In Chinese, there are various forms of the address for a wife and each of them boasts different meanings. “huang hou” : an empress. “fu ren”: the wives of the dukes and princes. “zao kang”: one’s wife who has shared his hard a lot. “tai tai”: used by the common people in the old times […]
Moon cake is the ubiquitous fare at any celebration of the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival, not only because of its delicious taste and charming looking, but also for the cultural and artistic connotation. It is said that moon cakes were used as a medium by the Ming revolutionaries in their espionage effort to secretly distribute letters […]
Since ancient times, noodles have not only fed the Chinese but also brought them plenty of fun. In China, noodles can be eaten in so many ways: by cutting them with scissors, chopping them with a knife, tearing them with one’s hand, stretching them, and pulling them with chopsticks. Shaved Noodles is one of them. […]
“Leeway” refers to room for maneuver in speech or action, implying that people should reserve opportunities to retreat or make new choices. Lao Zi(circa 600-500 B.C.), a philosopher of the late Spring and Autumn Period, once said a person should not be arrogant or overbearing, but be prudent in words and actions and treat others […]
The ability to adapt oneself quickly to changing circumstances is a piece of wisdom which Chinese people admire and hold in high respect. This means quick wits to cope with emergencies and resourcefulness to skillfully and calmly avert an embarrassing situation, when one is confronted with a sudden change in circumstances. This wisdom has been […]
Talking about the Chinese Han People’s surname in ancient China, one should note the difference between “xing” and “shi”. The origin of “xing”, prior to that of “shi” dated back to the matrilineal society. As marriage was forbidden between offsprings of the same matrilineal clan, “xing” came into use to differentiate one matrilineal clan from […]
In traditional Chinese opera, the emperor is called “wansuiye” and people have to exclaim “wansui” (ten thousand years old) three times when they meet the emperor. As the living condition was poor in ancient times, to live a long life was the greatest wish for all people. In ancient times, except for “wansui”, there were […]
There is a very famous picture in China named “song he yan nian”(the pine and the crane lengthen the life), it is to wish longevity. For thousands of years, Chinese people have been fond of pine because it is evergreen, cold-resistant and long-lived. Even two thousand years ago, Confucius said that pine withers later than […]
Ancient Chinese called the pine trees, the bamboo and the plum flowers the “three friends in winter”. As we know, pine trees are evergreen, cold-resistant and lives a long life. It is a symbol of longevity and firmness. Bamboo is tall and erect, delicate and simple and evergreen in all the four seasons. It is […]
The Spring Festival Picture is a special type of painting in China. It is used during the Spring Festival. It is originated in the Pre-Qin Period (before 221 B.C.). People paste the images of various gods on both sides of the door, expecting them to ward off the evils and usher in good luck. In […]
I’ve had an amazing time at Keats. I am amazed at how much I’ve learned over the last 3 weeks and I will be really sad to go. We are already planning on our next trip of coming back because we had such a fantastic time here. They really tailor the Chinese language course to you and your individual needs.
I am a graduate student working on my doctorate degree at Columbia University. We were able to really focus on speaking especially interview-style speaking and we are able to really up my Chinese reading and writing skills, so when I go back to Columbia, I can take formal Chinese classes. It has been a really good experience and I really love my teacher.
I come to Kunming because I think the environment in Kunming is better and I heard that Keats School is better. I like the small group Chinese class because my classmates study hard and our teachers are very good. I like the teaching method of Keats because I like the activities at Keats. I think Yunnan is a particularly beautiful Chinese province.
Last year I started studying Chinese at University. The reason that I came here is that currently, I’m preparing for the HSK 5 test. Also, I heard that this is one of the best schools to study Mandarin in China. After I came here I realized that Kunming is a pretty cool city to live in and with regards to the teachers’ teaching methods, I think they’re very professional. And I think the language environment is good so now I’m ready to take the HSK 5.
They really care about what our interests are, what questions we have, what requirements we have. Then they adjust our Chinese language program content according to the situations. One teacher and one student, so it is easy to keep your focus for the 6 hours of immersion Mandarin lessons. It is very convenient to study, live and eat in one building.
One thing I really liked was that I was able to work with my teacher to make an individual plan of study. Another really nice thing is that you live at the school, you feel completely safe. You always have a group of people who are willing to do things with you on the weekends or in the evenings. They are serving you all the 3 meals a day, the food was excellent.
Kunming is a great place to learn Chinese in China because not many Chinese on the street speak English. Keats has been a great school for me and a lot of other foreigners who studied in China recommended it to me. I think they are all right. The study method here is really structured. They make learning Chinese really easy. There are also a lot of cultural and natural places to visit.
The best part of the school is the patience the instructors had and the time to focus on the fundamentals like pronunciation. I think it is very easy to skip over those and go to vocabulary. But by learning the pronunciation, I feel like it helped me gain a better understanding of the language.