The Emperors Yan and Huang

Throughout Chinese history, which you can learn from our mandarin hanbridge lessons online, two people are believed the primogenitors of the Chinese nationality (Yan Emperor) and Huang Di (Yellow Emperor)．According to legend in old times,  Yan Di was the chief of the Jiang tribe．It is said that when the mother of Yan Di was visiting 华山（Hua2 Mountain in our Chinese hanbridge online lessons），she saw a divine dragon and by him became impregnated. Upon returning home, she gave birth to Yan Di．As soon as he was born，Yan Di showed great intelligence. At three days old he could talk，and after five days he could walk．Upon growing up, he became a prominent leader of the tribe with outstanding ability. Folklore states that he taught the people how to cultivate grains, and he became the founder of agriculture and earning the honorable title of the God of agriculture. He would personally taste various kinds of plants，determining their medicinal properties and how to use them to treat illnesses, initiating the system of traditional Chinese medicine．Moreover，he constructed musical instruments established markets，and taught people how to weave．These activities，among many other things, gradually transformed the uncultured humans into a civil society. Due to steady increase in the might of the tribe，Yan Di guided the tribe towards outward expansion，greatly influencing each region one by one. During the course of expansion，the tribe of Yan Di clashed with the equally powerful tribe of Huang Di．Until finally，at a place called Hillside Spring，Yan Di acknowledged the tribe of Huang Di as the victor.

   

In ancient times，Huang Di was the head of the Ji1 tribe，born on the second day of the second month of the Chinese traditional calendar．It is said，one night the mother of Huang Di unexpected saw the aurora borealis，there upon she become pregnant，consequently giving birth to Huang Di. After ten days he could speak, as a juvenile he was quick witted，and kind hearted，and as an adult eventually become the leader of the tribe．Throughout Chinese cultural history，Huang Di plays an extremely significant role. He encouraged another person called 仓颉（Cang1 jie2）in our hanbridge Chinese history class to produce a character script that has formed into China’s modem written language．His wife raised silkworms to make thread and manufacture clothes. He taught people how to construct boats，vehicles，and houses，making the lives of his people much more convenient．He composed the Ten Heavenly Stems and the Twelve Earthly Branches with which to measure time．Under the leadership of Huang Di，the tribe became the most powerful tribe. In the central plains of China, thus acquiring the entire region and unifying other tribes，establishing the basis of Chinese civilized culture．Yan Di and Huang Di are Chinese culture’s most illustrious people．They are continuously revered by Chinese people as the founders of the humanities. Even today, Chinese people still refer to themselves as Descendants of Yan Huang expressing gratitude to their substantial contributions. People commemorate them in many ways，in numerous places，People commonly have built mausoleums and temples to show their great respect.

By visiting our hanbridge mandarin history lesson, you can know that this statue’s height is 106 meters，8 meters higher than the Statue of Liberty in the United States，and two meters higher than Russia’s. The Motherland calls，making it the highest statue in the world．This statue attracts Chinese people，or descendants of the Fiery and Yellow Emperors from various places domestic and international. The enormous statue of Emperors Yan and Huang pay their respects．The two emperors are contained in the essence of the Chinese nationality，as significant mark and symbol，each person being descendants of the Fiery and Yellow Emperors．

 Source: 

http://oldchinese.jigsy.com/entries/general/the-emperors-yan-and-huang

The elegant address of wife in Chinese

Hey, friends! Welcome to our online Chinese lesson center where so many Chinese lovers will have access to the most native Chinese language and expressions. In this edition of discussion, we will share some details on how to address your wife in Chinese. That will be fresh and interesting! Let us start.

Above all, among many Chinese online lessons, it is a general use that Chinese people call their wife as lao3 po2 whose character is 老婆. Yet, we would like to show you a different calling in Chinese culture, which is addressed fu1 ren2 in both ancient times and modern times. The fu1 ren2 can be written like this 夫人(Fu1 Ren2). Respectively speaking, fu1 means a kind of etiquette address for man and woman. Ren2 means a person. Therefore, using lao3 po2 is far less polite and formal than using the address of fu1 ren1.

Besides, let us turn to the origin of the phrase fu1 ren2. It is said that fu1 ren1 originated from the period of spring and autumn or even earlier years, around thousands of years from now. At that time, its meaning refers to stand for the fixed address of the first wife of the king in the nation. Throughout the course of the development of Chinese feudal dynasties, the phrase of fu1 ren2 had been endowed with at least four usages.

Firstly, in our Chinese lessons online, it refers to the calling of the wife of the zhu1 hou2 who was the leader of a patch of the land in the past.

Secondly, it refers to the address of other wives called pin2 fei1 of emperor in ancient times. Since Qin2 dynasty, fu1 ren2 has been put into practice. Then during the three Kingdoms, fu1 ren1 was ruled as one of the wives’ callings in wei4 state. Specifically, the empress owns the highest power in the sub-court palace that was called hou4 gong1. And there were five levels under the status of empress in which the status of fu1 ren1 was the highest among them. Until wei4’s next emperor, he increased the amount of level to twelve kinds.

Thirdly, it also refers to the address of local officials’ wife as well. For instance, in Ming2 dynasty, the phrase fu1 ren2 was used as the address of court officials with first level and second level that were called yi1 pin3 and er4 pin4.

Fourthly, it is commonly used as the address of general wife of ordinary people. Moreover, such a usage is usually taken in formal occasions to a large extent. What deserves to be mentioned is that only the fourth usage is still prevailing in modern people’s conversations among all the uses. It is lively and vivid for you to use.

OK, that is all for our Chinese lesson online today. How do you like this phrase? Why not try calling your wife as fu1 ren2? There will be more humorous and colorful moments in your family’s conversations.  

Source: 

http://00000000.over-blog.com/2015/03/the-elegant-address-of-wife-in-chinese.html

Chinese character Shou4 is very far-reaching.

Today, we would like to bring a new Chinese character in Chinese learning lesson online that is rarely used in people’s daily conversations. In spite of that, it is also meaningful and important for both Chinese and foreigners to know what today’s key word is and how to use it, because it is full of deep root of culture. Let us look at this character 寿（shou4）. It is equal to longevity in English.

As you can see, how did it evolve? As a matter of fact, judging from the Shou4 in oracle bone scripts, its strokes were very complicated. According to our online Chinese lessons’ contents, the original pattern of it was 畴（chou2）, which means lots of fields. Basically, the meaning of Shou4 is the old or the aged, because those who living long must have been aged. Shou4 (longevity) first found in bronze script is an old photogram. It was written in various ways in bronze script. The complicated pattern of original Shou4 was fixed in clerical script in the Han Dynasty and has been used so far. So the simplified Shou4 (longevity) has a very long history.

In modern Chinese, the word of learning Chinese Shou4 mainly refers to longevity. In other word, it has a long lifespan. Then its meaning is extended to Yan2 Nian2 Yi4 Shou4 (prolong life) and the expectation of a kind of long and wonderful life. For this reason, Chinese people usually use this character to express a pretty good wish. As it known to all, China is a country in which people respect the aged and care about children. In Chinese daily life, Shou4 is represented in various forms. We can find it on people’s cloth and containers such as bowls, but it has different forms. Actually, the Shou4 can be changed into different patterns found on clothes, bowls, and dishes. They are patterns with blessing.

Let us introduce a kind of fruit, peach. It is as a gift that Chinese people would like to send it an aged person’s birthday. Chinese people believe that peach is rather good for health. Chinese people often link lots of food with a traditional Chinese medicine concept namely Yin-Yang. It actually corresponds to cold and heat. Peach is mild property. The appropriate amount of peach can offer us nutrition. And its character is Tao2 (peach) represents a very special image in Chinese culture. The shape of peach is like a heart, plus its mild property, so Chinese people like to place it at birthday party. Besides, there was a person called God of Longevity. It is called 寿星 (Shou4 Xing1). The person’s image is that an old man holding a big peach was considered as the God of Longevity.

Chinese people usually celebrate their 60^th birthday. That is, people will treat the birthday solemnly and importantly since they turn sixty years old. Chinese people think that a person living to sixty years old will become real persons of longevity.

So today’s Chinese online lesson in our Happy Chinese study center will come to an end. We hope that you can master this key word and use it correctly.

Source: 

http://chinesetool.bloggets.net/chinese-character-shou4-is-very-farreaching/

How to have a big sale in Chinese market?

As an old Chinese saying goes: 货卖一张皮 (Huo4 Mai4 Yi4 Zhang1 Pi2). In today’s lesson about learning business mandarin online, let me give an overall explanations of this proverb, which can help you know how to do better business in Chinese markets.

At first, the meaning of the sentence: “货卖一张皮” is that Chinese customers will always be attracted by goods decorated with delicate and beautiful packing. The packing of goods seems like a marriage cloth in the process from its production to consumption, representing the first impression given by the customers. If the “cloth” is exquisite enough, as if a voiceless advertiser, it can highly stimulate customers’ desire to buy goods. On the contrary, customers will not be interested in your goods at the beginning.

As a matter of fact, packing exerts many functions in daily life. It not only can protect the goods for the convenience of customer to purchase and use. What is more, it can help people judge a product in a short time. In Chinese culture, the delicate packing can transmit many kinds of feelings, such as reputation, social status, and identity. So if you plan to sell goods in China, it is necessary for you to make wonderful packing. To learn business mandarin online you can understand that there was another saying: “佛靠金装，人靠衣装.” (Fo2 Kao4 Jin1 Zhuang1, Ren2 Kao4 Yi1 Zhuang1). This is the same meaning as the former one and can be explained as: The value of a Buddha relies heavily on its gold look, and the difference of human beings lies in their dressing. As you can see, a big sale of goods must have the attractive packing.

Of course, making use of the packing to win more and more customers does not mean focusing merely on goods’ packing, regardless of its quality. A famous saying: “金玉其外 败絮其中” (Jin1 Yu4 Qi2 Wai4, Bai4 Xu4 Qi2 Zhong1) tells us that a good product with luxury packing whose internal goods are bad quality cannot be sold any more in the markets. It is just like another saying in our textbook to learn business mandarin:“烂稻草裹珍珠”（Lan4 Dao4 Cao3 Guo3 Zhen1 Zhu1）. It describes a fact that useless wheat grasses were wrapped with expensive and beautiful pearls, which will make the products priceless. Meanwhile, if your products are really good, its packing is also vital in your cost. Do not save money in the expenditure of making attractive packing.

If foreign businessmen want to let packing take effect and to sell goods as many as possible, they should well prepare for its inner quality and outer beauty.

That is all for today’s Chinese lesson as to learn business Chinese online free. For more information about ideas or skills to operate a business in China, please continue to keep your focus on our Chinese business essays. If you want to learn Chinese business language, please search “hanbridge mandarin” in google researcher to find your favorite topic and conversations.            

Source: 

http://chinesemasterin.over-blog.com/2015/03/how-to-have-a-big-sale-in-chinese-market.html

            

A very important Chinese character Xi3

Hi, this is Happy Chinese study center. We have always been bringing the Chinese culture, especially its language to you for a long time. Welcome to join us in today’s new article to learn Mandarin online. In accordance with our practice, today’s key word is 喜(Xi3). I believe that most of foreigners may see the double Xi3 when there is a wedding in someone’s family. You can easily understand that this word can transmit a kind of happiness in Chinese culture.

This character has changed dramatically in the long way to learn Chinese online or offline. The top is a part of Gu3 (drum) and the bottom is a part of Kou3 (mouth). Gu3 means hitting the drum, which represents cheerfulness, while the bottom Kou3 means happy expression must be transmitted through speaking. This character did not change greatly in the development from the period of Oracle bone script to modern times. But has this character always meant happiness from ancient time to present? It’s true. This word in Oracle Bone Script was an associative compound. It was stabilized in the Han Dynasty. The best way to learn Chinese language development is to combine the primitive Chinese characters and modern Chinese words.

According to Chinese culture, it was considered as a kind of culture of delight. Chinese nationality is a optimistic people in which people solve their problems from the attitude of perspective rather than the tool, because there were so many difficulties in the process of production. All Chinese people solve problems in a happy way, so happiness serves a basic state of the Chinese people.

Let us talk about the double 喜喜Xi3 (happiness) that appears in marriage only. So it just implies the meaning that a man and a woman are combined into family. They become a family. For example, in western culture, two persons become a spouse and get married, but they are still independent individuals. So we can see that western girls can boast her husband with abilities and success. However, Chinese women do not do that. When someone praises your husband, you may say: “na3 li3, na3 li3 (thank you)”, because of you and your husband as a whole. The character Xi3 expresses happiness that two persons combined into one. So the pattern of 喜喜 looks like as if two people are holding hands and stand together.

Now let us tell you what kind of things making the ancient Chinese happy? In ancient times, there are four happiest things in someone’s life. The most important two things for adult men were the Imperial Examination and marriage. It was said that Wang Anshi passed the Imperial Examination in the capital, just before encountering a beauty and got married with her. Faced with success in career and love, Wang Anshi wrote a big character Xi3 (happiness) by wielding a brush, meaning passing the Imperial Examination and getting married. Two happy events came at the same time. Later on, someone added another two things, which is a sweet rain falling after a long drought and encountering an old friend in a distant place. These four things were considered as the happiest thing in one’s life, being passed down to nowadays.  

That is end of today’s class of mandarin Chinese for children online. Have you mastered how to use today’s key word?

Source: 

http://chinesehelper.kinja.com/a-very-important-chinese-character-xi3-1690208962

You will go in for this Chinese phrase qie1 cuo1

Once upon a time, a foreign friend of mine asked me to play ping-pong ball with him. I agreed and said: “I would like to accept your challenge and let us have a great game today!” On the way to the sports ground, we chatted about Chinese learning culture of sports and something like that with full ease and freely, because I am a native speaker who has been living in China for several years. During our conversation, I used a phrase qie1 cuo1, and then he was puzzled by its meaning. Noticing that he was truly interested in learning Chinese language as well as profound and far reaching culture online or offline, I was planning to give him some advice on how to choose a Chinese textbook or online learning Chinese language website for further study.

And then, according to my learning contents in online Chinese lessons that I have known for so long, I began to explain to him regarding the meaning and usage of the Chinese phrase qie1 cuo1. I used a stick writing the strokes of the phrase as 切磋 on the earth, and began to taught him to read after me qie1 cuo1. He got comprehensible soon the moment I was going to tell him about its old stories.

It is said that the word qie1 means that using an instrument to making and producing some animal’s bones. And cuo1 means that using an item to produce the teeth of the elephants. For some reasons, you have to know another two words like zhuo2 and mo1. For one thing, the word 琢 zhuo2 means that the movement of making some jewels and other worthy furniture. For another thing, the word磨 mo2 was the production of stones. Due to poor technology and tools, it was rather difficult to transform from the bones, teeth, stone into a whole and mature wares or tools in ancient time. To process different materials entailed different procedures and methods. So the four words above are the names of four totally distinct way of procession.

As time went by, people used the four words in total to signify a discussion and research two people in terms of skills and knowledge. In order to be brief for expression, people used the just two former words like qie1 and cuo1 to indicate this whole meaning.

After hearing a series of narrations of the strange and interesting original story, my friend became crazy about leaning Chinese language. The Chinese online lesson will give him a big favor in mastering the Chinese language words or phrases as many as possible. A moment later, he learned how to speak the phrase qie1 cuo1, and we really had a great time!

Source: 

http://oldchinese.jigsy.com/entries/general/you-will-go-in-for-this-chinese-phrase-qie1-cuo1

Hou4 Yi4 story with Zhong1 Qiu1 origin

Last time, we talked about the first part of the fairy tale in Chinese culture online Chinese learning lessons. We began from the point that Hou yi left his wife Chang e. Three days later，Hou Yi led disciples on a hunt，but Peng Meng pretended to be ill and stayed behind．Soon after Hou Yi left, Peng Meng drew his sword and threatened Chang’e to hand over the immortal elixir. Knowing she was no match for Peng Meng, Chang’e desperately turned around，opened the box，and swallowed it．Immediately her body began to levitate as she rushed out the window towards the heavens．In concern for her husband，she flew to the moon，the closest thing to the earth，and become immortal．Gradually, foreigners and Chinese learn online to know the end of the story. Please keep reading.

 

As night descended，Hou yi returned．Upon discovering this incident，he indignantly drew his sword with the intention of murdering Peng Meng，who had already fled, Hou Yi angrily beat his chest in sorrow and despair, looking towards the night sky, calling on this beloved wife’s name. At this time，he noticed that the moon on this particular night shone especially bright，containing a silhouette resembling Chang e. Then with all his intent the pursued the moon，but to no avail.

HouYi desperately missed his wife．But at the end of his wits，without any other option，he ordered her favorite flesh fruit，pomelos，to be placed on the incense table as an offering in the rear of the garden. When common people learned of this，the decorated their altars under the moon too，praying for the safety of the kind hearted Chang e．

 

As well as paying homage to the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival．a widespread custom is to eat moon cakes．As the proverb states, “On the l5th day of the 8^th month．as the moon is full．mid-autumn moon cakes are savory and sweet”．Initially，moon cakes were used as an offering to the moon goddess．But people combined this practice and eating the cakes, with the implications of reuniting with the family. At first，these cakes were made within the household．But in modern times，they are

commonly produced in a specialized bakery．Not only is the filling delicious，but the moon cake is quite pleasing to the eye，boasting characters and intricate designs sayings such as “Chang e Flies to the Moon” in Chinese learning online lessons，“The Silver River’s (Milky Way) Night Moon”，and “Three Pool Reflecting the Moon”．

This is the end of the original story of Mid-Autumn Festival in today’s Chinese online learning class. There are also many celebrations and customs during the festival. If you have interest, welcome to check out more information on our website.

Source: 

http://oldchinese.jigsy.com/entries/general/hou4-yi4-story-with-zhong1-qiu1-origin