乾隆皇帝解「夫」 字 太妙了
乾隆皇帝解「夫」字
乾隆到江南巡視，見一農夫扛著鋤頭，就故意跟身邊的宰相張玉書開玩笑： 「這是什麼人？」
張回答說：「他是個農夫。」
乾隆又問：「農夫的『夫』字怎麼寫？」
張順口答道：「就是二橫一撇一捺，轎夫之夫，孔夫子之夫，夫妻之夫，匹夫之夫都是這麼寫。」
不料乾隆聽後搖頭說：「你這個宰相，連這個夫字的寫法也辨別不清。」
乾隆皇帝說：
「農夫 是刨土之人，上寫土字，下加人字；
轎夫肩上扛竿，先寫人字，再加二根竹竿；
孔老夫子 上通天文，下曉地理，這個夫字寫個天字出頭；
夫妻是兩個人，先寫二字，後加人字；
匹夫是指大丈夫，這個字先寫個大字，加一橫便是。
用法不同，寫法有別，不能混為一談啊。」
嗯，真有意思～～
從故事、文章、笑話裡啟發人生智慧!
在歷史上乾隆皇帝不知是否真有對「夫」字做這樣一個解釋 笑遊人間 就不清楚了，但今天的故事讓 笑遊人間 更覺的古人造字的偉大。
Source of information:
http://ibook.idv.tw/enews/enews211-240/enews232.html
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Chinese Dynasties
Zhongwen.com published by Yale Univ. Press has a lot of good resources.
One of my favourite links is the Chinese Dynasties from
Try it out!
Dexterine Ho
Special name for a person's age
There are special name for a person's age in Chinese in Japanese!
Source of information:
Sho, Japanese calligraphy
By Christopher J. Earnshaw, page 135
Friday, December 4, 2009
Translation of Standard Chinese Terms used in Singapore
If you are looking for translation of standard Chinese terms used in Singapore, just access
[Online Dictionary on Standard Chinese Terms] via
http://chineseterms.zaobao.com/chineseterms.html
The [Online Dictionary] is compiled and published by Lianhe Zaobao's
Translation Standardisation Committee for the Chinese Media, Singapore
新加坡华文媒介统一译名委员会
The Translation Standardisation Committee for the Chinese Media was set up in 1990 for the purpose of standardising Chinese translations of commonly used terms in the local Chinese media.
In a multi-lingual society of Singapore, where special terms and names of personalities and places come from diverse sources, the need for standardisation cannot be over-emphasised.
The current website features the major works of the Committee, which include the following:
- Singapore government departmental titles and designations;
- Names of companies and organisations;
- Names of personalities and places;
- Names of buildings and housing estates;
- Bilingual computer/financial terms;
- Malaysian/Indonesian names in Chinese.
All the standardised Chinese translations are common names encountered by the journalists in their daily work. They are by no means comprehensive or exhaustive.
However, they are certainly useful reference materials for both journalists and translators. We shall try our best to constantly update and enlarge our collection of standardised Chinese translation of common names on this website.
华文媒介统一译名委员会，是一个自愿性组织。工作主要是统一译名。
由于新加坡是个多元语文社会，中文媒体在日常的运作中，无可避免的要面对将其他语文的特有名词、人名、地名等等转译为中文的问题。
网站所收集的统一译名，是委员会过去这些年来的一些工作成果，包括以下几大块：
· 新加坡政府部门职衔
· 公司机构
· 人名
· 地名
· 建筑物及住宅区名称及其他
· 电脑名词
· 财经名词
· 马来／印尼文名称
所收集的，是媒体工作者日常比较多接触到的名词，所以，并不是无所不包的，也不能被当作是完整的词典。不过，对一般从事新闻与翻译工作者，相信会有一定的帮助。
网站的最大潜能在于它为我们提供了一个可以不断更新、丰富内容的架构。
The above information is extracted from
http://chineseterms.zaobao.com/aboutus.html
[Online Dictionary on Standard Chinese Terms]
http://chineseterms.zaobao.com/chineseterms.html
is arranged systematically by board categories., i.e., Government Departments, Organization, Name of People, Places, & Buildings etc...
Within each category, it is searchable by keywords or phrases in any language.
If you click on the link under any ministry, you will get the following terms in English and Chinese:
Minister
部长
Minister of State
政务部长
Senior Parliamentary Secretary
高级政务次长
Permanent Secretary
常任秘书
Deputy Secretary
副常任秘书
Quality Service Manager
优质服务经理
Minister's Press Secretary
部长新闻秘书
Try it out yourself! I am sure you will be amazed by the comprehensive coverage of this [Online Dictionary on Standard Chinese Terms]
http://chineseterms.zaobao.com/chineseterms.html
[Online Dictionary on Standard Chinese Terms] via
http://chineseterms.zaobao.com/chineseterms.html
The [Online Dictionary] is compiled and published by Lianhe Zaobao's
Translation Standardisation Committee for the Chinese Media, Singapore
新加坡华文媒介统一译名委员会
The Translation Standardisation Committee for the Chinese Media was set up in 1990 for the purpose of standardising Chinese translations of commonly used terms in the local Chinese media.
In a multi-lingual society of Singapore, where special terms and names of personalities and places come from diverse sources, the need for standardisation cannot be over-emphasised.
The current website features the major works of the Committee, which include the following:
- Singapore government departmental titles and designations;
- Names of companies and organisations;
- Names of personalities and places;
- Names of buildings and housing estates;
- Bilingual computer/financial terms;
- Malaysian/Indonesian names in Chinese.
All the standardised Chinese translations are common names encountered by the journalists in their daily work. They are by no means comprehensive or exhaustive.
However, they are certainly useful reference materials for both journalists and translators. We shall try our best to constantly update and enlarge our collection of standardised Chinese translation of common names on this website.
华文媒介统一译名委员会，是一个自愿性组织。工作主要是统一译名。
由于新加坡是个多元语文社会，中文媒体在日常的运作中，无可避免的要面对将其他语文的特有名词、人名、地名等等转译为中文的问题。
网站所收集的统一译名，是委员会过去这些年来的一些工作成果，包括以下几大块：
· 新加坡政府部门职衔
· 公司机构
· 人名
· 地名
· 建筑物及住宅区名称及其他
· 电脑名词
· 财经名词
· 马来／印尼文名称
所收集的，是媒体工作者日常比较多接触到的名词，所以，并不是无所不包的，也不能被当作是完整的词典。不过，对一般从事新闻与翻译工作者，相信会有一定的帮助。
网站的最大潜能在于它为我们提供了一个可以不断更新、丰富内容的架构。
The above information is extracted from
http://chineseterms.zaobao.com/aboutus.html
[Online Dictionary on Standard Chinese Terms]
http://chineseterms.zaobao.com/chineseterms.html
is arranged systematically by board categories., i.e., Government Departments, Organization, Name of People, Places, & Buildings etc...
Within each category, it is searchable by keywords or phrases in any language.
If you click on the link under any ministry, you will get the following terms in English and Chinese:
Minister
部长
Minister of State
政务部长
Senior Parliamentary Secretary
高级政务次长
Permanent Secretary
常任秘书
Deputy Secretary
副常任秘书
Quality Service Manager
优质服务经理
Minister's Press Secretary
部长新闻秘书
Try it out yourself! I am sure you will be amazed by the comprehensive coverage of this [Online Dictionary on Standard Chinese Terms]
http://chineseterms.zaobao.com/chineseterms.html
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Fun way of teaching Chinese
Using fun way of teaching "Designation" in Chinese:
主席 - 主要工作是休息
总裁 - 总是害人无辜被裁
老板 - 老在公司看天花板
经理 - 经常走动找人修理
主管 - 主要任务尽量少管
员工 - 原来只有我在做工
Source: email received from a friend dated 2 Dec 2009
主席 - 主要工作是休息
总裁 - 总是害人无辜被裁
老板 - 老在公司看天花板
经理 - 经常走动找人修理
主管 - 主要任务尽量少管
员工 - 原来只有我在做工
Source: email received from a friend dated 2 Dec 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL)
Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL)
http://en.sccl.sg/
"The establishment of Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL) was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 6 September 2008.
The objective of SCCL is to enhance the effectiveness of teaching Chinese as a second language in a bilingual environment and to meet the learning needs of students from non-Mandarin speaking homes.
Through the provision of quality training, SCCL hopes to enhance the teaching literacy, competency and professionalism of Chinese language teachers.
It will also strive to promote the development of Chinese culture and language in Singapore. The Centre also focuses on researching innovative teaching and learning strategies, and through the promotion of effective Chinese language pedagogy in a bilingual environment, the Centre hopes to develop unique and effective teaching methods to strengthen the position of SCCL as the regional teaching and research centre for Chinese as a second language.
SCCL had begun its in-service training courses in June 2009."
Here is some points raised by MM Lee Kuan Yew at the opening of the Centre on 17 Nov 2009:
News: The Straits Times - 18 November 2009
MM Lee wants learning of Chinese to be fun
By Clarissa Oon & Cai Haoxiang
"I intervened successively over the years and insisted that my experience should guide the policy. I was taking risks. I started wrong and I put it right. It is not completely right but I will get it right if I live long enough."
"he urged parents and educators not just to expose children to the Chinese language from a young age, but also to stimulate the child's interest in the language, beyond just 'passing exams'."
"I want to get this message into the heads of the younger generation of teachers: Use IT, use drama, use every method to capture the interest of children,' he said."
"One example of how the SCCL is making the learning of Chinese fun is through mobile phone technology. This was shown at a conference yesterday afternoon by one of the centre's lecturers."
For full text of the article, visit:
http://www.pmo.gov.sg/News/Transcripts/Minister+Mentor/MM+Lee+wants+learning+of+Chinese+to+be+fun.htm
http://en.sccl.sg/
"The establishment of Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL) was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 6 September 2008.
The objective of SCCL is to enhance the effectiveness of teaching Chinese as a second language in a bilingual environment and to meet the learning needs of students from non-Mandarin speaking homes.
Through the provision of quality training, SCCL hopes to enhance the teaching literacy, competency and professionalism of Chinese language teachers.
It will also strive to promote the development of Chinese culture and language in Singapore. The Centre also focuses on researching innovative teaching and learning strategies, and through the promotion of effective Chinese language pedagogy in a bilingual environment, the Centre hopes to develop unique and effective teaching methods to strengthen the position of SCCL as the regional teaching and research centre for Chinese as a second language.
SCCL had begun its in-service training courses in June 2009."
Here is some points raised by MM Lee Kuan Yew at the opening of the Centre on 17 Nov 2009:
News: The Straits Times - 18 November 2009
MM Lee wants learning of Chinese to be fun
By Clarissa Oon & Cai Haoxiang
"I intervened successively over the years and insisted that my experience should guide the policy. I was taking risks. I started wrong and I put it right. It is not completely right but I will get it right if I live long enough."
"he urged parents and educators not just to expose children to the Chinese language from a young age, but also to stimulate the child's interest in the language, beyond just 'passing exams'."
"I want to get this message into the heads of the younger generation of teachers: Use IT, use drama, use every method to capture the interest of children,' he said."
"One example of how the SCCL is making the learning of Chinese fun is through mobile phone technology. This was shown at a conference yesterday afternoon by one of the centre's lecturers."
For full text of the article, visit:
http://www.pmo.gov.sg/News/Transcripts/Minister+Mentor/MM+Lee+wants+learning+of+Chinese+to+be+fun.htm
Friday, November 20, 2009
林懷民 on 中天書坊 01
I find it very meaningful listening to 林懷民. It will help those who like to study Chinese Literature in understanding the interpretation of 屈原-九歌 (Nine Songs).
There are 4 parts in total and you may follow the links of part one to view the rest.
Notes:
九歌【简介】
《楚辞》篇名。“九歌”原为传说中的一种远古歌曲的名称。
《楚辞》的《九歌》，是战国楚人屈原据民间祭神乐歌改作或加工而成。
共十一篇：《东皇太一》、《云中君》、《湘君》、《湘夫人》、《大司命》、《少司命》、《东君》、《河伯》、《山鬼》、《国殇》、《礼魂》。《国殇》一篇，悼念和颂赞为楚国而战死将士；多数篇章，则皆描写神灵间的眷恋，表现出深切的思念或所求未遂的伤。
王逸说是屈原放逐江南时所作，当时屈原“怀忧若苦，愁思沸郁”，故通过制作祭神乐歌，以寄托自己的这种思想感情。...
Source of information:
http://baike.baidu.com/view/59965.htm
Full text of 九歌 is at the end of the page.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Zhuang Zi 庄子
Zhuang Zi 庄子
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuang_zi
"Zhuangzi (traditional Chinese: 莊子; simplified Chinese: 庄子; pinyin: Zhuāng Zǐ; Wade-Giles: Chuang Tzŭ) was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States Period, corresponding to the Hundred Schools of Thought philosophical summit of Chinese thought. His name is sometimes spelled Chuang Tsu, Chuang Tzu, Zhuang Tze, Chouang-Dsi, Chuang Tse or – in English – Master Chuang."
"In general, Zhuangzi's philosophy is mildly skeptical, arguing that our life is limited and the amount of things to know is unlimited. To use the limited to pursue the unlimited, he said, was foolish. Our language and cognition in general presuppose a dao to which each of us is committed by our separate past—our paths"
Here is the interpretation from 康震
百家讲坛20070525--我读经典之庄子的人生境界－康震
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuang_zi
"Zhuangzi (traditional Chinese: 莊子; simplified Chinese: 庄子; pinyin: Zhuāng Zǐ; Wade-Giles: Chuang Tzŭ) was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States Period, corresponding to the Hundred Schools of Thought philosophical summit of Chinese thought. His name is sometimes spelled Chuang Tsu, Chuang Tzu, Zhuang Tze, Chouang-Dsi, Chuang Tse or – in English – Master Chuang."
"In general, Zhuangzi's philosophy is mildly skeptical, arguing that our life is limited and the amount of things to know is unlimited. To use the limited to pursue the unlimited, he said, was foolish. Our language and cognition in general presuppose a dao to which each of us is committed by our separate past—our paths"
Here is the interpretation from 康震
百家讲坛20070525--我读经典之庄子的人生境界－康震
Sunday, May 24, 2009
蔡志忠：漫画是我的表达方式
漫画家蔡志忠
Extracted from
http://baike.baidu.com/view/20308.htm
"1948 年2月2日，蔡志忠出生于台湾彰化茄冬。15 岁中途辍学以后，只身到台北，跨出自己的独立人生，一画，便是三十多个春秋。"
"蔡志忠先生从十五岁起便开始成为职业漫画家。他用简洁生动的线条描绘了一部部颇具影响的漫画书，在台湾、香港、新加坡、日本、马来西亚等地广受欢迎。他的作品庄子说、老子说、禅说、史记、西游记、聊斋系列等开启了中国古籍经典漫画的先河。并以其对诸子百家，古典名著，唐诗宋词，佛经禅语的独到心得，行云流水般的画笔，将经典白话化与漫画化，并加以现代诠释，让现代人在完全没有负担的情境下，吸收智慧，轻松学习经典。在漫画与蔡志忠先生对话，倾听漫画家画笔之中的心灵世界，能让我们对他用线条演绎的哲理和幽默有更加深刻的体会"
新闻会客厅20090520 -- 蔡志忠：漫画是我的表达方式
Extracted from
http://baike.baidu.com/view/20308.htm
"1948 年2月2日，蔡志忠出生于台湾彰化茄冬。15 岁中途辍学以后，只身到台北，跨出自己的独立人生，一画，便是三十多个春秋。"
"蔡志忠先生从十五岁起便开始成为职业漫画家。他用简洁生动的线条描绘了一部部颇具影响的漫画书，在台湾、香港、新加坡、日本、马来西亚等地广受欢迎。他的作品庄子说、老子说、禅说、史记、西游记、聊斋系列等开启了中国古籍经典漫画的先河。并以其对诸子百家，古典名著，唐诗宋词，佛经禅语的独到心得，行云流水般的画笔，将经典白话化与漫画化，并加以现代诠释，让现代人在完全没有负担的情境下，吸收智慧，轻松学习经典。在漫画与蔡志忠先生对话，倾听漫画家画笔之中的心灵世界，能让我们对他用线条演绎的哲理和幽默有更加深刻的体会"
新闻会客厅20090520 -- 蔡志忠：漫画是我的表达方式
Saturday, May 23, 2009
鲁豫有约 : 罗志祥
鲁豫有约
Extracted from:
http://baike.baidu.com/view/48115.htm
鲁豫有约 说出你的故事
一段段窝心的真情，三千六百秒赤诚对话，千万次殷切回响，打造昆仑润滑油特约之鲁豫有约：说出你的故事。鲁豫觉得采访别人是一件快乐的事情。因为最大的益处是获得心态上的平和。她最深的感触是这个世界上没有过不去的坎，没有什么事可以吓倒谁或难倒谁。而女人也正是因为这些坚强而显得更美丽。
节目寻访拥有特殊经历的人物，一起见证历史，思索人生，直指生命的体验与心灵秘密，创造一种新颖的谈话记录。主持人鲁豫对人的关注与被采访者心灵的对话。鲁豫相信，没有一个人的故事是不精彩的。她说：「我对人、对故事比较感兴趣，我对讲道理半点兴趣都没有。」
鲁豫有约20090519 -- 罗志祥：罗式幸福生活
鲁豫有约 2008 - 2009:
http://www.shipin369.com/zyyl/lyyy.html
Extracted from:
http://baike.baidu.com/view/48115.htm
鲁豫有约 说出你的故事
一段段窝心的真情，三千六百秒赤诚对话，千万次殷切回响，打造昆仑润滑油特约之鲁豫有约：说出你的故事。鲁豫觉得采访别人是一件快乐的事情。因为最大的益处是获得心态上的平和。她最深的感触是这个世界上没有过不去的坎，没有什么事可以吓倒谁或难倒谁。而女人也正是因为这些坚强而显得更美丽。
节目寻访拥有特殊经历的人物，一起见证历史，思索人生，直指生命的体验与心灵秘密，创造一种新颖的谈话记录。主持人鲁豫对人的关注与被采访者心灵的对话。鲁豫相信，没有一个人的故事是不精彩的。她说：「我对人、对故事比较感兴趣，我对讲道理半点兴趣都没有。」
鲁豫有约20090519 -- 罗志祥：罗式幸福生活
鲁豫有约 2008 - 2009:
http://www.shipin369.com/zyyl/lyyy.html
Friday, May 22, 2009
Han Feizi 韩非子
Han Feizi 韩非子
Extracted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Fei
"Han Fei (also Han Feizi) (Chinese: 韩非; pinyin: Hán Fēi; Wade-Giles: Han Fei) (ca. 280–233 BC) was a Chinese philosopher who, along with Li Si, developed Xun Zi's mutualism into the doctrine embodied by the School of Law or Legalism."
Here is one of the intrepretation from 孙立群
百家讲坛20070524--我读经典之解析《韩非子》－孙立群
Extracted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Fei
"Han Fei (also Han Feizi) (Chinese: 韩非; pinyin: Hán Fēi; Wade-Giles: Han Fei) (ca. 280–233 BC) was a Chinese philosopher who, along with Li Si, developed Xun Zi's mutualism into the doctrine embodied by the School of Law or Legalism."
Here is one of the intrepretation from 孙立群
百家讲坛20070524--我读经典之解析《韩非子》－孙立群
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Lao Zi 老子
About "Lao Zi"
Extracted from
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laozi
"Laozi (Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ; Wade-Giles: Laosi; also Lao Tse, Lao-Tzu, Laotze, Lao Zi, Laocius, and other variations) was a philosopher of ancient China and is a central figure in Taoism (also spelled "Daoism"). "
"Laozi is an honorific title. Lao means "venerable" or "old". Zi, or tzu, means "master". Zi was used in ancient China like a social prefix, indicating "Master", or "Sir".
"The Daodejing, often called simply the Laozi after its reputed author, describes the Dao (or Tao) as the mystical source and ideal of all existence: it is unseen, but not transcendent, immensely powerful yet supremely humble, being the root of all things."
"According to the Daodejing, humans have no special place within the Dao, being just one of its many ("ten thousand") manifestations. People have desires and free will (and thus are able to alter their own nature). Many act "unnaturally", upsetting the natural balance of the Dao."
"The Daodejing intends to lead students to a "return" to their natural state, in harmony with Dao."
Here is one of the intrepretation of Lao Zi 老子and The Daodejing 道德经:
百家讲坛 2007 05 22 --我读经典之老子：无形中的指引－孙丹林
Extracted from
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laozi
"Laozi (Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ; Wade-Giles: Laosi; also Lao Tse, Lao-Tzu, Laotze, Lao Zi, Laocius, and other variations) was a philosopher of ancient China and is a central figure in Taoism (also spelled "Daoism"). "
"Laozi is an honorific title. Lao means "venerable" or "old". Zi, or tzu, means "master". Zi was used in ancient China like a social prefix, indicating "Master", or "Sir".
"The Daodejing, often called simply the Laozi after its reputed author, describes the Dao (or Tao) as the mystical source and ideal of all existence: it is unseen, but not transcendent, immensely powerful yet supremely humble, being the root of all things."
"According to the Daodejing, humans have no special place within the Dao, being just one of its many ("ten thousand") manifestations. People have desires and free will (and thus are able to alter their own nature). Many act "unnaturally", upsetting the natural balance of the Dao."
"The Daodejing intends to lead students to a "return" to their natural state, in harmony with Dao."
Here is one of the intrepretation of Lao Zi 老子and The Daodejing 道德经:
百家讲坛 2007 05 22 --我读经典之老子：无形中的指引－孙丹林
Friday, May 15, 2009
The Art of War 孙子兵法
The Art of War 孙子兵法
extracted From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War
"The Art of War (Chinese: 孫子兵法; pinyin: Sūn Zǐ Bīng Fǎ) is a Chinese military treatise that was written by Sun Tzu in the 6th century BC, during the Zhou dynasty. Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare, it has long been praised as the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time, and one of the basic texts on the subject."
"The Art of War is one of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy in the world. It has had a huge influence on Eastern military thinking, business tactics, and beyond."
"Sun Tzu recognized the importance of positioning in strategy and that position is affected both by objective conditions in the physical environment and the subjective opinions of competitive actors in that environment. He taught that strategy was not planning in the sense of working through a to-do list, but rather that it requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions. Planning works in a controlled environment, but in a competitive environment, competing plans collide, creating unexpected situations."
Here is one of the intrepretation of "The Art of War 孙子兵法":
百家讲坛 20070523--我读经典之孙子兵法：有用与无用－马骏
extracted From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War
"The Art of War (Chinese: 孫子兵法; pinyin: Sūn Zǐ Bīng Fǎ) is a Chinese military treatise that was written by Sun Tzu in the 6th century BC, during the Zhou dynasty. Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare, it has long been praised as the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time, and one of the basic texts on the subject."
"The Art of War is one of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy in the world. It has had a huge influence on Eastern military thinking, business tactics, and beyond."
"Sun Tzu recognized the importance of positioning in strategy and that position is affected both by objective conditions in the physical environment and the subjective opinions of competitive actors in that environment. He taught that strategy was not planning in the sense of working through a to-do list, but rather that it requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions. Planning works in a controlled environment, but in a competitive environment, competing plans collide, creating unexpected situations."
Here is one of the intrepretation of "The Art of War 孙子兵法":
百家讲坛 20070523--我读经典之孙子兵法：有用与无用－马骏
Monday, May 4, 2009
Learning Chinese through fun activities & stories
Watch children react with pleasure and excitement reading storybooks and singing songs.
Excerpted from Hsu Laoshi's class of first graders, experience the joys of a Better Chinese classroom along with the children. Hsu Laoshi's class exemplifies the application of Better Chinese's story-centered, inquiry-based pedagogy. Watch Hsu Laoshi and the children read a story together, apply acquired vocabulary in fun activities, watch online stories including Magical Chinese characters, learn to write characters and sing a song, all in the fun and engaging environment enabled by Better Chinese materials. Witness truly enjoyable and effective language learning, a pillar of Better Chinese's philosophy and approach.
For more information, visit
www.betterchinese.com
Excerpted from Hsu Laoshi's class of first graders, experience the joys of a Better Chinese classroom along with the children. Hsu Laoshi's class exemplifies the application of Better Chinese's story-centered, inquiry-based pedagogy. Watch Hsu Laoshi and the children read a story together, apply acquired vocabulary in fun activities, watch online stories including Magical Chinese characters, learn to write characters and sing a song, all in the fun and engaging environment enabled by Better Chinese materials. Witness truly enjoyable and effective language learning, a pillar of Better Chinese's philosophy and approach.
For more information, visit
www.betterchinese.com
Friday, May 1, 2009
Mandarin Basics
Learn useful Chinese characters and hundreds of everyday phrases and sentences with ease.
It is a type-to-learn Chinese product that let you get instant feedback from your computer, just like a teacher by your side.
It is a type-to-learn Chinese product that let you get instant feedback from your computer, just like a teacher by your side.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Our Chinese (www.OurChinese.org)
Our Chinese (http://www.ourchinese.org/) aims to provide guidebooks, lectures and resources for the learners via Internet and reach the learners around the world.
Most of the articles are written by professional Chinese language teachers, some of the articles and learning materials are translated from resources found on the net.
Chinese language is one of the most beautiful language in the world and if you like to explore its beauty, you can be amazed by the comprehensive resources on http://www.ourchinese.org/
Here is some of the main links:
Home 首页
Chinese Dictionary
Resources 资源中心
Related News新闻
Foundation 基础
PinYin 拼音
Characters 字
Phrase 词
Grammar 语法
Read 阅读
Composition 作文
Spoken 口语
Life 生活
Business 商务
Trade 行业
Dialect 方言
Test 考试测验
Idiom 成语
Proverb 俗语
Poem Phrase诗词
Ancient Text古文
Calligraphy 书法
Columns 专栏
Recreation 休闲
Chinese Blog
Chinese BBS
Online Tools 工具
Chinese to PinYin
Chinese Reading
Online Translate
Chinese Assistant
Web Chinese IME
Add to your blog
Practice writing Chinese character
Notes to learners:
If you know some Chinese and have some foundation (Like a primary school students who can read some Chinese words), you will benefit a lot from this web site.
If you are beginner and illiterate in Chinese, you may find it hard to understand some of the translation in English as the English translation is very much machine based translation.
The translation may contains grammatical error and some misuse of words. Hence, English speaking learner will experience lot of frustration if they are not guided by some one who are well versed in Chinese.
I try some of the pages, and discover that most of the links with sound files cannot be access yet. It will take time for a lot of functions to be refined. Check it up in a month's time if you cannot open the file now. If you cannot wait for a while, just write to the webmaster for assistance!
Dexterine Ho
Most of the articles are written by professional Chinese language teachers, some of the articles and learning materials are translated from resources found on the net.
Chinese language is one of the most beautiful language in the world and if you like to explore its beauty, you can be amazed by the comprehensive resources on http://www.ourchinese.org/
Here is some of the main links:
Home 首页
Chinese Dictionary
Resources 资源中心
Related News新闻
Foundation 基础
PinYin 拼音
Characters 字
Phrase 词
Grammar 语法
Read 阅读
Composition 作文
Spoken 口语
Life 生活
Business 商务
Trade 行业
Dialect 方言
Test 考试测验
Idiom 成语
Proverb 俗语
Poem Phrase诗词
Ancient Text古文
Calligraphy 书法
Columns 专栏
Recreation 休闲
Chinese Blog
Chinese BBS
Online Tools 工具
Chinese to PinYin
Chinese Reading
Online Translate
Chinese Assistant
Web Chinese IME
Add to your blog
Practice writing Chinese character
Notes to learners:
If you know some Chinese and have some foundation (Like a primary school students who can read some Chinese words), you will benefit a lot from this web site.
If you are beginner and illiterate in Chinese, you may find it hard to understand some of the translation in English as the English translation is very much machine based translation.
The translation may contains grammatical error and some misuse of words. Hence, English speaking learner will experience lot of frustration if they are not guided by some one who are well versed in Chinese.
I try some of the pages, and discover that most of the links with sound files cannot be access yet. It will take time for a lot of functions to be refined. Check it up in a month's time if you cannot open the file now. If you cannot wait for a while, just write to the webmaster for assistance!
Dexterine Ho
Sunday, March 22, 2009
于丹《论语》感悟（一）孝敬之道
于丹《论语》感悟（一）孝敬之道 1/7 （百善孝为先）
简介:在中国儒家文化中，特别提倡孝道，孔子认为，孝，是做人的根本道德，所以中国的 传统文化提倡：百善孝为先。但是从父父子子，君君臣臣的封建社会发展出来的孝道，在两 千多年后的今天，是否还是那么重要？在日新月异的现代社会里，儿女和父母之间，由于生 活环境的不同，认知事物的不同，不可避免地会产生代沟，发生矛盾和冲突是难免的，在这 种情况下，我们应该怎么做才为孝？孔老夫子毕竟生活在两千多年以前，他有关孝道的准则 ，在我们现代社会中还能够适用吗？我们现代人又该如何理解孝道呢？
---
1/7
子曰：是谓能养，至于犬马皆能有养，不敬，何以别乎。
---
于丹《论语》感悟（一）孝敬之道 2/7 （大苹果树故事）
使于丹老师流泪的大苹果树故事
---
The rest of the video recordings will auto play, if not, just follow the links here:
于丹《论语》感悟（一）孝敬之道 3/7 （小生命的天使）
于丹《论语》感悟（一）孝敬之道 4/7 （表达方式很重要）
...表达方式很重要
子曰：事父母几谏，见志不从，又敬不违，劳而不怨。
---
于丹《论语》感悟（一）孝敬之道 5/7 （又敬不韪）
真正爱父母就要包容和尊敬他所有的习惯
---
于丹《论语》感悟（一）孝敬之道 6/7（弘扬父母之志）
子曰：父母在，不远游，游必有方。
真正的孝敬更重要的是弘扬父母之志
子曰：君子务本，本立而道生，孝第也者，其为仁之本与。
---
于丹《论语》感悟（一）孝敬之道 7/7 （子欲养而亲不待）
有一种的悲怆叫子欲养而亲不待
---
Source of information:
http://www.youtube.com/user/chapsroc
简介:在中国儒家文化中，特别提倡孝道，孔子认为，孝，是做人的根本道德，所以中国的 传统文化提倡：百善孝为先。但是从父父子子，君君臣臣的封建社会发展出来的孝道，在两 千多年后的今天，是否还是那么重要？在日新月异的现代社会里，儿女和父母之间，由于生 活环境的不同，认知事物的不同，不可避免地会产生代沟，发生矛盾和冲突是难免的，在这 种情况下，我们应该怎么做才为孝？孔老夫子毕竟生活在两千多年以前，他有关孝道的准则 ，在我们现代社会中还能够适用吗？我们现代人又该如何理解孝道呢？
---
1/7
子曰：是谓能养，至于犬马皆能有养，不敬，何以别乎。
---
于丹《论语》感悟（一）孝敬之道 2/7 （大苹果树故事）
使于丹老师流泪的大苹果树故事
---
The rest of the video recordings will auto play, if not, just follow the links here:
于丹《论语》感悟（一）孝敬之道 3/7 （小生命的天使）
于丹《论语》感悟（一）孝敬之道 4/7 （表达方式很重要）
...表达方式很重要
子曰：事父母几谏，见志不从，又敬不违，劳而不怨。
---
于丹《论语》感悟（一）孝敬之道 5/7 （又敬不韪）
真正爱父母就要包容和尊敬他所有的习惯
---
于丹《论语》感悟（一）孝敬之道 6/7（弘扬父母之志）
子曰：父母在，不远游，游必有方。
真正的孝敬更重要的是弘扬父母之志
子曰：君子务本，本立而道生，孝第也者，其为仁之本与。
---
于丹《论语》感悟（一）孝敬之道 7/7 （子欲养而亲不待）
有一种的悲怆叫子欲养而亲不待
---
Source of information:
http://www.youtube.com/user/chapsroc
Saturday, March 21, 2009
百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》
This series of video helps you understanding Yu Dan 解读于丹 and unveiling some interesting part of her personality and character.
If you compare the impression you have after viewing the following video and that of your image after viewing the Lecture Room Series, you will discover a new Yu Dan and see the different facet of her.
For me, it is heart warming and nice to read the other side of Yu Dan, a jovial teacher, an understanding guide, a friendy coach though the eyes of her students, the TV interviewer and Mr 易中天.
It is equally interesting to hear Yu Dan interprets her understanding of Lun Yu, Confucius, Zhuang Zi and how the understanding helps her in sailing and charting her life.
百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》1a
百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》1b
百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》 2a
百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》2b
百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》(3)
If you compare the impression you have after viewing the following video and that of your image after viewing the Lecture Room Series, you will discover a new Yu Dan and see the different facet of her.
For me, it is heart warming and nice to read the other side of Yu Dan, a jovial teacher, an understanding guide, a friendy coach though the eyes of her students, the TV interviewer and Mr 易中天.
It is equally interesting to hear Yu Dan interprets her understanding of Lun Yu, Confucius, Zhuang Zi and how the understanding helps her in sailing and charting her life.
百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》1a
百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》1b
百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》 2a
百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》2b
百家讲坛特别节目《解读于丹》(3)
Friday, March 20, 2009
Yu Dan's talk on Lun Yu 于丹 - 论语
Yu Dan's talk on Lun Yu 于丹 - 论语
Yu Dan 于丹 narrates with ease among teaching ancient wisdom, glorifying non material wealth and coaching traditional values on 百家講壇 The Lecture Room, a hit television show in China.
She talks with the authority and formality of a professor, yet engages her audience with personal anecdotes and stories from Internet.
于丹 Yu Dan's talk on Lun Yu 论语 is a series, and some of them are available from YouTube.
I find those with Chinese transcription and English subtitle useful for in depth learning.
Here are some of them:
Confucius Teachings: Lun Yu 论语.
"The Way to Make Friends" 交友之道.
By Professor Yu Dan of Beijing Normal University with insightful commentary of Confucius teachings of knowing and distinguishing three types of good and bad friends.
Confucius Teachings: Lun Yu 论语.
"The Way of the Superior Man" or The Way of the Gentleman 君子之道. Part 1.
By Professor Yu Dan of Beijing Normal University.
An insightful commentary of Confucius teachings on Self Improvement and the Way of Behaviour.
I love Confucius teaching after listening to her talks!
The video have her speech with English and Chinese subtitle. It is very good for those who are not able to follow her speech through listening!
This video is very captivating. Some of her other speeches are
also very inspiring.
If you like her talks, just follow the links provided by YouTube at the end of the video, like part 2 which I added here:
Confucius Teachings: Lun Yu 论语.
"The Way of the Superior Man" or The Way of the Gentleman 君子之道. Part 2.
The follow video is without Chinese transcription and English subtitle, after you listen to it and compare with the above three videos, you may find what is missing in the process of listening and learning.
百家講壇: 于丹《論語》心得之天地人之道(10分鐘)
To me, learning is a combination of listening, reading, and thinking. All these three elements run simultaneously. Without visual input (transcription in Chinese and translation in English), learning through mere listening can be very hard for some learners or audience. It is not easy for one to concentrate and pick up key points if the Chinese Characters and the English translation is not displayed on the screen.
Hence, if you like her talk, you may like to read her book of the same title, it will enhance your understanding. The reverse is true too!
Dexterine Ho
Yu Dan 于丹 narrates with ease among teaching ancient wisdom, glorifying non material wealth and coaching traditional values on 百家講壇 The Lecture Room, a hit television show in China.
She talks with the authority and formality of a professor, yet engages her audience with personal anecdotes and stories from Internet.
于丹 Yu Dan's talk on Lun Yu 论语 is a series, and some of them are available from YouTube.
I find those with Chinese transcription and English subtitle useful for in depth learning.
Here are some of them:
Confucius Teachings: Lun Yu 论语.
"The Way to Make Friends" 交友之道.
By Professor Yu Dan of Beijing Normal University with insightful commentary of Confucius teachings of knowing and distinguishing three types of good and bad friends.
Confucius Teachings: Lun Yu 论语.
"The Way of the Superior Man" or The Way of the Gentleman 君子之道. Part 1.
By Professor Yu Dan of Beijing Normal University.
An insightful commentary of Confucius teachings on Self Improvement and the Way of Behaviour.
I love Confucius teaching after listening to her talks!
The video have her speech with English and Chinese subtitle. It is very good for those who are not able to follow her speech through listening!
This video is very captivating. Some of her other speeches are
also very inspiring.
If you like her talks, just follow the links provided by YouTube at the end of the video, like part 2 which I added here:
Confucius Teachings: Lun Yu 论语.
"The Way of the Superior Man" or The Way of the Gentleman 君子之道. Part 2.
The follow video is without Chinese transcription and English subtitle, after you listen to it and compare with the above three videos, you may find what is missing in the process of listening and learning.
百家講壇: 于丹《論語》心得之天地人之道(10分鐘)
To me, learning is a combination of listening, reading, and thinking. All these three elements run simultaneously. Without visual input (transcription in Chinese and translation in English), learning through mere listening can be very hard for some learners or audience. It is not easy for one to concentrate and pick up key points if the Chinese Characters and the English translation is not displayed on the screen.
Hence, if you like her talk, you may like to read her book of the same title, it will enhance your understanding. The reverse is true too!
Dexterine Ho
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Mandarin literacy
How can a corpus help us understand what’s happening to Mandarin literacy?
Article highlights:
What’s happening to Chinese Singaporean preschool children’s oral Mandarin?
How can a corpus help?
What can teachers do?
Find out more from:
SingTeach: new issue
at
http://singteach.nie.edu.sg/language-ed.html
SingTeach is an e-magazine produced for teachers and teacher educators by the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
It keeps you informed about the latest events in NIE.
If you would like to subscribe to the SingTeach mailing list, just send an email to sgteach@nie.edu.sg with the subject title “subscribe”
How can a corpus help us understand what’s happening to Mandarin literacy?
full text of the article is available at http://singteach.nie.edu.sg/language-ed.html
The following is what I extracted from the article:
Battle of the tongues
Mandarin, Malay and Tamil: in Singapore, these are considered the official “mother tongue” languages. However, as the languages spoken at home change over the years, so too have children’s “real” mother tongue.
Though these languages are cherished for their ethnic heritage, this may not be enough to save them against a gradual loss of prestige in the face of the growing influence of English.
...
The Case for Mandarin
In 2004, the Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee (CLCPRC) found that the use of English as the primary home language among Chinese Singaporeans is now equal to and will soon surpass that of Mandarin.
The committee concluded that there are now two major distinct groups of Chinese Singaporean children, with very different home language backgrounds, now learning Mandarin in schools:
1. those from English-speaking families (ESF), and
2. those from Chinese-speaking families (CSF).
...
The Corpus: Language in Real Life
This is where the Singapore Preschoolers’ Mandarin Chinese Corpus comes in.
A corpus (plural: corpora) is a large collection of texts, whether spoken or written, stored electronically. They are used to analyze how language is used in real life.
For more information on this, check out:Cambridge International Corpus: What is a Corpus?AskOxford: What is a Corpus?
Using this corpus, lists of Mandarin words spoken by Chinese Singaporean preschoolers have been generated. The corpus has helped us find out:
what preschoolers like to say,
when they say it, and
how they say it.
...
to highlight the implications for Chinese language classroom pedagogy and teacher education programmes.
What can Teachers do about It
Declining levels of Mandarin usage at home
= declining competence in children’s oral Mandarin (especially at the preschool level)
= increasing need for teachers to work hard at improving their pupils’ standards of Mandarin
Furthermore, language is not a zero sum game. A decline in the use of Mandarin will not automatically lead to an improvement in Chinese Singaporean children’s use of English.
In the study, it was revealed that most parents who claimed to interact in English with their children at home are, by their own admission, not very good English speakers.
This discrepancy between the actual proficiency of these parents’ spoken English and their desire to introduce English to their children in daily communication would result inevitably in them using Singlish or a mixture of English and Mandarin.
Increasing levels of Singlish/non-Standard English usage at home
= declining competence in children’s oral English (especially at the preschool level)
= increasing need for teachers to work hard at improving their pupils’ standards of English
The end result is that the growing influence of English and its use (in a non-standard form) as a home language among Chinese Singaporeans is posing major problems for both English and Mandarin.
It:
1. hinders children’s acquisition of Standard English, which then effects their learning in all other subjects taught in English in school, and
2. prevents them from fully developing their Mandarin competence and appreciating the wealth of cultural knowledge that the language embodies.
The Good News
But all is not lost. This study has also found that there appears to be a continuum of Mandarin competence among preschoolers, rather than a marked distinction between the groups.
This means that in a bilingual and multicultural society like Singapore, ... there are still “more bilinguals than monolinguals”.
Therefore, a mother tongue language, like Mandarin, will never truly die out.
But if it is to play a bigger role in Singapore’s language landscape, then its prestige and value must be increased and actively promoted – whether in school or at home.
And, to help our students improve their language competence – whether in English or in Mandarin – we teachers must constantly set the standard which we hope they will follow.
Standard English is a must if we hope to combat the use of non-standard varieties of English at home.
...
For more details, read the full text of the article at http://singteach.nie.edu.sg/language-ed.html
Article highlights:
What’s happening to Chinese Singaporean preschool children’s oral Mandarin?
How can a corpus help?
What can teachers do?
Find out more from:
SingTeach: new issue
at
http://singteach.nie.edu.sg/language-ed.html
SingTeach is an e-magazine produced for teachers and teacher educators by the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
It keeps you informed about the latest events in NIE.
If you would like to subscribe to the SingTeach mailing list, just send an email to sgteach@nie.edu.sg with the subject title “subscribe”
How can a corpus help us understand what’s happening to Mandarin literacy?
full text of the article is available at http://singteach.nie.edu.sg/language-ed.html
The following is what I extracted from the article:
Battle of the tongues
Mandarin, Malay and Tamil: in Singapore, these are considered the official “mother tongue” languages. However, as the languages spoken at home change over the years, so too have children’s “real” mother tongue.
Though these languages are cherished for their ethnic heritage, this may not be enough to save them against a gradual loss of prestige in the face of the growing influence of English.
...
The Case for Mandarin
In 2004, the Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee (CLCPRC) found that the use of English as the primary home language among Chinese Singaporeans is now equal to and will soon surpass that of Mandarin.
The committee concluded that there are now two major distinct groups of Chinese Singaporean children, with very different home language backgrounds, now learning Mandarin in schools:
1. those from English-speaking families (ESF), and
2. those from Chinese-speaking families (CSF).
...
The Corpus: Language in Real Life
This is where the Singapore Preschoolers’ Mandarin Chinese Corpus comes in.
A corpus (plural: corpora) is a large collection of texts, whether spoken or written, stored electronically. They are used to analyze how language is used in real life.
For more information on this, check out:Cambridge International Corpus: What is a Corpus?AskOxford: What is a Corpus?
Using this corpus, lists of Mandarin words spoken by Chinese Singaporean preschoolers have been generated. The corpus has helped us find out:
what preschoolers like to say,
when they say it, and
how they say it.
...
to highlight the implications for Chinese language classroom pedagogy and teacher education programmes.
What can Teachers do about It
Declining levels of Mandarin usage at home
= declining competence in children’s oral Mandarin (especially at the preschool level)
= increasing need for teachers to work hard at improving their pupils’ standards of Mandarin
Furthermore, language is not a zero sum game. A decline in the use of Mandarin will not automatically lead to an improvement in Chinese Singaporean children’s use of English.
In the study, it was revealed that most parents who claimed to interact in English with their children at home are, by their own admission, not very good English speakers.
This discrepancy between the actual proficiency of these parents’ spoken English and their desire to introduce English to their children in daily communication would result inevitably in them using Singlish or a mixture of English and Mandarin.
Increasing levels of Singlish/non-Standard English usage at home
= declining competence in children’s oral English (especially at the preschool level)
= increasing need for teachers to work hard at improving their pupils’ standards of English
The end result is that the growing influence of English and its use (in a non-standard form) as a home language among Chinese Singaporeans is posing major problems for both English and Mandarin.
It:
1. hinders children’s acquisition of Standard English, which then effects their learning in all other subjects taught in English in school, and
2. prevents them from fully developing their Mandarin competence and appreciating the wealth of cultural knowledge that the language embodies.
The Good News
But all is not lost. This study has also found that there appears to be a continuum of Mandarin competence among preschoolers, rather than a marked distinction between the groups.
This means that in a bilingual and multicultural society like Singapore, ... there are still “more bilinguals than monolinguals”.
Therefore, a mother tongue language, like Mandarin, will never truly die out.
But if it is to play a bigger role in Singapore’s language landscape, then its prestige and value must be increased and actively promoted – whether in school or at home.
And, to help our students improve their language competence – whether in English or in Mandarin – we teachers must constantly set the standard which we hope they will follow.
Standard English is a must if we hope to combat the use of non-standard varieties of English at home.
...
For more details, read the full text of the article at http://singteach.nie.edu.sg/language-ed.html
Thursday, January 1, 2009
It is your mind that makes ... possible
"It is the mind that makes the body."
~~ Sojourner Truth (~1797 - 1883)
It is your mind that makes you think!
It is your mind that makes you learn!
It is your mind that makes you like or dislike learning Chinese!
If you mind keep on thinking that learning Chinese is hard, it is very hard!
If you mind keep on thinking that learning Chinese is useless, it will make your learning fruitless! It is useless to learn and acquire broken Chinese. As a result, using broken Chinese will not be that useful!
If you mind keeps on thinking that learning Chinese is boring, it will be easy for you to doze off whenever you look at Chinese characters or open a Chinese book! You will find whatever in Chinese, be it text or muti-media, turn you off!
No one can change your mind, sometime not even you yourself.
Your mind set is set through a long process of conditioning.
It may start long before you were born. You maybe conditioned by family, parents, living environment and finally, your own mind set.
If your family don't speak the language and do not respect people who speak that language, you will learn it that way.
If your parents can speak the language, yet try not to speak to you in that language, you do not acquire it naturally as a mother tongue and it will become a foreigne language to you!
If you do not have childhood friends who use the language to play game with you, you will not be able to link that language with fun and nostalgic memory in your younger age.
If you do not like the learning from the beginning and continue to dislike it, you are conditioned by other unconsciously and internalized it yourself consciously or unconsciously.
What can you do to help yourself?
First, change your mind set.
One thought at a time and tell yourself that you are in control, not your family, not your parents, not your environment, not even your old mind set...
Is it possible?
If there is a will, there is a way!
The way is up to you to Choose!
No one can force you, though you learnt that others can influence or condition you, yet utimately, if you choose to walk your own way, you can create a new path!
Learning Chinese is possible if you want to, at any age!
Dexterine Ho
Notes: If Mr Lee Kuan Yew, at the age of 85 now can learn it some years back and still improving his everyday, what makes you think that it too late to start now.
~~ Sojourner Truth (~1797 - 1883)
It is your mind that makes you think!
It is your mind that makes you learn!
It is your mind that makes you like or dislike learning Chinese!
If you mind keep on thinking that learning Chinese is hard, it is very hard!
If you mind keep on thinking that learning Chinese is useless, it will make your learning fruitless! It is useless to learn and acquire broken Chinese. As a result, using broken Chinese will not be that useful!
If you mind keeps on thinking that learning Chinese is boring, it will be easy for you to doze off whenever you look at Chinese characters or open a Chinese book! You will find whatever in Chinese, be it text or muti-media, turn you off!
No one can change your mind, sometime not even you yourself.
Your mind set is set through a long process of conditioning.
It may start long before you were born. You maybe conditioned by family, parents, living environment and finally, your own mind set.
If your family don't speak the language and do not respect people who speak that language, you will learn it that way.
If your parents can speak the language, yet try not to speak to you in that language, you do not acquire it naturally as a mother tongue and it will become a foreigne language to you!
If you do not have childhood friends who use the language to play game with you, you will not be able to link that language with fun and nostalgic memory in your younger age.
If you do not like the learning from the beginning and continue to dislike it, you are conditioned by other unconsciously and internalized it yourself consciously or unconsciously.
What can you do to help yourself?
First, change your mind set.
One thought at a time and tell yourself that you are in control, not your family, not your parents, not your environment, not even your old mind set...
Is it possible?
If there is a will, there is a way!
The way is up to you to Choose!
No one can force you, though you learnt that others can influence or condition you, yet utimately, if you choose to walk your own way, you can create a new path!
Learning Chinese is possible if you want to, at any age!
Dexterine Ho
Notes: If Mr Lee Kuan Yew, at the age of 85 now can learn it some years back and still improving his everyday, what makes you think that it too late to start now.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Cartoons in Mandarin, a light-hearted way to learn Mandarin
On every Sunday from 08:30 AM onwards, there are three an interesting cartoon series for those who would like to learn mandarin in a light-hearted way!
===========================
聪明小天眼 Magic Eye-the Little Genius ( 儿童益智节目Children )
===========================
8.30 am to 9.00 am
===========================
韋駄天翔 Idaten Jump ( 儿童益智节目Children )
===========================
9.00 am to 9.30 am
This cartoon series features Sho, a boy who loves mountain biking.
While taking part in a race, Sho and his friends are mysteriously transported into another world called the X-Zone.
They must now race their way out of the X-Zone by winning the numerous Idaten Battles to accumulate enough emblems.
这部以越野单车为主题的动画连续集, 叙述一位单名叫翔的小男孩, 在一次比赛中，不知何故遭卷入时光隧道，和他的朋友一起被送到一個叫X 地帶的地方。
為了回返原來的世界，他们必须參加一种名為『韋駄天之战』的神奇比賽。
===========================
哆啦A梦 Doraemon ( 卡通片Cartoon )
===========================
9.30 am to 10.00 am
Doraemon travels back in time from the future into the past to help Nobita.
Doraemon uses an amazing array of gadgets and devices to keep Nobita out of trouble especially the "4-D" pockets that creates many adventures.
在这系列卡通动画里，小朋友们将看到 哆啦A梦
这只从未来世界的机器猫如何用它的法宝, 协助主人大雄解决生活上的各种难题。
Source of information:
http://8.mediacorptv.sg/tvguide.aspx?kw=tvschedule#TOPDAYSBAR
===========================
聪明小天眼 Magic Eye-the Little Genius ( 儿童益智节目Children )
===========================
8.30 am to 9.00 am
===========================
韋駄天翔 Idaten Jump ( 儿童益智节目Children )
===========================
9.00 am to 9.30 am
This cartoon series features Sho, a boy who loves mountain biking.
While taking part in a race, Sho and his friends are mysteriously transported into another world called the X-Zone.
They must now race their way out of the X-Zone by winning the numerous Idaten Battles to accumulate enough emblems.
这部以越野单车为主题的动画连续集, 叙述一位单名叫翔的小男孩, 在一次比赛中，不知何故遭卷入时光隧道，和他的朋友一起被送到一個叫X 地帶的地方。
為了回返原來的世界，他们必须參加一种名為『韋駄天之战』的神奇比賽。
===========================
哆啦A梦 Doraemon ( 卡通片Cartoon )
===========================
9.30 am to 10.00 am
Doraemon travels back in time from the future into the past to help Nobita.
Doraemon uses an amazing array of gadgets and devices to keep Nobita out of trouble especially the "4-D" pockets that creates many adventures.
在这系列卡通动画里，小朋友们将看到 哆啦A梦
这只从未来世界的机器猫如何用它的法宝, 协助主人大雄解决生活上的各种难题。
Source of information:
http://8.mediacorptv.sg/tvguide.aspx?kw=tvschedule#TOPDAYSBAR
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Learn Chinese Phrases (with Audio!)
Visit:
http://www.zapchinese.com/
and explore the following:
Learn Chinese Characters (with Video!)
Learn Chinese Phrases (with Audio!)
Learn Chinese Vocabulary (with Audio!)
Business Chinese(with Audio!)
http://www.zapchinese.com/
and explore the following:
Learn Chinese Characters (with Video!)
Learn Chinese Phrases (with Audio!)
Learn Chinese Vocabulary (with Audio!)
Business Chinese(with Audio!)
Origin of Chinese Characters
From:
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa101699.htm
"As we know, written Chinese is not an alphabetic language. We call Chinese characters as 'squared characters' and they are. They seems very complicated and hard to learn. But Chinese is the most used language in the world and certainly one of the most beautiful languages. It will be interesting to know its origin."
...
Click on the link and learn more from About.com
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa101699.htm
"As we know, written Chinese is not an alphabetic language. We call Chinese characters as 'squared characters' and they are. They seems very complicated and hard to learn. But Chinese is the most used language in the world and certainly one of the most beautiful languages. It will be interesting to know its origin."
...
Click on the link and learn more from About.com
Saturday, August 9, 2008
The Word "Peace" in Chinese
After watching the opening of 2008 Beijing Olympic, if you are interested to learn more about the word "Peace" in Chinese, you may look it up using the online dictionary "nciku":
http://www.nciku.com/search/zh/searchorder/1305932/
to learn the stroke order, click the link below:
http://www.nciku.com/search/all/%E5%92%8C
Thursday, July 24, 2008
List of English words of Chinese origin
English words with Chinese origin usually have different characteristics depending how the words were spread to the West. Despite the increasingly widespread use of Mandarin among Chinese people, English words that are based on Mandarin are relatively scarce...
Nevertheless, you may like to learn the origin of:
Coolie
Dim sum
Doufu
and many more from the wiki page here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Chinese_origin
Notes: Though the terms originated from Chinese, the spelling of the English words depends on which language the transliterations came from.
Nevertheless, you may like to learn the origin of:
Coolie
Dim sum
Doufu
and many more from the wiki page here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Chinese_origin
Notes: Though the terms originated from Chinese, the spelling of the English words depends on which language the transliterations came from.
Quotations from Chinese Classics
Quotations from Chinese Classics
* Learning without thinking begets ignorance.
* Thinking without learning is dangerous.
* Help one another, for we are all in the same boat.
To read the text in Chinese
and many more...
Visit the site at:
http://www.chinapage.com/quote/quote
.html
Notes: the translation may not be perfect/correct, nevertheless, you may enjoy the text in Chinese with different fonts.
* Learning without thinking begets ignorance.
* Thinking without learning is dangerous.
* Help one another, for we are all in the same boat.
To read the text in Chinese
and many more...
Visit the site at:
http://www.chinapage.com/quote/quote
.html
Notes: the translation may not be perfect/correct, nevertheless, you may enjoy the text in Chinese with different fonts.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
My Happy Planet
MyHappyPlanet connects language learners around the world.
Some information from:
http://www.myhappyplanet.com/aboutus.php
What's MyHappyPlanet?
MyHappyPlanet.com is an online community for people who are passionate about learning languages.
Our vision is to bridge cultures around the world through language learning. Our aim is to make language learning more fun, more dynamic, and more effective -- without having to pay for it.
With MyHappyPlanet, you can practice speaking with a native speaker, learn more about other cultures, and make friends with people anywhere in the world. We’ve built in great features so you can teach and learn from each other through live chat, messaging, videos, and fun lessons.
Some information from:
http://www.myhappyplanet.com/aboutus.php
What's MyHappyPlanet?
MyHappyPlanet.com is an online community for people who are passionate about learning languages.
Our vision is to bridge cultures around the world through language learning. Our aim is to make language learning more fun, more dynamic, and more effective -- without having to pay for it.
With MyHappyPlanet, you can practice speaking with a native speaker, learn more about other cultures, and make friends with people anywhere in the world. We’ve built in great features so you can teach and learn from each other through live chat, messaging, videos, and fun lessons.
LiveMocha.com
LiveMocha.com
If you need to learn a language for a job, study-abroad course, or just for fun, but don't have time to take a real class, you'll probably want to check out ...
http://www.livemocha.com
It is an e-learning Web 2.0 startup founded by a group of experienced and successful entrepreneurs based in the Seattle area.
The language-learning tool combines fun self-study lessons, motivational tools and community to help you learn the language of your choice. LiveMocha brings to you useful everyday language from actual native speakers.
If you need to learn a language for a job, study-abroad course, or just for fun, but don't have time to take a real class, you'll probably want to check out ...
http://www.livemocha.com
What is Livemocha?
Livemocha is an interactive online community that includes lessons, a diverse community, chat and motivational tools to keep you on track in learning a language or two.
It is an e-learning Web 2.0 startup founded by a group of experienced and successful entrepreneurs based in the Seattle area.
The language-learning tool combines fun self-study lessons, motivational tools and community to help you learn the language of your choice. LiveMocha brings to you useful everyday language from actual native speakers.
Curriculum includes everyday language updated by native language speakers, useful grammar structures, and easy to follow classes all based on a proven successful model created by professional language instructors.
Currently while LiveMocha is in Beta every feature and function you currently see on the site is free. In the future, LiveMocha will be a paid site with some content remaining free.Palabea.net
http://www.palabea.net
Palabea the Speaking World Social Language Exchange ...
palabea.net is an e-learning website and social community that offers opportunities to learn and practice foreign languages.
As an international community, palabea connects people who share the same interests in learning languages and in discovering different culture.
It offers a wide range of tools ...
Some information from:
http://www.palabea.net/tour
Palabea the Speaking World Social Language Exchange ...
palabea.net is an e-learning website and social community that offers opportunities to learn and practice foreign languages.
As an international community, palabea connects people who share the same interests in learning languages and in discovering different culture.
It offers a wide range of tools ...
Some information from:
Frequently asked questions About palabea
http://www.palabea.net/tour
- What is palabea?
- What does "beta" mean
- Is palabea free?
As an international community, palabea connects people who share the same interests in learning languages and in discovering different cultures. People from all over the world can communicate via audio chat, video chat and text messages to practice foreign languages, to support others and of course to develop friendships around the world.
palabea started in the beginning of November 2007 and is still under development. We are working on improving the usability of the site and on integrating additional features.
Yes. palabea is, and will remain free to join.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Daily Chinese Lesson from www.dailychineselesson.com
Subscribe now. It's FREEIf you are an adult learner and just like to learn a phrase, a sentence or a few words everyday, this website which allows you to subscribe a daily lesson will be suitable for you!
There are hundreds of useful everyday terms and you can save them electronically day by day, refer back to them or print them out. In just 365 days, you will have the whole set!
Daily Chinese Lesson from www.dailychineselesson.com is free!
Most people can learn one word and one phrase a day and so can you!
Before you know it, you'll be able to start conversations in Chinese and prepare yourself for that trip to China or converse with a Chinese colleague or business partner!
Saturday, February 2, 2008
国学天空 from Phoenix Television and other good progammes
国学天空 from Phoenix Television
StarHub Cable TV Channel 50Singapore time:
6.45pm to 6.55pm (Monday-Friday Evening)
Repeated sessions:
6.25am to 6.35am (Tuesday-Saturday Morning)
2.05pm to 2.15pm (Tuesday-Saturday Afternoon)
Watch this 10 minutes programme on Chinese Classics and learn one phrase or two daily.
This is a new programme launched in 2008 on traditional Chinese classics/masterpiece.
Confucius and Analects of Confucius (論語) is the being introduced in the first programme.
In this series, Mencius (孟子), Lao Zi (老子), Zhuang Zi (庄子) and I Ching (易经) will be introduced.
Here is a write-out of the programme in Chinese:
| |||||||
| 今天，中国经济、政治及综合国力在世界崛起，复兴中华传统文化，提升中国软实力成为中国国内，乃至整个华人世界里的话题。 近年来兴起的读经热、汉服热、三国热、“孟母堂”等，都一再证明，当西方现代文明渗透进中国社会时，中国人也在努力找回自己民族的文化之魂。 因此，重读传统经典、国学巨著，是这股传统文化复兴浪潮中的一大热点。国学现正是国内最热门的话题，中国多间顶级大学也专门开办这类课程。 中国并不缺少深厚的国学文化资源。例如在台湾，国学渊源于五六十年来从未中断，一群国学大师学贯中西，博古通今，幽默机智，口才出众。 在台湾，谈起哲学，许多人第一个想到的便是傅佩荣教授，彷佛哲学就等于傅佩荣。许多人因为读到、听到他的种种精辟独到的见解而豁然开朗，开启了心灵的另一扇窗，估计每年至少有上万人听过他的演讲。 2008年，凤凰卫视推出《国学天空》，力邀国学大师如傅佩荣、刘墉阐述中国文化思想，从孔子、孟子、老子、庄子、易经，每一集引述一段原典，说明其中意涵，为观众细说国学。 2008年，要带给观众一档既流行热门、又不失文化深度的节目，非《国学天空》莫属。 他们将用最有含金量的思想，以浅白的语言、质朴的情感，结合深厚的古典修养，紧扣21世纪人类面临的心灵困惑。齐来穿越千年时空隧道，于传统中寻找古人的智慧，碰撞现代人的心灵，让您领悟国学经典的非凡深度，拓展视野，在欣赏国学的同时，也能学习正确的人生观与价值观。节目势必在华人世界引起新一轮的国学热潮。 傅佩荣教授毕业于台湾辅仁大学哲学系，台湾大学哲学研究所硕士，美国耶鲁大学哲学博士，专攻宗教哲学。 傅佩荣在教学、研究、写作、演讲、翻译各方面皆有卓越成就。著作九十多本，范围涵盖哲学、宗教、神话、教育、文化、心理、励志等。 刘墉是画家、作家。1949年生于台北。纽约哥伦比亚大学博士研究，圣若望大学研究所及师大美术系毕业。 1978年由行政院新闻局及国立历史博物馆推荐前往美国讲学。 曾任纽约圣若望大学专任住校艺术家、丹维尔美术馆驻馆艺术家、全美水墨画协会国际展主审，并应邀在世界各地举行画展三十余次。 著作六十余种散文小说及文学理论作品畅销华文世界。 |
Source of Information:
http://jiemu.ifeng.com/p/303062.htm
Some information on Phoenix Television (鳳凰衛星電視)
****************************************************
Phoenix Television (鳳凰衛星電視) is a Hong Kong-based Mandarin Chinese television broadcaster that aims to promote a free flow of information and entertainment within the Greater China region.
It has 5 different television channels. Phoenix Television is well-known of providing Infotainment programmes with popular 'Star' Anchors and talk show hosts.
Being on good terms with the People's Republic of China government, it is one of the few non-government related television broadcasters in mainland China and has been able to broadcast information about events not covered by the government media.
Phoenix Chinese Television features many well-known news anchors, talk show hosts as their 'STAR PRESENTERS'. Most of them are degree holders in communications or language studies. Some of the top 'star presenters' areWu Xiaoli (吳小莉)
Wu was mentioned by former prime minister Zhu Rongji in a press conference that he watched her broadcasted news everyday.
Hu Yihu (胡一虎)
Hu is the reporter who did interviewed the South African ex-President Nelson Mandela. He is also the reporter who has been "the most popular reporter in Taiwan" for 5 years.
Chen Luyu (陈鲁豫)
Luyu hosts a popular talk show (A Date With Luyu) and likened as an "Oriental Oprah".
Zeng Zimo (曾子墨)
Dou Wentao (竇文濤)
born August 21 1967, in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province （河北省石家庄市）, is famous for his daily talkshow（锵锵三人行） with two guests which he manages， since the beginning of the airing of the programme.
Xu Gehui (許戈輝)
Source of Information:
http://www.ifeng.com/phoenixtv/77412215665197056/20070604/908207.shtml
Monday, January 28, 2008
Thumbs Up Web "大拇指"
Thumbs Up Web "大拇指"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/tu.html
Target audience: P3 to P6
独特的小学生华文报 · 适合小三至小六学生
Use the graphic links on the page to visit the followings, recommended links are highlighted in RED:
Care Corner
"抱抱熊"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/07tup38.html#teddy
Newspaper-in-Education [Recommended Chinese Supplementary Readers for Primary School]
NiE小学华文辅助读物推荐书目
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tunie_booklist.html
"大拇指本期新闻指"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/07tup38.html
The Archive 2002 to 2007
"[2002 - 2007年] 第1期-第40期"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tuparchive.html
Thumbs Up Product Catalog
"《大拇指产品一览》"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tuproducts.html
Art Apple Trophy
"《美少年》艺术苹果奖座"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tuproducts.html#apple
A Hand to Hold: Care and Counselling Series
"《牵手》关怀辅导系列"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tuproducts.html#holdhand
Thumbs Up Chinese Character Dictionary
"《大拇指学生写字字典》"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tuproducts.html#dictionary1
Thumbs Up Chinese-English Dictionary
"《大拇指汉英字典》"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tuproducts.html#dictionary2
Thumbs Up Mascot
"大拇指满分娃娃"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tuproducts.html#mascot
[Reading Wand]
"阅读棒"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/ydb.html
Thumbs Up Web "Newspaper-in-Education" "[Complete the Conversation]" Audio Version
《大拇指》NiE“完成对话”有声版
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/wcdh.html
NiE Audio Archive
"有声档案"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tunie_audio.html
Target audience: P3 to P6
独特的小学生华文报 · 适合小三至小六学生
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/tu.html
Target audience: P3 to P6
独特的小学生华文报 · 适合小三至小六学生
Use the graphic links on the page to visit the followings, recommended links are highlighted in RED:
Care Corner
"抱抱熊"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/07tup38.html#teddy
Newspaper-in-Education [Recommended Chinese Supplementary Readers for Primary School]
NiE小学华文辅助读物推荐书目
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tunie_booklist.html
"大拇指本期新闻指"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/07tup38.html
The Archive 2002 to 2007
"[2002 - 2007年] 第1期-第40期"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tuparchive.html
Thumbs Up Product Catalog
"《大拇指产品一览》"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tuproducts.html
Art Apple Trophy
"《美少年》艺术苹果奖座"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tuproducts.html#apple
A Hand to Hold: Care and Counselling Series
"《牵手》关怀辅导系列"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tuproducts.html#holdhand
Thumbs Up Chinese Character Dictionary
"《大拇指学生写字字典》"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tuproducts.html#dictionary1
Thumbs Up Chinese-English Dictionary
"《大拇指汉英字典》"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tuproducts.html#dictionary2
Thumbs Up Mascot
"大拇指满分娃娃"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tuproducts.html#mascot
[Reading Wand]
"阅读棒"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/ydb.html
Thumbs Up Web "Newspaper-in-Education" "[Complete the Conversation]" Audio Version
《大拇指》NiE“完成对话”有声版
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/wcdh.html
NiE Audio Archive
"有声档案"
http://youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/tunie_audio.html
Target audience: P3 to P6
独特的小学生华文报 · 适合小三至小六学生
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Online Dictionary: nciku: more than a dictionary
Free Online Dictionary: "nciku: more than a dictionary"
http://www.nciku.com/
An online dictionary that is still in Beta version.
What does nciku mean?
“n” stands for network
“ci” stands for the sound of the Chinese character “词”, which means word in English.
“ku” stands for the sound of the Chinese character “酷”, which means cool in English.
“ciku” stands for the sound of the Chinese word “词库”, which means treasure house of words.
What is nciku?
http://www.nciku.com/blog/en/?page_id=339
To learn all about nciku, visit the FAQ page above. Here are some main points:
What I like best?
Handwriting Recognition Tool
Even without knowing the exact pronunciation of a word, you can still draw the Chinese character on our Handwriting Recognition Tool.
Just by using your mouse, you will be able to draw the character and find out what it means in Chinese, plus how to say the word in Pinyin.
An example of the search results on 何 [hé] Pinyin:
http://www.nciku.com/EntryDetailView.php?entry_id=15470&dictype=2
pronounwhat; which; how; why
何人 : who
何时 : what time; when
何处 : what place; where
何往 : whither
从何而来? : Where from?
何济于事? : Of what avail is it?
有何不可? : Why not?
何故哭泣？
何事动怒？
你来自何方？
你住在何地？
你往何处去？
要做到清心寡欲，谈何容易？
何必钻牛角尖呢？退一步海阔天空。
Special features:
You can click the audio icon to listen to the pronunciation (human voice)!
You can also mouse over the example and read the mouse-over-text with Pinyin line by line!
e.g.,
Yào zuòdào qīngxīn guǎyù，tán hé róngyì？
要做到清心寡欲，谈何容易？
For more details, read the FAQ at
http://www.nciku.com/blog/en/?page_id=339
http://www.nciku.com/
An online dictionary that is still in Beta version.
What does nciku mean?
“n” stands for network
“ci” stands for the sound of the Chinese character “词”, which means word in English.
“ku” stands for the sound of the Chinese character “酷”, which means cool in English.
“ciku” stands for the sound of the Chinese word “词库”, which means treasure house of words.
What is nciku?
http://www.nciku.com/blog/en/?page_id=339
To learn all about nciku, visit the FAQ page above. Here are some main points:
- nciku is an English-Chinese/Chinese-English online dictionary. However, it includes more functions than a traditional paper dictionary.
- You can also search or upload expressions used in different situations of your everyday life.
- With the Study Note function you can save the words you want to memorize.
What I like best?
Handwriting Recognition Tool
Even without knowing the exact pronunciation of a word, you can still draw the Chinese character on our Handwriting Recognition Tool.
Just by using your mouse, you will be able to draw the character and find out what it means in Chinese, plus how to say the word in Pinyin.
An example of the search results on 何 [hé] Pinyin:
http://www.nciku.com/EntryDetailView.php?entry_id=15470&dictype=2
pronoun
何人 : who
何时 : what time; when
何处 : what place; where
何往 : whither
从何而来? : Where from?
何济于事? : Of what avail is it?
有何不可? : Why not?
何故哭泣？
何事动怒？
你来自何方？
你住在何地？
你往何处去？
要做到清心寡欲，谈何容易？
何必钻牛角尖呢？退一步海阔天空。
Special features:
You can click the audio icon to listen to the pronunciation (human voice)!
You can also mouse over the example and read the mouse-over-text with Pinyin line by line!
e.g.,
Yào zuòdào qīngxīn guǎyù，tán hé róngyì？
要做到清心寡欲，谈何容易？
For more details, read the FAQ at
http://www.nciku.com/blog/en/?page_id=339
新生字典 [Campus Dictionary for New Overseas Students]
[Campus Dictionary for New Overseas Students] 新生字典 contains a list of English Terms commonly used in Singapore with definitions and annotations extracted from 《华新网》http://www.huasing.org (20/4/2001):
http://www.zaobao.com/edu/pages/campusdict200401.html
The list only have less than 30 entries. Even though it is not arranged in any order, it is easy to browse and use as a quick reference.
It serves as a handy page for new overseas students from China who like to learn the colloquial terms in English.
For English speaker readers who like to pick up some Chinese terms, just look up the English terms and read the definition(s) in Chinese. You will learn a lot of commonly used Singapore terms in Chinese. For examples:
MOE 教育部 Ministry of Education
NUS 新加坡国立大学 National University of Singapore
NTU 南洋理工大学 Nanyang Technological University
NIE 国立教育学院 National Institute of Education （属于NTU）
http://www.zaobao.com/edu/pages/campusdict200401.html
The list only have less than 30 entries. Even though it is not arranged in any order, it is easy to browse and use as a quick reference.
It serves as a handy page for new overseas students from China who like to learn the colloquial terms in English.
For English speaker readers who like to pick up some Chinese terms, just look up the English terms and read the definition(s) in Chinese. You will learn a lot of commonly used Singapore terms in Chinese. For examples:
MOE 教育部 Ministry of Education
NUS 新加坡国立大学 National University of Singapore
NTU 南洋理工大学 Nanyang Technological University
NIE 国立教育学院 National Institute of Education （属于NTU）
Monday, January 21, 2008
Chinese Comics: the fun way to learn Chinese
For upper secondary school, JC and Poly/Uni students, if you find it too taxing to learn Chinese the traditional way, just start with comics.
Here is a link on comics with political theme by Mr Heng from Zaobao
早报特约：王锦松 时事漫画 :
http://www.zaobao.com/pictorial/comics/comics.html
Reading the comics will keep you uptodate on current affair with internative perspective.
Here is a link on comics with political theme by Mr Heng from Zaobao
早报特约：王锦松 时事漫画 :
http://www.zaobao.com/pictorial/comics/comics.html
Reading the comics will keep you uptodate on current affair with internative perspective.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Reading skills
Improve and enhance your reading skills
If you were to visit http://www.gistxl.com/baomihua/ you can click the icon "Romanise the whole article".
Print the whole article with Hanyu Pinyin and read on your own, repeat listening the areas (especially the difficult phrases and words) until you finally confirm you have caught them.
Read aloud and look at the Hanyu Pinyin to help you pronounce the words. Underline or highlight the words or phrases that you have difficulty. Practise as many time as you wish until you are able to read aloud without looking at the romanised text.
Print another copy of the whole article without Hanyu Pinyin and read aloud.
If you were to visit http://www.gistxl.com/baomihua/ you can click the icon "Romanise the whole article".
Print the whole article with Hanyu Pinyin and read on your own, repeat listening the areas (especially the difficult phrases and words) until you finally confirm you have caught them.
Read aloud and look at the Hanyu Pinyin to help you pronounce the words. Underline or highlight the words or phrases that you have difficulty. Practise as many time as you wish until you are able to read aloud without looking at the romanised text.
Print another copy of the whole article without Hanyu Pinyin and read aloud.
(If you have problem printing the page using Web Browser's Print command, just try to use "Print Screen" (Prt Scr) button on your key board to capture the screen and paste individual screen pages on MsWord, then print it out in Doc format.)
As reading Chinese means understanding and pronouncing the words by looking at the characters, so if you are able to read the text without the help of Hanyu Pinyi, you have improved and enhanced your reading skills through practice.
As reading Chinese means understanding and pronouncing the words by looking at the characters, so if you are able to read the text without the help of Hanyu Pinyi, you have improved and enhanced your reading skills through practice.
Listening skills
Improve and enhance your listening skills
If you were to visit http://www.gistxl.com/baomihua/
you can click the icon "Listen to whole article" and try your best to listen and read the whole article for the first round.
If you find it too difficult to listen and read the whole article, you can click on the icon on top of each paragraph and just listen to that paragraph. While listening, try to catch phrase by phrase, not word by word except some places where you failed even after several attempts.
After using these two methods, you will make big improvement on your listening skills.
Print the article and read on your own, repeat your reading by listening to the paragraphs or phrases until you finally confirm you have caught them.
(If you have problem printing the page using Web Browser's Print command, just try to use "Print Screen" (Prt Scr) button on your key board to capture the screen and paste individual screen pages on MsWord, then print it out in Doc format.)
While reading aloud, try your best to catch phrase by phrase, not word by word except some places where you failed even after several attempts.
Wish to improve and enhance your listening skills, just try
http://www.gistxl.com/baomihua/
It is the same for any listening exercise. Try your best to listen to any reading thoroughly for the first time. On your second attempt, read phrase by phrase or sentence by sentence according to your current listening level, you will notice and discover many interesting expressions you miss your first attempt.
Choose materials no longer than 5 minutes, listen to it thoroughly for the first time, the second time phrase by phrase or sentence by sentence according to your current listening level. You may underline or highlight difficult words/ phrases and listen to it again to have a double check.
Print the article and read on your own, repeat listening the areas until you finally confirm you have caught them. Try your best to catch phrase by phrase, not word by word except some places where you failed even after several attempts.
If you were to visit http://www.gistxl.com/baomihua/
you can click the icon "Listen to whole article" and try your best to listen and read the whole article for the first round.
If you find it too difficult to listen and read the whole article, you can click on the icon on top of each paragraph and just listen to that paragraph. While listening, try to catch phrase by phrase, not word by word except some places where you failed even after several attempts.
After using these two methods, you will make big improvement on your listening skills.
Print the article and read on your own, repeat your reading by listening to the paragraphs or phrases until you finally confirm you have caught them.
(If you have problem printing the page using Web Browser's Print command, just try to use "Print Screen" (Prt Scr) button on your key board to capture the screen and paste individual screen pages on MsWord, then print it out in Doc format.)
While reading aloud, try your best to catch phrase by phrase, not word by word except some places where you failed even after several attempts.
Wish to improve and enhance your listening skills, just try
http://www.gistxl.com/baomihua/
It is the same for any listening exercise. Try your best to listen to any reading thoroughly for the first time. On your second attempt, read phrase by phrase or sentence by sentence according to your current listening level, you will notice and discover many interesting expressions you miss your first attempt.
Choose materials no longer than 5 minutes, listen to it thoroughly for the first time, the second time phrase by phrase or sentence by sentence according to your current listening level. You may underline or highlight difficult words/ phrases and listen to it again to have a double check.
Print the article and read on your own, repeat listening the areas until you finally confirm you have caught them. Try your best to catch phrase by phrase, not word by word except some places where you failed even after several attempts.
Comprehension Skills
Improve and enhance your comprehension skills
If you were to visit
http://www.gistxl.com/baomihua/
you can click the icon "Translate Whole Article" and read the whole article in English for the first round.
Look at the "Word List" at the bottom of the page and use the translation to enhance your vocabulary.
After that, you can click on the icon on top of each paragraph and just read the translation to that paragraph.
While reading the translation, try to catch the meaning phrase by phrase, not word by word except some places where you failed even after several attempts.
After using these methods, you will make big improvement on your comprehension skills.
Print the article and read on your own, repeat your reading by listening to the paragraphs or phrases until you finally confirm you have caught them.
(If you have problem printing the page using Web Browser's Print command, just try to use "Print Screen" (Prt Scr) button on your key board to capture the screen and paste individual screen pages on MsWord, then print it out in Doc format.)
Wish to improve and enhance your comprehension skills, just try
http://www.gistxl.com/baomihua/
If you were to visit
http://www.gistxl.com/baomihua/
you can click the icon "Translate Whole Article" and read the whole article in English for the first round.
Look at the "Word List" at the bottom of the page and use the translation to enhance your vocabulary.
After that, you can click on the icon on top of each paragraph and just read the translation to that paragraph.
While reading the translation, try to catch the meaning phrase by phrase, not word by word except some places where you failed even after several attempts.
After using these methods, you will make big improvement on your comprehension skills.
Print the article and read on your own, repeat your reading by listening to the paragraphs or phrases until you finally confirm you have caught them.
(If you have problem printing the page using Web Browser's Print command, just try to use "Print Screen" (Prt Scr) button on your key board to capture the screen and paste individual screen pages on MsWord, then print it out in Doc format.)
Wish to improve and enhance your comprehension skills, just try
http://www.gistxl.com/baomihua/
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Drama in Education: Turning classroom to "ZOO" makes Chinese Learning Interesting and fun!
Drama in Education:
Turning classroom to "ZOO" makes Chinese Learning Interesting and fun!
课室变“动物园” 学习华文乐趣多
Reported by Lianhe Zaobao 蔡慧玲(2007-04-03)
Click the following link for the full report or read Lianhe Zaobao (2007-04-03):
http://www.zaobao.com/edu/pages3/edulive070403.html
An extracted version is appended for your quick reference:
老虎、大象、狮子、袋鼠、松鼠……
布兰雅坡小学的一个课室昨天变成了万“兽”齐聚的动物园，由学生扮演的动物在里面对话交流。
...教育戏剧(Drama in Education)课程。学生首先围成一个圈，坐在地板上聆听教师的指示，然后再参与教师设计的活动游戏。
...的复习活动主题定为“动物园”，再把学生组分为两组，其中一组通过肢体表达扮演动物让另一组猜。
看似简单的游戏却有着华文教学的作用。先是听教师说：
“我要你们在猜的时候用 ‘我想他是’ 作为句子的开始。
”学生在解答时也必须以完整句子：“我是某某某”来回答。
如果学生单单猜是“狮子”、“老虎”，教师是不接受为答案的。
这样一来，教师就能巩固学生对华文句式的概念。
活动过程中，教师也可以趁这个机会复习动物量词并介绍新的动物名词。
如果回答的学生不知道正确答案，身边的同学还会帮忙提示。
你一言、我一语，20多个学生在没有压力的游戏环境下，上完一堂华文课。
8岁的林志杰认为华文难学，所以只是“一点点”喜欢上华文课，但是他却非常向往到教育戏剧实验室来上课。
他说：“因为这里很好玩，可以做很多东西，可以一边表演一边学很多东西，跟在教室不一样。”
...
在校本单元的框架里，学校可以按照各自学生的需要，设计适合他们的课程活动，巩固学生在课程单元里学习的知识。布兰雅坡小学小学的教师就决定采用教育戏剧的模式。
负责为学校设计校本课程的陈翡翠老师认为，教育戏剧在鼓励学生使用华文这方面相当有效。
她说：“教育戏剧的研究显示，这种教育方式会对学生的口语表达能力有所帮助。
而且它是活动式的，所以学生都很喜欢，争着表达。
而这种表达能力如果没有趁学生年纪小时就开始培养，
到了高年龄就会慢慢不想表达了……
(通过新的教育戏剧模式）学生可以即兴地进行对话并创造情境。另一方面，戏剧里也可以融入很多冲突和不同的情境，学生可以根据这些情境的变化，学习如何解决问题。”
一些学校因为意识到校本课程华文学习的好处而把课程推广到其他年级...
《联合早报》
（编辑：黄秀茱）
Turning classroom to "ZOO" makes Chinese Learning Interesting and fun!
课室变“动物园” 学习华文乐趣多
Reported by Lianhe Zaobao 蔡慧玲(2007-04-03)
Click the following link for the full report or read Lianhe Zaobao (2007-04-03):
http://www.zaobao.com/edu/pages3/edulive070403.html
An extracted version is appended for your quick reference:
老虎、大象、狮子、袋鼠、松鼠……
布兰雅坡小学的一个课室昨天变成了万“兽”齐聚的动物园，由学生扮演的动物在里面对话交流。
...教育戏剧(Drama in Education)课程。学生首先围成一个圈，坐在地板上聆听教师的指示，然后再参与教师设计的活动游戏。
...的复习活动主题定为“动物园”，再把学生组分为两组，其中一组通过肢体表达扮演动物让另一组猜。
看似简单的游戏却有着华文教学的作用。先是听教师说：
“我要你们在猜的时候用 ‘我想他是’ 作为句子的开始。
”学生在解答时也必须以完整句子：“我是某某某”来回答。
如果学生单单猜是“狮子”、“老虎”，教师是不接受为答案的。
这样一来，教师就能巩固学生对华文句式的概念。
活动过程中，教师也可以趁这个机会复习动物量词并介绍新的动物名词。
如果回答的学生不知道正确答案，身边的同学还会帮忙提示。
你一言、我一语，20多个学生在没有压力的游戏环境下，上完一堂华文课。
8岁的林志杰认为华文难学，所以只是“一点点”喜欢上华文课，但是他却非常向往到教育戏剧实验室来上课。
他说：“因为这里很好玩，可以做很多东西，可以一边表演一边学很多东西，跟在教室不一样。”
...
在校本单元的框架里，学校可以按照各自学生的需要，设计适合他们的课程活动，巩固学生在课程单元里学习的知识。布兰雅坡小学小学的教师就决定采用教育戏剧的模式。
负责为学校设计校本课程的陈翡翠老师认为，教育戏剧在鼓励学生使用华文这方面相当有效。
她说：“教育戏剧的研究显示，这种教育方式会对学生的口语表达能力有所帮助。
而且它是活动式的，所以学生都很喜欢，争着表达。
而这种表达能力如果没有趁学生年纪小时就开始培养，
到了高年龄就会慢慢不想表达了……
(通过新的教育戏剧模式）学生可以即兴地进行对话并创造情境。另一方面，戏剧里也可以融入很多冲突和不同的情境，学生可以根据这些情境的变化，学习如何解决问题。”
一些学校因为意识到校本课程华文学习的好处而把课程推广到其他年级...
《联合早报》
（编辑：黄秀茱）
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Lianhe Zaobao: Singapore's Chinese Daily Newspaper
Lianhe Zaobao "联合早报": Singapore's Chinese Daily Newspaper
For Adult Learner, the best way to learn Chinese is to read Chinese newspaper daily. I would like to recommend Singapore Learners/Readers to start with "联合早报" Lianhe Zaobao: Singapore's Chinese Daily Newspaper. The printed copy cost $0.75 per copy. If you like to read the printed version, it is better to subscribe it and have it delivery to your doorstep.
Online version is free via
http://www.zaobao.com/
Here is some informatation on Lianhe Zaobao "联合早报"
The Name "联合早报" Lianhe Zaobao, literally means United Morning Paper.
i.e.,
"联合" Lianhe = United
"早" Zao = Morning
"报" Bao = Paper or Newspaper
All the text are in simplified Chinese.
It is the largest Singapore-based Chinese newspaper with a daily circulation of about 200,000 copies on weekdays and 220,000 on Sundays.
Lianhe Zaobao "联合早报" belongs to the Chinese Newspapers Division of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). Besides Zaobao, the division has three other newspapers -- Lianhe Wanbao, Shin Min Daily News and Friday Weekly -- and a women's magazine, Citta Bella.
Besides being a major source of news and information for Chinese Singaporeans, the newspaper also has subscribers in Southeast Asia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and even in the United Nations. It is a reputable and authoritative newspaper that caters to readers of all levels.
Lianhe Zaobao "联合早报" was formed on 16 March 1983 as a result of a merger between the Nanyang Siang Pau (Singapore) and the Sin Chew Jit Poh (Singapore), two of Singapore's oldest Chinese newspapers. The paper establishes itself as a serious broadsheet with extensive local news coverage, while international news tend to be largely centered on the East Asian region.
Zaobao.com, was launched on August 1995 under the name of "Lianhe Zaobao Online". Today, it serves as a news portal drawing news not just from the Lianhe Zaobao, but also from other Chinese newspapers in the region, numbering as much as 100 sources in total.
Zaobao's editorial policy lies in protecting national interests, providing fast, objective and accurate news and promoting traditional Chinese culture and values under a multi-racial social framework.
With 800,000 people reading its print edition, and many millions more online, the paper is considered to be an objective, credible newspaper, enjoying a high reputation among the regional Chinese community. However, some readers have also regarded it as displaying a tendency to show greater sympathy towards mainland China's position over the political status of Taiwan. Indeed, its sister English language paper, The Straits Times, has also faced similar criticisms.
Source of reference:
About Lianhe Zaobao
http://www.zaobao.com/pages/lianhe.html
Lianhe Zaobao
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lianhe_Zaobao
For Adult Learner, the best way to learn Chinese is to read Chinese newspaper daily. I would like to recommend Singapore Learners/Readers to start with "联合早报" Lianhe Zaobao: Singapore's Chinese Daily Newspaper. The printed copy cost $0.75 per copy. If you like to read the printed version, it is better to subscribe it and have it delivery to your doorstep.
Online version is free via
http://www.zaobao.com/
Here is some informatation on Lianhe Zaobao "联合早报"
The Name "联合早报" Lianhe Zaobao, literally means United Morning Paper.
i.e.,
"联合" Lianhe = United
"早" Zao = Morning
"报" Bao = Paper or Newspaper
All the text are in simplified Chinese.
It is the largest Singapore-based Chinese newspaper with a daily circulation of about 200,000 copies on weekdays and 220,000 on Sundays.
Lianhe Zaobao "联合早报" belongs to the Chinese Newspapers Division of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). Besides Zaobao, the division has three other newspapers -- Lianhe Wanbao, Shin Min Daily News and Friday Weekly -- and a women's magazine, Citta Bella.
Besides being a major source of news and information for Chinese Singaporeans, the newspaper also has subscribers in Southeast Asia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and even in the United Nations. It is a reputable and authoritative newspaper that caters to readers of all levels.
Lianhe Zaobao "联合早报" was formed on 16 March 1983 as a result of a merger between the Nanyang Siang Pau (Singapore) and the Sin Chew Jit Poh (Singapore), two of Singapore's oldest Chinese newspapers. The paper establishes itself as a serious broadsheet with extensive local news coverage, while international news tend to be largely centered on the East Asian region.
Zaobao.com, was launched on August 1995 under the name of "Lianhe Zaobao Online". Today, it serves as a news portal drawing news not just from the Lianhe Zaobao, but also from other Chinese newspapers in the region, numbering as much as 100 sources in total.
Zaobao's editorial policy lies in protecting national interests, providing fast, objective and accurate news and promoting traditional Chinese culture and values under a multi-racial social framework.
With 800,000 people reading its print edition, and many millions more online, the paper is considered to be an objective, credible newspaper, enjoying a high reputation among the regional Chinese community. However, some readers have also regarded it as displaying a tendency to show greater sympathy towards mainland China's position over the political status of Taiwan. Indeed, its sister English language paper, The Straits Times, has also faced similar criticisms.
Source of reference:
About Lianhe Zaobao
http://www.zaobao.com/pages/lianhe.html
Lianhe Zaobao
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lianhe_Zaobao
Use Free Online Resources from Lianhe Zaobao
Use Free Online Resources from Lianhe Zaobao: zbpopcorn 爆米花 page
For students in secondary school or adults who like to learn Chinese on their own, Singapore's Chinese Newspaper "Lianhe Zaobao" zbpopcorn 爆米花 page is very useful.
visit: http://www.gistxl.com/baomihua/ to view the page direct
or
visit: http://youth.zaobao.com/zbpopcorn.html and click on the graphic link
For students in secondary school or adults who like to learn Chinese on their own, Singapore's Chinese Newspaper "Lianhe Zaobao" zbpopcorn 爆米花 page is very useful.
visit: http://www.gistxl.com/baomihua/ to view the page direct
or
visit: http://youth.zaobao.com/zbpopcorn.html and click on the graphic link
什么是爆米花？
·中三至高中的益友
·2004年1月7日诞生
·每星期三在《早报·现在》推出的教育专刊
·内容针对中学生的口味而设计，让青少年读者容易消化
·分青少年动态、流行文化和学习三部分
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Kevin Rudd Speaking Mandarin 陸克文 普通話
Get inspired by Kevin Rudd Speaking Mandarin!
You may get some good tips on learning Chinese from his language learning experience!
You may get some good tips on learning Chinese from his language learning experience!
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on China Central TV陸克文中央台訪問 陆克文中央台访问
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN42pk7eozk
This is an interesting interview. On the one hand the Australia speaks good Mandarin and the Chinese interviewer speaks perfect English.
November 24, 2007
Kevin Rudd speaking Mandarin 陸克文 普通話
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seJ_gcsOscM&NR=1
Kevin Rudd talked to Wu JinTao in Mandarin
11月24日舉行大選. 陸克文,一口流利普通話的澳洲工黨領導人
September 14, 2007
APEC: Opp Leader Mr Rudd confides to President Hu Jintao
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wakXttJVdbw&feature=related
Australian Opposition leader Mr Kevin Rudd confides to Chinese President Hu Jintao
September 06, 2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wakXttJVdbw&feature=related
Australian Opposition leader Mr Kevin Rudd confides to Chinese President Hu Jintao
September 06, 2007
Thursday, January 3, 2008
"Analects of Confucius" and Fu Peirong ( 傅佩荣:《论语》心得)
If you are interested in Analects of Confucius《论语》, you may like to read or view 傅佩荣 (Fu, Peirong, 1950- )'s books or video besides that of Yu Dan 于丹.
Phoenix Television (鳳凰衛星電視), Singapore StarHub Cable TV Channel 50, had interviewed him in October 2007 in one of the series《锵锵三人行》.
The main focus of Fu Peirong 傅佩荣 is on his understanding of "Analects of Confucius"《论语》心得:
http://www.findinternettv.com/Video,item,2787044136.aspx
Last but not least, view the blog by 傅佩荣(Fu, Peirong, 1950- ) and learn more about "Analects of Confucius" and Fu Peirong.
http://blog.sina.com.cn/fupeirong
Phoenix Television (鳳凰衛星電視), Singapore StarHub Cable TV Channel 50, had interviewed him in October 2007 in one of the series《锵锵三人行》.
The main focus of Fu Peirong 傅佩荣 is on his understanding of "Analects of Confucius"《论语》心得:
http://www.findinternettv.com/Video,item,2787044136.aspx
Last but not least, view the blog by 傅佩荣(Fu, Peirong, 1950- ) and learn more about "Analects of Confucius" and Fu Peirong.
http://blog.sina.com.cn/fupeirong
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