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Learn Chinese Characters

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 a house. Many architecture-related characters contain the radical “宀”.

The character “宫” originally referred to a house in which ordinary people lived. Later, it was used to refer to palaces in which Chinese emperors dwelled, such as the famous Forbidden City(故宫?ù ?ōn?) in Beijing. The character “故” means “past”; “故宫” means “Imperial palace of the past”. The Forbidden City is over 600 years old. Over this span of history, 24 emperors from two dynasties inhabited this palace. The Forbidden City is immense in scale. According to legend, the imperial palace in heave contains 10,000 rooms, while the Forbidden City contains 9,999 rooms. It is said that 100,000 artisans and one million workers participated in the construction of the Forbidden City, visitors can see not only all kinds of palaces, but also many precious historical relics.

Palaces (宫) are the homes (家) of emperors. The character “家” (home or family) depicts a pig inside a house. This is because, in the past, Chinese people often raised pigs at home. Chinese people place a great emphasize on the family. In China, many large families live harmoniously under a single roof, hence, the expression “家和万事兴 jiā hé wàn shì xìn?”, means “a peaceful family will prosper”.

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