Archive for March 27th, 2008
Chinese Character – 末 Tip;End
Thursday, March 27th, 2008
China Travel – Changyin Pavilion
Thursday, March 27th, 2008 |
Located in the Ningshou Palace (the Palace of Tranquility and Longevity) in the Forbidden City, to the east side of Yangxing Study (Study of the Cultivation of Nature), Changyin Pavilion is best known for its Grand Theater Building. First built in 1771 in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the grand theater building is 20.71 meters in height, and 685.94 square meters in total area. It features three tiers of tilted eaves and stages, namely, Fu Stage (Happiness), Lu Stage (Fortune) and Shou Stage (Longevity), from top to the bottom.
Resembling that of Dehe Garden in the Summer Palace, the Grand Theater Building in Changyin Pavilion has trapdoors in the ceiling for fairies to descend, as well as on the floor for demons to surface. Wells and ponds were sunk under the ground stage, with machinery drawing water up to the stages when needed.
The Shou Stage is the main performing stage, with the Fu Stage and the Lu Stage seldom used except when performing dramas of gods and spirits. Opposite the stage is a two-storey building called Yueshi Building, where the emperors, empresses and imperial concubines watched the play. The Yueshi Building is surrounded by two-storey buildings respectively in the east, west and north. Female court attendants and ministers could watch the play in corridors along the side buildings. Behind the Yueshi Building is the Hall for Birthday Celebrations.
The Grand Theater Building in Changyin Pavilion is the largest in the Qing palace. In ancient China, enjoying the theater was the major entertainment in the imperial palace. Plays were put on stage during festivals like the New Year, the Beginning of Spring, the Lantern Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Seventh Evening of the Seventh Moon, the Mid-autumn Festival, the Double Ninth Festival, the Winter Solstice, the New Year’s Eve, as well as important celebrations like the enthronement of the emperor and the birthday party of the emperor or the empress.
According to historical data, Empress Dowager Cixi went to see a play in the Changyin Pavilion during every festival, accompanied by the emperor, the empress, the emperor’s concubines, princes, dukes and ministers. In the tenth year (1884) of Emperor Guangxu’s reign, Empress Dowager Cixi celebrated her fiftieth birthday. To please her, the emperor spent 110,000 liang of silver to purchase costume and stage properties for plays held in the Changyin Pavilion.
(Source: chinaculture.org)
Cri – Lesson 88
Thursday, March 27th, 2008
M: Péngyǒumen, nǐmen hǎo! Huānyíng nǐmen dào Xiànzài Xué Hànyǔ. Wǒ shì ML.S: Dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Stuart. Today it’s mostly a 复习课revision lesson.
M: And lots to 练习 practice, lian4xi.
S: Like, ‘we can take the subway? 我们可以坐地铁 wǒmen kěyǐ zuò dìtiě. ‘Subway?dìtiě.
M: Or ‘we can take a taxi? 我们可以坐出租车. Say it, everybody. wǒmen kěyǐ zuò chūzūchē.
S: And can you say, ‘we can take the public bus?
M. Hěn hǎo. 我们可以坐公共汽车 wǒmen kěyǐ zuò gōnggòngqìchē.
S. And we can 问路, ask directions, wèn lù.
M. 现在我们练习问路 now let’s practice asking directions, liànxí wèn lù.
M. Mister, we want to go to the Friendship Store. Could you please tell us how to get there? 先生， 请问，友谊商店怎么走？xiānshēng, qǐng wèn, Yǒuyí Shāngdiàn zěnme zǒu?
MAN. Go north. 往北走 wǎng běi zǒu. When you get to Chang’an Avenue, head east到了长安街,往东走，dào le Chang’an Jie, wǎng dōng zǒu.
S: 往北走 wǎng běi zǒu.到了长安街,往东走，dào le Chang’an Jie, wǎng dōng zǒu. Duì ma?
MAN. Duì le.
M. xièxie nín.
MAN: bú kèqi.
M. Let’s do the same again, but this time we want to get to another place. Listen, and then tell us where we’re trying to get to, and how to get there.
S: We’re still at the south side of Tiananmen Square 我们还在天安门的南边， wǒmen hái zài Tiān’ānmén de nán biān.
M: 先生， 请问，去西单怎么走 xiān shēng, qǐng wèn, qù Xīdān zěnme zǒu?
MAN. 往北走 wǎng běi zǒu. 到了长安街,往西走，dào le Chang’an Jie, wǎng xī zǒu.
S: 往北走 wǎng běi zǒu.到了长安街,往西走，dào le Chang’an Jie, wǎng xī zǒu. Duì ma?
MAN. Duì le.
M. xièxie nín.
MAN：bú kè qi.
S. Dear listeners, 我们要去哪儿 wǒ men yào qù nǎr?
M. Duì le. 西单。我们要去西单Wǒmen yào qù Xī dān.
S．Xiī dān is a famous shopping street about one kilometer west of Tiananmen.
M. And tell us in Chinese how we get to Xidan from Tiān ān mén de nán biān.
S. Duì le. 往北走。到了长安街，往西走 head north, at Chang’an Avenue, head westwards.
M. Wǎng běi zǒu. Dào le Chang’an Jie, wǎng xī zǒu.
M. Needed that break. Now, 大家猜一猜，guess, cāi yì cāi, 这是什么东西 what thing is this, zhè shì shén me dōng xī?
S. Duì le, it’s a ‘place diagram? a 地图, a map. 这是一张地图 zhè shì yì zhāng dì tú.
M. Before we xià kè, repeat again with us. 这是什么东西 zhè shì shén me dōng xī?
S. 这是一张地图 zhè shì yì zhāng dì tú.
M. Hěn hǎo, now we can xià kè. Zài jiàn.
(Source:english.cri.cn)
