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

The Temple Fair is miao4 hui4 in China

Hello, friend. This is mandarin Chinese for children online lesson. We will talk about what is the miao4 hui4 in China. The temple fair, also called Temple Market，or Festival Place，is a custom related to the activity and Taoist temples．At the same time，it also reflects the people’s widespread belief in development．In early times，the Temple Fair not only included many ritual offerings，but followed economic development and the exchange of goods and services. As bazaars gradually assimilated with the religious activities，it was called Temple Market, showing great importance to townships.

   

To learn Mandarin online, we say the Dragon Dance (wu3 long2) in Chinese, which is also called the Lantern Dance，or Dragon Lantern Dance. From the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival，many regions exhibit the custom of the Dragon Dance. The dragon is China’s symbol for luck, respect，bravery，and power．On these festive days，people perform the Dragon Dance，praying to the dragon for protection，favorable weather，and an abundant harvest. The Lion Dance is another form of Chinese traditional folk art．During every Lantern Festival，or perhaps other festive celebration，the Dragon Dance is quite popular．This custom originated from the time period of the Three Kingdoms and spread during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, occupying over one thousand years of history. Performers dress accordingly as lions and mimic the movements of the animal to the music ofg9ngs and percussion instruments. The traditional belief is that the Lion Dance can drive away evil spirits．

  

To learn Chinese online lessons about Chinese culture, riddles were called mi2 yu3 in Chinese, which were written on lanterns are a distinct feature of the Lantern Festival with an interesting story regarding its origin. As recalled in folklore，in early times, there rived a rich foreigner．Although his family was extremely wealthy，he was very rude. Everybody called him Smiling Tiger．He flattered those who were dressed in fine garments as he，and was autocratic and irrational to poor people．One of the commoners was named Wang Shao．In order to cajole Smiling Tiger，one year during the Lantern Festival as people were hanging lanterns，on his own lantern he wrote the riddle：The head is pointed，the body white as silver，having nothing nice to say．With eyes on the rear end，recognizing the clothes，but not the person. Upon understanding this，Smiling Tiger became very angry and ordered his men to steal Wang Shao’s lantern，but the men hurriedly came to his lantern，secretly smiling. Laughingly, Wang Shao said，“Master，how can you say I offend you? The irritated Smiling Tiger replied，‘‘If this isn’t to offend me，then whom? Still laughing，Wang Shao replied，“Oh，my lord is suspect! My poem is simply a riddle，the answer being a needle. Don’t you think so?. Smiling Tiger thought for a minute and said，“No, it is not!” Glaring and with nothing to say，he turned around and embarrassingly slipped away，as the people in the surrounding area laughed heartily. Afterward，news of this matter spread far and wide．On the next Lantern Festival, many people prepared riddles of their own to amuse onlookers. Therefore they are called lantern riddles. The best way to learn Chinese and to answer lantern riddles lies in your good Chinese language comprehension. Following this well-established custom, various regions hold lantern riddle activities，still continuing today．

Source: 

http://steventhree.skyrock.com/3244825500-The-Temple-Fair-is-miao4-hui4-in-China.html

Greeting Styles is very particular in China

Greeting is the most common etiquette of everyday’s social intercourse. When people meet each other，it begins by paying one’s respects，but there are great differences in greetings between nationalities．To learn business Chinese online free, you can know that Chinese greetings have their own classification，content，ways of showing appellation，basic courtesy，and concrete meaning，while each having their own characteristics．

 

Firstly，Chinese greeting styles to send one’s regards to inquire，or to discuss are much like English．Nevertheless，the Chinese ways of expressing greetings are different from the West. For example，in English there is good morning，good afternoon，and good evening．Chinese oral language does not contain such reciprocal greetings. Instead，often used is “zao3’’ (早) or “ni3 zao3”(你早)，meaning you got up quite early．Many greetings follow this simple syntax．At present，Chinese people are more and more use “ni3 hao3” to greet each other，particularly intellects and cultured people in a crowd. There are also formal greetings showing honor and great respect．In Mandarin, there are also some phrases such as ‘‘Where are you going?” and “Did you eat?” among other greetings of inquiry，revealing concern for the other person’s well being

   

Secondly，cultural discrepancies and restrictions in language behavior regard societal norms，the subject of conversation is also different. English greetings use simple phrases，containing information，and show great respect，but they lack feeling and expression. In Chinese，to learn business mandarin of many greetings are in effort in of a question，and most questions inquire about the other person’s struggles of daily life giving people the feeling of amiable concern Chinese people of asking each other questions regarding age，income, health，and popular topics of conversation，in addition to more specific items，in order to show consideration for the individual．

 

The language of respectful greeting is a cultural characteristic，but each nationality basics own social norms．standards of behavior，and guidelines for social interaction. The differences in cultural backgrounds may bring about different standards，which are reflected in the nature of the questions When Chinese people greet，they often use respectful speech and modest words，expressing respect and honor towards their counterpart．To learn business mandarin online you can find a distinct characteristic of the Chinese language．

 

Besides verbal greeting styles，Chinese people also have style of body language that has its own distinctions．The body language of China and English speaking countries show some commonality, which is helpful in learning business mandarin. Chinese，especially youthful men，will often nod amongst one another，or perhaps wave as a form of greeting. Yet in former times when people met，one might bow or perhaps bow with the hands out stretched in greeting．Chinese greeting styles are generally rather implicit and reserved，even if there has been along time of separation．There is also a pat on the shoulder for comfort，or perhaps a hand shake but absolutely no kissing. Generally, men and women hugging each other are rarely seen. At most they shake hands，but nothing more．

 Source: 

http://chinesemasterin.over-blog.com/2015/02/greeting-styles-is-very-particular-in-china.html

The further introduction of Chinese animal zodiacs

Hello everybody! Let us go on to the lesson to learn Chinese online for kids about the next six animal zodiacs in Chinese culture. According to the Chinese class for kids, the sixth animal is horse that is also a very popular animal in Chinese culture and people’s heart.

Horse：(called wu3shi2)．According to Taoist teachings，when the midday sun is at the

apex the yang energy reaches the extreme，as the yin energy gradually increasing，representing the pair of yin and yang exchange Generally at this time．All animals lie down to rest. Only the horse has the habit of remaining standing and never lying down to rest even when sleeping．

Ram：(called wei4shi2) It is said that at this time rams urinate frequently，and

in this way cures itself of mental illness．

Monkey：(called shen1shi2)．At this time，the monkey likes to cry out in a most

drawn out and resonating sound．

Rooster: (called you4shi2) At this time，the sun sets in the mountains，and the rooster returns to his nest for the evening．

Dog：(called xu3shi2)．Dark night approaches and the dog guards the house．The dog watches with great vigilance with the sharpest vision and hearing．At this time the dog can see things at great distances and hear very clearly

Pig：(called hai4shi2)．At this time, the pig is intoxicated with sleep. Its snoring resounds，the muscles of its body twitch fiercely，producing meat the fastest．

Not only do these twelve animals represent time periods throughout the day，but also they eventually came to represent a person’s age.

   

There are many beautiful legends in our mandarin class for kids about the zodiac animals. According to one legend，in antiquity. A person’s memory was not great．He or she often forgot his or her name, producing much confusion．

Upon seeing this，the Jade Emperor’s (it refers to yu4 huang2 da4 di4 in class of Chinese for children) heart could not bear this，so he though to the simple way of using the zodiac to determine one’s age. One must only remember the twelve-year cycle as a definite way of calculating a person’s age. Consequently, he issued a proclamation to “1 animals to come to his Heavenly Courtyard so that he could select the animals of the zodiac in order of their arrival The dragon．tiger，rabbit,and horse，animals of extraordinary ability and talent，often stopped as they traveled although they were not late in departing．Yet slow but sure was the ox，plodding along at its own pace, day and night，not daring to stop for rest. Meanwhile the rat quietly cunning jumped on the ox’s horn and slept. The ox was to be the first to arrive in the Heavenly Court．However, the rat, seeing an opportunity, jumped from the ox’s horn，becoming the first in rank of the zodiac animals Thus the ox became second in the hierarchy．Due to the pig’s extremely slow walk, it was naturally last in line．

 Source: 

http://chinesemasterin.over-blog.com/2015/02/the-further-introduction-of-chinese-animal-zodiacs.html

The Traditional Calendar-The Agricultural Calendar

The agricultural calendar is China’s traditional calendar．The online Chinese learning culture textbooks can tell you that it is divided into 24 solar terms and selves as the guide to agricultural activities．This calendar used in vast areas of Chinese and is known as the farming calendar. It is also referred to as the summer calendar，old calendar，and Chinese calendar，but it is most commonly referred to as the lunar calendar．The calendar uses strict guide lines．following the waxing and waning of the moon．It also employs an intercalary month, to average the lengths of the solar years．Through Chinese learning online, the lunar and solar calendars make note of the relation between vin and yang. Until now，many Chinese all over the world，as well as North Koreans，South Koreans．and Vietnamese，still use the agricultural calendar to calculate traditional festivals such as the spring Festival，Mid-Autumn Festival，the Dragon Boat Festival，and the Pure Bright (tomb-sweeping) Festival．

     

The length of the agricultural calendar compared to the solar calendar is similar. If you take Chinese online learning lesson, you will know that a twelve-month solar year has more days than a lunar year．But lacks the thirteenth intercalary month．Ancient astronomers compiled the agricultural calendar such that specific days of the month mark the various phases of the moon．For example，on first day of the month the moon is dark, and then in about 15 days the moon becomes full，completing its cycle．At the same time，the agricultural calendar，noting the seasons，adopted a system of 19 years and 7 leap months in this way．For every 19 agricultural calendar years，there are l2 common years，each of which has 12 months，as well as seven leap years，each containing 13 months．The months of the agricultural calendar are composed of the same number of days as regular months，29 or 30，but a

leap month is added depending upon the circumstances of the solar term．

    The agricultural calendar is a substantial contribution of ancient China．Its main features are that anyone-day of the month embodies significant phases of the moon and that it is comprised of agricultural dates，including calculations of the tide (the tide being an effect of the moon’s gravity)．The calendar，called shi xianli in our Chinese learn online class (the state calendar)，was instituted in 1645 and was officially used by the late Ming and early Qing dynasty．

 Source: 

http://00000000.over-blog.com/2015/02/the-traditional-calendar-the-agricultural-calendar.html