Saturday, February 28, 2009

Chinese classes growing in popularity across Missouri

Chinese classes growing in popularity across Missouri
By Valerie Schremp Hahn
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/education/story/282E4C69B10BCDB58625756B0013D270?OpenDocument
http://www.oddcast.com/demos/tts/tts_example.php?clients

玩这个吧,打汉字。



http://www.yogichen.org/gurulin/index.html

Pure Wind Nurtured Stone
Yutang Lin


Winds inside a practitioner gradually become purer and cleaner,
Sentient beings as well as non-sentient objects equally benefited.
Colors of stones became fresh and hidden hues became apparent,
Hazy moonstone, originally translucent, became transparent now.

Comments:

After many years of Dharma practices inner winds gradually became pure and clean. Therefore, upon contact, physical or spiritual, with others it is often the case that "mutual exchange" took place to reduce the suffering of others, while the uncomfortable sensations received will soon disappear. Not only sentient beings had been thus benefited but also inanimate objects, such as gem stones, had been transformed.

The color of a green jade worn became fresh, and areas originally showed no green gradually turned greener and greener. Lapis lazuli stone also turned fresh in color and some hidden golden dots appeared. The color of a tiger-eye stone changed to a warmer and slightly deeper hue, and it no longer looks like a cold object. Most amazing is the transformation in the moonstone that I have been wearing only recently. Originally it was translucent and hazy all over. Today disciple Xin Ping suddenly noticed that the whole central area had become transparent, and yet when looked around from its sides it is still hazy. This is so inconceivable that I wanted to record it in writing so as to provide a case evidence of the benefits of engaging in Dharma practices.


Written in Chinese and translated on February 26, 2009
El Cerrito, California

http://www.yogichen.org/gurulin/efiles/p1376.html

Saturday, February 21, 2009

St. Louis Art Museum Ming Dynasty Exhibit - don't miss it!

http://saintlouis.art.museum/ming_dynasty/index.php

Giant rat caught in China


Giant rat caught in China
A giant rat with one-inch-long teeth has been caught in the southern Chinese province of Fujian.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/4688453/Giant-rat-caught-in-China.html

By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai
Last Updated: 12:36PM GMT 18 Feb 2009
Giant rat caught in China
Giant rat with one-inch-long teeth has been caught in the southern Chinese province of Fujian Photo: HTTP://NEWS.163.COM

The rat, which weighed six pounds and had a 12-inch tail, was caught at the weekend in a residential area of Fuzhou, a city of six million people on China's south coast.

The ratcatcher, who was only named as Mr Xian, said he swooped for the rodent after seeing a big crowd of people surrounding it on the street.

He told local Chinese newspapers that he thought the rat might be a valuable specimen, or a rare species, and had to muster up his courage before grabbing its tail and picking it up by the scruff of its neck.

"I did it, I caught a rat the size of a cat!" he shouted out afterwards, according to the reports. Mr Xian is believed to still be in possession of the animal, after stuffing into a bag and departing the scene.

The local forestry unit in the city identified the nightmarish creature as a bamboo rat from initial photographs, but said that it would need to examine the rat more closely before making a final identification.

Chinese bamboo rats rarely grow beyond ten inches and are found throughout southern China, northern Burma and Vietnam.

However, the Sumatra bamboo rat, usually found in the south-western Chinese province of Yunnan and in the Malay Peninsula can grow up to 30 inches long, including tail, and can weigh up to eight pounds.

A "Giant Rat of Sumatra" is mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes tale: The Adventure of a Sussex Vampire.

All bamboo rats are slow-moving and usually spend their time in underground burrows, feeding on bamboo. Chinese bamboo rats are often sold for meat in Chinese markets. The largest rats in the world are thought to be African giant pouched rats, which can grow up to 36 inches in length.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Valentines Day in China

In China, Valentine’s Day is Increasingly for Lovers

Feng shui masters, traditional lunar almanacs, lucky numbers like “8″ and Chinese holidays like the mid-autumn festival have long helped Chinese people decide when to tie the knot.

The state-run Xinhua news agency reports that a marriage boom is expected on Feb. 14, saying young couples are choosing the “western lovers’ day” to get hitched.

China has long had a day devoted to love: the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, usually in August on the Gregorian calendar. Though that’s still a popular day for unions, the Chinese also are increasingly embracing western practices, like celebrating Valentine’s Day. Until recently, the Chinese didn’t care much for Christmas. But Dec. 24 and 25 are now some of the busiest days for restaurants and nightclubs.

Xinhua says registration centers in Beijing are gearing up for the increased numbers on Saturday. If the almanac had guided the lovebirds, Feb. 15 would have been the lucky day to get hitched this month, followed by Feb. 16 as second best. Feb. 14 isn’t even recommended — indeed “4″ is often considered an unlucky number in China because its pronunciation in mandarin Chinese sounds like “die.”

How couples marry has changed tremendously in China. In ancient times, matchmakers held sway over who should marry whom. They were so powerful in determining unions even poor families hired them. The practice became more convoluted in the early communist years: local party leaders and work units approved marriages, couples underwent premarital health checks to qualify for marriage, and the government issued certificates validating that the would-be spouses were indeed single.

Though Chinese employers are often still expected to sign off on unions, Chinese couples today have a lot more freedom to choose and a lot less paperwork to fill out. And some have decided the old ways are too fussy –- feng shui analysis takes a lot of work — and have gone for the simple and obvious, like getting hitched on Feb. 14.

– Jason Leow


http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2009/02/13/in-china-valentines-day-is-increasingly-for-lovers/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi_Xi

http://www.everythingvalentinesday.com/chinese-valentines-day.html

Saturday, February 7, 2009

王菲 Faye Wong

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpIV11PlCBY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xaZkIYtd8I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tShzx_QcKc&feature=related
compare Deng Lijun and Wang Fei
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noQjQ-MuFT0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foQa__8_VVQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGPeGaNWp5o&feature=related

你可以把youtube video 换成 mp3 - convert any youtube video to mp3 file using software located here:

http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/products/dvd/Free-YouTube-to-MP3-Converter.htm

Faye Wong has good lyrics, good musicians and a great voice. It helps to appreciate her music if you are in love, but it is not a requirement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faye_Wong#Modest_beginnings

http://www.faye.com/

http://www.zompist.com/faye.html -this one has lyrics and translation of lyrics for a few of the above youtube videos, lyrics and their translations are generally available through a google search for wang fei or wong faye or faye wong - romanization variations are just a tease aren't they? Have fun listening and learning Chinese through this beautiful voice.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

因为李医生昨天晚上请我们吃晚饭,所以下个星期六我们请他看电影啦!
大家好!

我喜欢打球!
我不喜欢听音乐!