Lia-kotik-blog - Lia's Diary

A compilation of people from a few of the 56 official ethnic groups in China wishing everyone a happy Duanwu (Dragon Boat Festivial) from 2021.

song: 半生雪 - 是七叔呢

English added by me :)

Cherry blossoms and tea plantations, Japan . Photography by afun Agata

best video ever

I don’t know what this is all I know is that I can’t stop thinking about it

Chinese websites 🇨🇳[MASTERPOST]

Last time when I posted the list with my fav websites where you can practice reading in Chinese, so many of you liked it and shared it! I appreciate it so much… and decided to make something extra, add more websites I found useful during Chinese learning process. 

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Reading in Chinese  

♡ Mandarin Bean (news in Chinese, HSK 1-6) 

♡ Chinese Reading Practice (stories, essays, legends, chengyu stories)  

♡ The Chairman’s Bao (news in Chinese, HSK 1-6) 

♡ HSK Reading (and more articles!) 

♡ My Chinese Reading (stories, scientific, business/politics, history etc)  

♡ BBC News in Chinese (for more advanced learners) 

♡ + Baidu Baike (something like Chinese wikipedia) 

Grammar and HSK websites

♡ Chinese Grammar Wiki (saved my as… I mean my life MANY times) 

♡ HSK Online (perfect place to test yourself, learn new words and gain a lot of knowledge how HSK looks like) 

Online courses 

♡ Courses on edX  

♡ Courses on Coursera (recommend these courses created by Peking University) 

Online Dictionaries 

♡ MDBG ♡ Yellow Bridge 

♡ Pleco (APP) ♡ Bohan (for 🇵🇱 ppl) 

YouTubers 

Teachers: 

♡ ShuoShuo Chinese 

♡ Mandarin Corner 

♡ Chinese Zero To Hero 

♡ Everyday Chinese  

♡ Learning Chinese through Stories 

♡ Daily Zhongwen 

♡ HSK Test Preparation and Practice  

♡ SyS Mandarin 

Chinese vloggers

♡ Elena Lin 

♡ Nuria Ma 

♡ Liziqi 

♡ WenWei 

Foreigners in/about China 

♡ Blondie in China

♡ Weronika Truszczyńska (Polish vlogger, her shoots are incredible; there are English subs) 

♡ Ychina 

Online Bookstores 

♡ Purple Culture 

♡ Sinolingua 

♡ ChinaBooks 

♡ Mandarin Companion 

Where you can watch Chinese drama/movies/cartoons? 

♡ YouTube (try to type the Chinese title, high possibilities it will show up! fe. THEY have quite a lot of dramas ;>  

♡ iQIYi 

♡ Netflix -> Taiwan on Netflix  + Movies from Mainland China on Netflix 

♡ Little Fox Chinese

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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.

I always wondered why the Western Zodiac and the Chinese Zodiac were both called zodiacs if one was associated w astronomy and the other w time in general. Like what defines a zodiac that the word is only used to describe these two things? Looking up the word "zodiac" in the dictionary didnt help bc it only talked about the western one.

Well, I decided to look up the etymology for zodiac and it turns out it comes from the Greek for "circle of little animals." I love humans

Linguistics Terms in Chinese

*Common terms found in textbooks, on tests, etc. that no one has ever taught me explicitly; will update periodically through reblogs－please share if you know other ones!! We can use these words to talk about our study, ask for help, or better understand test questions and practice sets.

语法 －grammar

生词 － vocabulary

口语 －speaking 

写字 －writing 

阅读 －reading 

跨文化交际 － cross-cultural communication 

汉字 － characters 

拼音 － pinyin 

偏胖 － character radicals (e.g. 口袋的口）

名词 －noun

动词 －verb

副词 － adverb 

状语 －adverb phrase

量词 －measure word

连词 －conjunction 

句子 －sentence 

主语 － subject of a sentence 

分句 － sentence clause 

注释 －explanatory notes 

不同点 －differences 

对话 － dialogue 

专有名词 －Proper nouns

词义 －meaning of a word, definition

形合 －a linguistics term that literally means “shape focused;” it refers to the way that languages like English focus more heavily on structures like grammar to be intelligible; in contrast to the below term, 意合

意合 －a linguistics term that literally means “meaning focused;” it refers to languages like Chinese that focus more heavily on meaning, so they can rely on repetition of certain words or phrases within a sentence or utterance without sounding redundant; in contrast to the above term, 形合

练习 － practice

复习－review 

预习 － preview 

考试 －test

做作业 － do homework

例如 － example 

判断对错。 － judge true or false. 

题 － question (usually 第 + # + 题）

请选出真确回答。 － choose the correct answer.

选词填空。－fill in the blanks.

排列顺序。－ arrange / put in order of sequence.

部分 －part (usually 第 + # + 部分）

完成句子 － finish the sentences. 

shén shòu神兽, mythological animals in chinese culture for references and inspiration part Ⅰ:  nine offsprings of loong🐲🐉

In addition to the well-known Loong🐉 (dragon but not western dragon)and the Fenghuang(Phoenix), there are countless other divine beasts(or beasts of spiritualization) in Chinese mythology, their system is huge and complex, from various ancient texts and folklore, such as “Loong gives birth to nine offsprings 龙生九子”, meaning the nine descendants of Loong and they are born from the mating of Loong and other divine beasts, with different forms, and their images can often be seen in Chinese folk culture.

1. 囚牛[qiú niú]

Qiuniu, the eldest offspring of the dragon, is said to have loved music all his life. Legend has it that qiuniu was the most docile of all the dragon’s sons, and that it was not a killer or a fighter, but rather a musician. It had a head like a dragon and a body like a snake, and its hearing was so good that it could distinguish the sounds and the pitch of everything. It often crouches on ancient Chinese stringed instruments to enjoy the music of the plucked strings, which is why its statue was carved on them. ↓

2. 睚眦[yá zì]

Yazi, the second offspring, has the head of a dragon and the body of a jackal, is fierce, courageous, bloodthirsty and murderous, and always has a sword in its mouth and a furious stare, often engraved on the handle of a sword as a symbol of guardianship and strength. The original meaning of yazi is to stare in anger, a symbol of blood and vengeance, and so yazi became the embodiment of the destruction of all evil. ↓

3. 嘲风[cháo fēng]

Chaofeng is the third in line and enjoys adventure and views from high places.

In Chinese folklore, chaofeng symbolises good fortune, beauty and majesty, and also serves to deter demons, remove calamities and ward off evil spirits. It adds a layer of mystery to a towering hall and can act as a deterrent to evil and avoid disaster. ↓

4. 蒲牢[pú láo]

Pulao loves sound and a good roar, and is often carved on the great bells of Chinese temples. Legend has it that the pulao lived by the sea and was terrified of whales. When the whale attacked, he was so frightened that he roared loudly. In response to its ‘fondness for roaring’, the pulao was cast on the bell of the temple and the wooden pestle used to strike the bell was carved in the shape of the whale. When the bell is struck, the whale strikes the pulao one after the other, so that the sound of the bell can be heard from very far. ↓

5. 狻猊 [suān ní]

Resembling a lion, suanni is a quiet and immobile creature that sits well and loves fireworks, and is often used to decorate the foot of incense burners.

There are three broad uses for the suanni. One is as a mount for a Buddha or Bodhisattva, a guardian animal. Legend has it that the suanni liked to sit quiet for long time, so when the Buddha saw that it had patience, he took it as a mount. Secondly, the suanni was regarded as a auspicious beast to ward off evil and was introduced into people’s practical lives, and was gradually used extensively in architectural decoration, folklore festivals and bronze mirror decoration. Thirdly, it was used to ward off evil spirits, to guard tombs, and to guard palace gates and mansions. In view of the supreme power of the Buddhist kung fu ‘lion’s roar’, suanni stone sculptures were used in the Sui and Tang dynasties to guard tombs to ward off evil spirits or to symbolise authority. ↓

6. 赑屃[bì xì] Bixi is one of the nine sons of the dragon in ancient Han mythology, also known as baxia霸下 and ranked sixth. It has a tortoise-like appearance and likes to carry heavy loads on its back, often carrying stone monuments for years. Bixi is often used as a base for stone monuments, and is of great cultural importance. Its symbolism is based on 'longevity and good fortune’ and has connotations of status, totem worship and witchcraft. ↓

7. 狴犴bì àn, also known as Charter, is loong’s seventh offspring. It looks like a tiger, very powerful, and enjoy living a litigious life. The tiger head decoration on the prison door is Bian.

Ancient scripture《龙经》notes: “Bian likes to argue, and it has a name called charter.” It is said that Bian is not only loyal to justice, but also able to distinguish right from wrong and judge justly. In addition to its majestic appearance, bian is not only decorated on the prison door, but also lying on both sides of the ancient government hall. Whenever the magistrate sits in the hall, Bian’s image is on the top of the title board and the silence board. Bian looks around fiercely to maintain the solemn integrity of the court.

Bian is both the symbol of prison and the patron saint of ordinary people. In 上虞区上浦镇冯浦村, shaoxing, zhejiang province, there are the cultural custom of 'Bian Loong dance狴犴龙舞’, which had local characteristics and are deeply welcomed by the local people. ↓

8. 负屃[fù xì ]

The fuxi is the eighth offspring born to the dragon in ancient Chinese mythology. Its body resembles that of a dragon and it has a gentle disposition, preferring to coil around the head of a stone monument. It is a lover of literature and calligraphy and likes to coil around the tops of stone monuments with beautiful inscriptions. It is usually seen together with the bixi, which carries the monument, and the fuxi coils around the top of the monument. ↓

9. 螭吻 or 鸱吻 [chī wěn]

It is generally considered to be the ninth offspring of the dragon. It likes to swallow things and is said to be able to devour everything, as seen on the head of the beast on the roof of a Chinese palace. Chiwen likes to look around and is carved to look like it is swallowing the roof with its mouth open, and often has a sword stuck in its back. Legend has it that chiwen can spout waves and send down heavy rain, ward off fires and drive away spirits and demons. So Chinese folk asked it to watch over the horizontal ridges of houses. It likes to climb high and look down, so it is regarded as an ornament in folklore to pray for rain and to ward off fire. Chiwen is the child of a dragon and a fish, so its head is a dragon’s head but its body is in the shape of a fish. ↓

summary and some related patterns↓ 

The Porcelain House in Tianjin

Whisper of the Heart 耳をすませば 1995 | dir. Yoshifumi Kondō