Archive for June 5th, 2009

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 530

Friday, June 5th, 2009

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大牛:宫室之丽,拟于王者。

“Gongshi zhi li ni yu wangzhe.”

看不懂,不过这个木府,

I can’t understand what that means.

应该是个好地方。

But Mufu should be a nice place.

大家好,我是快乐的大牛。

Hello! I am Happy Daniel.

今天我就要带着你们

Today I’m going to take you

去逛逛木府啊。

on a tour of Mufu.

这个韩佳不知道跑哪儿去了。

I have no idea where Han Jia is.

没关系。不管她了。

But it doesn’t matter. Forget about her.

我先走一步。

I have to go first.

韩佳:什么人,竟敢私闯木府?

Who are you, daring to intrude into Mufu?

大牛:我是带观众朋友们来参观木府的,

I’m taking my audience on a tour of Mufu

学习汉语的。

to learn Chinese.

韩佳:快乐学汉语。

Learn Chinese the fun way.

大牛:轻松又…韩佳你出来。

It’s easy… Han Jia, come out, please.

韩佳:反应够快的呀,大牛。

You responded so quickly, Daniel.

大牛:刚才你把我吓得够呛啊。

Just now you scared me “gouqiang”.

韩佳:“够呛”是我们常用的口语,

“Gouqiang” is a frequently used colloquialism,

意思就是非常厉害,使人受不了。

meaning unbearable.

大牛,刚才是跟你开个玩笑的。

Daniel, it was only a joke just now.

不过,你知道吗

But do you know

这木府在过去,

in the past, Mufu was known

可号称是丽江的紫禁城啊?

as Lijiang’s very own Forbidden City?

普通百姓是不能随便进来的。

Ordinary people would not be allowed in.

大牛:那今天我们老百姓得好好参观一下。

Then as ordinary people, we should

visit it to our hearts’ content today.

Zài guò qù ,mùfǔ hàochēng shì lìjiāng de zǐjìnchéng

在 过 去,木府 号称 是 丽江 的 紫禁城。

Long ago,Mufu was famed as Lijiang’s

very own “Forbidden City”.

韩佳,我还没弄清楚

Han Jia, I’m still not clear

这木府到底是什么地方。

what kind of place Mufu is.

韩佳:啊!闹了半天你还不知道哪?

What! Actually you still don’t know this?

这木府就是丽江木氏土司的住宅。

Mufu was actually the residence of

Tusi Mu of Lijiang.

距今已经有六百多年的历史了。

It has a history of over 600 years now.

大牛:你说什么?土司?

What did you say? Tusi?

Toast,烤面包?

Did you mean toast bread?

韩佳:嗨,哪儿跟哪儿呀?

Hey, what are you talking about?

土司是由朝廷任命的,

A tusi was a ruler of an ethnic minority group

少数民族的统治者。

appointed by the imperial court.

他们的职位一般都是世袭的,

The post was hereditary,

就是爷爷传给爸爸,

which means it was passed down

from a person

爸爸传给儿子。

to his son and grandson.

这样一代一代传下来。

It was passed down from generation

to generation.

大牛:原来土司是一个官职的名称,

Oh, tusi was actually an official title,

不是吃的。

not a kind of food.

韩佳:嗨,想什么呢!

Hey, what are you thinking about!

木氏土司是丽江的最高统治者。

Chieftain Mu was the supreme

ruler of Lijiang.

大牛:不过我发现,

But I found that

生活在丽江的纳西人

the Naxi resident in Lijiang

要么姓和,要么姓木。

have surnames of either He or Mu.

这是为什么?

Why is that?

韩佳:木是土司的姓,

Mu, as the surname of the chieftains,

是由明太祖赐下来。

was granted by Ming Dynasty

Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.

“朱”字去掉一个“人”而得来的。

It came from his name, Zhu, without

the “ren” part.

大牛:啊,姓还可以那样取啊!

Even a surname could be made that way!

有意思!那“和”呢?

Interesting! What about the name, He?

韩佳:姓“和”的都是普通的老百姓。

All the people with the surname, He,

were common people.

因为他们要替土司干活,

As they all worked for the chieftains,

所以在“木”字上面加一撇,

they were given a name composed of both

the “mu” part with a left-falling stroke on top,

就表示挡风遮雨的毡帽;

symbolizing a felt hat, that helps keep out

the wind and rain,

右边加一个“口”字,

and the “kou” part on the right side,

就代表背上背着的篮子。

symbolizing a basket to carry

on their backs.

这样就有了“和”“木”相处

And so the two “harmonious”

family names

“和”“木”两个姓氏了

came into existence.

Zhè yang jiù yǒu le hé mù liǎng ge xìngshì le

这 样 就 有 了“和”“木” 两个 姓氏 了。

This is how He and Mu families

came into existence.

大牛,这里就是议事厅了。

Daniel, this was the administration hall.

当年木氏土司

It was here that Chieftain Mu

就是在这里处理政务的。

handled his administrative duties.

大牛:那把虎皮靠椅真够气派的。

That tiger-leather-backed chair is

so impressive.

坐上去一定很舒服。

It must be very comfortable to sit in it.

韩佳:哎,这把交椅可不好坐呢。

It was no easy job to sit in that chair.

丽江的南北都有其他民族盯着。

All the other ethnic groups around

craved for it.

土司不仅要跟他们搞好关系,

The chieftain not only had to make sure

that his relations with them were good,

而且还得服从朝廷的命令。

he had also to obey orders of

the imperial court.

光这些就足以让他焦头烂额的了。

All these already made him “jiao tou lan e”.

大牛:啊!当土司还要打架?

What! A chieftain had to fight?

还打得那么惨啊!

And fought so terribly!

韩佳:这“焦头烂额”是指头脸被火烧焦。

“Jiao tou lan e” literally means a

burnt head and face.

常常用来比喻十分窘迫

It is often used as a metaphor for being

和难堪的情形。

in an wretched plight.

这土司你肯定是当不成了。

You can never be a chieftain.

不过你和木氏土司

But you have something in common

还有一个共同点。

with those former Chieftain Mu.

大牛:是什么?快说说。

What’s that? Tell me.

韩佳:等到了万卷楼,你就知道啦。

You’ll know when we visit the Building

of 10,000 Books later.

大牛:韩佳,现在可以告诉我了吧。

Han Jia, now you can tell me what it is.

韩佳:共同点就是

What you have in common with them is

你们都有很高的汉语水平。

that you all have a very high level

of Chinese proficiency.

不过木氏土司的水平会更高一点。

The chieftains’ level might be even

higher, though.

大牛:我才不信呢。

I don’t believe it’s true.

纳西族不是有自己的语言和文化嘛。

Don’t the Naxi people have their

own language and culture?

韩佳:有是有。不过木氏土司

Yes, they do. But in order to maintain

为了和朝廷有更紧密的关系,

a close relationship with the court,

所以都积极地学习汉语和汉文化。

the chieftains had to learn Chinese

and Chinese conscientiously.

你看,这万卷楼

You see, it is called the Building

of 10,000 books

就隐含着读书破万卷的意思。

as it’s owner had read over 10,000 books.

Wànjuànlóu yǐnhán zhe dú shū pò wàn juàn de yìsi

万卷楼 隐含 着 读 书 破 万 卷 的 意思。

It is called the Building of 10,000 books

as it’s owner had read over 10,000 books.

大牛:我可是人民大学的优秀毕业生,

After all, I was an excellent graduate

from Renmin University

读的书也不少。

and also have read a lot of books.

你凭什么说他的汉语水平比我高?

Why did you say their Chinese proficiency

was better than mine?

韩佳:他们中的大部分人

Most of them

都能吟诗作对。

were able to recite and compose poems.

这点恐怕你还不行吧。

Perhaps you aren’t so competent

in this respect.

大牛:好像是比我强那么一点点。

They seemed a little bit better than I.

但是我相信只要我努力学习,

But I am sure as long as I

learn really hard,

我的汉语水平

my Chinese proficiency

一定能达到那个境界。

would certainly reach that level.

韩佳:有志者事竟成。

Where there’s a will there’s a way.

相信你肯定可以的。

I’m sure you will succeed.

大牛:韩佳,木氏土司

Han Jia, it must have taken Chieftain Mu

为了来藏书,建这么大一座楼,

a lot of effort to build such a big house

可是费了不少力气。

to keep his books.

韩佳:是啊。木府中的建筑

Yes. Most of the Mufu buildings

一般都只有两层楼。

are two-storied.

但这万卷楼却有三层。

But the Building of 10,000 Books

has three stories.

一层是读书。

The first floor was for reading.

二层藏书。

The second floor was for keeping books.

三层是写书的。

And the third floor was used for writing.

大牛:怪不得整座楼

No wonder the whole building

都散发着一股浓郁的书香气。

overflows with a strong scent of books.

韩佳:好,接下来

Okay, next

就让我们到赏心悦目中,

let’s watch today’s Feast for the Eyes

再去领略一下木府的风采吧。

to take a glimpse of the charms

of Mufu Mansion.

赏心悦目:

“宫室之丽 拟于王者”

The Mufu Residence has been compared

是对木府的最好评价

to an imperial palace since ancient times.

华丽的陈设彰显着往日的荣耀

The ornate furnishings help explain

the owners’ glories.

巍然的建筑在阳光下熠熠生辉

This magnificent structure glitters

in the sun.

花繁叶茂 书卷飘香

The scents of flowers and books

waft in the air.

木府的文化底蕴同样深厚

This old residence is also steeped

in a rich cultural tradition.

韩佳:看完了今天的赏心悦目之后,

After the day’s Feast for the Eyes,

大牛要先把问题告诉大家了。

now, Daniel is going to give us

a question to answer.

大牛:没错。观众朋友们听好了。

Yes. Audience friends, listen carefully.

今天的问题是这样的。

Here’s today’s question.

(问题部分略)

韩佳:我是快乐的韩佳。

And I am Merry Han Jia.

大牛:节目的最后,

At the end of this program,

别忘了我们的口号:

please don’t forget our slogan-

合: 学说中国话,朋友遍天下。

Learn Chinese and make friends everywhere!

(Source: cctv.com)

Chinese Conversation – lesson 463

Friday, June 5th, 2009

金字塔是埃及人在他们名为法老的领袖命令下建造的。在公元前2615年左右,几任法老相继统治埃及,基奥普斯法老建造了有史以来最大的金字塔–大金字 塔,也被称为胡夫金字塔。胡夫金字塔每边长770英尺,高481英尺。古代的建筑者是如何建造这些庞然大物的,这一直是个未解之谜,但很明显它需要付出大 量的脑力和体力。

The pyramids were built by Egyptians under the orders of the Egyptian leader, whose title was Pharaoh. There was a sequence of Pharaohs culminating around 2615 B.C., with the Pharaoh Cheops who built the biggest thing ever built, the Great Pyramid, also known as Khu-fu. Cheops built a pyramid 770 feet on one side and 481 feet tall. How ancient builders managed to build these massive structures has never been fully answered but the effort clearly required brains and brawn.

(Source: wwenglish.com)

Cri – Lesson 345

Friday, June 5th, 2009

Do you know there are some English glossaries which derive from Chinese? Among them, some come from Mandarin, some from Cantonese,and so on.

From Mandarin

Kung fu ( “功夫” from 1966)

Yin yang ( “阴阳”) from 1671)

Kowtow (“叩头”from 1804)

Tofu (“豆腐” from 1880)

Lychee/ litche (1588 “荔枝”)

Gung ho / gung-ho(热心) (1939 “工合”)

Mahjong / Mah-jong (1920 “麻将”)

Feng shui (1797 “风水”)

Tai chi (1736“太极”)

Yamen (1747 “衙门”)

Kaolin (1727 “高岭”)

Kylin (1857年 “麒麟”)

Longan (1732 “龙眼”)

Pe-tsai (1795 “白菜”)

Petuntse (1727 “白墩子”

Sampan (1620 “舢板”)

Suan-pan (1736 “算盘”)

Tao (1736 “道”)

Taipan (1834 “大班”)

Ho-ho bird (1901 “凤凰”)

Wampee(a sort of fruit) (1830 “黄皮”)

Whangee(a sort of bamboo) (1790 “黄藜”)

From Cantonese

Typhoon (1771 “台风”)

Dim sum (1948 “点心”)

Yum cha ( “饮茶”)

Wok (1952 “镬(炒锅)”)

Bok choy (1938 “白菜”)

Chop-suey (1888 “杂碎”)

Won ton (1948 “云吞”)

Chow mein (1903 “炒面”)

Paktong(a sort of coin) (1775 “白铜”)

Sycee(a sort of coin) (1711 “丝”)

Souchong(a sort of tea) (1760 “小种”)

(Source: bjchinese.bjedu.cn)