Archive for December 10th, 2009

Chinese Culture – Painting on Silk(1)

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

In 1949 a painting on white silk was unearthed in a tomb of the Chu Kingdom near Changsha in Hunan Province . This Human, Dragon and Phoenix Painting is the earliest traditional Chinese painting found so far.

Dragon and Phoenix Painting

The painting was executed about 2,300 years ago on a piece of white silk used as a banner in traditional Chinese funerals. Although it is blotched and indistinct now, the outlines are still eligible. It is the profile of a woman dressed in a garment with full sleeves and a long skirt. She has her palms together, as if praying. On top of her head is a flying phoenix with its tail curving upward. On her right side is a twisting dragon rising to the sky. One foot of the dragon has been stripped off. Some people have suggested the woman in the picture was a portrayal of the one buried in the tomb, and the phoenix and dragon are leading her up to heaven. Others say that the woman is a witch praying for the dead in the tomb, with the phoenix and dragon as her guides. Some experts consider the fighting between the phoenix and dragon a struggle between good and evil, and the woman is praying for good to conquer evil. Clearly, the real meaning of the painting has not yet been deciphered.

The painting is done with smooth and strong strokes. Some parts are filled with ink washes, some painted with colors. The forms of the woman, phoenix and the dragon are all of decorative beauty. Although there is no background in the picture, its rich and moving content makes it a complete painting.

Source: chinaculture.org

Chinese Character – gay (homosexual):同性恋者

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

gay (homosexual):

Chinese Pinyin: tong2 xing4 lian4 zhe3

(Source: about.com)


Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 718

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

Click to Watch Video Podcast

啊 神奇的九寨 啊 人间的天堂

Oh, Jiuzhai, you are so fantastic!

Oh, you are a paradise on earth!

行啊 大牛

Great, Daniel!

有点儿藏族小伙子的豪放劲儿

You do sound like an ardent

Tibetan young guy!

到什么地方 就得唱什么地方的歌

In Rome, do as Romans do.

我是被这里美丽的景色迷住了

I am really fascinated by the

scenery here.

有感而发

I praised it not without reason.

的确是这样 每个看过 来过这里的人啊

Sure. All who have come and seen

this place

都会喜欢上这个地方

would like it definitely.

今天就让观众朋友们和我们在一起

Today, with our audience, we

are gathering

相聚在美丽神奇的九寨沟

at the beautiful and fantastic

Jiuzhai Valley.

对 《快乐中国》 快乐周末

Yes, Happy China for a happy weekend!

快乐周末一起度过

Let’s have a happy weekend!

韩佳

Han Jia,

九寨沟的风光照片我看过很多很多

I’ve seen many photos of Jiuzhai scenery.

但好像数这个地方的照片最多了

But most of them seem to be

of this place.

那是 这里是有名的树正群海

That’s right. This is the famed

Shuzheng Lakes.

一共有大大小小19个海子

Altogether there are 19 lakes here,

还有瀑布啊 彩林啊

as well as waterfalls and a

multicolored forest.

人们都说啊 树正群海是九寨沟的缩影

That’s why people say Shuzheng Lakes

are an epitome of the Jiuzhai Valley.

没错 如果有哪位观众想走进九寨沟的话

Absolutely. If any of you want to

visit Jiuhzai,

那找我好了

please come to me.

最近我花了很多很多心思

Recently, I racked my brains

认认真真地写了一篇文章

and wrote an article earnestly.

是吗 还有这事啊

Really? Is that true?

当然有了 虽然这篇文章不太长

Of course! Though it isn’t very long,

但是它非常有用

it is very useful.

题目叫做出行指南

It is titled “The Travel Guide”.

九寨沟您一定很熟悉了吧

You must be familiar with Jiuzhai.

湖泊 瀑布 溪流 河滩 山泉

Lakes, waterfalls, streams, beaches

and springs

交错映衬是这里的一大特色

set off each other, which is the most

significant feature of Jiuzhai.

九寨沟的彩池终年碧蓝清澈

The colorful ponds at Jiuzhai

are crystal-clear

明丽见底 随着光照变化

down to the bottoms. With the

changes of sunlight

季节推移 呈现出不同的色彩

and seasons, they take on different colors.

200多种姿态万千

Over 200 varieties of

色彩斑斓的藻类植物

multicolored algae

更为九寨沟的水色平添了不少魅力

add more charm to these Jiuzhai lakes.

一湖之中的不同色块

Different patches of color in a lake

组成不规则的几何图案

can form wondrous geometric patterns.

斑驳迷离 如同一匹匹抖开的锦缎

These multicolored lakes resemble

spread-out satin veils.

当然还有那些跌宕于丛林之间的瀑布 溪流

Hidden deep in the forest are

气势磅礴 如风萧雷鸣

thunderous waterfalls

纤细飘忽如木笛旋歌

and streams flowing in an

unhurried manner.

千姿百态的九寨沟水景

The beautiful Jiuzhai Valley is

a world of

有声有色 有动有静

sights and sounds, a world of

motion and serenity.

让人不禁发出九寨归来不看水的赞叹

No wonder people say Jiuzhai has

the best rivers and lakes in the world.

也难怪让我们的大牛在这样的童话世界里

And no wonder Daniel was given

遭到冷遇了

the cold shoulder in this fairytale world.

嗯 介绍得还不错

Yeah, a nice introduction!

应该会给想来九寨沟的朋友们

It provides friends who plan to visit

提供一些帮助的

Jiuzhai with some tips.

这词写得好啊 念起来多顺畅啊

It’s well written and very smooth

to read.

不过说实话

But to be frank,

你对九寨沟应该挺了解的了

you know fairly well about Jiuzhai.

不能当专家也能当半个导游了吧

You’re certainly qualified to be an amateur

tour guide here if not a professional one.

哎呀 你快别提那导游的事了

Oh, don’t mention that tour guide story.

我一想起那天在真导游面前冒充导游

Just think I pretended to be a tour guide

in front of those professional ones that day!

哎呀 典型的班门弄斧啊

Oh, it’s typically teaching fish to swim.

好了 好了 过去的事情就别再提了

Well, well, let bygones be bygones!

不过我们有必要讲一讲班门弄斧

But it is necessary to explain the

phrase “ban men nong fu”.

唐代有一位大诗人叫李白

There is a poet, called Li Bai, in

the Tang Dynasty.

他写的诗豪迈瑰丽

His poems are passionate,

beautiful and very

富于想象 被人们誉为“诗仙”

imaginative. He is revered as

God of Poetry.

可惜后来

But unfortunately,

他不慎在采石矶这个地方失足落水

one day he falls into a river and is

drowned at Caishiji.

人们为了纪念他

To commemorate him,

在这里修建了墓地和墓碑

people set up a tombstone at

his graveside.

有个叫梅之涣的人来到这里

A man, called Mei Zhihuan, comes here

to pay his tribute.

李白一直是我最尊敬的大诗人

Li Bai was a great respected poet.

今天我能来到他的墓前纪念他

I’m really excited to come to him tomb

真是让人兴奋啊

and commemorate him today!

啊 这些是什么

Oh, what are all those?

原来是游客写的诗啊

They are actually all poems.

唉 这些诗歪歪扭扭 内容低劣

But all of them were poorly handwritten

毫无诗意 他们真是太幼稚了

and vulgar in content! These

people were so na?ve!

他们以为在李白的墓碑上写上自己的诗

They thought writing poems on

this tombstone

就可以像李白一样留名千古吗

would enable their names to be

remembered forever like Li Bai.

他们怎么能达到李白的那种境界呢

But how could they have Li Bai’s

state of mind?

这些人真幼稚

They were so naive!

他们就像在古代著名的木匠

They were virtually wielding

axes in front

鲁班门前耍弄斧子

of the ancient master carpenter Lu Ban,

卖弄手艺 太狂妄了

showing off their skills! They

were so crazy!

于是他即兴做了一首诗

Therefore, he composes an

impromptu poem.

采石江边一堆土 李白之名高千古

A tomb near the Caishi River marks

the everlasting fame of Li Bai;

来来往往一首诗

To and from, every passer-by writes

a poem on the tombstone

鲁班门前弄大斧

just like a poor carpenter trying to show

his proficiency with the axe before Lu Ban.

快快乐乐学汉语 欢欢喜喜过新年

Learn Chinese happily to celebrate

the New Year!

观众朋友们

Ladies and gentlemen, today is

今天是中国传统新春佳节的大年初六

the sixth day of the Chinese

Spring Festival.

在这里韩佳要祝大家在狗年里

Here, I wish you in the Year

of the Dog

事业如日中天 爱人亲密无间

great success in your work and

happy marriage!

朋友上万成千 快乐无际无边

Countless friends and infinite happiness!

行啊 韩佳

That’s great, Han Jia!

你这拜年的花样还真不少啊

You have so many ways of expressing

New Year’s best wishes.

嗨 我这都是受了观众朋友们的启发呀

Oh, that’s all because of the inspiration

I got from the audience.

我们收到了很多很多观众朋友们

We have received many New

Year cards

给我们寄来的贺卡

from our audience.

而且每一张都很别致

And every card is unique.

您看这套贺卡上面不同肤色的人们

Look at this one, showing people

of different

手拉着手就像一家人一样

colors holding hands in hands

like a big family.

这些呢 都是美国观众78岁的

And these were sent by a 78-year-old

杨静萍老人给我们寄来的

American lady, Yang Jingping.

她在信中说啊 要祝《快乐中国—学汉语》的

She says in her letter: “I’d like to

wish everyone

全体工作人员

at the Happy China team

狗年行大运 大吉大利

good luck in the Year of the Dog!”

哇 杨静萍老人 谢谢您的祝福

Oh, Ms. Yang, many thanks for

your best wishes.

我们也祝您新年快乐

We also wish you a Happy New Year!

同时我们希望学习汉语的朋友们

Meanwhile, we also wish all those

friends who

喜欢汉语的朋友们

are learning Chinese or interested

in Chinese

能在学说中国话的同时

would have friends everywhere

也像您的贺卡那样 朋友遍天下

while learning this language.

嗯 我这里呢

Yeah. Here with me are some

greeting cards

还有澳大利亚的观众朋友

sent by the Australians friends

甘品元 刘广柱和庐山的观众

Gan Pinyuan and Liu Guangzhu

and a friend

符超朋友寄来的贺卡

in Lushan, Fu Chao.

他们要祝我们《快乐中国》的

They all wish everyone here at

the Happy China

全体工作人员新春大吉

team a propitious Spring Festival.

韩佳 符超朋友寄的这张贺卡

Han Jia, the card Fu Chao sent us

实在是太可爱了 而且中国味十足

is so lovely and very Chinese in taste.

把这么一张有特色的贺卡

There couldn’t be any other

New Year cards

送给我这个中国迷真是再合适不过了

which are more suitable for us

China buffs.

我们不光收到了很多漂亮的贺卡

In addition to these beautiful

greeting cards,

同时啊 还收到了精美的2006年台历呢

we’ve also received some elegant

2006 calendars.

这两本台历呢 是来自南非约翰内斯堡的

These two were sent from Johannesburg

of S. Africa

热心观众 Jan Steindel寄来的

by Jan Steindel, also a keen viewer.

这上面都是南非美丽的景色

These calendars feature all beautiful

landscapes of South Africa.

谢谢Jan Steindel朋友

Thank you, Jan Steindel.

您的这份礼物实在是太漂亮了

Your gifts are so beautiful.

我们一定会好好收藏的

We surely treasure them.

对 在这里呢

And here,

我们要感谢所有来信来贺卡的

we’d like to thank all those friends

观众朋友们

who have sent New Year cards

to us.

你们的支持是我们最大的动力

Your support is a great motive

force for us.

当然别忘了参与我们的节目

Of course, please don’t forget

to get involved

领取精美纪念品

in our program so as to get a souvenir.

为了更方便大家的参与

For the facilitation of your participation,

以后中国移动用户 联通用户

now subscribers of China Mobile,

China Unicom

还有小灵通用户都可以发15到9999168

and PHS can all send 15 to 9999168

参与我们的答题活动

to take part in our quizzes.

从1月30号起我们的节目播出时间

Starting from January 30, our

program’s airtime

首播为北京时间的十五点四十五分

will be rescheduled at 15:45,

Beijing Time,

重播在次日的零点二十和五点四十五分

and there’ll be reruns at 0:20 and 5:45

the following day.

希望您到时收看

We hope you’ll stay tuned.

好了 节目的最后

Before we wrap up,

我们要代表栏目组的全体工作人员

for everyone here at the team,

祝大家在新春佳节里

we wish you a happy Spring Festival,

快乐如糖似蜜 万事称心如意

sweet happiness and good luck!

还有呢 快乐健康常陪伴

And may good health be with you

in the New Year!

瞧瞧成语猜猜看

Let’s watch Set Phrase Look & Guess.

大牛

Daniel!

Yes.

提问

Here’s a question.

回答

Yes, please.

九寨沟景区内有多少个海子

How many lakes are there at Jiuzhai?

108个

108 lakes.

哪个海子最深

Which one is the deepest?

金铃海

Jinling Lake.

哪处瀑布最宽

Which waterfall is the widest?

诺日朗瀑布

Nuorilang Waterfall.

《快乐中国》下周到哪儿去学汉语

Where will Happy China go to learn

Chinese next week?

Oh,

看预告

please watch the Viewer Guide.

2月6号到2月10号

From February 6 through 10,

快乐的韩佳大牛将与您再次来到江南名城

Han Jia and Daniel will be taking

you to the famed

嘉兴学汉语

south China city Jiaxing to

learn Chinese.

“博览群书”就是说

“bo lan qun shu” means

广泛地阅读各种各样的书籍

to leaf through all kinds of different books.

“贴近”“贴”读一声“近”读四声 是接近的意思

“tie jin”, 1st tone, 4th tone,

means close to.

“贴近生活”就是接近生活

So “tie jin sheng huo”means close

to life or realistic.

中国中央电视台国际频道

On CCTV International,

周一到周五 每天十分钟

the daily 10-minute Happy China

《快乐中国》与您准时相约

meets you on time Mondays

through Fridays.

看来下个星期的节目同样精彩

It seems we’ll also have wonderful

shows next week.

嗯 那我们今天的节目就先到这里了

Yes. Our program for today is

about to end here.

如果您有什么建议或想法的话

If you have any suggestions or comments,

请用以下方式跟我们联系

please let us know using the

method given here.

我们期待着您的来信来电

We’re looking forward to

hearing from you.

再次祝您周末愉快

Once again, we wish you a very

pleasant weekend!

最后别忘了我们的口号

Lastly, don’t forget our slogan-

学说中国话 朋友遍天下

Learn Chinese and have friends everywhere!

(Source: cctv.com)