Abner's Blog

Ni hao China! a online magazine

2012-03-27T13:35:00.000+08:00

I come across with a very good online magazine about Chinese Culture, though it may interests you. here is a excerpt of it.

Luminous cup made of jade produced in Qilian Mountain is the best choice for red wine as the liquid purportedly looks like blood and reflects moon light in the cup it is believed that jade cups can promote health and promote longevity.

here is a picture of it. you can go to here

Characters of the year, all about frustration.

2010-12-18T21:49:00.004+08:00

Netizens in China today voted a list of Characters in an online poll to sum up the frustration throughout the whole year.
The character ”涨”, which mean price soaring, tops the list.
The character received 2,993 votes out of the 7,563 cast in the poll that was organized by tianya.cn, one of the most popular online forums in China.
Zhang was followed by the character yuan (meaning resentment), hui (meaning gray), chai (meaning demolish) and si (meaning death).
A total of 265 Chinese characters were nominated for the voting, which lasted from Nov 2 to Dec 15.
"We heard various opinions about which character summarized the big events of the year 2010 and most netizens finally chose zhang, which mirrors the fact that price surges have affected the lives of so many people," said Ying Jianqun, head of the press department of tianya.cn.
"I hope the related government departments will hear the response from the public."
Meanwhile, the annual Blue Book of China's Society, released on Wednesday by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said prices topped the list of concerns in 2010 and people's ability to absorb price rises has slumped sharply.
Indicators showed that public satisfaction with jobs and social security was at its lowest for four years, the annual report said.
"Urban and rural residents' overall satisfaction with life declined as the negative impacts of the financial crisis gradually came into play in 2010," it said.
Confidence in the government's ability to manage economic, social and international affairs fell, while pride in China's world status, which had been on the rise for four years, dropped back to its 2006 level, according to the report.
"I believe zhang is not enough to summarize what happened in the year 2010," said Wei Wei, a 26-year-old white-collar worker from Beijing.

"It only refers to the fact that there has been a price hike but does not reflect people's feelings of being unable to stand the skyrocketing cost of living."
Wang Shuixiong, a sociology expert with Renmin University of China, said price hikes have weighed on people's minds.
"The price surge of items that are life necessities has caused mental pressure on those wage-earners who are sensitive to prices," Wang said.
Lu Hanlong, a professor with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said some people have been left feeling helpless because of the hikes.
"The character reflects people's feeling of insecurity amid rising prices, especially among young people who are accustomed to expressing their emotions via the Internet," Lu said. "The government should give a hand to these people because they are more sensitive to food prices."
Lu suggested the government updates the basic living allowance and food subsidies for university students every three months, in accordance with changes in the consumer price index.
"After all, everyone has to eat and the direct assistance will be more effective than attempts to control prices," he said.

16th Asian Game torch relay in Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center

2010-11-11T09:52:00.007+08:00

Today,the torch relay for 16th Asian Game will begin in Higher Education Mega Center(a.k.a. University Town) within 20 minutes, is also the final leg for the game after the relay held in Haixinsha, the main venue. The host managed arranging a lot of celebrities(including Zhang Ziyi, the international movie star) for today's relay. The torch will firstly goes to Yang Yang, the first short track speed skating gold medalist in Winter Olympic, and the relay will finalized by Zhong Nanshan, who fought SARS in this southern province in 2003.

The torch relay will both begin and end in Guangdong Science Center, clock-wisely run through the outer ring of Higher Education Mega Center. totally 130 torchbearers will run up to 15 kilometers today.

The Official Mark of Guangzhou 2010 Torch Relay

Torchbearer:Yang Yang,Winter Olympic Game Gold medalist.

Torchbearer :Prasanth Prasadan Nair, three-time Asian junior rowing championship gold medallist.

The origin of the Chinese scripts

2010-10-22T11:36:00.002+08:00

There have been various stories about the origin of the Chinese script, with nearly all ancient writers attributing it to a man named Cangjie.

Cangjie, according to one legend, saw a divine being whose face had unusual features which looked like a picture of writings. In imitation of his image, Cangjie created the earliest written characters. After that, certain ancient accounts go on to say, millet rained from heaven and the spirits howled every night to lament the leakage of the divine secret of writing.
Another story says that Cangjie saw the footprints of birds and beasts, which inspired him to create written characters.

Evidently these stories cannot be accepted as the truth, for any script can only be a creation developed by the masses of the people to meet the needs of social life over a long period of trial and experiment. Cangjie, if there ever was such a man, must have been a prehistoric wise man who sorted out and standardized the characters that had already been in use.

A group of ancient tombs have been discovered in recent years at Yanghe in Luxian County, Shandong Province. They date back 4,500 years and belong to a late period of the Dawenkou Culture. Among the large numbers of relics unearthed are about a dozen pottery wine vessels (called zun), which bear a character each. These characters are found to be stylized pictures of some physical objects. They are therefore called pictographs and, in style and structure, are already quite close to the inscriptions on the oracle bones and shells, though they antedate the latter by more than a thousand years.

The pictographs, the earliest forms of Chinese written characters, already possessed the characteristics of a script.

As is well-known, written Chinese is not an alphabetic language, but a script of ideograms. Their formation follows three principles:

Hieroglyphics or the drawing of pictographs

As explained before, this was the earliest method by which Chinese characters were designed and from which the other methods were subsequently developed. For instance, the sun was written as , the moon as , water as , the cow as and so on. These picture-words underwent a gradual evolution over the centuries until the pictographs changed into "square characters," some simplified by losing certain strokes and others made more complicated but, as a whole, from irregular drawings they became stylized forms.

Associative compounds

The principle of forming characters by drawing pictures is easy to understand, but pictographs cannot express abstract ideas. So the ancients invented the "associative compounds," i. e., characters formed by combining two or more elements, each with a meaning of its own, to express new ideas. Thus, the sun and the moon written together became the character (ming), which means "bright"; the sun placed over a line representing the horizon formed the ideogram (dan) which means "sunrise" or "morning".

Pictophonetics

Though pictographs and associative compounds indicate the meanings of characters by their forms, yet neither of the two categories gives any hint as to pronunciation. The pictophonetic method was developed to create new characters by combining one element indicating meaning and the other sound. For instance, 爸 (ba) the Chinese character for "papa" is formed by the element 巴 (ba) which represents the sound and the element父 (fu) which represents the meaning (father). Likewise the character 芭(ba) is formed by巴 (the sound) and 艹, indicating a plant. In this way, more and more characters were made until such pictophonetics constitute today about 90 percent of all Chinese characters.

Internet censorship in China: wild and crazy!

2010-01-26T21:38:00.003+08:00

Is this A problem?

Many Chinese people don't take this as a problem at all. They are college students care only for their future job after graduation; small-buziness owners concentrate themselves on the marketplace; office ladies are busy stealing crops in Happy Farm(Kaixin Nongchang, a famous game among white-collars and students in China); countless of migrant workers in the sweat factory know nothing about censorship of Internet. But it is a problem for some Chinese people who really cares about him/herself and this country

The Situation.

Accouding to Alexa.com, among the top 20 sites in the world, 6 of them are unaccessible in China, including Facebook, Youtube, logger, Twitter, Wordpress and Myspace (part of the subdomain unavailable in China).

The are also mollions of webpages in Chinese are unreachable and many Chinese blog are blocked by GFW. People in China, can only read what the Gov want us to read. The filtering and cennsorship system worked so well that one can't even read a tech blog post about how the Internet worked. The feared that one knows much about the Internet technology may have the abilities to overcome or surpass the GFW. Sourceforge.com was blocked for a while and some of the subdomain are still in blocking. A bunch of Open source Apps and APIsand anything related to Twitter are blocked here.

People outside China may find life without Twitter and Youtube unbelievable. But here is the truth. Of course we got our version of Twitter and Youtube, but you can't put a word that is politically sensitive on any of the microblogging system here and the all video sharing sites are all copyrighted soures that torrented by God knows who. If you want wacth something original, enjoy the disappointment.

What is on the show?

With Google claiming that it will withdraw it service in China, G-fans in China "mourned" it in front of the Beijing office with bouquets and the Police called that was ILLEGAL.

The Hillary Rodham Clinton's Remarks on Internet Freedom also elicited a strong reaction in China, both Govornmental and Civil. The Govornment condemned the U.S. for using the Google Case politically, and some scholars, as always, stands back the system, criticizing the U.S. Govornment and Secretary of the State Clinton. Ironically though, while the spokeswoman says our Internet was open, you can't find one comment that backs Google belowe any Google-criticizing article in any website in China. I tried few times and the webmaster deleted my comments promptly.

What we are hoping.

With the current situation like this, we got nothing to expect.

Eight Cuisines in China

2009-12-22T23:11:00.003+08:00

China covers a large territory and has many nationalities, hence a variety of Chinese food with different but fantastic and mouthwatering flavor. Since China's local dishes have their own typical characteristics, generally, Chinese food can be roughly divided into eight regional cuisines, which has been widely accepted around. Certainly, there are many other local cuisines, which are famous, such as Beijing Cuisine and Shanghai Cuisine.
Shandong Cuisine
Consisting of Jinan cuisine and Jiaodong cuisine, Shandong cuisine, clear, pure and not greasy, is characterized by its emphasis on aroma, freshness, crispness and tenderness. Shallot and garlic are usually used as seasonings so Shangdong dishes tastes pungent usually. Soups are given much emphasis in Shangdong dishes. Thin soup features clear and fresh while creamy soup looks thick and tastes strong. Jinan cuisine is adept at deep-frying, grilling, frying and stir-frying while Jiaodong division is famous for cooking seafood with fresh and light taste.
Typical Courses: Bird's Nest Soup; the Yellow River Carp in Sweet and Sour sauce

Sichuan Cuisine
Sichuan cuisine is world-famous and forms a class of its own. The Chinese claim that it comprises more than 4000 dishes, of which over 300 are said to be famous. It's easily China's hottest and spiciest cuisine, often using huajiao, literally 'flower pepper', a crunchy little item that leaves a numbing and strangely unfamiliar aftertaste-some compare it to spicy detergent.
Sichuan chefs have a catch-cry that draws attention to the diversity of Sichuanese cooking styles: 'baicai, baiwei,' literally 'a hundred dishes, a hundred flavors. ' Whether 'a hundred flavours' is a characteristic Chinese exaggeration or not is difficult to say. There is, nevertheless, a bewildering cornucopia of Sichuanese sauces and culinary-preparation techniques.
Some of the more famous varieties are yuxiang wei, a really tasty fish-flavored sauce that draws heavily on vinegar, soy sauce and mashed garlic and ginger; mala wei, a numbingly spicy sauce that is often prepared with bean curd; yanxun wei, a 'smoked flavor' sauce, of which the most justifiably famous is that used with smoked duck; and, perhaps most famous of all, the hot and sour sauce (suanla ivei). The hot and sour soup, suanla tang, is eaten throughout China and is great on a cold day.
A famous dish is spicy chicken fried with peanuts (gongbao jiding). Equally well known is mapo doufu, which is beancurd, pork and chopped spring onions in a chilly sauce. A favorite with travelers and worth trying simply for the novelty value is guoba roupian. Guoba refers to the crispy bits of rice, uncannily similar to Rice Crisps, that stick to the bottom of the rice pot - they are put on a plate, and pork and gravy added in front of the dinner.
Chinese cooking is justifiably famous, a fine art perfected through the centuries. Quality, availability of ingredients and cooking styles vary by region, but you'll almost always find something to suit your tastes.
While the Chinese make outstanding lunches, dinners and snacks, many foreigners are disappointed with breakfast. The Chinese do not seem to understand the western notion of eating lightly in the morning - a typical breakfast could include fried peanuts, pickled vegetables, pork with hot sauce, fried bread-sticks (youtiao) , and rice porridge. Outside of hotel restaurants, prices are generally low.
The other catch is that when Chinese dine out they spend big, and foreigners are expected to do likewise.
It cannot be said that one who does not experience Sichuan food ever reaches China.
Typical Courses: Hot Pot; Smoked Duck; Kung Pao Chicken; Twice Cooked Pork; Mapo Dofu

Guangdong Cuisine (Cantonese Cuisine)
Tasting clear, light, crisp and fresh, Guangdong cuisine, familiar to Westerners, usually chooses raptors and beasts to produce originative dishes. Its basic cooking techniques include roasting, stir-frying, sauteing, deep-frying, braising, stewing and steaming. Among them Steaming and stir-frying are more commonly applied to preserve the natural flavor. Guangdong chefs also pay much attention to the artistic presentation of dishes.
This is southern Chinese cooking-lots of steaming, boiling and stir-frying. It's the best of the bunch if you're worried about cholesterol, as it uses the least amount of oil. It's lightly cooked and not as highly spiced as the other three, with lots of seafood, vegetables, roast pork, chicken, steamed fish and fried rice.
Dim sum is a snack-like variation, served for breakfast and lunch (but never dinner) and consisting of all sorts of little delicacies served from pushcarts wheeled around the restaurant floor. It's justifiably famous and something you should experience at least once, but like many visitors you'll probably get addicted.
The Cantonese are famous for making just about anything palatable: specialties are abalone, dried squid, 1000-year eggs, shark's fin soup, snake soup and dog stew.
Typical Courses: Shark's Fin Soup; Steamed Sea Bass; Roasted Piglet

Fujian Cuisine
Consisting of Fuzhou Cuisine, Quanzhou Cuisine and Xiamen Cuisine, Fujian Cuisine is distinguished for its choice seafood, beautiful color and magic taste of sweet, sour, salty and savory. The most distinct features are their "pickled taste".
Typical Courses: Buddha Jumping Over the Wall; Snow Chicken; Prawn with Dragon's Body and Phoenix's tail

Jiangsu Cuisine
Jiangsu Cuisine, also called Huaiyang Cuisine, is popular in the lower reach of the Yangtze River. Aquatics as the main ingredients, it stresses the freshness of materials. Its carving techniques are delicate, of which the melon carving technique is especially well known. Cooking techniques consist of stewing, braising, roasting, simmering, etc. The flavor of Huaiyang Cuisine is light, fresh and sweet and with delicate elegance.
Typical Courses: Stewed Crab with Clear Soup, Long-boiled and Dry-shredded Meat, Duck Triplet, Crystal Meat, Squirrel with Mandarin Fish, and Liangxi Crisp Eel

Zhejiang Cuisine
Comprising local cuisines of Hanzhou, Ningbo and Shaoxing, Zhejiang Cuisine, not greasy, wins its reputation for freshness, tenderness, softness, smoothness of its dishes with mellow fragrance. Hangzhou Cuisine is the most famous one among the three.
Typical Courses: Sour West Lake Fish, Longjing Shelled Shrimp, Beggar's Chicken

Hunan Cuisine
Hunan cuisine consists of local Cuisines of Xiangjiang Region, Dongting Lake and Xiangxi coteau. It characterizes itself by thick and pungent flavor. Chili, pepper and shallot are usually necessaries in this division.
Typical Courses: Dongan Chick; Peppery and Hot Chick

Anhui Cuisine
Anhui Cuisine chefs focus much more attention on the temperature in cooking and are good at braising and stewing. Often hams will be added to improve taste and sugar candy added to gain freshness.
Typical Courses: Stewed Snapper; Huangshan Braised Pigeon

Guangzhou metro line 5 opennig

2009-12-01T14:15:00.003+08:00

Guangzhou metro line 5 opening this month

Citizens in Guangzhou had for long endured the traffic jam all over the urban area, especially in Zhongshan Avenue and Dongfeng Avenue. However, this situation will be to some extend improved after putting the Metro line 5 into service. For me, this means I can go and pay a visit to my father, working at Wenchong Guangzhou, without transferring bus.

The Guangzhou Government has resolved to improve the traffic condition and make the city prettier for the coming Asia Game. Before the Nov 12 2009, on witch day opens the Game, there will be another three metro line opening for civilian and a BRT project was under construction, witch too, will be in service before the Game.

For more information about the Guangzhou metro. please go to here(wikipedia) or the company's official site.

Why I oppose the traditional teacher-centered lecture format.

2009-06-13T20:17:00.001+08:00

From as early as the school was established in China, teachers dominated the entire classroom, students just have to receive and imbibe what teachers taught in class and any kind of challenge or doubt was discouraged and dampened. The results were independent thinking has been hampered; the spirit to doubt and argue has been impeded. In such atmosphere, no dare to challenge the authority. Pundit or expert means standard. In a circumstance like this, if we want to better our education and to install a productive atmosphere in classroom, we must oppose this teacher-centered lecture format and build up a student-centered one.
　Why, you may wonder, should students center the classroom? Firstly, knowledge counts only when the receiver thoroughly absorbed it and the teacher-centered lecture format definitely hindered the procedure. In teacher-centered lecture format, teachers may offer some formula and solutions for mathematic problem or some facts and events in history, but that only means the students truly understand the knowledge the received. When they encounter a new problem or phenomenon, they have no idea to solve it or explain the cause and effect of it.

In student-centered lecture format, teachers only have to offer some cases and guidance lead to solution, the students, on the other hand, under the guiding from teacher, equipped by what they have learned, find out definite solution themselves and truly acquired what teachers want them to know in the process.

Secondly, teaching is learning. This means teachers have to update knowledge themselves in order to offer fresh nutrition for the younger mind. Being challenged and argued is the best way to spark new idea and thinking. To keep knowledge fresh is to keep it alive. Furthermore, in teacher-centered lecture format, students feel bored and passive; while in student-centered lecture format, boredom and passiveness are gone, students act actively and concentratedly because they have to join the discussion or to answer question raised by teachers or their peers. Thus, the classroom atmosphere improves.

Overall, the teacher-centered lecture format is outdated, for it discourages independent thinking and doubt; the student-centered lecture format is productive and agreeable, for it welcomes challenge and opens the door for true knowledge.

Sichuan Earthquake One Year and Internet

2009-05-12T14:28:00.005+08:00

I just can't understand this, May 10, Google.cn put a festival logo on the homepage. Needless to say, to honor all the mothers throughout the world is something agreeable. However, two days later, while all the websites throughout China are making a fuss to commemorate the devastating earthquake of Wenchuan, Sichuan 365 days before and to offer condolence to the victems,

Google had not put a doodle on its homepage, only a bunch of flower below remands me of the tragedy happened one year ago. This time, Google dispointed me!

see picture below:

Doodle for the 2009 mother's day

and,

Google.cn homepage in May 12 2009

see the baidu.com:

Baidu.com homepage in May 12 2009

and qq.com. of Tencent.Inc:

QQ.com commemorates the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan

and sina.com:

Sina.com commemorates the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan

Three Musts When Traveling Guangzhou

2009-05-09T18:44:00.010+08:00

Wherever you got chance to come to China, you have to visit Guangzhou, the most vibrant and energetic city in this country.However, Guangzhou is big city, if you don't want to miss anything exciting, read carefully.

You must see:

1. The city at sunset, viewed from the White Cloud Hills. There's even a traditional name for this sight: Baiyun Wangwan.

2. Rent a boat and see the lights of the city by night from White Goose Pool.

3. Dragon boat races on the Pearl River. Sure, the Dragon Boat Festival is a fixture in many Chinese cities, but in Guangzhou it's bigger, more colorful and more madly participated than anywhere else. May 5 in Chinese lunar calendar and it is coming soon.

You must taste:

1. Guangzhou dim sum (yum cha). Need we say more? Dim sum is a break-down-the-doors sensation in dozens of western capitals ... and it all started here. It doesn't get any better than this (except in Hong Kong!)

2. Guangzhou Roast Goose. A Guangzhou favorite, the goose goes through more processes than a silicon chip, but the result is sensational.

3. Sweet baked pork with honey juice. While its name suggests sweetness, this is a subtle delicacy in the true Guangzhou style, with none of the fattiness that puts some people off pork.

Must do after sunset:

1. Go bar-strolling along Binjiang Lu. This scenic entertainment strip, with its views of the Pearl River and its outdoor bars (perfect for Guangzhou's balmy climate) is the place to go for after-dark relaxation.

2. Go bar-hopping on Bai'E Tan. But be warned! This glitzy, high-octane precinct is only the place to go if the unexpected, the outrageous and the occasionally intolerable are all in a night's work for you.

3. Take in a performance at the Xinghai Concert Hall. Not yet 10 years old, this lovely space has legendary acoustics and an idyllic location on Ersha Island.

Chinese Movie "Hero" Review

2009-05-01T17:51:00.005+08:00

In google.cn, there are 59,000,000 hits when search with the key words "Hero Review"."Read on the Wiki".
Here are some parts of the critiques from the web, I didn't edit.

Hero is the masterpiece. It employs unparalleled visual splendor to show why men must make war to secure the peace and how warriors may find their true destiny as lovers. Time

Swooningly beautiful, furious and thrilling, Zhang Yimou's Hero is an action movie for the ages. Chicago Tribune

Led by director Zhang Yimou and dazzling cinematographer Christopher Doyle, the unseen Hero production team has made what just might be the most artistically sophisticated, most formally beautiful martial arts film the genre has seen. Los Angeles Times

Hero is an epic, evocative of another epoch and of landscapes beyond time. It's overwhelming. And yet I miss the animating anger of Zhang's early masterworks, in which penniless young lovers were oppressed by impotent old men.L A Weekly

In the end, the spectacular martial-arts epic seems to signify nothing much more than its own beauty, as brilliant and ephemeral as a fireworks display.
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Generally, west critics are focused on the visual effect created by colors, costumes and cinematagraphy. But I goes more to this one.

Much of your ability to appreciate the finer points of Zhang Yimou's “Hero” depends on your knowledge of Chinese culture and history. This doesn't mean those of us completely unaware of the country's monumental struggle to unite itself under one kingdom, or the zenish notion of swordsmanship as an art form rather than a martial prowess, can't also appreciate the film. There's plenty to like about “Hero”, but unfortunately for anyone who has seen any number of Hong Kong swordplay film (or even Ang Lee's “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), there's nothing new here.

I have to say that the success of this blockbuster is much more depended on its pilot and characters portrayed in it rather than the picturresqueness. It shown care to the world we're living, on which war goes on endless; one part or another of the world seems have to fight for some reason unknown.

Note:In the movie, Qin Shi Huang (Emperor Qin), got the meaning of culture things. He said:" it is troblesome that nineteen different sayings just for one word-sword-and couldn't understood by each other," and want to unified them all. This is where I want to draw my idea from. The world now is just global village, and none of us want to bring about war. Understanding about each other is more essential than that of any other kinds of exchange. To do this, we should begin with the culture.
See difination of Hero on wikipedia.org or the Chinese version of it on baike.baidu.com

A poem by Qu Dajun

2009-04-21T23:28:00.005+08:00

Today I try to translate a poem written by Qu Dajun, a poet born in Guangdong province,Qing dynasty. He is a famous poet in the southern China. He and another two native poet was entitled: the three poem master of Lingnan.

Visiting the Green Bull Terrace on the Pengjin Mountain
By Qu Dajun
By who the verdure of the lotus is carved,
On this peak stands a tower that is about to soar.
Mountains encaged the resting wild geese,
and the winding ranges took the shape of a gray dragon.
Sun shining on the sonw enmantled yellow river,
and bells ringing from the heaven palace.
Princes and lords forget to go home totally,
Green pines grows here eternally.

The original Chinese poem is here!

Online resources for Chinese learner

2009-04-20T10:27:00.004+08:00

I have cellected some online resource for you to learn Chinese. Make use of them and give your Chinese a chance to grow!

1.Public Chinese

http://www.publicchinese.com/
On this site they offer:
Online Course
Where students can enjoy free learning style without the restriction of time and location. In this section, students are able to take placement tests, set up a study plan, choose a different course level, evaluate the learning process and interactively communicate with tutors online.

Pod
A form of online radio broadcasting, with which students can listen to the radio programs to meet their own expectation. The program mainly contains Chinese music and other entertaining elements for Mandarin learning, showing to students in Audio (MP3), Video (WMV) and Flash formats. Among the services, ’Talk Show Chinese’ and ‘Music Enjoy’ are the most popular ones.

Language Buddy
‘Buddy’ provides students with a large platform for making friends. Here, they can find the ideal friends, and even learn the specific languages that intrigues them most.

Books
Tailored course books: Basic Chinese, Business Chinese and Traveling Chinese, are excellent Chinese Training materials, and ideal self-teaching tools for online students.Both wholesale and retail are available.

2. Hanyu (Chinese)

http://www.hanyu.com.cn/
where offers webcast, online cuorse , WebRadio ,textbook and downlaodings.

3.GChines.com

http://www.gchinese.com/
A English language forum for the foreigners who wanna learn or are learning Chinese.

4.Zhongwen.com

http://www.zhongwen.com/
A online Chinese-English Dictionary.

Spring Festival vs. Christmas, Commons and Differences

2009-04-07T11:29:00.003+08:00

The western customs are so different with that of our Chinese! In this article, I will try to talk about the commons as well as differences of how the two people celebrate their most important festival.

When that day is coming, the people from both side of the world are about to go home to be with their family members. A family reunion or get-together is so indispensable, especially in China, for the people who were apart from the family a whole year or many years because of working afar. They both treat that day most important day in a year that meant to be a day for entertaining themselves, presents are bought for families, friends and relatives, a big even a sumptuous meal is served for it. Neither the Chinese people nor the westerners have to work that day, for that is a day of holiday.

There also some difference between the way how Chinese celebrate the Spring Festival and the westerners do with the Christmas. In China, the adults often give the children a Hong Bao (red pack) with “lucky money” inside during Spring Festival, which promised luck for the coming year. We post a couplet and Men Shen (portraits of Guarding God) on the door to omen a good future and protect ourselves from evil, visit friends and relatives to have a homely talk and share our happiness and stories with each other. In west, a postcard often is sent to friends, a gift instead of lucky money is given to children. They have turkey and roast while we have Jiaozi.

From what I mentioned above, there are many common as well as difference about the way people celebrating the holiday.

Give me some advices to perfect this post, will you? All you have to do is to leave a message below!

Go after money or for interest?

2009-03-23T18:05:00.002+08:00

When people are about to get themselves a job, two main factors are most considered. Go after money or just because love doing it. One chooses a job for a handsome paycheck whilst someone else enjoys doing what he/she loves.

When it comes to me, I’ll make the salary my priority and I’ll also show my reasons so as to make me less seemed like a greedy money-chaser or material-seeker.

First, freedom, which is the most important, significant and magnificent thing we all chased and will chase in the future, only comes when you are financially free. I can’t bear the days in which I have to live up to someone else’s will because of not having enough money to free myself from the post or boss bored with some day. With money, we can choose the day and moment to leave any company without get one of my family members worrying about the living.

Second, we all got or will get a family to support, and as men, we should think the responsibilities before ourselves’ so-called interest even our felling. To be a responsible husband and a qualified father is more meaningful than to be a happy artist or singer or anything else.

Third, one can really enjoy what he or she like only when he or she got the money to free him /her from the bread issue. We can even say that the interest is for the privileged people.

In a word, I will give the money my priority because I don’t want to be cynical by claiming I don’t want that money to live a happy life while making my family worry about the bread things. Is my reasoning reasonable?

Search and download music using Google

2009-03-12T20:29:00.013+08:00

    When Baidu.com always be blamed for offering music search services in China, the Yahoo.cn offered this service in China too. Everyone knows it is really a profitable business here. So Yahoo.cn do business this way too in China. People here have no sense of IPR(intellectual property rights). Many Chinese people don't use the search engine giant Google because some competitors offered more FREE resources in the search results. The hollywood blockbusters can be downloaded from the website with a link in Xunlei.com search results within days after premiere in the theater. But Google has its own belief that make money without being evil.

    Now, in the Google search results I found music download links, see below:

    when clicked through:

     and even offered a hot list of music:

    Wait! The results are only link to only one site:www.top100.cn. We can either listen to the music online or download to our computer. This site claims that all the music offer online are legal and authorized. Here is its authorization announcement( in Chinese):

    The words in the picture translated into English would looks like below:

The Top100.cn (with a Chinese name means Giant Whale music network) tried its best to build a website on which we offers the legalized and authorized music for Chinese consumers. We make this announcement seriously that: All the musics on this site are authorized by the Copyright owners, but due to the information asymmetry, it's been very difficult in working up on a database which is Copyright clear-cut. So our company reiterate that if any third-party claims to be the Copyright owner of the music works offered here, please let us know, we'll try our best to protect copyright owners' rights and interests. Our gratitude gose to all the people with a passion on music,Thanks very much for your support.

    Whether the works on this site are really authorized unknown. But I had my confidence in Google (as Top100.cn claims itself as the exclusive company runs this service with Google.cn Music Service). I take this as a favorable beginning.

Youtube is back after the meeting

2009-03-11T15:42:00.003+08:00

In China, it is common thing that the most excellent websites around the Internet are always end up blocked for some reason unknown (may be not). So we Chinese people have to live on with the GFW. May 4^th this month we seen the Youtube blocked in China. I guess the only reasonable reason for this is that we are holding the most important meeting in China. For a long time we cannot visit the Blogger powered blog on the Internet. The wordpress.com is one still in blockage.

After a brilliant blog blocked in China, someone warned the Chinese webmaster(in Chinese) not to register domain in China, for the .cn or .com.cn domain are most vulnerable in web. Thank to the Google Reader, I can read some of the best blog from the outside world by subscribing the RSS feed. Like China blog host on the Time.com and hoffintonpost.com which of course was blocked back in China. One thing annoys me is that some of the Blogger dont burn the full text of their post. I hope those Blogger offer whole articles in the feed. So people like me can read it, and there are lot of readers like me.

Eat Less, Live Longer

2009-03-10T18:41:00.006+08:00

     Scientists have known for some time that laboratory mice on a low calorie diet live longer than mice that eat as much as they want. Now a researcher from Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, says a low calorie diet might be key to slowing aging in people, too.

     In a new study, Dr John Holloszy compared three groups of people: those who ate fewer calories than in the typical western diet; regular eaters who also did strenuous exercise; and another group of regular eaters who didn't exercise.

    He found those who were on a calorie-restricted diet had less of the thyroid hormone T-3, which regulates their metabolism. "This is not an abnormal decrease," he says, "and it's just a decline into the lower end of normal."

    In effect, metabolic hormones regulate the rate at which cells function. Scientists think this might be related to how fast we age. "So if you have high thyroid hormone levels," Holloszy explains, "you use a lot of oxygen, you have a fast heart rate and you need large amounts of food in order to maintain weight. If you have low thyroid hormone levels, your metabolic rate is slowed." He says studies on rodents have shown that skinny, long-lived laboratory mice had low thyroid hormone levels.

    Another group in his study ate what they wanted but exercised intensively. The exercise didn't seem to affect their thyroid hormone levels, which remained high. Holloszy says they are continuing research to see if eating less can slow aging in people as well as mice.

    "Determining whether humans on caloric restriction live longer is not something we're going to find out, at least not in my lifetime," he says with a laugh. "You know, that's a 50 year study."

Cao and his dream of the red mansions

2009-02-26T17:23:00.007+08:00

Today I am going to introduce you the greatest novelist in Chinese literature history, Cao Xueqin, also known as Tsao Hsueh Chin , who lived in the Qing (ching) dynasty (1715–1763). He is the author of A Dream of the Red Mansions (or Story of the Stone; A Dream of the Red Chambers), which is considered China's greatest novel.
    After his wealthy and prominent family fell victim to an imperial purge in 1728, Cao's father managed to avoid enslavement and resettled them in Beijing. There Cao, poverty-stricken, worked on his semiautobiographical novel, which remained unfinished at his death. Edited and completed by Gao E (1740–1815), it is a masterful chronicle of decline of four distinguished family, focusing on a triangular romance among the three main characters (Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai). The witty narrative, rich in naturalistic detail, emphasizes metaphysical themes of transience and the risks of passionate desire.
    The four great houses of Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue described in this novel were typical basic political units of feudal society. Such families were linked with the court above and the local officials below to form a network of control with the feudal autocratic state power as its center.
    This book has translated into dozens of languages worldwide and adapted for films and TV serials in China, and also in China, even a specialized study was established focusing on this book called Redology(the study of A Dream of the Red Mansions).

Top 10 Unique & Romantic Gift Ideas

2009-02-11T23:49:00.009+08:00

Hi guys, as the Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, what do you want to give your valentine as a Valentine’s gift. Wanna make it unique and romantic as the day only once in a year. Thank Amy Cunningham from romancestuck.com . She singled out the most romantic presents just for you to make that day more special. So lets reveal it.

Top one: 24k Gold Roses

24K Gold Roses are literally a gift that your sweetheart will treasure forever. These real roses are preserved and covered in 24k gold and will last a lifetime! Each one is unique and each is handmade through a 40 step processes. Regular roses fade in days but these gold roses will last and be treasured by her forever. This is truly a one of a kind, unique gift that will show your sweetie how much she means to you. 24K Gold Roses last forever, just like your love for her.

Top two: Personalize Romance Novel

If you really want to surprise your sweetheart with something completely unique, check out YourNovel.com. They offer personalized romance novels ranging from "mild" to "wild". These romance novels allow you and your partner to star in your own exotic, steamy, and especially romantic love story. Simply provide a few details and select from 15 different novels and you'll have an incredibly romantic (and sexy!) gift arrive at your door. Now, get a special Holiday themed novel titled Season's Greeting, Season's Love.
To read the full list, please go to here

150 TV programs fail and it bothers me not

2009-02-10T22:26:00.006+08:00

150 TV programs including China Central Television (CCTV) in china have been cut for as long as 47 minutes by a satellite problem. It happened in Monday morning, when a malfunction occurred to Zhongxing 6B satellite. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television explained and also apologized for this disruption,see also.
As central radio and TV programs were transmitted through the Xinnuo 3 Satellite and the administration's special network, these programs were not affected, it said.

For me, this is not a problem as I rare watch TV broadcasted by the mainland china television station; those TV programs never attracted me, for they are always lack of creativeness and originality, be it Sitcom, Talk show and News (which always fooling the people). I once came cross a lampoon about those TV stations, says that one never have to worry about missing the interesting sitcom if you are in china for whenever you turn on the TV set, you are bound to find that at least three of them are broadcasting it, one at the beginning, one middle and one ending.
Personally I like watch the Phoenix TV, TVB and ATV from Hong Kong SAR on the Internet which can only be picked up in southern China (Guangdong Province etc).

Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center

2009-01-11T20:02:00.006+08:00

Today I wanna introduce to you the place I live and study. Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center("广州大学城" in Chinese, literally means Guangzhou University city). Here located ten Universities with my university included. The ten Univs are:
Sun Yat-sen University (The most prestigious one in south China)
South China University of Technology South China Normal University (Where I study)
Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
Guangdong University of Technology
Guangzhou University
Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine
Guangdong Pharmaceutical University
Xinghai Conservatory of Music
Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts

Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center (HEMC) located at Panyu district, occupied the whole Xiaoguwei Island with an area more than 18 square kilometers, adjoining Guangzhou International Bio-Island, and accommodating up to 180,000 students and faculty. It ranks the first in China in terms of size.
With a total investment over 3,000,000 RMB to build it, it is also the most advanced, modern, and well-projected Education Mega Center through out the nation.

Convenient transportation, fast communication, high-tech facilities, bio-friendly and green environment make it the best place to learn and to work. Beside the ten campuses, a lot of places here are worth of visiting. The Science Center of Guangzhou which is adjacent with the University of Guangzhou offers you experience of excite as well as inspiration, the Lingnan Impression Garden is also an intoxicating place for you if you want know more about construction, custom and culture features of southern China. Not far outside the island, the Huangpu Military Academy which was set up by Dr. Sun Yat-sen at Changzhou Island attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors from the whole world; it is a must-visit place in this city.

When comes to facilities, it also has a lot of things to show off. Each University has a newly-built stadium and library. In HEMC, what you need is just one card to dine in all ten campuses, to shop in all supermarkets, to take buses in the city, even to borrow books from libraries and to phone your family. Is it cool? In the center of the island lies a lake, and at bank of the lake stands a giant stadium, in which the 8th National University Game was held, still exciting, some events of the 2010 Guangzhou Asia Game also will take place here.

Many people deeply impressed by the beauty of this island, and find it a fantastic place to study for it is much quieter than downtown. So come and pay your visit here!

Here is what it looks like from the sky:

HEMC in Chinese.

7400 Yuan for teachers, that is really admirable

2009-01-05T13:24:00.009+08:00

It's reported(in Chinese) that the teachers in Panyu district, Guangzhou, will have their salary to match that of the civil servant there in 2011.
The primary and high school education has long been a problem resulted from many issue such as the different treatment toward the numerous substitute teachers. They used to get by with lower salary and fewer welfare compare to the formally recruited teacher (mostly local residents).
Also in this report, the teachers in the countryside will be equally paid with their urban counterpart. This is a really a good news for many normal university students as their will seek a job as a teacher in Guangzhou (though is no easy).
For this, the local Government has to allocate 560 millions RMB from fiscal budget.

Top 10 Olympic Moments of 2008

2008-12-26T16:56:00.001+08:00

2008 is absolutely a year to remenber. In 2008 we witnessed the great joy as well as experienced a tremendous sorrow and grief. Is the 30th year that our country carried out the reform and opening-up policy, and also, the first year I begin my postgraduates stage. the time magzine chose top ten of everything of 2008, unavoidably, the 29th beijing Olympic Game is one of the topic. below are the top ten moment Olympic Game from time.com by Sean Gregory. Personally, I think the Grand Opening should be the Top 1 mement.
1. Phelps' Photo Finish
Michael Phelps was in a pool full of trouble. The American swimming phenom was going for his seventh gold medal in Beijing, a win which would have tied him with Mark Spitz for the most golds at a single Games. But halfway through the finals of the 100-m butterfly, Phelps was stuck in seventh place. Even as he made a furious comeback, it still looked like he would not catch Serbian Milorad Cavic, who was just inches away from an upset. Then Cavic made a fatal mistake, gliding toward the finish, while Phelps snuck in an extra half-stroke. It was a historic kick: Phelps touched the wall .01 seconds before Cavic, clinching a surreal victory. The Serbian delegation filed a protest, but frame-by-frame photos of the finish confirmed the undeniable ?Phelps had overtaken Cavic with that one amazing lunge for the wall. Phelps broke Spitz ' record the next day, but it was his last one-hundredth of a second victory over Cavic that will prove the most memorable.

2. Lightning Bolt
As Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt spread his arms and slapped his chest before the crossing the finish of the 100-m sprint, many stunned fans shared a similar thought: "Usain, are you insane? That early celebration just cost you a world record." Then, the time flashed on the board: 9.69 seconds, the fastest dash in human history. Viewers' revised reaction was: "You've got to be kidding me." The 6'5" Bolt (has there ever been a better name for a champion sprinter?) followed his 100-m histrionics by shattering the 200-m world record four nights later ?without any pre-finish theatrics ?and winning a 4X100-m relay gold two days after that. Not everyone was so pleased with his stunning perfor mance. Olympic purists criticized Bolt for celebrating before the finish ?and in the process, not getting an even better record time. The only thing more shocking than Bolt's times (and behavior) was his pre-race diet, which consisted almost entirely of greasy chicken nuggets.

3. Grand Opening
The pomp of the Olympic opening ceremonies typically never matches the drama of the athletic events themselves, but that all changed in Beijing. Over 15,000 Chinese performers took part in the ceremony; flourishes included 2008 percussionists pounding on ancient drums, dancers twisting around a traditional scroll to pay tribute to Chinese art, and a giant globe that rose up from the center of the stadium. Near the end of the dazzling spectacle Li Ning, the Chinese gymnastics legend and entrepreneur, 'jogged' a 500-meter lap around the top of the Beijing Bird's Nest before lighting the Olympic torch. Suspended in the air with flame in hand, only computer-controlled wires wrapped around his waist kept Li from plunging hundreds of feet to the ground. The stunt was a painstaking, yet breathtaking, finale to China's grand welcome to the world that only included a few missteps: organizers digitally enhanced some fireworks for television, and ordered a precocious seven-year old to lip synch a song sung by another young girl, who was deemed not cute enough for the screen.

4. Age-old Controversy
After gymnast Cheng Fei flipped across the floor and struck a final pose for the adoring crowd, a Chinese victory was assured. Of the host-country's world-best 51 gold medals at the Beijing Games, perhaps no other was as sweet, and controversial, as the women's gymnastics team win, its first in Olympic history. China had taken the world title two years before, with the U.S. wrestling it back in '07. The highly anticipated rematch lived up to its billing, though the U.S. failed to bring its A game. Alicia Sacramone fell during the floor exercise and balance beam, though she handled her disappointment with uncommon grace. But the sight of the tiny Chinese gymnasts, who appeared to be barely in puberty, heightened suspicions that they were using underage gymnasts. Working for NBC, ex-U.S. coach Bela Karolyi barked that the Chinese were "using half-people". Gymnastics officials investigated the allegations, which included some charges of multiple conflicting birth certificates, but they concluded that the girls were at least 16, old enough to compete. The U.S. got some measure of revenge in the individual women's events, when Nastia Liukin won the all-around and Shawn Johnson took the gold in the balance beam.

5. Redeemed Team
Entering the gold medal game against Spain, the U.S. men's basketball squad, dubbed "The Redeem Team," hadn't really been tested. During the previous seven contests, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Co. had smashed its opponents by an average of 29 points, including a semi-final blowout of Argentina, which had to play with little help from its ailing star, Manu Ginobili. The U.S. had already destroyed its final opponent Spain once, and the team's starting point guard, Jose Calderon, would miss the final due to injury. Gold, everyone assumed, would be a mere formality. But reclaiming the world's top basketball prize proved anything but easy. Spain showed up, cutting the U.S. lead to two, 91-89, with eight minutes remaining. Then Bryant got hot and took over. With three minutes left, and the U.S. up five, he hit a three pointer that gave the Americans breathing room, and was also fouled on the play. Bryant put a finger over his mouth, to quiet his critics. Normally, that would be construed as yet another instance of ugly Americanism. But in the heat of a classic game that carried enormous stakes, you could understand, and even appreciate, Bryant's raw emotion. The Americans won, 118-107, to recapture basketball gold.

6. China's Hurdles Heartbreak
After a false start in a preliminary heat, Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang headed towards the starting area like all the other participants. But instead of getting set in the blocks once again, Liu simply kept walking away, his Olympic medal hopes, and those of an entire nation, disappearing into the stadium tunnel. Liu had already been bothered by injuries leading up to the Games, and when he pulled up lame in that heat with what would turn out to be a busted Achilles tendon, he knew he was finished. It's hard to overstate the expectations saddling Liu, who won the 110-meter gold in Athens. "Officials told us if Liu could not win a gold medal in Beijing, all of his previous achievements would become meaningless," Sun Haiping, Liu's coach, told the press last year. That would explain the stunned, hushed reaction to his exit; 91,000 fans at the Bird's Nest, who came to cheer their hero, fell silent. At a post-race conference, Sun broke down in tears. He wasn't alone.

7. Reaching New Heights
Yelena Isinbayeva had the Bird's Nest all to herself. The night's track and field events had ended except for the women's pole vault, a sport that rarely gets top-billing. But here was Isinbayeva, with some 80,000 fans focused on the Russian as she had one more chance to break her own world record. The bar stood 5.05 meters high ?just a shade taller than the world record height of 5.04 meters she had cleared the month before. She sprinted down the runway, set her pole, and with the cameras flashing, Isinbayeva soared...to a thrilling new world record. Ecstatic, she did a flip to further rile up the crowd. "I felt like a famous singer," Isinbayeva said. "The whole stage was only for me. It was so cool."

8. Tragedy and Triumph
Despite all the security precautions China had taken, tragedy struck the Olympics on the first full day of competition. The father-in-law of men's volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon was murdered at the Drum Tower, a popular tourist spot, and McCutcheon's mother-in-law was seriously injured; the assailant, a disturbed, knife-wielding man who randomly targeted the victims, then leapt to his death. McCutcheon spent a week tending to his family, his team's quest for a medal suddenly an afterthought. He contemplated flying home, but his wife, ex-Olympic volleyball player Elisabeth, wouldn't let him miss the opportunity he had spent so many years working towards. So McCutcheon returned to lead the U.S. to an improbable gold, its first since 1984. "When I look back at this thing, I'm just going to think, 'Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful,'" McCutcheon said after the final win over Brazil. "And I'm going to mourn the loss of my father-in-law. We can do that. We can be happy and feel a tinge of sadness, as well."

9. India (Finally) Hits Its Target
It was only fitting that at the Olympic Games that cemented China's status as a sports powerhouse, the world's second-most populous country on earth, India, finally got a small measure of glory by winning its first individual gold medal. When Abhinav Bindra nailed the target on this final shot, giving him gold in the 10-m air rifle competition, fans poured into the streets back home. The 17th ranked shooter in the world, Bindra rallied late from fourth place to steal the title. Bindra's medal ceremony played in a ceaseless loop on Indian television, and strangers exchanged hugs over the accomplishment. "When the Indian National Anthem played at the Olympics and the Indian flag was raised, tears were running down my cheeks!" wrote a commenter named Vijay on the Reuters website. "This is NEWS!"

10. Upset on the Mat
Henry Cejudo had so much working against him. The son of illegal immigrants from Mexico grew up in crime-ridden apartment complexes. After spending years fighting with his older brother, Angel, in close quarters, he followed Angel onto the wrestling mat. He had no college wrestling experience, having decided to train for the Olympics full-time instead, and finished 31st at last year's World Championships. Just 21-years-old, Cejudo would contend in 2012, the thinking went: this trip to Beijing just offered some experience. But Cejudo defied wrestling wisdom, upset the '06 world champ in the first round, and made it all the way to the final, where he drove Japan's Tomohiro Matsunaga onto his back to clinch gold. He became the youngest wrestling champ in U.S. history. American flag draped over his shoulders, Cejudo ran around the venue crying, in one of the more moving celebrations at the Games. "I'm dreaming with my eyes open right now," he said.

source:Time.com

Olympic ceremony director to sue over biography

2008-12-23T21:15:00.006+08:00

"We have enough evidence to show that the book, Life of Zhang Yimou is a serious infringement of rights. Zhang Yimou has instructed a lawyer to prepare a case against the book's author and publisher," said Ping Xue, a public relations manager at Mr. Zhang's employer, Beijing New Picture Film Company, on November 24. It is the first lawsuit the director has initiated in his 20 year career.

Mr Zhang's lawyer, Tong Jie, confirmed the information. She said Mr. Zhang was deeply irritated after reading the book. The book contains groundless gossip about Mr. Zhang's family and about a love affair, and seriously violates Mr. Zhang's privacy. The lawyer said that her month-long investigation demonstrated that the book's sources were the public media and the Internet, not any figures that the book relates to. Even Mr. Zhang's autograph on the book's cover is counterfeit, she points out. The lawyer said that after collecting evidence on Mr. Zhang's behalf, she would probably initiate the lawsuit in middle or late December.The biography, Impressions of China: Life of Zhang Yimou was penned by Huang Xiaoyang and published by Huaxia Publishing Co., Ltd. Launched on August 9, immediately after the Olympic Opening ceremony directed by Zhang, the book was an instant hit. The book recounts a love affair between the director and actress Gong Li, who has appeared in eight of Mr. Zhang's movies, including Red Sorghum, Raise the Red Lantern and Curse of the Golden Flower. It also describes how the affair led to the breakup of Mr. Zhang's marriage.
Reportedly, the publisher has got wind of the lawsuit it is likely to face. A manager admitted that the book was not authorized by the director and said the company would like to talk with Mr. Zhang to seek a peaceful settlement of the case. It could edit the book to deleted details about Mr. Zhang's private life if the director agrees, the manager said.

Source: http://www.china.org.cn/culture/2008-11/26/content_16834322.htm