A Compilation Of People From A Few Of The 56 Official Ethnic Groups In China Wishing Everyone A Happy

Period in 中文 🩸

月经 (yuè jīng) period

老朋友 (lǎo péng you) period (slang)

大姨妈 (dà yí mā) period (slang) 

例假 (lì jià) menstrual leave (euphemism) , menstrual period 

月经没来 (yuè jīng méi lái) to miss one’s period

来月经 (lái yuè jīng) to have a period

换… (huàn) to change, to exchange  (sanitary towel/tampons/menstrual cup) 

卫生巾  (wèi shēng jīn) sanitary towel /pad 

姨妈巾 (yí mā jīn)  sanitary towel (coll.)  

卫生棉条 (wèi shēng mián tiáo) tampons  

月经杯 (yuè jīng bēi) menstrual cup

月亮杯 (yuè liang bēi) menstrual cup 

绞痛 (jiǎo tòng) cramps  

痉挛 (jìng luán) cramps (med. term)   

偏头痛 (piān tóu tòng) migraine 

昏厥 (hūn jué) to faint 

妇科 (fù kē) gynaecology

阴道 (yīn dào) vagina (med. term) 

卵巢 (luǎn cháo) ovary (med. term) 

荷尔蒙 (hé ěr méng) hormone 

乳房 (rǔ fáng) breast (med. term)  

乳房胀痛 (rǔ fáng zhàng tòng) tender breast 

血 (xuè) blood 

子宫 (zǐ gōng) uterus  

心情变化 (xīn qíng biàn huà) change of moods  

经前综合症 (jīng qián zōng hé zhèng) PMS (premenstrual syndrome) 

更年期 (gēng nián qī) menopause

止痛药 (zhǐ tòng yào) Painkiller  

热水袋 (rè shuǐ dài) hot-water bottle

~ My Chinese studygram ~

Hi! I'm really fond of researching about hanfu and its history, and I found a lot of interesting information on this blog. But I can't help it and keep wondering about the reason for qipao/cheongsang not be considered a hanfu? When I researched about it the most common argument is the Manchu influence on it. However, there are a plenty of hanfu styles that were influenced by other cultures. Is there a more especific reason for not consider the qipao?

Hi, thanks for the question, and glad you like my blog! (x)

I want to start off with an important disclaimer:

The term “hanfu” as we use it today (defined as “traditional Han Chinese clothing”) does not have the exact same meaning as when it was used historically. As @audreydoeskaren explains in this post, “while it is true that the term “hanfu” was used in some historical texts, they were often used in opposition to clothing worn by foreign peoples...and not as a standalone term”. Today, there is no central organizing body or law that states exactly what is & what is not considered hanfu. Rather, such categorization is done by the members of the hanfu community - and the hanfu community is not a monolith. Ever since its inception in 2003, the hanfu revival movement has been a grassroots, bottom-up movement with members of various backgrounds, ideologies, and opinions. It is a movement that is built upon, and driven forward by, constant dialogue and debate among its members. Thus the question of what garments are considered hanfu is under continuous discussion, and is subject to the hanfu community’s views and ideas on culture, clothing, and history.

With that being said, it’s true that there is almost unanimous agreement within the hanfu community that qipao/cheongsam (I will refer to it here mainly as qipao because that is what I’m used to) is not considered hanfu. In my (non-expert & non-academic) opinion, there are two main reasons for this: 1) Unclear origins and 2) Western influence. Let’s examine each (Note: I will be referring a lot to posts by resident qipao expert @audreydoeskaren, who is much more knowledgeable about the subject than I am. Please check out her series on early 20th century Chinese womenswear if you haven’t already):

1. Unclear Origins

It is widely acknowledged that the qipao as we know it today was first popularized during the 1920s, but what led up to that - the origins of qipao - are actually unclear. It is most commonly touted as being derived from Manchu one-piece robes, but “origins of cheongsam are truly unclear and it’s very likely that the many theories attributing it to Manchu fashion were invented after its popularization” (x). The Wikipedia article on cheongsam states that the garment is “of Manchu origin”, but does not give any details on exactly when, why, and how it was adopted by Han women (as during the Qing dynasty Han women wore two-piece garments and did not wear Manchu one-piece robes). The article’s “Controversies on origin” section states that “the cheongsam is generally considered to be adapted from the one-piece dress of Manchu women during the Qing dynasty. However, there has been considerable debate on the origin of the cheongsam in academic circles”, and proceeds to give three alternative theories on the origin of the qipao. 

Below, from left to right - 1. Manchu women’s one-piece robe during the Qing dynasty, 2. qipao from 1932, 3. 1930s-style qipao (x)

While there are various theories, the Manchu one-piece robe origin theory is still the most widely accepted, and thus is a major reason for why the qipao is not considered to be hanfu. @audreydoeskaren explains in detail the arguments for the Manchu origin theory here. 

2. Western Influence

The qipao’s silhouette and style changed rapidly during its heydays in the 1920s-1950s. During these years there was significant Western influence on Chinese fashion, and that influence was reflected in the evolution of the qipao. Below is an (very simplified) illustration of the evolution of qipao style from the 1920s-1940s (x). Note how the silhouettes correspond to what was trendy in Western fashion at the time:

1920s - loose, flat, and boxy

1930s - long, slender, and streamlined

1940s - shorter, squared shoulders, and cinched waist

Arguably the greatest lasting impact of Western fashion on qipao was that of Christian Dior’s extreme hourglass New Look silhouette on 1950s & 1960s qipao. To achieve this new fashionable silhouette, qipao makers in the 1950s starting using Western tailoring techniques such as darts, shoulder seams, and zippers. Below - Dior’s New Look (left) & 1950s qipao (right):

The use of darts, shoulder seams, and zippers continues today to create the curvy, form-fitting silhouette of contemporary qipao. The westernization of the silhouette, along with the usage of these relatively modern tailoring techniques, are further reasons for qipao to be categorized separately from hanfu by the hanfu community. Even hanfu that use nontraditional techniques such as shoulder seams and zippers are not recognized as “authentic” hanfu by many in the hanfu community. Rather, they are categorized as modified hanfu/改良汉服 and/or hanyuansu/汉元素 (clothing with elements of hanfu).

Now as you mentioned, it is true that several hanfu styles were influenced by other cultures (one notable example is the Yuan dynasty’s Mongolian influence on Ming dynasty hanfu: 1, 2). Furthermore, while the qipao might possibly be derived from Manchu robes, it was ultimately mainly created, worn, and innovated by Han people. So why not consider qipao a type of hanfu? My view is that it is the combination of the abovementioned factors (unclear origins, westernization, tailoring techniques) that places qipao outside the classification of hanfu, from the perspective of the hanfu community. For more details on the differences between hanfu and qipao, please check out this article.

I want to be clear, however, that this separate classification is not a value judgment. Qipao may not be classified as hanfu under the current definition of hanfu, but that does not in any way take away from the qipao’s importance, significance, and value to Chinese fashion history & culture in general. The most iconic Chinese garment of the 20th century, the qipao reflects the tastes and values of its time, and to this day is an ubiquitous part of a Chinese woman’s wardrobe. There are many people (such as myself) who like and wear both hanfu and qipao.

In fact, it makes me happy to see that there appears to be a growing interest in reviving & taking inspiration from vintage qipao styles. I see this as a part of the general trend of interest in historical Chinese clothing that the hanfu revival movement belongs to. Below are a few vintage-inspired qipao that I find appealing (1/2/3/4/5/6):

For more information, please see my “qipao” tag.

Hope this helps!

(Note: if anyone wants to add information, share thoughts, or correct a mistake, please do! I welcome it ^^)

Crafting a language self-learning curriculum (sort of)

In my experience textbooks aren’t really the best way to learn after you’ve passed a certain level. They’re incredibly useful for beginners to learn grammar and vocab but after that they don’t offer a lot of activities that help you implement your learning in a way that reflects how you will actually use it. 

It’s also near impossible to learn a language without help. Don’t isolate yourself just because you are self-learning rather than taking lessons. You NEED to talk to native speakers, both through text messages and actual verbal conversations. Colloquial conversations will differ greatly to formal an ‘correct’ ones spoken in a classroom. 

1. The first step I suggest when creating a curriculum is to know what your goal is. Are you planning to move to the country the language is spoken in? Do you want to study as a way to better understand and appreciate the culture? 

2. The next would be to gauge what level you are at through taking a language competency test. This is mostly so you have an idea of what you do know and what is considered the universal “next step” to give yourself a general direction to head towards. 

3. Write down topics that interest you. For me these would be my career (marketing and digital media), my interests (video games, ttrpgs, fashion, history, horror novels), and important parts of my identity (my religion, my sexuality, my partner, my disability) etc. I didn’t bother writing down anything I already know such as how to talk about my family, how to talk about my country of birth, or hobbies commonly written in textbooks such as reading, swimming, camping. 

4. Now come up with a list of general activities to cover your listening, writing, reading and speaking skills. Some examples are listed below: 

Listening: 

Watch 5 minutes of the news - recaps or weekly rundowns are great for this 

Listen to an audio book for half an hour whilst cooking, cleaning, commuting etc. 

Create playlists of music you actually like in your target language - you can further this by watching interviews about the artists or watching any live performances/streams they have done. 

Writing:

Write 1-2 paragraphs about a chosen topic without any dictionary or vocab list aid, any words you cannot remember or do not know just write in your native language. Return with a dictionary to fill in these missing words after and ask a native speaker to make any corrections they can spot and finally rewrite everything with all the corrections (taken from Lindie Botes). 

Write practice professional emails, blog-posts, product reviews, leave comments under Instagram posts etc. Make sure to learn how to write in different situations: how does writing an email to your boss differ from writing to your colleague? How are businesses addressed on review sites? What changes when writing a blog for fashion from one about politics? Learn these nuances. 

Text your native speaker friends - simple but necessary 

Reading: 

Read and summarise a key news article from this week 

Read a page from a book in your target language, highlight any unknown words to return to. Write out the sentences these words occurred in then the words on their own with their definition and create a new sentence using them. My key tip for this is not to be too ambitious with what you are reading. Don’t try to read an epic fantasy, instead focus on short stories and books for children aged around 5-10. As you improve you can read more complicated plots but just because you are familiar with the book in your native language does not mean you will understand what is going on. 

Speaking 

Record yourself leaving fake voice mails. This can be for a doctor’s appointment, inquiring about a job, asking to hangout with a friend etc. Keep it short and tone appropriate. This also gives you the opportunity to research phone etiquette in that culture. 

Talk. To. Native. Speakers.

5. Combine your topics of interest with activities to give you something that should resemble almost a lesson plan. 

Example: 

lemon cake with homemade blueberry compote + blueberry lemon buttercream decorated with white strawberries and edible glitter ! 🍓🫐🍋

my favorite poetry books (free PDF or epub)

the complete maya angelou

don't call us dead by danez smith

all the flowers kneeling by paul tran

time is a mother by ocean vuong

madness by sam sax

mayakovsky's revolver by matthew dickman

soft science by franny choi

thief in the interior by phillip b williams

ariel by sylvia plath

calling a wolf a wolf by kaveh akbar

together and by ourselves by alex dimitrov

not here by hieu minh nguyen

brute by emily skaja

post colonial love poem by natalie diaz

unaccompanied by javier zamora

prelude to bruise by saeed jones

howl & other poems by allen ginsberg

the big book of exit strategies by jamaal may

look by solmaz sharif

the crown ain't worth much by hanif abdurraqib

eyes bottle dark with a mouthful of flowers by jake skeets

finna by nate marshall

autopsy by donte collins

a place called no homeland by kai cheng thom

lunch poems by frank o'hara

lessons on expulsion by erika l sanchez

the new testament by jericho brown

said the manic to the muse by jeanann verlee

space struck by paige lewis

safe houses i have known by steve healey

the wound is a world by billy-ray belcourt

nature poem by tommy pico

owed by josua bennett

felon by reginald dwayne betts

come on all you ghosts by matthew zapruder

bluets by maggie nelson

life of the poetry by olivia gatwood

perennial by kelly forsythe

contradictions in the design by matthew olzmann

the big smoke by adrian matejka

peluda by melissa lozada-oliva

american sonnets for my past & future assassins by terrance hayes

king me by roger reeves

in a dream you saw a way to survive by clementine von radics

Reading rec list for chinese learners. This is not exhaustive, if you find stuff that works for you then go for it! This is also not perfect, you may find stuff a bit easier or harder is more ideal for you. (By "know" below I mean you recognize the word as familiar, have studied or looked it up at some point, and so if you need to look it up again in reading you will learn it longer term fairly easily because of the repeated exposure to it in reading).

Know ~500 words?

Mandarin Companion Graded Readers. I recommend the Sherlock one, and the Journey to the Center of the Earth one. All Mandarin Companion books are excellent for beginners though.

Pleco Graded Readers - I recommend The Butterfly Lovers. There are a lot of Pleco Graded readers though, so you can pick based on amount of unique words (some Graded readers on Pleco go up to 2000 unique words).

Know ~1000-1500 words?

Sinolingua Chinese Graded Readers. There are several, and I started with the 500 word one. They somewhat match up with HSK and I found them more challenging than the Mandarin Companion graded readers. They have a vocabulary list in the back of the book and footnotes to help you study. They are a good bridge to get you from graded readers to other materials. I found the 1000 and 2000 word book equally difficult.

Pleco Graded readers, which include readers from 1000-2000 unique words.

Start delving into manhua! If you're ready and feel like it! Easier manhua will be slice of life setting ones, and ones based on something you're already familiar with. So if you've watched the Untamed or read 魔道祖师, then the manhua will be easier for you. If you've watched The Lost Tomb Reboot, then try out the slice of life comedy manhua spin off 盗墓笔记重启日常向 https://m.ac.qq.com/comic/index/id/649452. My Story 他们的故事 is a gl manhua which is slice of life and easy to read, as is 19天. There's also more genre specific manhua which I waited a bit to read, but if you're familiar with the story they may be doable like 2ha's manhua and 破云 manhua.

Know ~1500-2000 words?

Start getting into easier novels. Suggestions include 活着 (anything by this author is often recommended to learners, I have not actually read anything by him yet), 小王子 (this was my first not-graded-reader novel I finished reading in chinese, it was a bit challenging, I used a english/Chinese copy so I could look up words occasionally), 笑猫日记: 会唱歌的猫 (I highly recommend this series of books, they're for kids and fairly straightforward, set in a city so decently useful words are used, with a lot of chengyu that's commonly used so they're worth learning, I read 2 of these novels), 他们的故事 by 一根黄瓜丝儿 (a bl novel that's first person, generally uses a lot of common daily life words, and is fairly straightforward, I've read half and it was the first real novel I tried to read in chinese). These novels can be tried earlier on if you're more willing to use a click dictionary, which is what I did (except for 小王子 since I had a print copy). 论如何错误地套路一个魔教教主 The Wrong Way to a Demon Sect Leader (a fairly easy wuxia bl read).

Also in general anything you've read before in a language you understand, is going to be easier to read in chinese than something brand new.

Feeling brave? Up for a challenge?

撒野 and anything by that author uses a lot of more everyday language and is an easier read than some other webnovels. 盗墓笔记 does not use particularly hard language outside of the tomb genre words which if you're reading then you need to look up and learn anyway eventually (the slang in it is a bit hard but also worth learning so the cursing etc trips you up less later in other stuff you read), if you've seen the show before its doable to read. Scum Villain Self Saving System is on the easier end of mxtx novels to read, especially if youre already familiar with the plot.

Know ~2000 words?

The same novels as before apply. But now you may need a dictionary a bit less. Stuff like 撒野 will now be a bit less difficult, still challenging. Now other novels will start to be doable as desired, if you're using a dictionary. So go have fun looking into whatever webnovels you're interested in.

(I made a list of difficulty ratings of various webnovels in my rec list tag, you may want to check out that list. A quick gadget though is like... 撒野 author is easier than 盗墓笔记 author, then mxtx, then priest (and tian ya ke and zhenhun are easier than silent reading and sha po lang), and poyun was higher on the difficulty scale, 2ha was fairly hard. Basically the more vocabulary or thicker the paragraphs, the harder it's gonna be. Or the less familiar you are with a given genre).

At ~2000 words or more I'd say reading with a click dictionary feels quite doable, although a slog if you pick a harder novel so gauge what feels an okay level for you personally to read. And if you feel like reading without a dictionary, you'll have to explore a bit to see what's comprehensible to you without one.

chinese hanfub by 瞳莞汉服

Reviewing tones as an intermediate in Chinese

As a beginner it takes a bit of time to become accustomed to be able to hear the difference in tones, yet alone pronounce them very correctly. By the time you get to intermediate you probably can hear the difference in tones but you may still have trouble pronouncing every single word correctly. However you most likely have a number of words that you have heard so often that you do pronounce correctly. For example 中国 zhong1 guo2, I bet most intermediates pronounce this is the correct tone as it is a word occurring so often that our brains automatically imitate pronunciations. However, when we encounter a new word we may have difficulty getting the tone just right, and then you need to remember it too.

I have two bits of advice that may help with this, that I myself am using to improve my tones over time:

As soon as you learn a new word, repeat at least 10 times in the correct tone.

As I said when speaking Chinese, you are speaking at a speed that you don’t have time to remember which tone the word is, you say it how you remember it. So when you learn a new word you want to try to cement the correct ‘rhythm’ (or tone) of the word in your head. If you remember the incorrect one it may be difficult to undo this. (i remember I pronounced 文化 as wen2 hua2 for the longest time and it was difficult to change this to wen2 hua4 in my head when i discovered i had been saying it all wrong!)

Memorise a few ‘tone pairs’ to remember the ‘rhythm’ when you learn a new word.

Hacking Chinese ( https://www.hackingchinese.com/focusing-on-tone-pairs-to-improve-your-mandarin-pronunciation/ ) has a great article on tone pairs and it’s merits. Recently when i learn a new word I recall the 'model’ word that I have for that particular tone pair, say it a few times to remember the 'rhythm’ of the word, the n say the new word I want to learn in that same rhythm, therefore it will help saying the word in the correct tone.

For example, lets say I learnt the new word  生活 sheng1 huo2, this has the same tone pair as 中国, therefore when i learn 生活 i can easily recall how 中国 is pronounced and imitate the same rythym when i said 生活. I created a table for myself with the tone pairs and so each time I encounter, for example any word that is first tone-second tone (such as 中国), then i can recall the rythym easily in my head.

This table has a list of words that I subconsciously pronounce with the correct tones as a result of hearing them so many times, there are however too many words that i don’t pronounce in the correct tone, hence i use this method to help :P

(ignore my terrible handwriting!)

Please try this out and let me know if you try this out and how it works for you??

Some language learning exercises and tips

These are some of the activities I do. Maybe you'll find them helpful:

Write a mock dating profile for yourself. Describe yourself, list your hobbies and interests, hopes for the future, likes and dislikes, and the qualities you're looking for in a partner. Enjoyed it? Write one for your favourite character/OC.

Try to find a Youtuber who plays your favourite game and does commentary in your target language. I watch this guy a lot.

Describe locations in your favourite books, games, movies, TV shows etc. I like to wander the Hitman maps and write about the different areas, NPCs, and situations I observe.

Write a mock interview with your character/influential figure of choice.

Choose a fairy tale and write your interpretation of it in your target language.

When you're cooking, say what you're doing out loud as if you were talking to a studio audience.

Imagine your mutuals are coming to your city for a visit. Write up a lil guidebook for them describing places of interest. Write an itinerary to practice using the future tense and "first", "then", "after that", etc statements.

A chalk marker might be useful to you. I write important words and phrases that I'm having trouble remembering on my bathroom mirror. I just wipe them away with a damp cloth later.

Review books, albums, movies etc in your target language. Either write down your review or record yourself talking about it.

Pronunciation Advice for Language Learners: How to Figure Out What You're Doing Wrong

The other day, my friend @calystarose was struggling with the phrase 出去吃 chūqùchī (go out to eat). This is a tongue twister for a lot of native English speakers. Even if we manage to get the individual vowels and consonant sounds correct, we often have a hard time stringing the words together.

I thought about the problem for a bit and then I told her to try saying it with her teeth clenched:

Why would that help?

Clenching your teeth forces you to hold your jaw still, and limits the amount of space your tongue has to move around. You can still make roughly the same sounds you were making before, but the new limitation forces you to make those sounds with smaller muscle movements.

Smaller movements reduce the amount of time and effort it takes to get from one syllable to the next.

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Talking fast is more about efficiency than speed.

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ɪᴘᴀ ᴋᴇʏʙᴏᴀʀᴅ ʀᴇꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴄʜᴀʀᴛ ᴍsᴋʟᴄ_ɪᴘᴀɢʀᴀᴘʜɪᴄ.ᴘᴅꜰ [sᴏᴜʀᴄᴇ]

When I first started taking French lessons, I had an easy time pronouncing words like "grand" and "robe." But then I ran into the word "livre," and suddenly I was getting tongue tied.

I realized my r was too far back in my throat. Too guttural.

This worked for a word like "grand" where the r is next to a g, a gutteral consonant. A consonant like v, on the other hand, is right at the front of the mouth, on the teeth.

If I wanted to say "livre" smoothly, I'd have to push my r further forward in my mouth, closer to that letter.

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There's almost always more than one way to make your mouth form a particular vowel or consonant sound.

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I noticed a while back that I say these letters t & d differently depending on whether I'm trying to speak English or Mandarin.

My t's and d's are little firmer in Mandarin than they are in English — my tongue is held stiffer, and the tip is more pointed when it comes into contact with my hard palate.

The funny thing is, I can't really hear a difference.

But I can feel the difference in my mouth when I shape the letters.

I never made a conscious decision to change how I say these consonants when speaking Mandarin — this is just something I naturally started doing when mimicking the recorded dialogue in my Duolingo audio lessons.

I realized it wasn't about getting the consonants to sound correct.

It was about what came after those consonants. The vowel sounds:

Chinese vowels are really different from English vowels. By changing how I shaped these consonants, I was setting up my mouth for a smoother transition into the next vowel sound.

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Proper enunciation isn't just about making the right sounds come out of your mouth. It's also about transitioning from one sound to the next as fluidly as possible.