If you were tasked with the mission to make the Chinese language easier to learn, what would you do? A stone carving depicting a wealthy scholar with his apprentice, whose main job was to carry the scholar's scrolls around For thousands of years, the Chinese language was exclusively studied by the privileged, or those who… Continue reading How did people learn Chinese before Pinyin? (1)
Drizzling in the fresh spring breeze A traveler passed by with a broken heart Where was the liquor store, he asked A shepherd boy pointed to the village of almond flowers. This is one of the most well know Chinese poems written by the famous poet Dumu 杜牧 (803-852AD) about the day of Qingming, which… Continue reading “Drizzling in the fresh spring breeze”
Millions of Chinese have travelled back home from cities to rural areas last week for the Spring Festival celebration, but there were not photos of long lines of traffic jams like those during Christmas in Europe or North America. The reason? Most people travelled by train for their annual trip. Not only is it a… Continue reading China Express: the story of the Chinese railway
Just as we are getting into the festive season here in Norway, people in China also have a widely celebrated tradition around this time of the year. On exactly today (22nd December), the Winter Solstice, or 冬至(dōng zhì) is celebrated in millions of Chinese homes. This tradition could be traced back to over four thousand… Continue reading Celebrating the longest night of the year
This blog post is a continuation of the last one, and will look at the remaining two of the five mountains, Hengshan and Songshan: The famous Zhurong peak from Hengshan, Hunan Hengshan (衡山，héngshān) in the south in the province of Hunan is famous for its unique, beautiful shape and rich foliage from the warm and… Continue reading The Five Sacred mountains of Ancient China (2)
Hiking is one of the most popular past-times in Norway, and mountains often have a special place in every Norwegian’s heart. In China, there are five mountains which also have a special place in the culture for over two millennia. As dynasties rose and fell, these five mountains stand high above the horizon overlooking the… Continue reading The Five Sacred Mountains of Ancient China (1)
有幸到挪威游峡湾的话，您一定会看过点缀在两岸高耸的山峦间，或是平静如镜的海岸边，偶然出现数间小木屋，让人感到特别的与世无争、悠然自得。在挪威语里，小木屋叫 ‘’hytte’’(发音近似hǜde). 其实，要把‘’hytte’’这个挪威词翻译成一个能很贴切地反映出它的全部外在和内涵的中文还很难找到...
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