Archive for September 27th, 2008

Children Chinese – The Ming Dynasty Furniture

Saturday, September 27th, 2008

Ming furniture usually features fine, durable woods. Rose wood was most commonly used, but red sandalwood, a flawless, brownish purple wood, was often favored for its shiny surface. Mahogany was also a favorite because of its fine texture and invisible veins. China’s famous tendon-mortise technology, used to construct furniture without any nails, was developed to its zenith during the Ming Dynasty.

Chinese arts often combine contradictory factors such as lopsidedness and straightness, simplicity and complexity, movement and quietness. From ink-and-wash paintings to furniture, the beauty of simplicity and quietness is ingeniously emphasized. Ming Dynasty artisans used the succinct language of art to express their inner feelings. Ming pieces feature unique shapes, simple structures, and minimal decor. Craftsmen chose to emphasize the natural beauty of the wood.

Lines were ingeniously used to emphasize furniture’s parts such as the back of an armchair, the horizontal bar under a desk for resting feet, and the legs of chairs and tables. The S-shaped curve of the back of Ming armchairs are often praised by Westerners for their beauty and ergonomic perfection.

 

(Source: ancienthistory.mrdonn.org)

Chinese Conversation – lesson 212

Saturday, September 27th, 2008

人们一想到冥想,脑子里就会浮现出在深山顶上老人盘腿而坐的画面。许多人在描述冥想时,也总是要提到古鲁、放松、什么都不想等要素。不一定登上山顶才能享受到冥想的好处。因为冥想时意识比放松更重要。冥想的秘诀是呼吸。

When people think about meditation, many picture old men sitting cross-legged on remote mountaintops. People describing meditation frequently mention elements such as gurus, relaxation, and “thinking about nothing”. It is not necessary to travel to a mountaintop to enjoy the benefits of meditation because it is actually more about awareness than just relaxation. The secret to meditation is breathing.

(Source: wwenglish.com)

Cri – Lesson 94

Saturday, September 27th, 2008

(mms://media.chinabroadcast.cn/eng/language/studio/lesson208.wma)

Cam: It’s time to perfect Chinese your way in only five minutes a day. Welcome to our weekly review show, wo shi Cam.
YJ: And wo shi Yajie.  If you need help on anything we covered this week, you’ve come to the right place!
Cam: Right.  We’ve been talking all about work, one of my least favorite things to do.  Let’s check Sentences in the Week.

Sentences in the week
What do you do?  你是做什么工作的?lawyer律师, teacher, 老师, policeman, 警察, journalist, 记者, Are you busy at work? 你工作忙吗?I am looking for a part-time job. 我在找一份兼职的工作 All in today’s Chinese Studio

Cam: Okay Yajie, let’s first review the common question— what do you do?
YJ:  Okay, it’s ni3 shi4 zuo4 shen2me gong1 zuo4 de?
Cam: ni3 shi4 zuo4 shen2me gong1 zuo4 de?
YJ: ni3 means you,
Cam: ni3.
YJ: zuo4 means do,
Cam: zuo4,
YJ: shen2me means what,
Cam: shen2me,
YJ: gong1 zuo4 means job.
Cam: gong zuo,
YJ: ni3 shi4 zuo4 shen2me gong1 zuo4 de?
Cam: ni3 shi4 zuo4 shen2me gong1 zuo4 de? What do you do?

Conversation 1:
A: 你是做什么工作的?
B: 我在大学教书。你呢?你是做什么工作的?
A:我是一名医生。

Y: Then let’s review the professions we mentioned this week?
Cam: okay, the first one is teacher.
YJ: teacher is lao3 shi1,
Cam: lao3 shi1 and student is xue2 sheng1.
YJ: That’s right. Then the second one is lawyer, in Chinese lawyer is called lv4 shi1.
Cam: lv4 shi1.
YJ: then comes policeman, it’s jing3 cha2.
Cam: jing3 cha2. Then what’s the Chinese for journalist?
YJ: it’s ji4 zhe3.
Cam: ji4 zhe3. journalist.

Conversation 2:
A: teacher, 老师, lawyer律师,policeman, 警察, journalist, 记者,

Cam: Okay Yajie, let’s review the question you asked me about are you busy at work?
YJ:  Sure.  I said ni gong zuo mang ma?
C: ni gong zuo mang ma?
Y: ni3 means you,
C: ni3,
Y: gong1 zuo4 means work,
C: gong1 zuo4,
Y: mang2 means busy,
C: mang2.
Y: ni gong zuo mang ma?
C: ni gong zuo mang ma? Are you busy at work?

Conversation 3:
(1)A: 你工作忙吗?
B: 还行。
(2)A: 你工作忙吗?
B: 最近挺忙的。

A: 你工作忙吗?
B: 还行。你呢?你工作忙吗?
A: 我真羡慕你。我可忙了,经常加班。
B: 那你可要注意身体。
A: 谢谢关心,我会照顾好自己的。

C: Yaj, Now I’m looking for a part-time job… let’s review it again.
YJ: you can say我在找一份兼职的工作。
C: … wo zai4 zhao3 yi2fen4 jian1zhi2 de gong1zuo4.
YJ: zai4 is short for zheng zhai, which means is doing sth right now,
C: zai4.
YJ: zhao3 means look for,
C: zhao3,
YJ: yi2fen4 gong1zuo4, a job,
C: yi2fen4 gong1zuo4,
YJ: jian1zhi2, part-time,
C: jian1 zhi2,
YJ: jian1zhi2 de gong1zuo4 part-time job.
C: jian1zhi2 de gong1zuo4
YJ: wo zai4 zhao3 yi2fen4 jian1zhi2 de gong1zuo4
C: wo zai4 zhao3 yi2fen4 jian1zhi2 de gong1zuo4 I’m looking for a part-time job.

Conversation 4:

A:最近在忙什么呢?
B: 我在找一份兼职的工作。

Cam: Well, that wraps up this edition to Chinese Studio.  Yajie, it has been a great time.
YJ: It sure has.  Would you like to read our question of the day?
Cam: Sure.  How do you say “Are you busy at work?” in Chinese?  It’s a tough one.  Send your answer to Chinese@crifm.com, and you might win a prize.
YJ: See you soon!
Cam: Zai jian!

(Source:english.cri.cn)