About two thousand years ago, the Chinese philosopher Lao Zi remarked: “Dao gives rise to one; one gives rise to two; two gives rise to three , and three gives rise to myriad things.” In other..
Lue lisääThe earliest Chinese writing system that has been preserved to the present day is the oracle bone inscriptions, which dates back 3,000 years to China’s Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). The ancient Chinese people believed that..
Lue lisääStudy Chinese: Associative Compounds
5.11.2013
Are you studying Chinese? There are many rules for Chinese learners to memorize the Chinese characters. In Chinese, two “人” (ren, “people”) characters written together gives us the character “从” (cong), which depicts one person..
Lue lisääAccording to the legend, when Cangjie created Chinese characters, he noticed not only everything in the universe, but also the human race itself. Chinese characters, therefore, reflect not only the Chinese people’s understanding of the..
Lue lisääThere were countless boats, each of which had a dragon head and a dragon tail carved its hull (borrowing the implication of “wrath” from the figure of the dragon); 20 strong men were seated on..
Lue lisääThe Lantern Festival: Illuminating Silkworms, Holding Torches and Displaying Colorful Lanterns
5.11.2013
There are a lot of folktales about the Lantern Festival, and the most believable one is that it originated from the custom of illuminating silkworm by peasants in the past. Illuminating silkworm fields meant that..
Lue lisääStudy Chinese: Dumplings
5.11.2013
饺子 (jiǎo zi) On the Eve of the Spring Festival, Chinese people eat an important kind of food—dumplings “饺子”. Initially, they were called “交子” rather than “饺子”. In ancient times, the character “交” was like..
Lue lisääYue Fei
5.11.2013
Yue Fei’s Mother Tattooed Characters on the Skin of Yue Fei Yue Fei was a patriotic military commander of the Southern Song Dynasty and a national hero in resisting the invading Jin people. As a..
Lue lisääStudy Chinese: North
5.11.2013
北(běi) The original form of the character “北” resembles two people with their backs to each other. The original meaning of it was “back” (背bèi). In the past, losing a battle was known as “败北(bài..
Lue lisääThe scientist Lu Ji came from Huating of Wu County in the State of Wu from the Three Kingdoms Period, the location of which is Songjiang in Shanghai at present. At the age of 6,..
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