Learn Chinese in China with Keats School

Dumplings feature in many Chinese sayings, one being, “Dumplings are better than delicious food, lying down in better than simple comfort.” Other sayings with similar references are, “Dumplings as you leave, noodles when you return,” and “On the 1st, eat the dumplings, on the 2nd, eat noodles”. The 1st saying describes the lack of materials […]

Despite the food shortages in the ancient time, Chinese people didn’t lack creativity or sense of humor. Buying a kilo of meat would be enough to feed 10-20 people and feed them until they were “stuffed”. This is because the stuffing would include vegetables, tofu and other ingredients mixed in with the meat. China’s food […]

During the 20th century in China, the 4 most celebrated male performers of female roles (called “dan” performers) in Peking Opera were Mei Langfang, Cheng Yangqiu, Shang Xiaoyun and Xun Huisheng. They reached the peak of their art from by using their singing ability, expressive eyes and practiced gestures to perform the roles of quintessentially […]

Ancient Chinese poetry, tells us that poets didn’t need material thongs to be happy, all they needed was a pleasant scene, a poem and alcohol. This so-called “pleasant scene” was really just Mother Nature and their poetry and alcohol were the same as self-reflection and friends. To recite the words from an ancient verse, “I […]

A matchmaker, named Xiang Liu, came to be well known in Beijing. She worked in a hospital and loved to do matchmaking during her spare time. Because of her high success rate, she was interviewed by the papers and asked to talk about her matching experience. From her information, one can catch a glimpse of […]

The buildings of Baiwanzhuang in Beijing’s Xicheng District were constructed for residential use during the 1950s. Entering these small neighborhoods, you are presented with lanes that twist and turn. The houses are laid out in strange and complicated patterns, almost like a labyrinth. What you might not realize is that you’ve entered a replica of […]

Cui Jian is known as “the Father of Chinese Rock.” He was born in Beijjing in 1961, and during the 80s he skyrocketed to musical fame in army camouflage and a red bandana. He wrote and performed such songs as “Nothing to my name”, “Rock and Roll on the new long march” and “Let me […]

Some students are very interested in learning Chinese characters. Today, we will introduce 2 architecture-related characters. Some Chinese characters can tell us about various architectural materials. Other Chinese characters can tell us about the shapes of architectural structures. 宀(mián) 宫(?ōn?) 家(jiā) This character “宀” is pronounced “mián”. It looks like a rooftop. It originally resembled […]

Do you want to study Chinese? Today, we will introduce a character: 春(chūn) Usually, the Chinese festival first comes to people’s minds is the Spring Festival. This is the most important festival of the Chinese people. We can find the reason why it is called “the Spring Festival” by looking at the Chinese character “春”(spring). […]

除夕(chú xī) The eve of the Spring Festival is called “除夕夜chú xī yè”. Since the Chinese New Year falls on the first day of the 1st lunar month of the Chinese calendar, Chinese New Year’s Eve generally falls on the 30th day of the 12th lunar month of the Chinese calendar. Therefore, Chinese New Year’s […]