Archive for March 19th, 2008

Cri – Lesson 80

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

S: Dà jiā hǎo, wǒ shì Stuart. Today it’s a revision lesson.M: 今天是复习课 jīn tiān shì fù xí kè.

S: Now, everybody say with ML, ‘today we learn Lesson 80’.

M: 今天我们学第八十课 jīn tiān wǒ men xué dì bā shí kè.

S: Hěn hǎo. And ML will now say, ‘next week they are going to Canada’.

M: 下个星期他们去加拿大 xià gè xīng qī tā men qù Jiā ná dà.

S: Now, I’ll ask you a question, and you answer, ‘next month I’m going to Australia’. 你什么时候去澳大利亚 nǐ shén me shí hou qù ào dà lì yà?

M: I’m sure you replied, 我下个月去澳大利亚 wǒ  xià gè yuè qù ào dà lì yà.

S: Now ML will ask you another question, and you answer with ‘next year’.

M: 你什么时候去英国? nǐ shén me shí hou qù Yīng guó?

S: The answer, 我明年去英国 wǒ míng nián qù Yīng guó. One more. You ask me, ‘when are you going to America?’

M: 你什么时候去美国? nǐ shén me shí hou qù Mě guó?

S: 我明年去美国 wǒ míng nián qù Měi guó.

M: Really?

S: Maybe.

S: Now, do you remember how to say ‘last year’?

M: Dui4le. 去年qù nián.

S: And ‘last month’?

M: Méi cuò. 上个月 shàng gè yuè.

S: ‘Last week’.

M: Duì le. 上个星期 shàng  gè xīng qī.

S: Ok, listen to a question, and tell ML you went to England last year.

M: 你什么时候去的英国? nǐ shén me shí hou qù de Yīng guó?

S: Did you say, 我去年去的英国 wǒ qù nián qù de Yīng guó. Yes? Gōng xǐ gōng xǐ. Dá duì le! Now ask someone when he or she went to Canada.

M: 你什么时候去的加拿大 nǐ shén me shí hou qù de Jiā ná dà?

S: Fēi cháng hǎo3. 我上个月去的加拿大 wǒ shàng gè yuè qù de Jiā ná dà.

M: More questions. Stuart, when are you going to Shanghai? 你什么时候去上海? nǐ shén me shí hou qù Sàng hǎi?

S: I’m not going. I don’t have time, and I don’t have money. 我不去。我没有时间, 也没有钱 wǒ bú qù. Wǒ méi yǒu shí jiān, yě méi yǒu qián.

M: You have time, and you have money. 你有时间,你也有钱 nǐ yǒu shí jiān, nǐ yě yǒu qián.

S: 不对,我没有时间,也没有钱 wǒ méi yǒu shí jiān, yě méi yǒu qián.

M: Why don’t you have any money? 你为什么没有钱 nǐ wèi shén me méi yǒu qián?

S: Because, three days ago, I went to Macao, and gambled. 因为,三天前我去了澳门,赌钱了 sān tiān qián wǒ qù le ào mén, dǔ qián le!

M: 三天前你去了澳门,赌钱了 sān tiān qián nǐ qù le ào mén, dǔ qián le! Silly Stuart.

S: wǒ tóng yì. Now I don’t feel like gambling. 现在我不想赌钱 xiàn zài wǒ bù xiǎng dǔ qián. I feel like finishing the lesson. Wǒ xiǎng xià kè.

M: Ok. Xiàn zài wǒ men xià kè. Zài jiàn

(Source:english.cri.cn)

China Travel – Manfeilong Pagoda

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

The Manfeilong Pagoda is located on top of the mountain in Manfeilong Village in Jinhong County of Yunnan Province. The pagoda is a famous stupa group in Xishuanbanna. The white stupa looks like a white bottle gourd while the minarets look like bamboo shoots, hence the name “Bamboo Shoot Tower”. Due to the white stupa, some people also called it the White Pagoda.

Crossing a river along Manfeilong Village, you’ll come across more than 200 stone steps, which have a boundless virgin forest on the left side and an exuberant hurst of rubber plants on the right side. The pagoda, on a mountaintop, actually consists of 9 stupas, with the primary stupa in the center while the other 8 smaller stupas clustering to its base. The primary pagoda measures 16.29 meters and the 8 pagodas on the sides look like a group of children nestling around the mother. In each stupa, there is a niche featuring a Buddhist statue and a Buddhist relief, and on top of the niche is a flying phoenix. At the gate of each stupa are two giant dragons engraved out of earth. Bells hung on the stupas give wonderful tinkles in the breezes.

Below one of the stupas and in a niche the Buddha’s footprint is enshrined. Legend has it that the 80 cm long and 58 cm wide footprint was left by Sakyamuni, the founder of the Buddhist religion, during his visit in the area.

Records in a sutra show that Manfeilong Pagoda was first built in 1204 (565 in the Dai calendar). It was designed by three monks from India and the design was executed under the sponsorship of the chieftain of Menglong tribe. After two renovates in modern times, the pagoda was listed as a national key cultural relic preservation site.

(Source: chinaculture.org)

Chinese Culture – Chinese Ribbon Buttons

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

Phenix Ribbon Button

Butterfly Ribbon Button

Flower-basket Ribbon Button

Flower-bud Ribbon Button

Chrysanthemum Ribbon Button

Bee Ribbon Button

Pipa Ribbon Button

Frog Ribbon Button

Three-ear Ribbon Button

Square Ribbon Button

Tree-leave Ribbon Button

Swallow Ribbon Button

Chinese ribbon buttons, also known as right-angled buttons, have always been the most fascinating part of Chinese costumes with their classical beauty and antique flavor. Made of simple cloth ribbons, the buttons have in fact become precious artworks, combining the disposition and wisdom of makers.
As a traditional accessory, Chinese ribbon buttons are making a comeback in a larger variety of types, such as long-sleeve buttons, short-sleeve buttons and front ribbon buttons. Even on the back vent of a straight bottom dress are decorations of several ribbon buttons.Ribbon buttons vary a lot in shapes and materials. They include butterfly buttons, bud buttons, and engraving-like buttons, which can have different influences on different types of costumes. A ribbon button decorated on a straight standing collar is likely to add a touch of classical elegance and implicitness, typical of Zhang Ailing, a famous Chinese female writer in the 1930s, who liked to wear the old clothes of the late Qing dynasty (1644-1911); one on a low-cut collar will show the romantic and charming character of modern women, while a row of parallel ribbon buttons on a long dress are exquisite and beautiful; a slightly opened short blouse with several flower-like ribbon buttons can show the beauty and innocence of a girl.

Of the various types of ribbon buttons, those hand-made buttons are the most delicate and exquisite with high aesthetic value. However, with the quickening pace of modern life and the deepening of industrialization, few women are willing to learn the art. As a result, more and more machine-made ribbon buttons are flooding the market. Though in equal varieties of forms and materials, they lack the gracefulness of those manmade ones.

Author: Jessie

(Source: chinaculture.org)