Articles for helping kids learn about china culture

Now that you’ve decided to take up  Chinese studying  I’m sure you’ve encountered this: “Woah so brave, such a difficult language, you know I’d love to speak another language, but…” Good motivation am I right… This kind of response can put off most learners before they even start. But still you’ve decided to take the plunge and start learning Chinese. Only to discover there is so much information out there! We call this information overload. There’s so much ‘advice’ online for the best apps, the best language, the best way to learn a new language that you might not even know where to start! That’s why we’ve taken the opportunity to spend today’s article focusing on the most frequently asked questions in regards to Chinese learning. If you’ve been keeping up with our blog you will have noticed that we have already written extensively on these topics. To save you from having to read so many articles, we’ve consolidated it all into one. But don’t worry, we’ve linked it t...

One of my very favorite vegetables in Chinese cuisine is 空心菜, (swamp cabbage). It’s dark green and tastes amazing sautéed with lots of garlic. I was with some female colleagues when I first tried it. Curiously, they would dip every mouthful of the dish into a glass of hot water before eating it. I learned as we ate that it was a method to remove the oil. It seemed such a shame to me to water down the garlicky goodness just to cut a few calories! In China, to be svelte as a female is to be beautiful. Dieting for weight-loss is very common – definitely no less so than in the west. In recent years high-impact exercise has also been embraced much more too. Fitness is very much part of a modern lifestyle for 20-35 year-olds. Asian Girl Yoga From Tupian 114 On the extreme end, luxury weight-loss spas boasting ‘high-tech technology’ are gaining popularity too. A well-known Hong Kong spa named “必瘦站” (Bìshòu zhàn, Must be skinny station) AKA Perfect Shape has opened multiple branches acro...

Chinese painting is similar in style to calligraphy, even using the same techniques and materials, such as black liquid ink and thin calligraphy paper.  Its main aim is not to only capture the likeness of the subject, but also it’s spirit.  Usually, teachers in Chinese learning centers offer such courses at the elementary level. Chinese painting is known as “国画” (guó huà), roughly translates to ‘nation/country painting’, and can be broken down into two styles, “工笔画” (gōng bǐ huà, Chinese realistic painting) and “水墨画” (shuǐ mò huà, ink-wash painting). Chinese realistic painting is often very colorful and with a lot of details, it involves first drawing a basic outline of the object with a thin brush in black and then meticulously coloring in the detail with specialized brushes. A famous example of this style is the painting from the Song dynasty by the artists Zhang Xuan called ‘Court ladies preparing newly woven silk’. It depicts an annual celebration wher...