2 more days holiday from the following week, making 7 days off total. But of course you make up for it by working weekends before and after. So it looks a bit like this:

5 days work (normal work week)
1 day off (Saturday)
3 days work
7 days off
4 days work
1 day off (Sunday)
5 days work (normal work week)

The 3 and the 5 day plans don’t count the weekend as the holiday, so you don’t have to make up any “extra” days on the weekend. The 3 day holiday is only for Wednesday-Friday, then a normal weekend. But the 5 day holiday is Wednesday-Sunday. Isn’t that the same thing? …Yup.

Hoped that helps clear everything up!

Check out the image below to help make more sense of it or check out from: http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2013/1127/c1001-23664133.html

Friday, October 25, 2013

What is your Chinese zodiac animal?

中国的十二生肖  Chinese Zodiac

What is your Chinese zodiac animal?

Animals
Name
The   Year
(shǔ)
()(zhī)(shǔ)

1984  1996  2008
(niú)
()(tóu)(niú)

1985  1997  2009
()
()(zhī)()

1986  1998  2010
()
()(zhī)()()

1987  1999  2011
(lóng)
()(tiáo)(lóng)

1988  2000  2012
(shé)
()(tiáo)(shé)

1989  2001  2013
()
()()()

1990  2002  2014
(yáng)
()(tóu)(yáng)

1991  2003  2015
(hóu)
()(zhī)(hóu)(zi)

1992  2004  2016
()
()(zhī)()

1993  2005  2017
(gǒu)
()(tiáo)(gǒu)

1994  2006  2018
(zhū)
()(tóu)(zhū)

1995  2007  2019

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Double Ninth Festival


重阳节
chóng yáng jié
Double Ninth Festival

时间:农历九月初九
TimeOctober 13th2013
别称:登高节、老年节、老人节
Other names  Hiking FestivalSenior citizen’s Day
习俗:登高、饮菊花酒、吃花糕、佩带茱萸、敬老等
Customs:   Hiking, Drink chrysanthesmum wineEat Chongyang cakewear ZhuyuRespect the elder

The Double Ninth Festival (Chung Yang Festival ) observed on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese calendar, is a traditional Chinese holiday, mentioned in writing since before the East Han, period (before AD 25).

According to the I Ching, nine is a Yang number; the ninth day of the ninth lunar month (or double nine) has too much Yang (a traditional Chinese spiritual concept) and is thus a potentially dangerous date. Hence, the day is also called "Double Yang Festival" (重阳节). To protect against danger, it is customary to climb a high mountain, drink chrysanthemum wine, and wear the Zhuyu (茱萸) plant, (Both chrysanthemum and Zhuyu are considered to have cleansing qualities and are used on other occasions to air out houses and cure illnesses.) new China, where the festival is also an opportunity to care for and appreciate the elderly

In Double Ninth may have originated as a day to drive away danger, but like the Chinese New Year, over time it became a day of celebration. In contemporary times it is an occasion for hiking and chrysanthemum appreciation. Stores sell rice cakes ( "gāo", a homophone for height ) with mini colorful flags to represent Zhuyu. Most people drink chrysanthemum tea, while a few traditionalists drink homemade chrysanthemum wine. Children learn poems about chrysanthemums, and many localities host chrysanthemum exhibits. Mountain climbing races are also popular; winners get to wear a wreath made of Zhuyu.

One day a man named Huan Jing believed that a monster bringing pestilence was coming. He told his countrymen to hide on a hill while he went to defeat the monster. Later, people celebrated Huan Jing's defeat of the monster on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month.

Poem
There is an often-quoted poem about the holiday:

九月九日忆山东兄弟
jiǔ yuè jiǔ rì yì shān dōng xiōng dì

独在异乡为异客,
dú zài yì xiāng wéi yì kè



每逢佳节倍思亲.
měi féng jiā jié bèi sī qīn



遥知兄弟登高处,
yáo zhī xiōng dì dēng gāo chù



遍插茱萸少一人.
biàn chā zhū yú shǎo yī rén





English:
"Double Ninth, Missing My Shandong Brothers"
— Wang Wei(王维)Tang Dynasty


On the ninth day of the ninth month, I remember my brothers from Shan Dong.



As a lonely stranger in a foreign land,



At every holiday my homesickness increases.



Far away, I know my brothers have reached the peak;


They are planting flowers, but one is not present.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Chinese National Day

History
The word Chinese National Day, appeared in Chinese language as early as in the Western Jin Dynasty (265 - 316 AD). In ancient China, it usually fell on the day when the emperor ascended the throne or was born. Nowadays, it is celebrated on October 1st every year to commemorate the founding of People’s Republic of China. On that day, lots of large-scaled activities are held nationwide. Besides, the seven-day holiday from Oct. 1st to 7th is the so-called "Golden Week”, during which more and more Chinese people go traveling around the country.
Origin
October 1st, 1949 was the memorial day for the founding of the People’s Republic of China. One thing should be noted is that the PRC was not founded on that day, but on September 21st, 1949. The grand ceremony held at Tiananmen Square on October 1st, 1949 was to celebrate the forming of the Central People's Government of the brand new country. Later on October 2nd, 1949, the new government passed the ‘Resolution on the National Day of the People's Republic of China’ and declared October 1 to be the National Day. Ever since 1950, every October 1st has been grandly celebrated by Chinese people
Holiday Schedule
The legal holiday for National Day is currently 3 days in mainland China. In mainland, the 3-day is usually connected with the weekends ahead and after, hence people can enjoy a 7-day holiday from Oct. 1st to 7th, which is the well-known “Golden Week”. This is the longest public holiday in China besides the Spring Festival holiday. Falling in the autumn generally with clear weather and comfortable temperature, the holiday is a popular period for travel.







Continue to learn Chinese in Beijing at CLE after Chinese National Day!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

The Story of Chang'e and Hou Yi

Long long ago, there were 10 suns in the sky. They burnt all the plants on the earth. People were dying.
One day, a hero whose name was Hou Yi used his bow and arrows to shoot down nine of them. All the people on the earth were saved.
One day, the queen of heaven gave Hou Yi a bottle elixir that could make Hou Yi become an immortal, but the elixir was only efficacious for one person. Hou Yi did want to become an immortal, but he wanted to stay with his beautiful wife Chang'e more, so he didn't drink the elixir and asked his wife Chang'e to keep it for him.
Hou Yi was becoming more and more famous after he shot down the nine suns and more and more men wanted Hou Yi to be their master. Most of them were accepted by Hou Yi.
Not every student of Hou Yi had good morality. Feng Meng, one of his students, wanted to seize his elixir. One day, Hou Yi went hunting with his students, but Feng Meng pretended to be ill and stay at home. When making sure Hou Yi had gone he went to Hou Yi's house and tried to force Chang'e to give him the elixir. Chang'e knew she couldn't defeat Feng Meng so she drank the elixir immediately. The elixir made her become an immortal and fly higher and higher. Finally, she stopped on the moon.
From then on, people often pray to Chang'e for fortune and safety. During the Mid-Autumn Festival they offer lots of foods to Chang'e.
 

Wu Gang and the Cherry Bay
Wu Gang was a woodchopper. He always wanted to become an immortal, but he never tried his best to learn the necessary theurgy. The Jade Emperor got angry with him because of his attitude. In order to punish him, the Jade Emperor planted a huge cherry bay, which was 1665 meters (5460 ft) high, on the moon and ordered Wu Gang to chop it down, then Wu Gang could become an immortal.
This time, Wu Gang was very serious, but he could never finish his work. The cherry bay healed every time that Wu Gang chopped it. Wu Gang wouldn’t give up. He tried time and time again.
On unclouded nights people can see some obvious shadows on the moon. They are made by the huge cherry bay.
 

The Jade Rabbit
One day, three immortals that were living in heaven came to the earth. They asked a fox, a monkey and a rabbit to find some food for them respectively. The fox and the monkey both found something for the three immortals while the rabbit got nothing. The rabbit felt very sorry for the three immortals. Finally, he jumped into the fire and said to the three immortals, "Eat me, please!" The three immortal were deeply moved by the rabbit. They decided to give the rabbit the title of "Jade Rabbit" and let him accompany Chang'e in the Moon Palace.


Now, join CLE for experience traditional Chinese culture! Our official website: www.chinaledu.com

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Wraping Dumplings - 包饺子

Wrapping dumplings is a Chinese folk custom during Spring Festival. Especially, citizens living in the northern part of China are fond of dumplings. Dumpling is a folk food with a long history. The food is beloved by Chinese people. There is even a saying that says “it doesn’t taste better than dumpling”.

Dumplings must be served during Spring Festival because they are shaped as shoe-shaped ingot. Eating dumplings during Spring Festival has the meaning of attracting fortune and money. Chinese people believe, as they stuff the dumplings, they are also putting fortune and hope into their lives. 


Nowadays, people eat dumplings regularly. The ingredients of dumplings are: pork, flour, vegetable, salt, flavor enhancer, sauce, seasoning wine, oil, water etc.