Archive for September 5th, 2009

Chinese Culture – Beijing’s Royal Gardens(1)

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

Compared with private gardens, royal gardens have the following characteristics:

1. They are very big, taking real mountains and real waters as the main factors for constructing gardens. Therefore, they pay greater attention to site selection, and their technique of building the garden is close to a realistic painting.

2. Royal gardens have a wider scope of scenic area, with more scenic spots and richer landscape.

3. The content of function and scale of activity are much richer and grander than private gardens. Almost all of them have palaces attached to them, located at the main entrances to the garden and used for holding court. There are also residential halls within the garden.

4. They stress a beautiful and imposing style to play up the royal atmosphere. Their appearance is quite solemn, different from the light and beautiful style of areas south of the Yangtze River.

The extant royal gardens are in the vicinity of Beijing. The Summer Palace is one of the most famous ones.

Summer Palace

The Summer Palace in northwest Beijing was built in the 15th year (1750) of Qing Emperor Gaozong. It was twice destroyed by the Anglo-French Allied Forces and the Eight-Power Allied Forces in the 19th and the turn of the 20th century, but was rebuilt and remains well preserved.

Source: chinaculture.org

Chinese Character – everyday:每天

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

everyday:

Chinese Pinyin: mei3 tian1

(Source: about.com)

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 622

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

快乐学汉语

Learn Chinese the fun way!

轻松过周末

And have a relaxing weekend!

大家好

Hello there!

欢迎来到《快乐中国》

Welcome to this edition of

Happy China!

快乐的韩佳

Merry Han Jia …

还有快乐的王渊源

And also Happy Wang Yuanyuan

在锦州义县的奉国寺向您问好

are saying hello to you at Fengguo

Temple in Yixian County, Jinzhou City.

您现在看到的呢

Now what you’re seeing

是传统的竹马舞表演

is the traditional Bamboo Horse Dance.

据说他们表演的内容

We are told the dance is in imitation

是辽代萧太后狩猎的场景

of Liao Dynasty Empress Xiao’s

hunting procession.

没错儿

Exactly.

看看是不是很有趣啊

Look, how interesting it is?

韩佳 我听说

Han Jia, I heard

这儿也是一座历史很悠久的古寺

the temple here is also very ancient,

对吧

right?

对啊

Yes, absolutely.

差不多有1000年的历史了

It has a history of about 1,000 years.

那除了历史悠久以外

In addition to an ancient history,

还有什么特点

what other characteristics does

this place have?

要不你给我讲讲吧

Can you tell me?

你啊

You’d better

好好看我们的快乐周记

take a good look at our Happy

Weekly Diary.

里面什么都有

There is everything in it.

这一周

This week,

我们从锦州的北宁市出发

we started off from Beining of Jinzhou

经义县到达笔架山

and passed through Yixian County

before arriving at Bijia Mountain.

一路上既欣赏了美丽的风光

On our way we not only saw

some beautiful scenery,

又更深入地了解了这座城市

but also got to know more

about this city.

之后车队继续南行

Then our team continued southward

到达葫芦岛的兴城市

and arrived in Xingcheng City

and Suizhong County,

和绥中县

which are both under the jurisdiction

of Huludao City.

锦州是一座很有魅力的城市

Jinzhou is a charming city.

这里有珍贵的辽西古化石

Here you can see the rare

western Liaoning fossils,

远近闻名的青岩寺

the renowned Qingyan Temple,

雕工精湛的李成梁石坊

the exquisite Li Chengliang

Memorial Archway,

还有秀丽挺拔的崇兴寺双塔

the graceful twin pagodas of

Chongxing Temple,

此外 我们还在义县

Besides, in Yixian County,

结识了一位奇人-许会春

we also got acquainted with a

super talent, Xu Huichun.

他的绝活儿就是撕纸

His super skill is “si zhi”,

paper tearing.

您瞧 这百米长卷上的每一个字

Look, on this 100-meter-long scroll,

每一幅画儿都是他撕出来的

every character and picture was created

with his paper-tearing technique.

当然了 如果有时间的话呢

Of course, if you have time,

您可别忘了去辽沈战役纪念馆

you shouldn’t forget to visit the

Liao-Shen Battle Memorial Hall

看看世界一流的全景画儿

to take a look at one of the world’s

first-rate panoramic paintings.

葫芦岛是一座美丽的滨海城市

Huludao is a beautiful coastal city.

也是中国著名的航天英雄

It is also the hometown of

China’s space hero

杨立伟的家乡

Yang Liwei.

您来这里

Here, you can

既可以看到九门口水上长城的壮丽

see the magnificent Jiumenkou

Great Wall

又可以感受到明代兴城古城的

and get a feel for the cultural profundity

of the ancient city Xingcheng,

深厚底蕴

which was built in the Ming Dynasty.

渊源 你觉没觉得

Yuanyuan, are you feeling

走在这里的地面上感觉不一样啊

it different to walk on the

ground here?

我没觉得有什么不一样啊

No, I don’t feel any difference.

没什么不一样

You feel no difference?

据说啊

It is said

这里面原来可是秦始皇的行宫呢

the place here was originally a resort

palace of Emperor Qin Shihuang.

就是碣石宫遗址

It is the site of the Jieshi Palace.

这儿空气不错

The air here is pretty good

景色也特别好

and the scenery is also very good.

能在这儿度个假可真是一种享受

It must have been a treat to spend

a holiday here.

我发现这皇帝啊

I found that this emperor

真是会选地方啊

was really good at choosing locations.

咱们只能望洋兴叹啊

All we can do now is “wang yang

xing tan”!

望洋兴叹

“Wang yang xing tan”?

是啊 望着大海 感叹

Yeah, just watching the sea

and sighing!

这个成语是这么解释的吗

Should you interpret this set

phrase like that?

河伯是传说中掌管黄河的神

He Bo is the god in charge of the

Yellow River in Chinese mythology.

黄河的水汹涌澎湃

Seeing the torrential Yellow River

rushing downwards

气势宏伟

in a magnificent manner,

河伯觉得自己有无穷无尽的力量

He Bo feels that he surely has

infinite powers.

秋天的大水按着时令到来了

Autumn rainfalls come in good time.

无数支流的水都涌进了黄河

All water from its numerous tributaries

flows into the Yellow River,

河面变得更加宽阔

making it expand even wider.

河伯兴高采烈地顺着水势向东游去

The delighted He Bo swims

downstream eastward

一直游到了大海

until he enters the sea.

河伯一眼望去 只见一片汪洋

Casting a glance, He bo sees

无边无际

a vast, boundless expanse of water.

天连水 水连天

The water and the sky link together.

远处就是刚刚升起的太阳

And in the distance is the rising sun.

这时 河伯感到惭愧万分

At this moment, He Bo feels

terribly ashamed.

望着大海无限感慨地说

Looking over the sea, he

says emotionally:

我原以为自己很了不起

“I thought I was exceptionally great.

可如今到了大海

But seeing the sea today,

才知道大海是如此浩瀚无穷

I’ve realized the vastness of the sea.

我真是孤陋寡闻啊

I was really ignorant indeed!”

这时 海神浮出了水面

Then the sea god surfaces from

under the water

对河伯说 河伯先生

and says to He Bo: “Mr. He Bo,

如果对井里的青蛙说

if you say to a frog down a well

天空很辽阔

that the sky is vast,

它是不会相信的

it wouldn’t believe you

因为它只能看见井口大的天

because it can only see a sky

the size of the well’s mouth.

您走出了黄河 来到了我这里

You didn’t know the sea’s

vastness until

才知道海的广阔

you left the Yellow River and

came to my place.

可是宇宙中

But in the universe,

还有比我更无穷无尽的世界啊

there are still worlds even more

infinitely vast than mine.”

韩佳 你有没有发现

Han Jia, have you realized that

时间过得特别地快

time passes very quickly?

是啊

Yes, indeed.

虽然我们在辽宁的时间觉得过得很快

Although our time in Liaoning

has passed very quickly,

但是收获却没有减少

we’ve gained a great deal.

不光是收获多

We’ve not only gained a great deal,

而且观众朋友们的来信也特别地多

we’ve also received a lot of letters

from our audience.

对呀 那我们现在就来看一看

Yes. Let’s see who those letters

有哪些观众来信

came from.

英国的Johnson朋友来信说

Our British friend, Johnson,

says in his letter

他住在利物浦

that he lives in Liverpool,

那里有英国著名的海港

a well-known port in the UK.

而通过我们的节目啊

He says, through our program,

他又看到了很多中国的著名海港

he has seen many well-known

Chinese ports.

他觉得这真是太有意思了

He feels it’s really interesting.

Johnson朋友

Dear friend, Johnson,

你可得注意我们后面的节目

you’d better keep a close track

of our future editions,

会有更多的好看的

in which there’ll be more appealing

好玩的海滨城市在我们节目中出现

and more interesting coastal

cities to see.

对 我们的车队呢

Yes. Our caravan is currently

正在沿着中国的沿海城市行进

moving through Chinese

coastal cities.

那其中就会向大家展示

And we’ll be showing to our audience

很多沿海城市的风貌

the major features of many such cities.

那么还有一位朋友叫郭琦

A friend, called Guo Qi, says

他说在新浪看了我们栏目的博客

he found our program’s blog

on sina.com.cn

还留了言

and also left a message on it.

他觉得现在又多了一种

He feels it is good to have an

additional way

和我们交流的方式 真不错

of communication with us.

我们在博客上

We’re pleased to see

也看到郭琦朋友的留言了

Guo Qi’s message

真的很开心

on our blog.

那我们的博客由于开通的时间不是很长

As our blog started only recently,

所以很多方面都需要完善

it still needs improvement in

many aspects.

希望大家能够给我们多多地提意见

We hope our audience would

offer suggestions.

在这儿

Here,

我们再向大家公布一下我们的博客地址

we’d like to announce our blog’s

address once again

我们希望更多的朋友

so that more friends

可以加入我们的博客

would enter our blog.

只要你进入新浪网 点击博客

Once you’ve entered www.sina.com.cn,

click on blogs

在博客搜索中

and type in the blog search box

输入《快乐中国-学汉语》

“Happy China-Learning Chinese”.

你就很快能找到我们了

Then you’ll find our blog.

我们节目能够以这种全新的形式

It is our brand-new way of communication

与广大观众朋友们交流

with our audience.

这是经过我们所有的工作人员

It’s the result of a long period

of common effort

长期的共同的努力才制作出来的

by all staff members of our team.

那观众朋友们

It is our greatest pleasure

能够喜欢”万里海疆快乐行”呢

if our audience really enjoy

就是我们最大的快乐

Happy Journey across China.

观众朋友们 这几位啊

Audience friends, these gentlemen

都是锦州非常有名的书画家

are renowned calligraphers and

painters of Jinzhou.

那么现在他们正在集体创作

They are collectively working on

锦州海疆图

a seascape of Jinzhou.

锦州市政府要把它作为礼物

The Jinzhou Municipal Government

wants to

送给我们的栏目组了

offer it to our team as a present.

Yes.

那我们就趁他们现在还在创作的工夫

Now we’d like to take advantage of the

time when they are creating their work

去把上一周的幸运观众抽取了

to draw for the lucky viewers

of last week.

好 那这些获奖的朋友呢

Well, the award winners

很快就会收到我们栏目组

will soon received a beautiful souvenir

送出的精美纪念品

from us.

书记您好

Hello, Mr. Party Secretary!

您好

Hello!

您好

Hello, sir!

为欢迎”万里海疆快乐行”

In order to express our welcome

for the Happy China across China

摄制组的同志们

filming crew,

我们锦州市的六位著名画家

six of our prominent painters

of Jinzhou

专门赶制了这幅画儿

have specially created this picture,

锦州海疆图 赠送给大家

Jinzhou Seascape, for you

as a present.

谢谢您

Thank you very much.

这幅画儿我们一定会好好珍藏的

We’ll treasure this painting.

要不现在我们

How about inviting two of these

请锦州两位著名的书画家

prominent calligraphers and

painters of Jinzhou

来为我们抽取上个月的

to draw for the grand Happy

Journey across China

“万里海疆快乐行”的大奖吧

award of last month?

好主意

Good idea.

老师请

Sir, please.

结果出来了

The outcome has been out.

恭喜这位叫喜妞的朋友

Congratulations to the friend

called Xiniu.

谢谢两位老师 再见

Many thanks, you two artists!

Bye-bye.

观众朋友们

Audience friends,

只要您积极跟我们联系

as long as you keep in close

touch with us,

就会有机会获得大奖啊

you’ll have a chance to get a

grand award, too.

喜妞将会在我们的拍摄地

Xiniu will be staying with our

filming crew

体验三天的”万里海疆快乐行”的

for three days to experience

拍摄生活

their life at work.

而且呀

And we’ll also

我们会免费为你提供两张来回的机票

provide her with two free round-trip

air tickets

还有三天内的食宿 交通

in addition to board and lodging

and transport.

喜妞 赶快跟我们联系吧

Xiniu, please contact us as

soon as possible.

没有中奖的朋友也别灰心

Those friends who have not won

the award mustn’t feel disappointed.

只要积极参与

As long as you participate actively,

总有机会

you’ll have a chance to win it

sooner or later.

快乐学汉语

Learn Chinese the fun way!

轻松过周末

And let’s have a relaxing weekend!

前方有什么

What’s ahead?

有快乐

More Fun Ahead!

9月4号到9月7号

From September 4 through

September 7,

快乐的韩佳 渊源

Merry Han Jia and Happy Yuanyuan

将带您在风光旖旎的秦皇岛

will be taking you to the scenic

Qinhuangdao

学习汉语

to learn Chinese.

“仔细”就是做事谨慎的意思

“Zixi” is to do something carefully

or meticulously.

“头一回”就是第一次的意思

“Tou yi hui” means “for the first time”

在口语里经常会用到

and is often used in spoken Chinese.

中国中央电视台中文国际频道

On CCTV International’s Chinese Channel,

周一到周五 每天十分钟

the 10-minute daily program,

《快乐中国》与您不见不散

Happy China, meets you on time

Mondays through Fridays.

好了 那我们今天的节目

All right, that’s about it

到这里就差不多了

for our program today.

现在我们要奔赴下一站了

We are now rushing to our next stop.

下周同一时间让我们相约《快乐中国》

Let’s watch Happy China next

week at the same time

继续我们的”万里海疆快乐行”

to continue with our Happy Journey

across China.

口号还是不能忘啊

And we mustn’t forget our slogan:

学说中国话 朋友遍天下

Learn Chinese and make friends everywhere!

(Source: cctv.com)