Actually, in ancient China when matchmaker is a necessary part of a marriage, matchmakers were mixed group of people. Alongside with official matchmakers, the majority of matchmakers were married women who worked as peddlers or who worked in service industries such as fruit sellers, tailors, needle sellers, jewellery sellers, barbers, nannies, brokers, creditors and restaurant […]
Matchmakers were supposed to be paid when they succeeded in arranging a marriage. If it happened that the in-laws were on good terms, the couple enjoyed a happy married life and the wife gave birth to a male progeny, the matchmaker would enjoy long-term benefits. When it came to festivals, birthdays or the New Year, […]
For their own benefits, matchmakers would try their best to negotiate a positive outcome for each marriage proposal, even through cheating. In reality, there were numerous matchmakers who forgot what was right to get the prospective profit and made money at the sacrifice of the future couple’s happiness. Chen Duo (1488-1521), a poet in the […]
The chamber pot could not be carried on the dowry table. It is called “happy pot” or “offspring pot” to express good wishes to the couple and their children. Inside it people often put some dried jujubes, peanuts, melon seeds, red half-boiled eggs etc. respectable families might wrap it up in a large piece of […]
In Shaoxing of Zhejiang Province, after a daughter was born, her parents would brew wine with polished glutinous rice and refined malt. After the wine was made, they would store the wine in several jars and ask skillful painters to paint or carve on the jars designs of hills, waters, flowers, birds, pavilions, towers, buildings […]
Ethnic minority groups were also particular about dowries. For example, the Miao people’s dowries include a pair of twin bamboo plants, which were covered with red cloth. They were carried to the bridegroom’s home by the bride’s uncle and planed soon after the wedding. It is said that this custom originated from an old legend […]
Before sending the dowries to the bridegroom’s home, the bride’s family would display all the dowries in the courtyard or on the empty ground. After the display, the trousseaux would be loaded onto the dowry tables one after another. The greater the display, the more respected the bride’s family would be. After that, the wedding […]
When procession bearing the dowry reached the bridegroom’s family, there would be a great din of drums, pipes and fireworks over the sky to welcome its arrival. It was a complex process for people to unload the dowries. Usually a close relative of the bride’s family would present a list of the items and read […]
The people in Henan Province like the TV program “Spring in Theater” very much. It’s an opera singing competition. All the contestants were amateurs and most were women. The lead roles in most Henan operas are intended for women. The most popular piece women perform is from the opera “Hua Mulan”. Almost everyone, from a […]
A water banquet has two requirements and the first one is that soups are the only hot dishes allowed to be presented. The second requirement is that once a dish is finished, it is immediately followed with another dish; like the process of continuously flowing water. In total, twenty four dishes are served at a […]
Jeg har haft en rigtig god tid her. Jeg har studeret meget med min lærer, som var fantastisk. Keats School gjorde en stor indsats for at matche sine elever med virkelig gode lærere, så deres personligheder fungerer rigtig godt sammen. Jeg nyder virkelig at studere kinesisk på Keats, og jeg kommer helt sikkert tilbage.
Jeg har været på Keats School for at lære kinesisk fire gange nu. Grunden til, at jeg vender tilbage til denne skole, er stort set, at de lærere, jeg arbejdede med, var meget dygtige kinesiske lærere. Jeg har en 5-års eller endda en 10-års plan for at vende tilbage til denne skole. Alle lærerne har metoder til at se på, hvilke færdigheder du har. De er klar over, hvilket niveau du er på. Jeg synes, det er værd at bruge for alle.
Kunming er en fantastisk by. Vejret her er fantastisk. Skolen er fremragende. Underviserne er meget hjælpsomme og meget venlige. Jeg kan varmt anbefale, at alle, der leder efter en kinesisk sprogskole i Kina, kommer hertil for at studere. Kunming og Keats skole er meget bedre end noget andet sted.
Med hensyn til at studere kinesisk her, synes jeg, at leveforholdene er meget bekvemme, fordi kollegieværelset ligger meget tæt på klasseværelset. Vores lærere nyder virkelig at undervise i kinesisk. De er også meget passionerede. Sammenlignet med andre byer i Kina har Kunming et rigtig godt vejr.
Lærerne på Keats ved, hvordan man læser elevernes tanker og hjælper dem med at lære kinesisk sprog nemt. De kender elevernes niveau. Jeg er langsom til at lære, men de formåede at tilpasse sig min læring. De gjorde undervisningen meget sjov og spændende. Jeg er glad for, at jeg ikke kun fik lov til at lære kulturen og sproget at kende, men at jeg også fik fantastiske venner, virkelig utrolige, kinesiske venner og europæiske venner, amerikanske venner, fra hele verden.
Før jeg kom til Keats School, havde jeg ingen tillid til mine kinesiske færdigheder. Jeg havde ikke selvtilliden til at tale mandarin og snakke med kinesere. Men efter 4 måneders studier på Keats School er jeg blevet mere og mere sikker på at tale kinesisk nu. At studere kinesisk i Kina på Keats School har været den bedste beslutning, jeg nogensinde har taget. Der er mange spil i klassen, og min lærers undervisningsmetoder er også meget interessante. Min oplevelse på Keats School har ændret mit syn på Kina og kinesere.
Vi bruger mange spil til at lære grammatik og nye ord. Vi har virkelig gode lærere, virkelig tålmodige. Hun hjælper os meget. Vores klasse er virkelig sød, og vi har folk fra hele verden, forskellige lande. Vi diskuterer ofte emner på kinesisk i vores klasse. Jeg bor på Keats’ kollegieværelse. Det er meget praktisk. Jeg behøver ikke at bruge tid på at rejse. Du kan bare fokusere på at lære kinesisk.
Jeg er kandidatstuderende og arbejder på min doktorgrad på Columbia University. Vi har virkelig kunnet fokusere på at tale, især interview-lignende tale, og vi har virkelig forbedret mine kinesiske læse- og skrivefærdigheder, så når jeg kommer tilbage til Columbia, kan jeg tage formelle kinesiskkurser. Det har været en rigtig god oplevelse, og jeg elsker virkelig min lærer.