Chinese Language Education

Hey guys, guess what day is today!
If you know Chinese culture well, you will know that today is the most important day for all Chinese in a year. Today is what we called 除夕, which means New Year's eve according to the Chinese calendar. We always make dumplings and watch the Spring festival Gala (commonly abbreviated in Chinese as Chunwan, a TV program produced by China Media Group (CMG).

Then the Spring Festival has officially begun. Family members gather together and enjoy this particular time. This year, the situation is a little bit different because most people decided to stay at the same place and do not go home because of the pandemic. However, the feeling of happiness doesn't decrease. People use video calls to talk with their family, and although they cannot be at home, they can receive a package from their relatives, which contains a lot of local food from their hometowns.

In 2021, the first day of the Chinese New Year will be on Friday, 12 February, the Ox's Year. If you want to greet your Chinese friends with nice words, please look below! Let's learn five special New Year greetings now~!

新年好 (Xīnnián hǎo)-Hello (during Spring Festivals)
新年快乐 (Xīnnián kuàilè)-Happy Chinese New Year!
恭喜发财 (Gōngxǐ fācái)-Wishing you be prosperous in next year
万事胜意 （wàn shì shèng yì ）-I hope everything will happen as you wish
身体健康 （shēn tǐ jiàn kāng )-Wishing you good health

Well, that's all for today. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us. We hope all of you can be 万事胜意！

Good morning, everyone! 元旦快乐！

"元旦" (YuanDan) refers to the first day of the New Year in China, which is January 1st of the solar calendar.

"元" means "the first", and "旦 "means "day". Therefore, when we combine those two characters, it means the first day (of a year). On that day, Chinese citizens can get one day free, and it is an excellent chance to talk and stay with families or friends.

Same as people from other countries, although Yuandan is not traditional Chinese New Year, which regards the first day of New Year according to the lunar calendar, it is still a meaningful time for everyone. Especially in the year 2020.

Let's say goodbye to 2020, and say hi to 2021！Happy New Year!
再见2020，你好2021！元旦快乐！

Priecīgus Ziemassvētkus un Laimīgu Jauno Gadu!

Šis laiks ir grūts mums visiem, bet nākamajā gadā viss būs labi! Mēs ceram, ka varēsim ar jums satikties kādā saulainā pavasara dienā. Sirsnīgus un mierpilnus jums Ziemassvētkus, un veselīgu, priecīgu, laimīgu visiem Jauno 2021. Gadu!

圣诞快乐，新年快乐！
当下的日子对于我们每个人来说都并不轻松，但是相信明年一定都会好起来的。我们衷心地希望，可以与各位在某个阳光明媚的春日相见。祝愿大家有一个温暖祥和的圣诞节，也祝愿大家能拥有一个健康、快乐且幸福的2021年！

Daudz laimes dzimšanas dienā, Latvija!🇱🇻 🇱🇻

生日快乐，拉脱维亚！🇱🇻 🇱🇻

Happy Birthday, Latvia!🇱🇻 🇱🇻

Hey guys! Nice to see you on the first day of October!

Today is one of the most critical days for Chinese people because today is China's national day. It was commemorating the formal establishment of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

People in China will normally have a 7-day official holiday from October 1 to October 7. This week is always known as 黄金周---The Golden Week. People love to spend their time shopping, travelling and visiting friends or relatives.

Magically, in 2020, today is also the Mid-Autumn Festival of China. This Festival is held on the 15th day of the Chinese calendar's eighth month, which is in September or early October in the Gregorian calendar.

You might want to ask me:" Why Mid-Autumn Is Celebrated at Month 8 Day 15?" Actually, there are two reasons:

1. Traditional Calendar Seasons
According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the 8th month is the second month of autumn. As the four seasons each have three (about-30-day) months on the traditional calendars, day 15 of month 8 is "the middle of autumn".

2. For the Full Moon
On the 15th of the lunar calendar, each month, the moon is at its roundest and brightest, symbolizing togetherness and reunion in Chinese culture. Families get together to express their familial love by eating dinner together, appreciating the moon, eating mooncakes, etc. The harvest moon is traditionally believed to be the brightest of the year.

Appreciating the moon, expressing your love to your family, and hope all of you can have a brilliant October!

In this month, a movie called “Mulan” produced by Disney studio is going to say hi to everyone.
Do you know about the story of Mulan?

Hua Mulan’s story is told in the Ballad of Mulan, a story set in the North and South dynasties, which was between 420 and 589 CE.

At first, let’s look through the ballad.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
木兰辞
Mùlán Cí
The Ballad of Mùlán

唧唧复唧唧，
木兰当户织。
不闻机抒声，
唯闻女叹息。
(Click click click:
Mulan sat at home weaving,
but the loom’s resonant sound could not be heard
over the girl’s sighs.)

问女何所思，
问女何所忆?
「女亦无所思，
女亦无所忆。
(Asked what thoughts and memories
led to this, she said,
“A girl should have no thoughts
or memories.)

昨夜见军帖，
可汗大点兵，
军书十二卷，
卷卷有爷名。
(But last night I saw the call to arms;
the khan is calling up soldiers.
There were twelve scrolls of names,
and each included Father’s name.)

阿爷无大儿，
木兰无长兄，
愿为市鞍马，
从此替爷征。」
(But Father has no son,
and I have no big brother.
I want to go to buy a saddle and horse
and serve in Father’s place.”)

东市买骏马， 西市买鞍鞯， 南市买辔头， 北市买长鞭。
(In the east market she bought a steed,
and in the west market a saddle;
in the south market she bought a bridle,
and in the north market she bought a whip.)

朝辞爷娘去，
暮宿黄河边。
不闻爷娘唤女声，
但闻黄河流水鸣溅溅。
(In the morning she took leave of her parents
and went to camp beside the Yellow River.
She no longer heard parent’s calling to her;
by evening she heard only splashing of the river.)

旦辞黄河去，
暮至黑山头。
不闻爷娘唤女声，
但闻燕山胡骑鸣啾啾。
(The following morning she left the Yellow River
and by sunset had reached Black Mountain.
She no longer heard her parents calling to her;
by evening she heard only the neighing of the horses of the barbarians at “Yān” Mount.)

万里赴戎机，
关山度若飞，
朔气传金柝，
寒光照铁衣。
(She travelled ten thousand miles to do battle,
and traversed mountain passes as though flying;
the night air moved the watchman’s rattle;
the cold light glinted on her armour.)

将军百战死，
壮士十年归。
归来见天子，
天子坐明堂。
(A hundred generals died in battle;
in ten years she returned as a great warrior.
On returning she met the emperor
seated in his bright palace.)

策勋十二转，
赏赐百千强。
可汗问所欲，
「木兰不用尚书郎，
愿借明驼千里足，
送儿还故乡。」
(He praised her expansively
and gave her extravagant gifts.
The Khan asked what she wanted.
She replied, “I have no use for honours or servants;
I would only borrow a swift camel
to take me back home.”）

爷娘闻女来，
出郭相扶将。
阿姊闻妹来，
当户理红妆。
（When her parents heard that their daughter had returned,
they went out to the village gate to welcome her back.
When her younger sister heard that she had returned,
she stayed inside to put dress herself up.）

小弟闻姊来，
磨刀霍霍向猪羊。
开我东阁门，
坐我西阁床。
（When her little brother heard that his sister had returned,
he sharpened a cleaver to slaughter a pig and a goat for a feast.
She opened the door on the east side of her room,
and sat on her bed on the west side.）

脱我战时袍，
著我旧时裳。
当窗理云鬓，
对镜贴花黄。
（She removed her war clothing and
donned the dress she had worn of old.
Looking out her window she tied up her hair, and
looking in her mirror she placed a yellow flower in her hair.）

出门看伙伴，
伙伴皆惊惶。
同行十二年，
不知木兰是女郎
（She went out to see her companions;
the companions were astonished.
Comrades for twelve years, they
did not know Mùlán was a woman. ）

「雄兔脚扑朔，
雌兔眼迷离。
双兔傍地走，
安能辨我是雄雌? 」

Mùlán said, “The male rabbit normally hops and runs,
while the female sits and stares.
But both flee fast when danger threatens.
How can one tell whether they are male or female then?”
-----------------------------------------------------------------

While it’s possible the gutsy girl could be real, it’s largely thought the story is fictional mainly because ballads were meant to be inspiring tales rather than historical stories.

In the ballad, Hua Mulan, disguised as a man, takes her father’s place in the army to fight Genghis Khan. She sits worriedly at her loom as one member of each family is called to fight against the Rouran invaders. She fears her father is too old to fight and, her brother is just a child, so she dons her armour and heads to war in their place.

The 360-word poem by an anonymous poet differs from the Disney movie from this point onwards. In the film, Mulan sneaks off in an epic montage set to an intense soundtrack, but in the ballad, she heads off with her mother and father’s blessing.

The ballad itself is unusual when it comes to Chinese folklore in that it doesn’t contain any supernatural elements – it’s for this reason that people believed it was true and she was based on a real person. Scholars generally disagree. There is no historical evidence to prove her existence and the story was passed down orally.

Hua Mulan may not have been real, but that hasn’t stopped her tale inspiring people, whether that’s in the seventh century or today.

Do you like Mulan?
😸

Do you know what day is today？

You may say---I know the answer, today is 25th of August.

Yes, that's right. However, it is also the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, and it is called "Qixi Festival" ——七夕情人节（qī xī qíng rén jié） in Chinese culture. If you know something about Chinese culture, you may know that the Qixi Festival is one of the traditional Chinese festivals, and also known as a Chinese Valentine's Day. And it's based on a romantic legend about the Weaving Maid(织女zhī nǚ) and the Ox Herd (牛郎 niú láng).

There is the most concise version of this story——
The Oxherd with the help of his ox (it was a very clever ox) married a fairy, the Weaving Maid. However, 织女's mother, a goddess, was angry about this marriage. So, she ordered the arrest of the Weaving Maid and sent her back to heaven. The goddess separated 牛郎 and 织女 by a river of stars (the Milky Way), but magpies were allowed to form a bridge for them to meet once a year (Qixi).

In ancient times, people worshipped the Weaving Maid to celebrate the Qixi Festival, praying that girls would be as skilful as the Weaving Maid. Interestingly, this custom has gradually become unpopular in China.

Now people usually celebrate Chinese Valentine's Day by giving flowers, chocolates, and other presents to their sweethearts, instead of doing the traditional customs.

In fact, the origin of Qixi is a scientific story about an astronomical phenomenon——On the day of Qixi, the Weaving Maid Star (Vega) and the Oxherd Star (Altair) are particularly bright. If you are interested in this phenomenon, please check it out, and don't forget to give a hug to your lover!

Happy Chinese Valentine's Day!