留得青山在，不怕没柴烧 (Liú dé qīngshān zài, búpà méi chái shāo) Where There is Life, There is Hope (Intermediate)
Key Learning Points (Preview):
长大 (zhǎngdà): v to grow up
富裕 (fùyù): adj rich
In ancient times, there was an old man who used "木材 (mùcái) wood" to make "木炭(mùtàn) charcoal." He had two sons, one named Qing Shan and the other named Hong Shan. Before his death, he gave the east side of their mountain to Qing Shan and the west to Hong Shan as a will.
The west was wooded and was able to produce very good charcoal. Hong Shan "勤快(qínkuài) worked hard" to produce charcoal using the woods, so he became quite "富裕 (fùyù) rich." After several years, Hong Shan planted crops on the mountain since there were no trees left. "意外地 (yìwàide) Unexpectedly," a "暴风雨 (bàofēngyǔ) storm" washed away all his crops, and he had nothing to eat. Then he went to the east side of the mountain to ask for help from his elder brother.
East Mountain was sparsely wooded; however, Qing Shan had his side of the mountain well organized. He used bad "树 (shù) trees" on the mountain to produce charcoal, and then planted new trees. At the same time, he "饲养 (sìyǎng) raised" animals and reclaimed "荒地 (huāngdì) wasteland" on the foot of the mountain. He was rather poor in the beginning, but several years later, small trees started "长大 (zhǎngdà) growing up," and his crops weren’t damaged by the heavy storm because of the "保护 (bǎohù) protection" from the forest. His brother explained to Hong Shan: "If one lives in the mountain but doesn't protect it, he/ she will be doomed. By protecting the mountain first, you can enjoy a good 生活 (shēnghuó) life later on."
Later, people "称赞 (chēngzàn) commended" Qing Shan and said: "留得青山在，不怕没柴烧 (Liú dé qīngshān zài, búpà méi chái shāo) Where there is life, there is hope."
Key Learning Points:
长大 (zhǎngdà): v to grow up
The character "长 (zhǎng)" means to grow here and "大 (dà)" means big.
Example:
Lìlì suīrán zài chéngshì zhǎngdà, dànshì tā xǐhuan xiāngcūn níngjìng de shēnghuó. 莉莉 虽然 在 城 市 长 大， 但是 她 喜欢 乡村 宁 静 的 生活。
Lily grew up in the city, but she preferred the peaceful life of the countryside.
富裕 (fùyù): adj rich
The characters "富 (fù)" and "裕 (yù)" both mean rich. "贫困 (pínkùn)" is antonym of "富裕 (fùyù) rich." "贫(pín)" and "困 (kùn)" here both mean poor.
Example:
A: Wǒmen gébì de nàge lǎorén hěn fùyù! 我们 隔壁 的 那个 老人 很 富裕！
The old man next door is quite rich.
B: Duì ya, zhèshì tā yīngdé de, tā niánqīng shí hěn nǔlì. 对 呀，这是 他 应得 的，他 年轻 时 很 努力。
Yes, he deserves it since he worked hard when he was young.
生词 (shēngcí) Vocabulary
柴 (chái): n firewood
保护 (bǎohù): n protection
饲养 (sìyǎng): v to raise
the most interesting blogs that i have ever seen. interesting article, funny comment. keep it up!
To think, I was confused a munite ago.
Ni hao. I wish to thank you for all the lessons with diferent topics and about China, culture and history.
This last one specially got my attention and the stories attached to the lesson words makes you asorb things better.
However this made me check things up as I know the written english sentences is far from the same in Mandarin, to be able to build my own, I need to understand the way one think in Chinese (that’s not easy)
That so happened that I stumbled over a difference.
In Example A you write: nàge = 那个 = but when I look it up 那个 = nèigè = that one (refering to the old man)
According to a dictonary online nǎge = which / who and is written 哪个. Maybe the mening in English actually could slide through but I would still like to know which is right. If you was learning characters it could be hard to re-learn. Besides that you have a great site, interesting lessons and good material.
Dear Inga-May Premros:
Thanks for your support! Referring to the question you mentioned, please see below:
“Nàge” is the most standard way of saying “那个.” It’s completely right. However, there are some important exceptions to consider. In spoken Chinese, when “那” is either used alone, is followed directly with noun, or followed by a measure word or numeral, it also can be pronounced as “nèi” or “nè.” For example: “那个 (nèige),” “那些 (nèixiē).”
You also mentioned the word “哪个 (nǎge),” this is a interrogative word. For example: “你更喜欢哪个，莉莉还是露西。(nǐ ɡènɡ xǐhuɑn nǎɡè, Lìlì háishì Lùxī) which do you like best, Lily or Lucy?”
If you still have any questions related to Chinese learning, please feel free to let me know: Jennifer.zhu@eChineseLearning.com. I hope this helps you out.
Best regards,
Jennifer