Tom Luxsox Coins

Chinese Ming

The easiest way to learn a language is without a doubt to learn in through natural conversation - but that idea is not very helpful on its own. This is a story of how I got to a level where natural communication is possible, far faster than I thought possible.

For any person that want to delve deeper into an alien world and learn about a different way of a life, a five thousand year old culture and a rapidly changing milieu, China is the place to be, and Chinese holds the key!

The nature of Chinese Language studies is that learning Chinese can be gruesome and it can be really fun. China itself is a place that will offer up an opportunity for a great adventure to any foreigner that goes there, so to capitalize on that one should make learning Chinese as much about learning the language as learning about China. This will make the language studies fun, easier and in the case of me; it made it possible.

I could not learn Chinese chained to a desk, the language is way to hard to do that. The alternative to repletion in a classroom is speaking it on the streets; to repeatedly practice through natural communication.

I went to Beijing a little over a year ago and I found it to be a mind-blowing experience. Through a series of unfortunate coincides I ended up with a flight to Shanghai instead of Beijing, strange no? It was, I didn't even realize it until I got to Heathrow!

As the plane touched the tarmac in Shanghai, the experience got a lot stranger. I needed to be in Beijing in 48 hours and the only way to get there on my budget was via train - just finding the railway station proved interesting enough, to find the right train ticket selling window, a major exercise in charades (which is how I got by in the beginning) and when I eventually arrived in the capital of the middle kingdom - to find the address of the school had changed, I decided that doing anything in China is more of an adventure than doing to the most adventurous thing in Sweden, where I am from.

The first and second weeks were great - the language school (which I eventually ended up working for, but that is another story) focused on personal content. I did not really understand the concept at first but when they handed me a custom made textbook - perfectly tailored to my professional ambitions and hobbies, I was pretty exited. The relevance of the text, to me, made me get through the initial repetitive grammar exercises like I was flying. Of course the classroom (which only held 3 other people) did not focus solely on my material - it was a mix between that which was relevant for all and that which was relevant for us as individuals - but the overall result was that I was able to say a few things about diving after only two weeks: and diving I went.

I traveled up to the foothills of the mountains north of Beijing, on that weekend, with a pretty amazing Brazilian girl and we went diving! In mountains! And the added kicker was that we went diving down to The Great Wall! How is this possible you ask? The Chinese had built a huge damn that had completely inundated a valley through which The Great Wall passes! To me, who rates diving, meeting new people and adventurous things as my three top hobbies: I might just as well have been in paradise.

The point of this little tangent is this: that whole weekend I was able to chat in Chinese about the dive, the diving equipment and the sights on the bottom of the valley. That meant that come Monday I had practiced not only my personal diving vocabulary, I had also practiced the general vocabulary which I needed to piece together coherent sentences and the otherwise strenuous grammar! And I seriously dislike grammar! But even though I am so dispassionate about syntax, the shear excitement of diving, which I love, made the whole experience of getting through the basics an adventure, not an ordeal.

And on that path it continued - Today I have a pretty good grasp on Chinese, I am actually living with that lovely Brazilian girl I went diving with on my second week here, and I got a job in China. All in one year. So my advice to you is find a place where you can study that which matter most to you and the rest of it will slot nicely into place.

Learning Chinese does not have to be gruesome, but it takes being in China, it takes finding a place where you can study the language in a way that is tailored to you, and foremost, it takes a sense of adventure. Connecting these three will let you not only get a great skill for life, it will prove the path to learning Chinese a lot more effortless than you might think and it will make that path one great experience.

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Rui Ming works with tailor-made courses for those that want to learn Mandarin in China. If you have any questions, see the forum called learn to speak Chinese.

Street Scene, Chinese, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) $49.99 Street Scene, Chinese, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) - Giclee Print

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The Chinese State in Ming Society $302.71 The Ming dynasty (13681644), a period of commercial expansion and cultural innovation, fashioned the relationship between state and society in Chinese history. This unique collection of reworked and heavily illustrated essays, by one of the leading scholars of Chinese history, reexamines this relationship. It argues that, contrary to previous scholarship, it was radical responses within society that led to a constitution, not periods of fluctuation within the dynasty itself. Brooks outstanding scholarship demonstrates that it was changes in commercial relations and social networks that were actually responsible for the development of a stable society. This imaginative reconsidering of existing scholarship on the history of China will be fascinating reading for scholars and students interested in Chinas development. Author: Brook, Timothy Series Title: Critical Asian Scholarship Binding Type: Hardcover Number of Pages: 272 Publication Date: 2004/12/17 Language: English Dimensions: 9.50 x 6.34 x 0.81 inches

Chinese State in Ming Society $61.95 This unique collection of reworked and heavily illustrated essays, by one of the leading scholars of Chinese history, re-examines the relationship between the present day state and society in China.

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Wang Ming $70.1 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles Wang Ming (Chinese: pinyin: Wang Ming; May 23, 1904 March 27, 1974) was a senior leader of the early Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as well as the mastermind of the famous 28 Bolsheviks group. citation needed] Wang was also a major political rival of Mao Zedong during the 1930s, opposing Maos nationalist deviation from the Comintern and orthodox Marxism and Leninism lines. Wang epitomized the intellectualism and foreign dogmatism Mao criticized in his essays On Practice and On Contradiction. The competition between Wang and Mao was a reflection of the power struggle between the Soviet Union, through the vehicle of the Comintern, and the CCP to control both the direction and future of the Chinese revolution. Author: Surhone, Lambert M./ Tennoe, Mariam T./ Henssonow, Susan F. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 18 Publication Date: 2010/09/16 Language: English Dimensions: 6.00 x 9.02 x 0.04 inches

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Xu Ming $70.1 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles Xu Ming is a Chinese figure skater. He is the 20062007 Chinese national silver medalist. He won the gold medal at the 2007 Asian Winter Games. Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level (senior), and at local, national, and international competitions. The International Skating Union (ISU) regulates international figure skating judging and competitions. Figure skating is an official event in the Winter Olympic Games. Author: Surhone, Lambert M./ Tennoe, Mariam T./ Henssonow, Susan F. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 84 Publication Date: 2010/08/18 Language: English Dimensions: 6.00 x 9.02 x 0.20 inches

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Yao Ming $89.22 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles Yao Ming (born September 12, 1980 in Shanghai, China) is a professional basketball player who plays for the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently the tallest player in the NBA, at 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in). Yao, who was born in Shanghai, started playing for the Shanghai Sharks as a teenager, and played on their senior team for five years in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), winning a championship in his final year. He entered the 2002 NBA Draft, and after negotiating with the CBA and the Sharks to secure his release, was selected by the Houston Rockets as the first overall pick of the draft. He has since been selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA AllStar Game in all seven of his seasons, and has been named to the AllNBA Team five times. Author: Surhone, Lambert M./ Timpledon, Miriam T./ Marseken, Susan F. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 146 Publication Date: 2010/05/19 Language: English Dimensions: 5.98 x 9.01 x 0.33 inches

Rule of Ming and Zhang $70.1 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles The Rule of Ming and Zhang refers to the reigns of Emperor Ming (r. 5875) and Emperor Zhang (r. 7588) of the Eastern Han Dynasty, which was considered the golden age of that dynasty. Both Emperors Ming and Zhang were generally regarded as able administrators who cared about the welfare of the people and who promoted officials with integrity. After Emperor Zhangs death, the dynasty began to gradually decline. Emperor Ming of Han, (simplified Chinese: traditional Chinese: pinyin: han ming di; WadeGiles: Han Mingti), (2875) was second emperor of the Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty. He was the second son of Emperor Guangwu. It was during Emperor Mings reign that Buddhism began to spread into China. One night, he is said to have dreamed of a golden man or golden men. The next day he told his ministers, and the minister Zhong Hu explained to him that he probably dreamed of Buddha in India. The emperor then sent a delegation of 18 headed by Cai Yin, Qin Jing and Wang Zun to seek Buddhism. Author: Surhone, Lambert M./ Tennoe, Mariam T./ Henssonow, Susan F. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 102 Publication Date: 2010/08/20 Language: English Dimensions: 6.00 x 9.02 x 0.24 inches

The Ming Thing $5.98 A vase, a slick Chinese man, drug smuggling, a sister-in-law dragging a stuffed bird around, spending the night in a spooky motel, a blazing warehouse. What a fun time Maxcine and Isabel are having as they sleuth in earnest.

Ming Vase $133 Design by Marcel Wanders, 1997. Made in the Netherlands by Moooi. This vase is a modern take on an actual 3100-year-old handmade Chinese vase that was found at the bottom of the sea in the wreck of an old Chinese jonk. Marcel Wanders replicated the shape and produced it in white porcelain. Makers marks are left on the pot, such as parting lines and shrink, making the vase's history visible. White unglazed porcelain exterior, glazed porcelain interior.