Archive for April 20th, 2010

Chinese Culture – The Eight Eccentric Painters of Yangzhou(1)

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

Plum Blossoms by Jin Nong

After the Four Monk Painters, the Qing Dynasty saw the rise of another revolutionary painting school in the Eight Eccentric Painters of Yangzhou . The eight painters are Jin Nong, Huang Shen, Zheng Xie, Li Shan, Li Fangying, Wang Shishen, Gao Xiang and Luo Pin. Their paintings did not follow the old brushstroke conventions, making them look strange compared with other paintings of the time. In addition, these painters were proud and uncontrolled and had bold personalities; thus they were named the Eight Eccentric Painters.

Source: chinaculture.org

Chinese Conversation – lesson 782

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

2 亚特兰蒂斯:失落的帝国

莫里埃:你把泥土给弄乱了!

米罗:噢,你说什么?

莫里埃∶你把泥土给弄乱了!这些是从全球各地收集来的跨几个世纪的泥土!你都做了些什么?!这儿难道就没人没犯过什么致命的错误吗?

米罗∶泥土为什么要放在我的床上?

莫里埃∶你的问题太多了。你是谁?谁派你来的?说话啊!很快我就会知道的。

米罗∶嗨,嗨,嗨,放开我!

莫里埃∶ 别哭哭啼啼的。(自言自语道)先挖一块。啊哈,好了。现在告诉我你的故事吧,小朋友。尼罗河三角洲的羊皮纸,看不到他,要视乎另两个怎样,在政府大楼的楼 顶玩小猪,你有一只猫,是短毛的波斯猫,两岁大,是同窝七只中的第三只。这些都是用显微镜才看得到的制图家的指纹。还是个英国人呢,真令人气愤!你给我马 上走!出去!出去!出去!出去!出去!

2 atlantis: the lost empire

Moliere: You have disturbed the dirt!

Milo: Oh, pardon me?

Moliere: You have disturbed the dirt! Dirt around the globe spanning the centuries! What have you done?! Isn’t there ever one without murderous faults?

Milo: What’s it doing in my bed?

Moliere: You ask too many questions. Who are you? Who sent you? Speak up! I will know soon enough.

Milo: Hey, hey, hey, 8)let go!

Moliere: Don’t be such a crybaby. (Murmuring) First dig. Ah, hah, there you are. Now tell me your story, my little friend. 9)Parchment from off of the Nile 10)Delta so that he cannot be seen, depends another two, playing pigs off the top of government buildings, you have a cat, short-haired Persian, two years old, third in a 11)litter of seven. These are all the 12)microscopic 13)fingerprints of the map maker. And English too, this is an 14)outrage! You must leave at once! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!

Learn Chinese Podcast – Sizzling Chicken

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

Sizzling Chicken

Sizzling ChickenTaste: Sweet and sour to the right taste. Salty and slightly spicy.

Features: Shiny and brown in color. Crispy outside and tender inside.

Ingredients:

1 young chicken (about 600 grams or 1.3 lb)

1,500 grams (3 cups) cooking oil (only 1/15 to be consumed)

30 grams (1 2/3 tbsp) soy sauce

30 grams (1 2/3 tbsp) spicy soy sauce

1 gram (1/4 tsp) MSG

1 gram (1/5 tsp) pepper powder

5 grams (1/6 oz) finely cut scallions

5 grams (1/6 oz) chopped ginger

5 grams (1/6 oz) chopped garlic

50 grams (3 1/3 tbsp) cooking wine

15 grams (1 tbsp) cooking wine

15 grams (1 tbsp) sugar

50 grams (3 tbsp) water

Directions:

1. Cut open the chicken from the back and break the bones in the back, chest and legs. Where the meat is thick, make a few cuts to better absorb the seasonings. Marinate in soy sauce for 15 minutes.

2. Heat the oil in a wok over strong fire to 180-220℃ (355-390℉) and deep-fry the chicken until the skin turns orange in color. Turn the fire to low to cook until the chicken is done. Take out, reduce to small chunks and put on a plate.

3. Put 25 g (1 2/3 tbsp) of oil in the wok and stir-fry the scallions, ginger and garlic until they produce a strong aroma. Add the cooking wine, spicy soy sauce, pepper powder, water, sugar and MSG, and bring to a boil. Sprinkle the sauce onto the chicken chunks.

(Source: culture.chinese.cn)