March 2012
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Daily Tidbit: 出租车 (chū zū chē) Taxi
Daily Tidbit: 出租车 (chū zū chē) Taxi Getting around in Beijing by taxi 出租车 (chū zū chē) is very convenient. Beijing taxi drivers are known to be very outgoing and talkative. If your taxi driver happens to be a chatty one and you’re willing to speak a little Chinese, it may be a good opportunity for you to learn about ordinary Chinese people’s lives and their opinions on current...
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February 2012
75 posts
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Daily Tidbit: 密码(mì mǎ) Password
Daily Tidbit: Password We use passwords 密码 (mì mǎ) every day: opening e-mail, shopping online, posting blog, etc. But do you know if your password is safe? Well, password management app maker SplashData has revealed this year’s worst passwords with ‘password’ and ‘123456’ taking the top two slots. Other bad passwords were: 111111, Iloveyou, abc123, 123123,...
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Daily Tidbit: Making Sugar Figures
Daily Tidbit: Making Sugar Figures
Making sugar figures 吹糖人(chuī táng rén) is an old profession in Beijing. In the past, whenever sugar figure 糖人(táng rén) makers arrived at a hutong with their shoulder poles, the local children couldn’t help but watch. First, the maker takes a little maltose with a small spoon and then nips it with their hands; then they place it onto a wheat straw and,...
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Daily Tidbit: 高手(gāo shǒu) Expert
Daily Tidbit: 高手(gāo shǒu) Expert
“高手”(gāo shǒu) are those who excel at doing certain things or are professional in one specific field. For example, a computer whiz is 电脑高手(diàn nǎo gāo shǒu) . It’s very easy, right? Yes, oh, by the way, we can’t call someone 低手when he/she is not good at something. What kind of 高手(gāo shǒu) are you? Do you know anyone you would...
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Daily Tidbit: 二月二，龙抬头(èr yuè èr, lóng tái tóu)...
If you were to askwhich day is the busiest day for barber shops 理发店(lǐ fà diàn) in northern China, then the answer would be that they are busiest on the second day of the second month in Lunar Calendar. There is an old saying where “On the second day of the second month of Lunar Calendar, the dragon raises its head, which gave birth to the saying 二月二，龙抬头(èr yuè èr, lóng tái...
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Daily Tidbit:Sugar Roasted Chestnut
Daily Tidbit: 糖炒栗子 (táng chǎo lì zi) Sugar Roasted Chestnut With winter arriving, the air is filled with the aroma of sugar roasted chestnuts 糖炒栗子 (táng chǎo lì zi) throughout streets and lanes in China. It’s time to eat chestnuts 栗子 (lì zi)! Put sand in an iron cauldron and fry it with a special kind of sugar over a fire. Then put chestnuts into the cauldron and stir-fry them. The...
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Daily Tidbit: Night Owl
Daily Tidbit: 夜猫子 (yè māo zi) Night Owl
One in ten of us is an up-at-dawn, raring-to-go early bird, something that is commonly known as a “lark”. About two in ten of us are night owls 夜猫子 (yè māo zi) , who enjoy staying up long past midnight. The rest of us in the middle, whom we’ll call hummingbirds, may be ready for action both early and late. Some hummingbirds are more larkish,...
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Daily Tidbit: Making Art From Dough
Daily Tidbit: 捏面人(niē miàn rén)
According to a Chinese creation myth, humans were created out of clay by a goddess. In the hands of the folk artists, this myth is repeated over and over as dough that substitutes for the original clay. This dough is molded into fascinating sculptures by kneading, basking, coloring and baking it. We call these dough figurines “面人”(miàn rén) and...
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Daily Tidbit: Rain Water
Daily Tidbit: Rain Water February 19, 2012 is the “Day of Rain Water” 雨水 (Yǔ shuǐ) according to the 24 solar terms of the lunar calendar. From this day on, the temperature becomes warmer and the amount of rainfall gradually increases. After this day, the weather is often quite unpredictable. A cold wave can appear more often in this season than in any other season. It is sometimes...
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Daily Tidbit: Chinese Yo-Yo
Daily Tidbit: 空竹(kōng zhú) Chinese Yo-Yo
The yo-yo is a popular kid’s toy that is known throughout the world as well as in China. However, the Chinese yo-yo is a little different from its Western counterpart. The Chinese yo-yo 空竹(kōng zhú) is kept spinning on a string which is tied to the end of two sticks that are held in each hand., Also called a “diabolo” in the West, the...
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Daily Tidbit: Don't Leave Without Seeing Each...
Don’t Leave Without Seeing Each Other
不见不散(bú jiàn bú sàn) literally means “don’t leave without seeing each other”; in short it means “see you then” or “be there or be square” and is often used when you make an appointment with your friend. For example, let’s say you and your friends have decided to meet at 7 PM at a restaurant; you would then...
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Daily Tidbit:Valentine's Day
Daily Tidbit: Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day 情人节(Qíng rén jié) is a western holiday that has become quite popular in China especially among young people living in cities. Similar to the west, Valentine’s Day is a big day for commercial businesses like retailers and restaurants as young people will spend lavishly on roses, chocolates, and candlelit dinners on this holiday....
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Daily Tidbit:Shadow Puppetry
Daily Tidbit: 皮影(pí yǐng) Shadow Puppetry
Shadow puppets have a long history in China. Initially, the puppets were made of paper, and later from the hides of donkeys or oxen. It explains why the Chinese name for shadow puppet is “皮影”(pí yǐng), which means shadows of hides. A shadow puppet is a cut-out figure held between a source of light and a translucent screen. Translucent color is sometimes...
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Daily Tidbit:Deep-Fried Dough Sticks
油条 (yóu tiáo) Deep-Fried Dough Sticks
Deep-fried dough sticks 油条 (yóu tiáo) are a long, golden-brown, deep fried strip of dough that is most commonly paired with soy milk or “豆浆” (dòu jiāng) as a breakfast in China. Traditionally, 油条 (yóu tiáo) are lightly salted and made so they can be torn lengthwise in two. In oral Chinese “老油条”(lǎo yóu tiáo) has become a common slang...