Chinese Culture

There are words that we use in Chinese mostly on dramas or TV shows because their meaning is pretty negative for daily life. This Chinese idiom phrase is one of those that I have never actually used when talking to a person, but I hear it on TV all the time. The phrase is: “狼心狗肺(lángxīngǒufèi) ...

Zhōngguó chuántǒng xìqǔ lìshǐ yōujiǔ, yuányuǎnliúcháng,
中国传统戏曲历史悠久，源远流长，
tā shì zhōnghuá mínzú wénhuà yìshù pǐnzhǒng zhī yī.
它是中华民族文化艺术品种之一。
Chinese traditional operas, of a long history and well established, are one of the cultural and artistic forms of the Chinese nation.

Zhèxiē gǔlǎo de jùzhǒng, zhìjīn huóyuè zài Zhōngguó de wǔtái shàng.
这些古老的剧种，至今活跃在中国的舞台上。
These ancient types of drama are still active on China’s ...

You know Chinese Kung Fu because of movies, right? Chinese Kung Fu is so much more. It embodies China’s national wisdom and traditional culture in one very pure active art form. The main concepts of Kung Fu are moderation and harmony. Its artistic nature and require for discipline has influenced the entire world. Shaolin, Tai ...

Teaching Chinese culture and tradition is an essential part of teaching Mandarin Chinese. Not only are the words and phrases important, but learning about the lives of Chinese people adds a motivation to integrate and inspire my students to continue to pursue the language. Today, I’m going to introduce four traditional events that Chinese couples ...

A very enjoyable part of the experience of learning Mandarin Chinese in China is the opportunity to be able to see and experience new parts of the world. Sometimes, those “new” parts are actually quite old!
I’m going to introduce to you some places referred to as “中国四大古都 (Zhōngguó sì dà gǔ dū),” or the “Four ...

“Don’t play dumb!” This English phrase has a Chinese equivalent that, although its meaning is the same, has a very different literal translation with unique origins. The Chinese “装蒜 (zhuāngsuàn)” literally means “to pretend garlic” which may sound kind of funny in English. It is used to mean “feign ignorance” and “make a pretense.” Read ...

Key Learning Points (Preview):
粽子 (zòngzi) n. rice dumpling

庆祝 (qìngzhù) v. to celebrate

In the west, people "庆祝 (qìngzhù) celebrate" Easter Day in memory of Jesus. They eat Easter Eggs to commemorate this day. In China, people have a similar celebration of a heroic figure from ancient times on the Dragon Boat Festival. Instead of Easter Eggs, Chinese people ...

Have you ever heard of Chinese “糖画(tánghuà) sugar painting?” If not, check out the video below for a glimpse of this intricate, edible art!

Have you ever seen anything like what the artist makes in the video? Do you think the way “糖画(tánghuà)” is made is pretty amazing?
If you visit China, you might find that in ...

The movie 变脸(biànliǎn) Face Off was directed by Chinese director 吴宇森(Wúyŭsēn) John Woo, and was released in 1997. While the movie was a hit, in fact, 变脸(biànliǎn) is a form of art in Sichuan Province, China.
变脸(biànliǎn) face-off and 川剧(chuānjù) Sichuan Opera

川剧(chuānjù) Sichuan Opera is a form of folk art just like Peking Opera ...

Sun Zi’s Art of War was written by Sun Wu in the final year of the Spring and Autumn
Period (770BC – 476BC).
It is not only the oldest Chinese military work in existence but also the oldest book
of military theory in the world, well-known for a long time in the history of the
military academy in China ...