Learn Chinese in China with Keats School

The Kirgiz has a very religious festival—Nuoruz Festival, which is as lively as the Spring Festival of the Han people. During the festival, every family manages to prepare meals as sumptuous as their economic condition allows, and treats their friends and relatives to a celebration. On the dinner table, the most indispensable is the food […]

In ancient China, sacrificial worship was of great importance. Ancient Chinese sacrificial events were held every year and were grand in scale. Many people took part in these events, from the emperor to the common people. Objects included the God of Heaven, the God of Earth, the God of wealth, as well as people’s ancestors. […]

神(shén) In ancient times, people were limited in terms of both productivity and their cognitive abilities. At all times, nature threatened people’s survival. People were thus afraid of this kind of mystical power, and believed that the gods (神) were creating trouble. The character “神” consists of “示” and “申”. “申(电)” means “the lightning that […]

The Guangzhou Flower Fair is held every year, starting three days before New Year’s Eve and ending the 1st day of the New Year. During the fair, the city becomes a sea of flowers, with people carrying them everywhere. The people of Guangzhou can’t celebrate the New Year properly without buying a cumquat, a daffodil, […]

People describe the weather in Guangzhou is “sauna-like humidity”, “the suffocating heat and humidity can tale your breath away”. The Guangzhou people have their own way to overcome the problem. Getting rid of the body’s excess heat and toxins is a number one priority. The most common way of cooling off is drinking cool tea. […]

In China, the men in Shaanxi are often called “Shaanxi lěn? wá”. It isn’t used to describe coolness. Some people use the words “strong”, “cold(lěn?)”, “hard” and “tough” to describe the personalities of people of Shaanxi. “Strong” describes their courage and ferocity; while “cold” describes their cold expressions; “hard” describes their blunt manner of speaking; […]

晨钟暮鼓(chén zhōn? mù ?ǔ)—the Daybreak Bell and the Sundown Drum The tradition of the Daybreak Bell and the Sundown Drum began as early as the Han Dynasty. “晨” means “morning”; “钟” means “clock”; while “暮” means “the sundown time”; “鼓” is “drum”. Xian’s Bell Tower and Drum Tower were restored during the Ming Dynasty to […]

祭(jì) 祝(zhù) For sacrificial activities, not only the jade articles should be prepared, but also the food, especially meat. For the ancient people, meat was the scarcest and most cherished food of all. Therefore, during the grand sacrificial worship activities, meat(肉ròu) was offered in sacrifice to demonstrate reverence to the gods. In the oracle bone […]

In the Chinese Han Dynasty, the popular songs were mostly simple, straightforward, and expressive ballads about passionate love or bitter hatred. One example from that time contains the words: “Till the mountains are flattened, and all the rivers run dry; till it thunders in the winter and snows in the summer; till the earth and […]

东(dōng) Every day, the sun rises in the east. According to legend, there was once a huge mulberry tree, called “fusang”, which grew out of the eastern sea. This was a magic and mystical tree. Since the sun was believed to rise from the “fusang”, the small seal character was written as “?” , it […]