®

Mandarin Chinese 2

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 Mandarin Chinese 2

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Voices
Audio Program
English-Speaking Instructor . . . . . . . . . . Ray Brown
Mandarin-Speaking Instructor . . . . . . . . . . Qing Rao
Female Mandarin Speaker . . . . . . . . . . Mei Ling Diep
Male Mandarin Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yaohua Shi
Reading Lessons
Female Mandarin Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . Xinxing Yang
Male Mandarin Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jay Jiang

Audio Program Course Writers

Yaohua Shi  Christopher J. Gainty

Reading Lesson Writers

Xinxing Yang  Elizabeth Horber

Reviewer
Zhijie Jia
Editors
Joan Schoellner  Beverly D. Heinle

Producer & Director

Sarah H. McInnis

Recording Engineers
Peter S. Turpin  Kelly Saux

Simon & Schuster Studios, Concord, MA

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Table of Contents

Introduction
Mandarin............................................................... 1
Pictographs......................................................... 2
Traditional and Simplified Script........................ 3
Pinyin Transliteration.......................................... 3
Readings ............................................................. 4
Tonality................................................................ 5
Tone Change or Tone Sandhi............................. 8
Pinyin Pronunciation Chart................................. 10

Lesson One................................................................ 15
Translations............................................................... 16
Lesson Two ................................................................ 17
Translations............................................................... 18
Lesson Three............................................................. 19
Translations .............................................................. 20
Lesson Four............................................................... 21
Translations .............................................................. 22
Lesson Five................................................................ 23
Translations............................................................... 24
Lesson Six.................................................................. 25
Translations .............................................................. 26
Lesson Seven............................................................. 27
Translations .............................................................. 28
Lesson Eight.............................................................. 29
Translations .............................................................. 30
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 Mandarin Chinese 2

Lesson Nine............................................................... 31
Translations............................................................... 32
Lesson Ten................................................................. 33
Translations............................................................... 34
Lesson Eleven ........................................................... 35
Translations............................................................... 36
Lesson Twelve .......................................................... 37
Translations .............................................................. 38
Lesson Thirteen......................................................... 39
Translations .............................................................. 40
Lesson Fourteen........................................................ 41
Translations .............................................................. 42
Lesson Fifteen........................................................... 43
Translations .............................................................. 44
Lesson Sixteen ......................................................... 45
Translations............................................................... 46
Lesson Seventeen .................................................... 47
Translations .............................................................. 48
Lesson Eighteen ....................................................... 49
Translations .............................................................. 50
Lesson Nineteen ...................................................... 51
Translations .............................................................. 52
Lesson Twenty ......................................................... 53
Translations............................................................... 54

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 Mandarin Chinese 2

To learn a language is to have one more window

from which to look at the world.
Chinese proverb

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Mandarin

Mandarin Chinese, also known as Standard

Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, is the sole
official language of China and Taiwan, and one of the
four official languages of Singapore. Although there
are eight major Chinese dialects, Mandarin is native to
approximately 70% of the population. Chinese who
are educated through at least the primary grades
speak Mandarin as well as the local dialects. However,
due to the size of China and the ethnic diversity of
its inhabitants, hundreds of other dialects are spoken
in different areas. The dialects spoken today are
based more on geography than on ethnicity. For
instance, residents of Shanghai will speak Wu, and
in some parts of China, particularly the central and
southern areas, official business is transacted in the
locally dominant language. Although people from
different parts of China generally do not understand
one another’s spoken language, they all use Mandarin
characters (hanzi) for writing.

Today’s Mandarin is closely based on “northern

speech” which was the lingua franca of the ruling
class, spoken in Beijing, the capital during the Ming
and Qing Dynasties. After the Nationalists overthrew
the Qing Dynasty in 1912, government officials at
first considered creating a new “national language”
by adopting a mixture of dialects, but in the end it
was decided to retain Mandarin as the “National
Language.” The Communists, who defeated the
 Mandarin Chinese 2

Nationalists in 1949, continued this policy, but they

changed the name and coined the term pu tong
hua, or “common speech,” for “Mandarin.” This is
the word for Mandarin used throughout mainland
China. In Hong Kong, however, as in Taiwan and
most overseas communities, guo yu, the older term,
continues to be used.

Pronunciation of the national language differs

slightly geographically, and there are some significant
regional vocabulary differences. The Nationalists,
whose capital was the southern city of Nanjing, were
influenced by southern dialects, primarily Cantonese.
The Communists, whose capital is Beijing, were
influenced by “northern speech.”

Pictographs

It is commonly thought that every Chinese

character is a picture, or “pictograph,” but only a
few hundred of the several thousand characters are
true pictographs. However, most of these are now
written in such a way that it is difficult to immediately
guess their meaning. There is also a very small group
of characters called ideographs or ideograms, which
represent ideas or objects directly. All other Chinese
characters are combinations of these pictographs
and basic ideographs.

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Traditional and Simplified Script

In 1949 China’s new government considered

instituting an alphabet in place of the traditional
characters, as a refutation of traditional or “feudal”
culture. Instead, they decided to simplify the
existing characters by reducing the number of
strokes necessary to create them. By 1964, a list of
2,200 simplified characters was created for use as
a modified script. Further simplification was briefly
adopted, then abandoned, at the end of the Cultural
Revolution in 1977.

Presently, simplified characters are used in

mainland China and Singapore, although there
is a movement for the restoration of traditional
characters, especially in southern China. Hong Kong,
Taiwan, and many overseas Chinese communities
continue to use the traditional characters.

Pinyin Transliteration

In this Introductory Reading Program you will

continue learning to read Hanyu Pinyin – pinyin for
short. It’s the official phonetic system for transcrib-
ing pronunciations of the Chinese characters into
a Latin alphabet, and will give you a way to “read”
an approximation of the sounds in written form.
In China it’s often used in elementary schools as
a first step toward learning to read. It is also used

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 Mandarin Chinese 2

to alphabetically order dictionary entries, and it is

used for entering Chinese text into computers as
well as communicating via email and text messag-
ing. In many large cities, street signs are often dis-
played in both Chinese characters and pinyin to aid
foreign visitors.

Readings

There are twenty Reading Lessons in all.

Although the pinyin alphabet may appear similar
to the Latin alphabet, the sounds of some letters in
pinyin are quite different. You will learn to sound
out the pinyin starting with individual letters, then
letter combinations, words, then word combinations
and short phrases, building in length until you will
be sounding out complete sentences. Keep in
mind that learning to read pinyin is not the same
as learning to read hanzi, the Chinese characters.
These lessons are designed to give you an easy way
to “read” the Chinese sounds, and the Simplified
Chinese characters are displayed as well.

Feel free to repeat each Reading Lesson until

you feel comfortable proceeding to the next. With
a little effort, you will be astonished at how quickly
you are able to sound out the Mandarin words. A
pronunciation chart is included which is for reference

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 Mandarin Chinese 2

only, however, as all the information you need to do

the readings is contained in the audio.

Although translations are included, the meanings

at this point are secondary, and we recommend
that you look at them only after first attempting to
sound out the phrases with Mandarin pronunciation.
Each item has been selected especially to give you
practice in the tones, the sounds, and the sound
combinations. You should read aloud, as directed,
which will help to lodge the sounds in your memory.
Before long you will be reading pinyin aloud without
an American accent.

Tonality

Chinese is a tonal language. This means that in

addition to the sounds of the consonants and vowels,
the tone with which a syllable is pronounced helps to
determine its meaning. The Chinese languages are
almost exclusively made up of one-syllable words,
composed of an initial consonant sound followed by
the syllable’s main vowel, sometimes in combination
with another consonant or vowel. Longer words do
exist, but almost all are compound words, formed by
combining one-syllable words.

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 Mandarin Chinese 2

The tone is determined by the pronunciation

of the syllable’s main vowel. Each tone has a name
which describes the motion of the sound: falling,
rising, or even. With the tones, several meanings can
be assigned to any one syllable. For example, when
pronounced using a falling-rising tone, the word nar
means “where.” However, when pronounced with
just a falling tone, it means “there.”

There are four main tones used in speaking

Mandarin - high, rising, falling-rising, falling - and
a fifth, referred to as a soft or neutral tone. This last
tone is used for the second syllable in a set of doubled
characters, as well as for the final syllable (or question
word) at the end of a query. This neutral tone doesn't
have a marker. For example, in the questions, ni ne?
(How about you?) and hao ma? (OK?), the syllables ne
and ma are pronounced using this soft, falling sound,
as if the sound is fading away. Here is an example of
one word with different meanings depending on the
tone with which it is pronounced:

• 1st tone: high shī (poem)
• 2nd tone: rising shí (ten or time)
• 3rd tone: falling-rising shĭ (history)
• 4th tone: falling shì (to be)

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 Mandarin Chinese 2

There are four tonal markers to indicate the tones

of the vowels. In these lessons, we will include them
for the four tones above the vowels they affect. Pay
close attention to t​he markers because they can
change the meaning of a word completely. It may
take a while before you hear the differences, and
we encourage you to repeat each lesson as often as
necessary, in order to both familiarize yourself with
the Mandarin sounds represented by the letters and
to practice the tones.

All tonal markers are placed above the single

vowels (a, o, e, i, u, ü). The chart that follows uses the
vowel “a” as an example.

Tone # English Name Marker

shown with “a”
1. High-level tone - Starts with
normal vocal range of the ā
speaker and stays even.
2. Rising tone - Starts at
normal vocal range, then á
rises up.
3. Falling-rising tone - Starts
at normal vocal range, then ǎ
falls down and rises up.
4. Falling tone - Starts at
normal vocal range, then à
falls down.

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 Mandarin Chinese 2

In Mandarin the absence of a tonal marker above a

vowel, as in "a," indicates a neutral tone. This neutral
tone starts with a slightly soft sound and is shorter
than the sounds of the tones listed above.

Tone Change or Tone Sandhi

Although each Chinese syllable standing alone

has a specific tone, in the flow of speech the tone of
a syllable can change depending on the tone of the
following syllable. In some Chinese dialects, tone
change is common, and there are complex rules
governing it. In contemporary Mandarin, however,
it is less common than in other dialects, and there
are only a few rules to remember. The first governs
falling-rising or 3rd tones when they are spoken in
sequence:

1. When two falling-rising or 3rd tones occur

together, the first falling-rising tone becomes
a rising, or 2nd tone. The second remains a
falling-rising or 3rd tone. For example, “very”
and “good” are both falling-rising, 3rd tones by
themselves, but when spoken together as hen
hao, the first word changes to a rising or 2nd
tone, while the second keeps its original falling-
rising, 3rd tone.

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 Mandarin Chinese 2

2. When three falling-rising tones are spoken one

after the other, the first two become rising or
2nd tones, while the third remains a falling-
rising tone.
3. When four falling-rising tones occur one after
the other, the first three change to rising or 2nd
tones, while the fourth remains a falling-rising
or 3rd tone.
In contemporary Mandarin, tone change is also
associated with two specific characters. The first of
these is yi (one).
1. When it is by itself or at the end of a word it is a
high level or 1st tone.
2. When yi comes before a falling or 4th tone, it
changes to a rising or 2nd tone, for example, yi
(2nd) yue (4th ) (“one month”).
3. When yi comes before any of the three
remaining tones (high, rising, or falling-rising), it
changes to a falling or 4th tone.
The second character associated with tone
change in contemporary Mandarin is bu (means “no”
or “not”).

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 Mandarin Chinese 2

1. When bu stands alone, it is a falling or 4th tone.

2. It changes to a rising or 2nd tone only when it
comes before another falling or 4th tone.
3. When combined with the 2nd and 3rd tones, bu
remains a falling tone.

The various tone changes occur in speech only. In

writing, the original tone is retained. In time, these
changes will become automatic and natural.

Pinyin Pronunciation Chart

(where no sound is indicated, the sound matches English)

Letter Sound
a “a” in “father”
b
c “ts” in “boots”
ch “ch” in “church”
d
e “ir” in “girl”
f
g “g” in “go”
h

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Letter Sound
i “ee” as in “feet” but after “r” sounds like
the “ir” in “shirt”
j
k
l
m
n
o “o” in “no”
p
q “ch” in “cheese”
r “r” as in “war” or “run” (before an “i” it
sounds somewhere between an “r” and “j”
or the “s” in “leisure”)
s “s” as in “seed”
sh “sh” as in “shine”
t
u “oo” as in “boot”
ü similar to the “u” sound in “you”
x the sound in between “s” and “sh”
w
y “y” as in “yes”
z “ds” as in “lads”
zh “j” as in “jam”

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Letter Sound Combinations
ai “eye”
ei “ay” in “say”
ao “ow” in “how”
ou “o” in “dough”
ia “ee-ya”
ie “ee-yeah”
iu “ee-oo”
ua “wa” like the end of “aqua”
uo “wo” in “won’t”
üe “u” in “you” followed by the sound “e” - "ee"
iao like “meow”
iou (iu) “eew”
uai “why”
uei (ui) “way”
an “un” in “until”
en “en” in “hen”
in “een” in “seen”
ün “une” in “tune”
ang “ong” in “song”
eng “ung” in “sung”
ing “ing” in “sing”
ong like “long,” except with the “o” pronounced
“oh”

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Letter Sound Combinations
ian “yan”
uan “wan”
uen similar to “one”
(un)
üan “u” in “you” plus “an”
iang “young”
iong “yong,” with the “o” pronounced “oh”
uang “wong”
ueng like “wor” in “work,” plus an “ng” at the end
er sounds like “are,” but is usually linked to
the previous word to form an “er” sound

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson One

1. bā 八
2. sì 四
3. shí 十
4. wǔ 五
5. shí sì 十四
6. sì shí 四十
7. sān 三
8. qī 七
9. bǎi 百
10. èr 二
11. liǎng 两
12. liǎng bǎi 两百
13. jiǔ 九
14. liù 六
15. wàn 万
16. liù shí wàn 六十万
17. yī 一
18. qiān 千
19. yī qiān 一千
20. bā shí sān 八十三

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson One Translations

1. eight
2. four
3. ten
4. five
5. fourteen
6. forty
7. three
8. seven
9. hundred
10. two
11. two (when talking about amounts)
12. two hundred
13. nine
14. six
15. ten thousand
16. six hundred thousand
17. one
18. thousand
19. one thousand
20. eighty-three

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Two

1. míng tiān 明天
2. wǒ xiǎng yào … 我想要 …
3. mǎi dōng xi 买东西
4. cān tīng 餐厅
5. xīng qī yī 星期一
6. wǒ jiāng yào … 我将要 …
7. chū qù wánr 出去玩儿
8. zúo tiān 昨天
9. qù shāng chǎng 去商场
10. kàn diàn yǐng 看电影
11. xīng qī èr 星期二
12. dǎ qiú 打球
13. xīng qī tiān 星期天
14. jīn tiān 今天
15. zhǎo péng yǒu 找朋友
16. jiǔ bā 酒吧
17. xīng qī sān 星期三
18. xīng qī sì 星期四
19. xīng qī wǔ 星期五
20. xīng qī liù 星期六

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Lesson Two Translations

1. tomorrow
2. I would like …
3. shopping
4. cafeteria
5. Monday
6. I’m going to …
7. to go out
8. yesterday
9. go to the store
10. to see a movie
11. Tuesday
12. to play ball
13. Sunday
14. today
15. to find friends
16. bar
17. Wednesday
18. Thursday
19. Friday
20. Saturday

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Three

1. cān guǎn 餐馆
2. chī fàn 吃饭
3. zhōng cān 中餐
4. jiǎo zi 饺子
5. lāo miàn 捞面
6. niú ròu 牛肉
7. zhū ròu 猪肉
8. yú 鱼
9. jī 鸡
10. mǐ fàn 米饭
11. yào bú yào chī …? 要不要吃 …?
12. là 辣
13. huǒ guō 火锅
14. chá 茶
15. diǎn xīn 点心
16. jǐ diǎn kāi mén? 几点开门?
17. wèi dào hěn xiāng. 味道很香。
18. jǐ wèi? 几位？
19. hǎo chī 好吃
20. shuǐ guǒ 水果

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Three Translations

1. restaurant
2. eat food / have a meal
3. Chinese food
4. dumplings
5. noodles
6. beef
7. pork
8. fish
9. chicken
10. rice
11. Do you want to eat ...?
12. spicy / hot
13. hot pot
14. tea
15. dessert or snacks
16. What time does it open?
17. It smells very delicious.
18. How many people?
19. tastes good
20. fruits

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Four

1. fēi jī chǎng 飞机场

2. xíng li 行李
3. qǐ fēi 起飞
4. jiàng luò 降落
5. jī piào 机票
6. fēi xíng yuán 飞行员
7. huǒ chē 火车
8. huǒ chē piào 火车票
9. chèng wù yuán 乘务员
10. guó nèi 国内
11. guó jì 国际
12. jiǎn piào 检票
13. hǎi guān 海关
14. zuò wèi 坐位
15. jiǔ diàn 酒店
16. zū chē 租车
17. fáng jiān 房间
18. dì tiě 地铁
19. dì tú 地图
20. shí kè biǎo 时刻表

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Four Translations

1. airport
2. luggage
3. takeoff
4. landing
5. airplane ticket
6. pilot
7. train
8. train ticket
9. conductor
10. domestic
11. international
12. collect tickets / check-in
13. customs
14. seat
15. hotel
16. to rent a car
17. room
18. subway
19. map
20. timetable

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Five

1. nǐn hǎo! 你好！

2. duì bù qǐ. 对不起。
3. qǐng 请
4. qǐng jìn. 请进。
5. huān yíng 欢迎
6. guāng lín 光临
7. qǐng wèn … 请问 …
8. qǐng zuò. 请坐。
9. xiè xie. 谢谢。
10. bíe kè qi. 别客气。
11. má fán nín. 麻烦您。
12. zǎo shàng hǎo! 早上好!
13. bài fǎng 拜访
14. dǎ rǎo 打扰
15. bài tuō 拜托
16. gōng xǐ! 恭喜!
17. píng ān 平安
18. bǎo zhòng 保重
19. zài jiàn. 再见。
20. huān yíng zài lái. 欢迎再来。

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Five Translations

1. Hello!
2. Excuse me.
3. please
4. Please come in.
5. welcome
6. coming (polite form)
7. May I ask …
8. Sit down, please.
9. Thank you.
10. You are welcome.
11. Sorry to bother you. (polite form)
12. Good morning!
13. visit someone respectfully
14. bother
15. politely ask someone to do something
16. Congratulations!
17. peace
18. take care
19. See you later.
20. You are welcome to come back again.

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Six

1. shēn tǐ 身体
2. tóu 头
3. tóu fa 头发
4. yǎn jīng 眼睛
5. shǒu 手
6. jiǎo 脚
7. bí zi 鼻子
8. ěr duo 耳朵
9. zuǐ bā 嘴巴
10. gē bo 胳膊
11. tuǐ 腿
12. kàn 看
13. tīng 听
14. wén 闻
15. jiān bǎng 肩膀
16. shǒu zhí tou 手指头
17. bó zi 脖子
18. jiǎo bó zi 脚脖子
19. dù zi 肚子
20. liǎn 脸

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Six Translations

1. body
2. head
3. hair
4. eye
5. hand
6. foot
7. nose
8. ear
9. mouth
10. arm
11. leg
12. look
13. listen
14. smell
15. shoulder
16. finger
17. neck
18. ankle
19. stomach
20. face

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Seven

1. jiàn kāng 健康
2. yī shēng 医生
3. chī yào 吃药
4. téng 疼
5. tòng 痛
6. tóu téng 头疼
7. fā shāo 发烧
8. ké sòu 咳嗽
9. gǎn mào 感冒
10. dǎ pēn tì 打喷嚏
11. yá tòng 牙痛
12. yī yuàn 医院
13. zài nǎr? 在哪儿？
14. yào diàn 药店
15. shuāi jiāo 摔跤
16. liú xiě 流血
17. liú bí xiě 流鼻血
18. tuǐ shuāi duàn le. 腿摔断了。
19. jiù hù chē 救护车
20. kuài jiào jiù hù chē！ 快叫救护车！

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Seven Translations

1. health
2. doctor
3. take medicine
4. hurt (casual expression)
5. pain
6. headache
7. fever
8. cough
9. have a cold
10. sneeze
11. toothache
12. hospital
13. Where is?
14. pharmacy
15. to fall
16. to bleed
17. nosebleed
18. The leg is broken.
19. ambulance
20. Call an ambulance!

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Eight

1. zhǐ jīn 纸巾
2. xiāng zào 香皂
3. yá gāo 牙膏
4. yá shuā 牙刷
5. máo jīn 毛巾
6. shū zi 梳子
7. guā hú dāo 刮胡刀
8. xǐ fà shuǐ 洗发水
9. hù fà sù 护发素
10. chuàng kě tiē 创可贴
11. ā sī pī lín 阿司匹林
12. fáng shài shuāng 防晒霜
13. píng zhuāng shuǐ 瓶装水
14. yóu piào 邮票
15. xìn fēng 信封
16. míng xìn piàn 明信片
17. yì zhāng zhǐ 一张纸
18. bǐ 笔
19. jiǎn dāo 剪刀
20. nào zhōng 闹钟

29
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Eight Translations

1. tissues
2. soap
3. toothpaste
4. toothbrush
5. towel
6. comb
7. razor
8. shampoo
9. conditioner
10. Band-Aids
11. aspirin
12. sunscreen
13. bottled water
14. stamps
15. envelope
16. postcard
17. a piece of paper
18. pen
19. scissors
20. alarm clock

30
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Nine

1. yán sè 颜色
2. lán sè 蓝色
3. hēi 黑
4. bái 白
5. hóng 红
6. fěn hóng 粉红
7. huáng 黄
8. jú huáng 橘黄
9. lǜ 绿
10. shēn yán sè 深颜色
11. qiǎn yán sè 浅颜色
12. cǎi hóng 彩虹
13. huā huā lǜ lǜ 花花绿绿
14. qiǎn huī sè 浅灰色
15. xiān yàn 鲜艳
16. hè sè 褐色
17. mǐ sè 米色
18. zǐ 紫
19. shēn hóng 深红
20. xǐ huān shén me yán sè? 喜欢什么颜色?

31
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Nine Translations

1. color
2. blue
3. black
4. white
5. red
6. pink
7. yellow
8. orange
9. green
10. dark color
11. light color
12. rainbow
13. colorful
14. light gray
15. bright color
16. brown
17. beige
18. purple
19. dark red
20. What is your favorite color?

32
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Ten

1. yī fu 衣服
2. chuān 穿
3. mǎi yī fu 买衣服
4. xǐ yī fu 洗衣服
5. chèn shān 衬衫
6. kù zi 裤子
7. cháng 长
8. duǎn 短
9. xié 鞋
10. dà yī 大衣
11. máo yī 毛衣
12. shǒ tào 手套
13. hén hǎo kàn 很好看
14. bù hé shēn 不合身
15. wà zi 袜子
16. tài xiǎo 太小
17. tài jǐn 太紧
18. hén shū fu 很舒服
19. qún zi 裙子
20. pí dài 皮带

33
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Ten Translations

1. clothes
2. to wear
3. to buy clothes
4. to wash clothes
5. shirt
6. pants
7. long
8. short
9. shoes
10. coat
11. sweater
12. gloves
13. looks very good
14. does not fit well
15. socks
16. too small
17. too tight
18. very comfortable
19. skirt
20. belt

34
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Eleven

1. chūn tiān 春天
2. xià tiān 夏天
3. qiū tiān 秋天
4. dōng tiān 冬天
5. wēn nuǎn 温暖
6. tài rè 太热
7. liáng shuǎng 凉爽
8. hán lěng 寒冷
9. qíng tiān 晴天
10. yīn tiān 阴天
11. xià yǔ 下雨
12. xià xuě 下雪
13. qí chē 骑车
14. pá shān 爬山
15. yóu yǒng 游泳
16. huá xuě 滑雪
17. dǎ gāo ěr fū qiú 打高尔夫球
18. tī zú qiú 踢足球
19. dǎ bàng qiú 打棒球
20. měi shì zú qiú 美式足球

35
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Eleven Translations

1. spring
2. summer
3. autumn
4. winter
5. warm
6. too hot
7. cool
8. cold
9. sunny day
10. cloudy
11. raining
12. snowing
13. riding a bicycle
14. hiking
15. swimming
16. skiing
17. golfing
18. playing soccer
19. playing baseball
20. football

36
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Twelve

1. jǐ diǎn le? 几点了？

2. xiàn zài 现在
3. bā diǎn 八点
4. zǎo shàng qī diǎn 早上七点
5. shàng wǔ shí yī diǎn 上午十一点
6. xià wǔ liáng diǎn 下午两点
7. wǎn shàng jiǔ diǎn 晚上九点
8. zhōng wǔ 中午
9. bàn xiǎo shí 半小时
10. liù diǎn bàn 六点半
11. yí kè zhōng 一刻钟
12. sān diǎn yí kè 三点一刻
13. bàn yè 半夜
14. fēn zhōng 分钟
15. wǔ diǎn shí sān fēn 五点十三分
16. chà yí kè liǎng diǎn 差一刻两点
17. jǐ diǎn kāi mén? 几点开门？
18. qī diǎn kāi mén. 七点开门。
19. xiàn zài shì shí diǎn. 现在是十点。
20. wǒ sì diǎn bàn yǒu shìr. 我四点半有事儿。

37
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Twelve Translations

1. What time is it?

2. now
3. eight o’clock (morning or evening)
4. seven o’clock in the morning
5. eleven o’clock in the morning
6. two o’clock in the afternoon
7. nine o’clock in the evening
8. noon
9. half an hour
10. half past six o’clock
11. quarter of an hour
12. quarter past three o’clock
13. midnight
14. minute(s)
15. thirteen past five o’clock
16. quarter to two o’clock
17. What time do you open (your door)?
18. (Our door) opens at seven o’clock.
19. Now, it’s ten o’clock.
20. I need to do something at half past
four o’clock.

38
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Thirteen

1. hǎo jiǔ méi jiàn miàn le. 好久没见面了。

2. shēn tǐ hǎo ma? 身体好吗？
3. tiān qì zhēn hǎo. 天气真好。
4. zhēn bú cuò. 真不错.
5. wǒ yào qù mǎi dōng xi. 我要去买东西。
6. nǐ xiǎng mǎi shén me? 你想买什么？
7. wǒ xiǎng mǎi yī fu. 我想买衣服。
8. wǒ yào qù shāng chǎng. 我要去商场。
9. wǒ yě qù. 我也去。
10. nà tài hǎo le! 那太好了！
11. jīn tiān shàng xué ma? 今天上学吗？
12. jīn tiān bú shàng xué. 今天不上学。
13. chī wǔ fàn le ma? 吃午饭了吗？
14. hái méi yǒu. 还没有。
15. yì qǐ qù chī ba. 一起去吃吧。
16. wéi, zū chē gōng sī ma? 喂，租车公司吗？
17. wǒ xiǎng zū chē. 我想租车。
18. xíng. jǐ diǎn yào chē? 行。几点要车？
19. sān diǎn jiàn. 三点见。
20. zài jiàn! 再见！

39
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Thirteen Translations

1. Long time no see. (very casual greeting)

2. How’s your health?
3. The weather is very nice.
4. Not bad at all.
5. I’m going shopping.
6. What do you want to buy?
7. I want to buy clothes.
8. I will go to the mall.
9. I also want to go.
10. That would be great!
11. Do you have school today?
12. Today we have no school.
13. Have you had your lunch yet?
14. Not yet.
15. Let’s have lunch together.
16. Hello, is it the rental car company?
17. I’d like to rent a car.
18. Sure. What time do you need the car?
19. See you at three o’clock.
20. Good-bye!

40
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Fourteen

1. jiā 家
2. jiā tíng 家庭
3. zhàng fu 丈夫
4. qī zi 妻子
5. hái zi 孩子
6. jǐ suì le? 几岁了？
7. ér zi 儿子
8. nǚ ér 女儿
9. qīn qi 亲戚
10. fù mǔ 父母
11. xiōng dì jiě mèi 兄弟姐妹
12. bǒ bo 伯伯
13. shū shu 叔叔
14. ā yí 阿姨
15. biǎo jiě mèi 表姐妹
16. biǎo xiōng dì 表兄弟
17. wǒ fù mǔ shì běi jīng rén. 我父母是北京人。
18. wǒ jiě jie shì yī shēng. 我姐姐是医生。
19. wǒ gē ge zhù zài shàng hǎi. 我哥哥住在上海。
20. fù mǔ dōu ài hái zi. 父母都爱孩子。

41
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Fourteen Translations

1. home
2. family
3. husband
4. wife
5. child(ren)
6. How old is he/she?
7. son(s)
8. daughter(s)
9. relatives
10. parents
11. siblings
12. uncle(s) (father’s elder brother(s) )
13. uncle(s) (father’s younger brother(s) )
14. aunt(s) (mother’s sister(s) )
15. female cousins
16. male cousins
17. My parents are from Beijing.
18. My older sister is a doctor.
19. My older brother lives in Shanghai.
20. All parents love their children.

42
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Fifteen

1. nǐ huì shuō yīng yǔ ma? 你会说英语吗？

2. nǐ dǒng yīng yǔ ma? 你懂英语吗？
3. wèi shēng jiān zài nǎr? 卫生间在哪儿？
4. ní jiào shén me míng zì? 你叫什么名字？
5. nǐn cóng nǎr lái? 您从哪儿来？
6. nǐ è le ma? 你饿了吗？
7. nǎ jiā cān guǎn hǎo chī? 哪家餐馆好吃？
8. jiǔ diàn zài nǎ li? 酒店在哪里？
9. huǒ chē zhàn yuǎn ma? 火车站远吗？
10. jī chǎng zěn me zǒu? 机场怎么走？
11. shì qù tiān jīn ma? 是去天津吗?
12. yǒu zhù míng jǐng diǎn ma? 有著名景点吗？
13. nǎ li hǎo wánr? 哪里好玩儿？
14. yì zhāng piào duō shǎo qián? 一张票多少钱？
15. shén me jià qián? 什么价钱？
16. yǒu kòng fáng jiān ma? 有空房间吗?
17. zài nǎ li huàn qián? 在哪里换钱？
18. fù jìn yǒu yín háng ma? 附近有银行吗？
19. nǐ lái guò zhōng guó ma? 你来过中国吗？
20. qù yín háng zěn me zǒu? 去银行怎么走？

43
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Fifteen Translations

1. Do you speak English?

2. Do you understand English?
3. Where is the restroom?
4. What is your name?
5. Where are you from? (polite form)
6. Are you hungry?
7. Which restaurants are good?
8. Where is the hotel?
9. Is the train station far?
10. How to get to the airport?
11. Does it go to Tianjin?
12. Are there any attractions?
13. Where is the fun place?
14. How much is one ticket?
15. How much?
16. Are there any rooms available?
17. Where can I exchange currency?
18. Are there any banks nearby?
19. Have you been to China?
20. How do you get to the bank?

44
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Sixteen

1. tǎo jià huán jià 讨价还价

2. guì 贵
3. pián yi 便宜
4. duō shǎo qián yí gè? 多少钱一个？
5. bā shí yuán 八十元
6. tài guì le! 太贵了！
7. néng pián yi yì diǎn ma? 能便宜一点吗？
8. zuì dī jià 最低价
9. zuì shǎo yào duō shǎo qián? 最少要多少钱？
10. yǐ jīng jiàng jià le. 已经降价了。
11. hěn zhí qián 很值钱
12. bù zhí qián 不值钱
13. zuì duō 最多
14. nà jiù bù mǎi le. 那就不买了。
15. duō shǎo qián, nǐ huì mǎi? 多少钱，你会买？
16. géi nǐ pián yi diǎn, mǎi ma? 给你便宜点，买吗？
17. liù shí wǔ yuán, xíng ma? 六十五元，行吗？
18. liù shí bā yuán ba? 六十八元吧?
19. zhì liàng hěn hǎo 质量很好
20. hǎo ba. 好吧。

45
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Sixteen Translations

1. bargaining
2. expensive
3. cheap
4. How much does this cost?
5. eighty yuan
6. That’s too expensive!
7. Can you lower the price a little?
8. the lowest price
9. What’s the minimum (money) you want?
10. It’s already discounted.
11. valuable
12. worthless
13. the most
14. Then, I won’t buy it.
15. How much are you willing to buy?
16. I’ll give you more discount, will/do you buy it?
17. How about sixty-five yuan?
18. How about sixty-eight yuan?
19. good quality
20. Fine.

46
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Seventeen

1. diàn huà 电话
2. shǒu jī 手机
3. diàn huà hào mǎ 电话号码
4. diàn nǎo 电脑
5. dǎ yìn jī 打印机
6. wǎng luò 网络
7. diàn zǐ yóu xiāng 电子邮箱
8. wǎng zhǐ 网址
9. fā duǎn xìn 发短信
10. xìn hào 信号
11. diàn chí 电池
12. chōng diàn qì 充电器
13. yìng yòng chéng xù 应用程序
14. chú cún wén jiàn 储存文件
15. ruǎn jiàn 软件
16. xià zǎi 下载
17. shàng zǎi 上载
18. dǎ yìn wén jiàn 打印文件
19. diàn nǎo méi diàn le. 电脑没电了。
20. shǒu jī yǒu xìn hào ma? 手机有信号吗？

47
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Seventeen Translations

1. phone
2. cell phone
3. phone number
4. computer
5. printer
6. Internet
7. e-mail address
8. website
9. send a text message
10. signal
11. battery
12. charger
13. applications
14. saving files
15. software
16. download
17. upload
18. to print a file
19. The computer is out of power.
20. Does the phone have (a) signal?

48
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Eighteen

1. zhōu mò yǒu jì huà ma? 周末有计划吗？

2. wǒ xiǎng qù mǎi dōng xi. 我想去买东西。
3. nǐ qù shāng chéng ma? 你去商城吗？
4. bú qù. wǒ qù xiǎo 不去。我去小市场。
shì chǎng.
5. wǒ hé nǐ yì qǐ qù. 我和你一起去。
6. hǎo ma? 好吗？
7. dāng rán hǎo la! 当然好啦!
8. xià kè hò, wǒ men qù 下课后, 我们去打网球。
dǎ wǎng qiú.
9. nǐ xiǎng qù ma? 你想去吗？
10. bù xíng, wǒ yào kāi huì. 不行，我要开会。
11. xià cì wǒ yí dìng qù. 下次我一定去。
12. wǒ qù kàn diàn yǐng. 我去看电影。
13. yǒu shé me xīn diàn 有什么新电影吗？
yǐng ma?
14. yǒu hěn duō xīn diàn yǐng. 有很多新电影。
15. nǐ cháng qù diàn yǐng 你常去电影院吗？
yuàn ma?
16. wǒ hěn shǎo kàn diàn yǐng. 我很少看电影。
17. zhōu mò de tiān qì … 周末的天气 …
18. yīng gāi hěn hǎo. 应该很好。
19. wǒ xiǎng qù qí chē. 我想去骑车。
20. zhù nǐ wánr de gāo xìng! 祝你玩儿得高兴！

49
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Eighteen Translations

1. Do you have any plans for the weekend?

2. I want to go shopping.
3. Are you going to the mall?
4. No. I’ll go to the flea market.
5. I’m going to go with you.
6. OK?
7. Of course!
8. After the class, we’ll play tennis.
9. Do you want to go?
10. I can’t, I have a meeting.
11. Next time I definitely go.
12. I’m going to see a movie.
13. Are there any new movies?
14. There are many new movies.
15. Do you often go to movie theaters?
16. I rarely watch movies.
17. The weather of this weekend …
18. will be very nice.
19. I want to go biking.
20. Wish you have fun!

50
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Ninteen

1. gù gōng 故宫
2. tiān ān mén guǎng chǎng 天安门广场
3. yí hé yuán 颐和园
4. tiān tán 天坛
5. cháng chéng 长城
6. xī ān 西安
7. bīng mǎ yǒng 兵马俑
8. shào lín sì 少林寺
9. cháng jiāng 长江
10. huáng hé 黄河
11. huàng shān 黄山
12. tài shān 泰山
13. háng zhōu 杭州
14. xī hú 西湖
15. sū zhōu 苏州
16. yù yuán 豫园
17. guǎng zhōu 广州
18. shēn zhèn 深圳
19. chóng qìng 重庆
20. chéng dū 成都

51
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Nineteen Translations

1. Forbidden City
2. Tiananmen Square
3. Summer Palace
4. Temple of Heaven
5. Great Wall
6. Xi’an
7. Terracotta Warriors
8. Shaolin Temple
9. Yangtze River
10. Yellow River
11. Mount Huang
12. Mount Tai
13. Hangzhou
14. West Lake
15. Suzhou
16. Yuyuan Garden
17. Guangzhou
18. Shenzhen
19. Chongqing
20. Chengdu

52
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Twenty

1. wǒ xiǎng qù tiān ān mén. 我想去天安门。

2. qǐng wèn, zěn me zǒu? 请问，怎么走？
3. kě yǐ chéng dì tiě. 可以乘地铁。
4. yào chéng duō jiǔ? 要乘多久？
5. yào yí gè xiǎo shí. 要一个小时。
6. kě yǐ dǎ chē ma? 可以打车吗？
7. kě yǐ. dàn lù shàng hěn 可以。但路上很堵车。
dǔ chē.
8. yào liǎng gè xiǎo shí. 要两个小时。
9. tài màn le! 太慢了！
10. nà wǒ chéng dì tiě qù. 那我乘地铁去。
11. wǒ yào qù shàng hǎi le. 我要去上海了。
12. nǎ tiān zǒu? 哪天走？
13. míng tiān wǎn shàng. 明天晚上。
14. xū yào bāng máng ma? 需要帮忙吗？
15. nǐ néng jiè shào yí xià, 你能介绍一下,
16. wǒ gāi qù ná li wánr? 我该去哪里玩儿？
17. yí dìng yào qù chéng 一定要去城隍庙。
huáng miào.
18. hái yào qù wài tān. 还要去外滩。
19. tài hǎo le! xiè xie nǐ! 太好了！谢谢你！
20. bú kè qì. 不客气。

53
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Lesson Twenty Translations

1. I want to go to Tiananmen.
2. Would you please tell me how to get there?
3. You may take the subway.
4. How long will it take?
5. It takes one hour.
6. Can I call a taxi?
7. Yes. But there is a lot of traffic.
8. It takes two hours.
9. That’s too slow!
10. Then I’ll take the subway.
11. I’m going to go to Shanghai.
12. Which day?
13. Tomorrow evening.
14. Do you need any help?
15. Can you introduce,
16. where should I go for fun?
17. You must go to Chenghuang Temple.
18. And go to the Bund (Waitan).
19. That’s great! Thank you!
20. You’re welcome.

54
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Mandarin Chinese 2

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Mandarin Chinese 2

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Booklet Design: Maia Kennedy

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ii
 Mandarin Chinese 2
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Voices
English-Speaking Instructor . . . . . . . . . . Ray Brown
Male Mandarin Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yaohua Shi

Course Writers
Yaohua Shi  Christopher J. Gainty

Reviewer
Zhijie Jia

Editors
Joan Schoellner  Beverly D. Heinle

Producer & Director

Sarah H. McInnis

Recording Engineers
Peter S. Turpin  Kelly Saux

Simon & Schuster Studios, Concord, MA

iii
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Notes Page

1 Regional Accents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3 Dining Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
4 Chengde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
5 Alcoholic Beverages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
6 Friends and Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
7 Teahouses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
8 Women in the Workforce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
9 Travel in China by Train and Plane . . . . . . . . . . 6
10 Stores and Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
11 Taiwan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
12 Days and Months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
13 Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
14 Popular Entertainment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
15 Beijing Opera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
16 Business Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
17 Coffee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
18 Holidays and Leisure Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
19 Chinese Pastries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
20 Modesty and Politeness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
21 Hangzhou . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
22 Combating the Summer Heat . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
23 Forms of Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
24 Travel outside China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
25 The “Three Links” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Notes Page

26 Personal Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
27 China’s One-Child Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
28 The Phone System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
29 Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
30 zhongguo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
31 Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
32 Chinese Students Abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
33 Medical Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
34 Traditional Chinese Medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
35 E-mail and Internet Cafés. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
36 Shanghai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
37 The Postal System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
38 Chinese Word Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
39 Sports and Board Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
40 Getting Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
41 Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
42 Currency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
43 Feng Shui . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
44 Qingdao . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
45 Beijing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
46 Boat Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
47 Nanjing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
48 Tianjin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
49 English in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

v
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Regional Accents

Mandarin, China’s standard spoken language, is

taught in schools throughout mainland China and
Taiwan. It has become even more widespread
through the reach of television. Today virtually all
young people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait
understand and speak Mandarin, in addition to their
native dialects.

As you might expect, the degree of fluency varies.

Few people in the South can reproduce the kind of
Mandarin heard on television or in films. For instance,
when southerners speak Mandarin, they tend to stress
every syllable. The “soft sound,” also known as the
“neutral tone,” is often absent from their speech.
Whereas Northerners will leave particles and the
last syllable of certain compound words unstressed,
people from Taiwan or Hong Kong are more likely
to give equal stress to each syllable. For example,
Northerners will pronounce the word that means
“to be acquainted with” as renshi (falling and neutral
tones), while Southerners will pronounce it ren sh’,
stressing the last syllable and giving it its full dictionary
tonal value. The neutral tone always occurs in the last
syllable of a compound word. Stressing it does not
usually cause confusion or misunderstanding, but it
does mark the speaker as a Southerner.
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Particles

In Chinese, particles, such as le, de, and ne,

perform a number of important functions; for this
reason, they are sometimes called “function words.”
For instance, to indicate that an action has already
taken place, you add le to the verb: chi le (“ate”)
kan le (“saw”). The particle de can indicate pos-
session: wo de shu, “my book.” ne as in ni ne, means
“What about you?” Particles, including these three,
are always pronounced with the neutral tone. The
word “neutral” is used because their exact tonal value
depends on that of the preceding syllable. Whatever
tonal value they acquire in natural speech is barely
audible. That is why they are also said to be “soft.”

Dining Out

Apart from the imperial cuisine associated with

the Manchu emperors, in the past Beijing was not
particularly known for fine dining. The restaurant
scene, however, has changed dramatically in recent
years. Now tens of thousands of restaurants fea-
turing a vast array of cooking styles dot the city.
Good and inexpensive local food is plentiful, as well
as exotic fare from all over the world. As people
become more and more affluent, they are increas-
ingly dining out. One of the most famous traditional
restaurants in Beijing is Quanjude. Its Peking duck is
renowned throughout China.
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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Chengde

Chengde is a resort city about 135 miles

northeast of Beijing. In 1703 Emperor Kangxi
started constructing a summer palace in what was
then an obscure provincial town. Eventually the
palace grew to the size of Beijing’s Summer Palace
and the Forbidden City combined. The summer
retreat, called Bishu Shanzhuang, or Heat-Fleeing
Mountain Villa, boasts a vast park. Because their
empire was both large and multi-ethnic, the imperial
family made a concerted effort to accommodate
the Mongolians and other followers of Tibetan and
Mongolian Buddhism. To this end they built a group
of Lamaist temples to the northwest of the palace.
The Qing court not only summered in Chengde, but
also received Mongolian and Tibetan leaders and
some European diplomats there. Recently the local
government has restored many of the palace struc-
tures and temples for the sake of tourism. UNESCO
has designated the former imperial Summer Palace
at Chengde a World Heritage Site.

Alcoholic Beverages

Among urban and Westernized Chinese, beer

is the most popular alcoholic beverage. Despite
joint ventures with international wine makers, the
production and consumption of wine lag far behind
that of beer. Many people, however, prefer Chinese
3
 Mandarin Chinese 2
hard liquor to either beer or wine. A formal meal or
banquet would not be complete without what the
Chinese call bai jiu, or white liquor made from grains.
Rice wine, served warm, is popular in certain parts
of China as well. Almost all liquor is consumed to
accompany food.

Although many people have heard of cocktails,

they are not common even among Chinese who are
reasonably familiar with western ways.

Friends and Family

Foreigners visiting China are most likely to

interact with the Chinese in a business setting. After
a meeting, guests are often treated to a lavish multi-
course meal in a fancy restaurant or hotel. Some
tourist agencies also arrange for tourists to spend a
day with a Chinese family. Away from tourist hotels
and official interpreters, however, spontaneous
invitations to one’s home are infrequent.

Since most Chinese live in cramped apartments,

they are less inclined to invite friends to their home
than are Americans. Relatives, of course, are another
matter. While three generations living under one
roof is becoming increasingly rare, especially in urban
areas, close relatives still frequently visit one another.

4
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Teahouses

Teahouses were once ubiquitous in market towns

and other urban centers in China. The mainly male
clientele went to teahouses not only to quench their
thirst, but also to socialize. To attract more patrons,
teahouses provided various forms of entertainment
such as storytelling and puppet theater. Although
tea remains the most popular non-alcoholic beverage
today, traditional-style teahouses have virtually disap-
peared from the Chinese urban landscape.

Women in the Workforce

The percentage of women working outside the

home is quite high in China. In cities, virtually all
women have jobs. As in the U. S., women dominate
certain professions, such as teaching and nursing.
There are also many women doctors and scientists.
In other important areas, however, they haven’t yet
achieved parity with men. Women who occupy
positions of power are still rare. The burden of
restructuring the manufacturing industries in the last
twenty years has also fallen more heavily on women,
as they are more likely to be laid off than their male
counterparts. Older, unskilled women in particular
have difficulty finding a job.

5
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Travel in China by Train and Plane

The transportation system in China has seen vast

improvements in recent years. The coastal areas are
well served by an ever-expanding network of railroads
and highways, while all over the country, numerous
airports have been built or expanded.

Trains, often packed to capacity, are the traditional

people-movers in China. Instead of first or second
class, passengers choose hard seat, hard sleeper,
soft seat, or soft sleeper. Despite its name, hard seat
is in fact not hard, but padded. Since those fares
are the cheapest, hard seat is often uncomfortably
crowded. By contrast, a sleeper carriage can accom-
modate only a limited number of people. There are
half a dozen bunks in three tiers; sheets, pillows, and
blankets are provided. On short distances some
trains have soft seats, which cost about the same as
hard sleeper. In soft seat, overcrowding and smoking
are not permitted. Soft sleeper is the ultimate luxury,
with four comfortable bunks in a closed compartment
complete with wood paneling, potted plants, lace
curtains, and often air-conditioning. Since few Chinese
can afford soft sleeper, tickets, which cost twice as
much as those for hard sleeper, are easy to obtain.

China has many different types of trains, although

there are three main ones: slow, direct express, and
special express. Conditions in trains are improving
considerably. Faced with stiff competition from air-
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 Mandarin Chinese 2
lines and long distance buses, the state-owned rail
bureaus have tried to introduce faster and cleaner
services, especially to tourist destinations. The most
exciting development for lovers of rail travel, however,
is China’s plan to build the world’s largest network of
high-speed railways by 2020. The country is already
home to the world’s only commercial application of
the magnetic levitation technology. It is possible to
take a Maglev train to downtown Shanghai from its
international airport.

Air travel continues to be popular, especially for

long-distance travel. There are now frequent flights
between major cities.

Stores and Shopping

Shopping is a favorite pastime for many Chinese.

Department stores in major cities remain open well
after 9:00 PM. Western-style convenience stores have
also appeared in big cities; so has warehouse mer-
chandizing. Many of the more popular department
stores and supermarkets are joint ventures with inter-
national retail giants. Designer brands and labels are
available to those who can afford them. By contrast,
state-owned stores cater to the tastes and purchasing
power of the working class. Street peddlers selling
counterfeit goods, fake Prada jackets, Gucci shoes,
etc., are popular with local residents and western
tourists alike.
7
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Taiwan

Taiwan lies across a narrow strait from south-

eastern China. It was first settled by aboriginal
peoples from Asia. The Chinese began to move to
Taiwan in large numbers after the fall of the Ming
dynasty in the 1660s. After a humiliating defeat in
the Naval Battle of 1895, the Manchu government
ceded Taiwan to Japan, which became its colonial
master for half a century. After the Second World
War, Taiwan reverted to Chinese sovereignty. In 1949
the Nationalist government retreated to Taiwan after
losing the civil war with the Communists. Today the
People’s Republic of China is eager to reunite with
the island under the “one country, two systems”
model. This formula, first proposed to Hong Kong, is
meant to assure the Taiwanese that they will be able
to maintain their economic and political system after
reunification with the mainland.

While official relations across the Taiwan Strait have

experienced ups and downs in the last two decades,
economic integration is progressing apace. Taiwanese
businessmen are eager to exploit their cultural and lin-
guistic ties to the mainland. Today they can be found
in all corners of the People’s Republic, setting up
factories and running hotels and restaurants. Despite
the Taiwanese government’s misgivings, a number of
small and medium-sized companies have shifted their
manufacturing operations to the mainland, where land
and labor costs are far lower than in Taiwan.
8
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Days and Months

It’s easy to remember the days of the week in

Chinese. Monday is considered the first day of the
week and is called “week-one” – xingqi yi. To name
the rest of the week, one simply adds the appropriate
number to the word xingqi: xingqi er (Tuesday),
xingqi san (Wednesday), xingqi si (Thursday), xingqi
wu (Friday), and xingqi liu (Saturday). Sunday is
called xingqi tian, in colloquial Chinese, or xingqi ri, in
written formal Chinese. tian and ri both mean “day.”

The seven-day week was introduced to China

by Christian missionaries who, instead of using
xingqi, settled on the word libai, meaning “worship.”
The seven days, therefore, were known as libai yi
(Monday), libai er (Tuesday), and so on, with libai tian
for Sunday. Because of their religious overtones, the
terms fell out of use in the official media, but they
have been preserved in spoken Chinese, particularly
in the south and in Taiwan. In fact, there the word
libai is the norm rather than xingqi.

Before the introduction of the seven-day week,

the Chinese followed the lunar calendar. Each month
was divided into three lunar phases of ten days each.
The lunar calendar, or yinli, was abolished in 1911.
However, traditional holidays and festivals are still
observed according to the yinli.

9
 Mandarin Chinese 2
The names of the months are similarly straight-
forward. However, one puts the number before,
rather than after, the word for “month,” yue. January
is known as the first month, February the second
month, and so on. Therefore, the twelve months in
Chinese are:

• yi yue (January) • qi yue (July)

• er yue (February) • ba yue (August)
• san yue (March) • jiu yue (September)
• si yue (April) • shi yue (October)
• wu yue (May) • shi yi yue (November)
• liu yue (June) • shi er yue (December)

Movies

Cinema was introduced to China one year after its

debut in Paris on December 28, 1895. Ever since, film
has been an important form of entertainment for the
Chinese, especially those living in cities. Hollywood
films dominated the Chinese market in the 1930s
and ‘40s. Then, after the founding of the People’s
Republic of China in 1949, Hollywood films disap-
peared from the scene. Since the 1990s, when the
Chinese government reversed its policy, American
blockbusters such as Forrest Gump and Titanic have
drawn large crowds wherever they were shown in
China. On the whole, however, audiences are dwin-
dling. To attract more customers, Chinese movie
theaters have started to convert to American-style
10
 Mandarin Chinese 2
multiplexes. Most people, however, watch films at
home on pirated VCDs and DVDs, which can be found
on every street corner in Chinese cities.

Popular Entertainment

As movie audiences dwindle, other forms of enter-

tainment have taken hold. Karaoke, for instance, has
become wildly popular with both young and old at
banquets, in bars, or at family gatherings. Guests
are often invited to join in the fun. At times like these
it’s best to be a good sport and play along, even if
you can’t hold a tune. Good-natured ribbing and
hamming are part of the merriment.

Mahjong, traditionally a game for men and women

of leisure, has also regained its popularity after being
banned for decades. Small fortunes are won or lost at
the mahjong table. Quartets of men or women often
play late into the night amidst clouds of cigarette
smoke. Card games are also eagerly arranged and
anticipated at family reunions and parties.

Beijing Opera

Beijing opera, or literally Beijing drama, is more

than just opera. It combines vocal and instrumental
music, dance, mime, acrobatics, and occasionally
even magic. Props and scenery are minimal: except
for a table and a couple of chairs, the stage is bare.
11
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Actors specialize in one of four types of roles: the
sheng, dan, jing, or chou. The sheng are the leading
male roles. They portray characters like scholars,
officials, and warriors. The dan are the female roles.
Traditionally, they were played by men; today,
however, only a few female impersonators are left.
The jing are the painted-face roles. These usually
include martial or heroic characters and supernatural
beings. The chou are essentially comic roles. The
actors wear clown make-up – often a small white
triangle between the eyes and across the nose. The
libretti of Beijing opera are adapted from classical
Chinese literature and are well known to those who
regularly attend the performances. The language,
however, is archaic and difficult to understand. For
this reason, lyrics are sometimes projected on top
of the proscenium arch or on one side of the stage.
Reportedly, opera star Beverly Sills attended a per-
formance of Beijing opera during a visit to China and
subsequently decided to introduce supertitles at the
New York City Opera. Although most performances
of Beijing opera take place in modern theaters, some
ornate, traditional courtyard theaters have been reno-
vated for tourists.

Business and Travel

In the days when the state dominated all facets

of the economy, only a small portion of the popu-
lation, factory directors, party secretaries, and so
12
 Mandarin Chinese 2
on, took business trips. The state paid for all their
expenses. Today, with a booming private economic
sector, China is seeing more and more people criss-
crossing the country seeking business opportunities
or cementing business ties.

The sight of businessmen in crisp suits and shiny

leather shoes boarding trains and planes contrasts
starkly with the scene at bus terminals and train sta-
tions. There, hordes of peasants from China’s inland
provinces descend upon the coastal cities. For lack of
other accommodations, many remain in the depots.
Arriving by the thousands every day, these migrants
are fleeing rural poverty and looking for better jobs.

Coffee

Although tea is by far the most popular beverage

in China, coffee has made inroads, particularly in
big cities.

In the 1920s and ‘30s, coffee houses in western

enclaves in Shanghai and Tianjin were favorite
hangouts for writers and students. During the
Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), coffee houses, along
with western restaurants, virtually disap-peared. In
recent years, however, American franchises such as
Starbucks, called xingbake in Chinese, have opened
all over China.

13
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Parts of Yunnan province and Hainan Island
in southern China are ideal for growing coffee.
Nevertheless, to most Chinese in small cities and rural
areas, coffee remains a bitter, exotic drink.

Holidays and Leisure Time

In recent years China reduced the six-day work

week to five. In addition, employees get at least
several days off for each major holiday: the Chinese
New Year (late January or February), May Day or Labor
Day (May 1st), and National Day (October 1st). These,
however, are presently the only paid vacations. Thus
on average, Chinese people, at least those who
live in urban areas, have from two to three weeks
of vacation. Because everyone goes on vacation at
the same time, tourist destinations are jam-packed.
Those who crave peace and quiet would do well to
avoid traveling around these major holidays.

The increase in leisure time is having a farreaching

impact on China’s economy and society, creating
financial windfalls for restaurants, amusement parks,
hotels, and towns with picturesque waterways or
pagodas. Unlike Americans, the Chinese are far less
likely to take part in outdoor sports such as skiing or
scuba diving when they go on vacation.

14
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Chinese Pastries

Mung bean cakes are small, bite-size pastries

made from mung beans; they are especially popular
in the south and in Taiwan. Moon cakes are another
favorite; they contain various fillings such as red
bean paste, lotus seeds, ham, and salted yolks of
ducks’ eggs. During the Mid-Autumn Festival (August
15th on the lunar calendar, usually sometime in
September in the western calendar), the Chinese
eat moon cakes in celebration of the full moon.
Elaborately packaged moon cakes are frequently
exchanged as gifts. Many restaurants derive a sub-
stantial part of their annual profits from the Mid-
Autumn Festival. Mung bean cakes and moon cakes
are frequently served with tea. Desserts are not nor-
mally part of a meal in China; they are served only as
part of a formal banquet.

Modesty and Politeness

When the Chinese invite friends over for dinner,

the host almost always begins a meal with the
apology, “There’s nothing to eat” ­– despite the fact
that he or she has probably gone all out and pre-
pared a feast. Guests then express unease over the
abundance of food on the table and the host’s extrav-
agance. This exchange is a social ritual for most
Chinese, as Chinese culture highly values modesty.
Once the meal begins, the host heaps food on the
15
 Mandarin Chinese 2
plates in front of the guests, while the guests exercise
restraint. If a guest does not care for a particular dish,
it is best to leave it discretely on the plate. This is also
a good way to politely discourage overzealous hosts
from continuously offering more.

The high value placed on modesty also explains

why Chinese will deflect a compliment rather than
accepting it graciously. For example, when Chinese
people receive a compliment, instead of xiexie, or
“thank you,” they say nali nali, literally, “Where?
Where?” meaning, “There’s nothing anywhere worthy
of praise.” A suitably embarrassed expression accom-
panies the saying to further show one’s modesty.
When they accept an offer of help or receive a gift,
again, rather than “thank you,” the Chinese say bu
hao yi si, meaning, “This is embarrassing” or “I feel
embarrassed [for having imposed on you].”

Like all languages, Chinese has a number of fre-

quently-used formulaic expressions and responses.
When an important guest or a customer arrives,
Chinese people say huan ying guang lin, literally,
“Welcome your glorious presence or patronage.”
When a friend departs on a trip, it is customary to say
yi lu shun feng, or “May the wind be with you.”

16
 Mandarin Chinese 2
Hangzhou

Hangzhou lies about 119 miles south of China’s

largest city, Shanghai. When the Shanghai Hangzhou
Inter-City Railway was opened in 2010, travel time
was cut down to 38 minutes. Tourism is an important
part of Hangzhou’s economy. The city is famous for
its picturesque West Lake, which is surrounded by
lush hills and has long been eulo-gized by Chinese
poets. Many of the sights around the lake have lit-
erary associations. These sights include the Leifeng
Pagoda, which collapsed in the 1920s and has since
been reconstructed; the causeway; and the stone
bridge, especially beautiful when snow-covered in
winter. Besides West Lake, Hangzhou is also known
for several important Buddhist temples. The villages
surrounding Hangzhou produce some of the best tea
in China.

Combating the Summer Heat

Summer, which extends from mid-June to the end

of September, can be unbearably hot and humid in
some parts of China. Before the advent of modern
air-conditioning, the Chinese resorted to other
methods to stay cool. One inexpensive way was
using a fan. Scholars and intellectuals preferred
folding, paper fans. Light in weight and easy to
carry around, these folding fans were often works of
art as well as highly functional objects. In fact, fan
17
 Mandarin Chinese 2
paintings were prized possessions among Chinese
men of letters. Women’s fans were oval-shaped
and made of paper, silk, or feathers. They were
often painted as well. Banana trees and legendary
beauties were favorite subjects. Today air condi-
tioners are becoming more and more common, yet
many Chinese still find fans indispensable.

Moreover, not everyone can afford an air condi-

tioner. Chinese who live in crowded, poorly ventilated
old quarters sit under shady trees, playing cards or
chatting with their neighbors, trying to catch the
cool evening breezes as the sun sets. In addition, all
Chinese enjoy popular summer drinks such as ice cold
mung bean soup. Those lucky enough to live near the
coast take to the beaches in droves. Swimming pools
and water parks with various rides are also popular
destinations, especially for families with children.

Forms of Address

Unlike Americans, most Chinese are not on a first-

name basis with many other people. Personal names
alone are rarely used. (In the U.S. they are called
“first names,” but remember that in China, the family
name is spoken first.) It’s considered impolite to
address one’s superior by his or her personal name.
The usual practice is to use the family name plus
his or her official position or professional title, for
example, Principal Tian, Manager Liu, etc. Similarly,
18
 Mandarin Chinese 2
the personal pronoun ni (“you”) is best avoided
when talking to one’s superior; the more formal nin
is preferred. Depending on their respective ages,
co-workers commonly address each other by adding
either lao (meaning “old”) or xiao (meaning “young”)
to the family name. Personal names are reserved for
intimate friends and family members. However, even
younger siblings are discouraged from using their
older brothers’ and sisters’ personal names. Instead
they say gege (“elder brother”) or jiejie (“elder
sister”). In other words, hierarchy and the nature of
the relationship play an important role in determining
how one refers to or addresses someone else. Also,
as in the U.S., it’s a good idea to avoid using the
third person singular pronoun ta (“he” or “she”) if the
person in question is present.

Travel Outside China

After 1949, when the Communist Party came into

power, China became closed to the rest of the world.
For nearly forty years it was almost impossible for
ordinary citizens to leave the country. Furthermore,
except for state guests, few foreign visitors were
allowed into China. Starting in the 1990s, Chinese
began to travel abroad as tourists, reflecting the
new official “open-door” policy and the increasing
prosperity of ordinary Chinese. Popular destina-
tions now include South Korea and Southeast Asian
countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
19
 Mandarin Chinese 2
With their recent economic downturn, these coun-
tries eagerly welcome Chinese tourists. Japan, New
Zealand, Australia, and the European Union are now
also granting visas to Chinese tourists.

Until recently, Chinese wishing to go abroad had

to participate in package tours. It is still very difficult
to travel overseas as an individual, although less so
than in the past. Likewise, obtaining a passport is also
becoming more “hassle-free.”

The “Three Links”

After the Civil War between the Communists

and the Nationalists, communications between
the Chinese mainland and Taiwan were broken off.
As tension mounted across the Taiwan Strait, the
two sides exchanged daily barrages of cannon fire.
These have ceased. In order to pressure Taiwan into
closer integration with mainland China, the Chinese
government gave high priority to the renewal of
three ties: (1) the resumption of commerce; (2) the
exchange of mail, both business and personal; and
(3) the establishment of direct connections by air
and sea, for both goods and people. Fearing the
inexorable pull of these so-called “three links,” but
also wanting to avoid conflict, the Taiwanese gov-
ernment reacted with its own “Three No” policy: “no”
to reunification, “no” to complete independence,
“no” to confrontation. Despite the mainland’s call
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for direct navigational links, traffic across the narrow
Taiwan Strait still had to be routed through a des-
tination – often Hong Kong or Macau until 2008.
Then, acknowledging the increasing economic ties
between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, a newly
elected Taiwanese government resumed the direct
three links with mainland China.

Personal Questions

Westerners who go to China are often asked

about their age, salary, or marital status. Much of
China is still predominantly rural in form and men-
tality, and notions of privacy differ from those in the
West. Raised in a culture that venerates old age,
the Chinese consider asking how old someone is
a perfectly innocuous question. And for decades,
everyone in China had more or less the same income.
Therefore, the amount of money an acquaintance
made was usually not a big secret. Even today,
asking about salary is not a breach of etiquette, and
can even be polite, indicating an interest in you and
your financial well-being. Finally, if a Chinese shows
interest in a Westerner’s marital status, it is because
family is important to the Chinese. Like one’s salary,
it is also a good topic for conversation. Westerners
should not take offense at any of these questions.
Rather, anyone who is not comfortable answering
them directly can simply deflect them with a general
or vague reply.
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On the other hand, Chinese people are apt to
find Americans’ openness to discussing inner turmoil
rather puzzling. There is less willingness among the
Chinese to talk about issues of depression and other
mental health problems.

However, as China becomes more urbanized

and commercialized, and the gap in income levels
becomes wider, western notions of privacy are
beginning to seep into Chinese society. It remains to
be seen whether advertising will make the Chinese
as youth-obsessed as Americans, but newspaper
advice columns are already exhorting readers to
refrain from asking women about their ages. yinsi
(privacy) is being gradually assimilated into every-day
vocabulary.

China’s One-Child Policy

China had an official one-child policy between

1979 and 2015. The policy may have seemed Draconian
to Westerners, but it was deemed necessary by the
Chinese government. A fifth of the people in the
world live in China. However, only 15 to 20% of the
country’s land is suitable for agriculture. To ensure
sustainable growth, the Chinese government began
to enforce population control in earnest in the late
1970s. Exceptions were made in cases of remarriages
where one spouse did not have a biological child.
Couples whose first child was physically or mentally
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handicapped also were allowed to have a second
child. Minorities were exempted from the one-child
policy as well.

For the most part, family planning took hold

in the cities. For example, Shanghai and Beijing
achieved zero, or even negative, population growth.
Most Chinese people, however, live in rural areas.
Implementing the one-child policy in China’s vast
hinterland was far more challenging. The increasing
mobility of the population also made it difficult for
the government to catch violators. Those who were
caught were subject to penalties that ranged from
fines to the child’s being ineligible for free education.
The one-child policy did achieve its goal to lower
population growth. However, the negative conse-
quences of the policy, a rapidly-aging population
and the gender imbalance because of society’s
preference for boys caused a revision of the policy,
and starting in 2015, Chinese families were officially
allowed to have two children.

The Phone System

Twenty years ago, even in big cities, it was a rare

Chinese family that had a telephone. Most people
relied on public pay phones. Today practically every
adult in China’s urban centers owns a cell phone. In
fact, China is the largest market for cell phones in the
world. Pay phones can be found on almost every
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street corner. Most of them accept cards only; coin-
operated phones are rare. Paradoxically, because
China’s phone system was until recently so inad-
equate, even non-existent in rural areas, the country
has been able to leapfrog the old analog technology
and employ the latest digital technology that western
telecommunications companies have to offer. Today
Motorola, Ericsson, Nokia, and Bell-Alcatel all have
joint ventures in China.

Banks

The Big Four of China’s state-owned banks are

Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Industrial
and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), and
Construction Bank of China. In addition, many prov-
inces and municipalities have established their own
banks; and major international banks have opened
branches in China as well. Until recently, foreign
banks were required to limit their business solely to
foreign currency transactions. However, with China’s
formal acceptance into the World Trade Organization,
foreign banks will increasingly be allowed to
conduct business in the local currency, renminbi,
thus creating competition for the more inefficient
state-owned banks.

Nevertheless, Chinese banks have made great

strides on the technological front. Computers have
replaced abacuses, and ATMs are cropping up every-
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where in big cities. A few years ago, Chinese ATMs
accepted only local cards. Today, foreign tourists can
access their accounts from almost any ATM in China.

zhongguo

The Chinese refer to their country as zhongguo,

which literally means the Middle or Central Country.
In ancient times zhongguo referred to the various
Chinese states in the central plains in northern China.
The word was invented to distinguish the original,
ethnic Chinese states from the territories outside
Chinese civilization.

Before the twentieth century, the country was

named after the reigning dynasty. Therefore, from
1644 to 1911, when China was under Manchu or Qing
rule, the country was known as the Great Qing Empire.
After the Qing dynasty was over-thrown in 1911,
Chinese nationalists called the new republic zhonghua
minguo (Republic of China) – zhong guo for short.
When the Communists came to power in 1949, the
country was renamed zhonghua renmin gongheguo
(People’s Republic of China). To this day, however, the
short version remains zhongguo.

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Measurements

Like most other countries, China now uses the

metric system. Traditional measurements have largely
become a thing of the past. One exception is weights.
For example, people still ask for a jin (half a kilogram,
or about a pound) of spinach in a grocery store, or two
liang (two hundred grams, or about seven ounces) of
wonton in a restaurant. In rural areas peasants cling to
tradition and measure distance in li (half a kilometer,
or about a third of a mile). However, only the metric
system is officially recognized.
Temperatures are measured on the Celsius scale.
Shoe sizes follow the continental European system.
Clothing sizes vary. Most follow the European system.
Those bearing American brand names, whether or not
they are authentic, are often labeled Small, Medium,
Large, and Extra Large. These do not necessarily
correspond to American sizes, however; an article of
clothing marked “Extra Large” in China may be closer
to a Medium in the U.S.

Chinese Students Abroad

In its heyday during the Tang dynasty (618-907),

China was a magnet for students from neighboring
countries, particularly Japan and Korea. Many took
the perilous journey by land or sea to the Tang capital,
Chang’an, to study Buddhism, government, and the
Chinese language. At the same time, a handful of
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brave Buddhist priests from China went on an arduous
trek to India in search of Buddhist scriptures. However,
the Chinese did not begin to study abroad in any sig-
nificant numbers until the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries.

After a series of disastrous confrontations with the

West and with Japan, the Chinese realized how far
they had fallen behind and began for the first time
to send students abroad en masse. Because of its
geographic proximity and its early start in modern-
ization, Japan became the most popular destination
for Chinese students, reversing the historic traffic
between the two countries. However, as relations
between China and Japan deteriorated in the 1920s
and ’30s, Chinese headed instead to European and
American universities. Then came the Communist
Party’s rise to power and the Korean War. As a result,
during the 1950s and early ‘60s, the former Soviet
Union and Eastern Europe replaced the West as the
training ground for Chinese scientists and engineers.

In the ensuing two decades, China isolated itself

from the rest of the world. But, in the 1980s, China’s
brightest and most ambitious were again able to leave
the country. This time America was the overwhelming
destination of choice. Chinese students now make up
one of the largest groups of international students
at America’s universities, particularly in science and
engineering programs. At some of America’s best uni-
versities, after English, Chinese is the language most
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commonly heard in the research labs. Many of the key
figures in twentieth-century Chinese history studied
abroad. Their experiences in Japan, Europe, the former
Soviet Union, and America helped to shape every
aspect of Chinese society. Chinese students with a
foreign education are one of China’s most important
assets in its quest for modernization.

Medical Care

Like many other things in China, the health care

system is also in flux. Previously, health care was the
responsibility of individual companies and /or com-
munes, and nearly everyone had universal medical
care. Large companies often had their own hospitals
for their workers and in rural areas money was set
aside by local communes to provide health care.
With the economic reforms and the push of the 1980s
toward capitalism, the communes were dissolved
and hospitals were severed from their companies.
Local governments became responsible for the well-
being of their citizens, which meant there was a lack
of resources and funds in poorer areas. In the cities,
most residents can now buy into a government run
insurance program; however, the reimbursement rates
are often very low and most care must be paid for
upfront by the patient, the costs of which are often
more than the patient makes in a year. These high out-
of-pocket expenses often lead many people to stay at
home and avoid hospitals and doctors.
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The Chinese government has announced a plan
to spend over $100 billion between 2010-2020 to
overhaul the country’s health care system, with an
eventual goal of all citizens having more affordable
access to basic medical services. China was once
famous for its “barefoot doctors,” who served in rural
areas. The itinerant doctors were often peasants
themselves and often had a rudimentary, but highly
practical knowledge of medicine. Part of the gov-
ernment’s plan will support programs to offer more
training for these remaining doctors as well as incen-
tives, such as tuition reimbursements, to bring more
university-trained doctors to rural areas.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Most people in China swear by traditional Chinese

medicine. In the West, the Chinese art of healing is
also attracting believers. However, in the first two
decades of the twentieth century, Chinese med-
icine was under attack by intellectuals educated in
America and Europe. Along with imperial rule and
foot-binding, Chinese medicine was dismissed as part
of an outdated, moribund tradition, or even worse, as
spurious science. After the founding of the People’s
Republic of China in 1949, traditional Chinese medicine
regained respectability. Specialized colleges were
established to train practitioners of Chinese medicine.
Today, most Chinese doctors of traditional medicine
are schooled in western medicine as well, and they
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routinely use modern diagnostic tools such as X-rays
and MRIs, along with more traditional means.

What primarily sets traditional Chinese medicine

apart from its western counterpart is its holistic
nature. Rather than treating symptoms, Chinese
medicine aims at redressing the imbalance of
positive and negative energies. This view of the
workings of the human body stems from Chinese
cosmology, which sees the universe in dualistic,
counteracting terms. In addition to herbs and min-
erals, acupuncture, massage, and diet are frequently
used. “Moxibustion” is another common therapy.
This involves the application of moxa, a substance
obtained from the mugwort herb, either with acu-
puncture needles or by being burnt on the patient’s
skin. All these tools make up the therapeutic reper-
toire of the traditional Chinese physician.

Email and Internet Cafés

Internet cafés have become permanent fixtures of

the urban landscape. Public libraries and large book-
stores are also good places to get online. Meanwhile,
computer ownership is increasing by leaps and
bounds. Each year tens of millions of Chinese add
computers to the increasingly long list of electronic
equipment they own. Cable companies in major cities
already offer broadband services.

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There is a regional and socioeconomic imbalance
in Internet access, reflecting the larger overall disparity
in development between the more progressive
coastal provinces in the east and the more traditional
inland provinces in the west. Because of its capital-
intensive nature, the new technology also attracts
the young and the affluent of Chinese society. In a
country where the government controls the media,
the Internet provides an alternative venue for the
young and the opinionated to sound off. Internet
chat rooms have become an important barometer
of the mood of an increasingly influential sector of
Chinese society. The government, however, is vigilant
in suppressing what it considers subversive views, and
must walk a tightrope between nurturing the nascent
technology and maintaining political stability.

Shanghai

The largest city in China, Shanghai is a thriving

metropolis. Situated at the mouth of the Yangtze
River in the middle of China’s east coast, Shanghai’s
location gives the city an unbeatable competitive
advantage. On one hand, it reaches along China’s
longest river into the vast hinterland to the west. On
the other hand, it is nearly equidistant from all the
major cities in northeast Asia. Beijing, Tokyo, Osaka,
Seoul, Hong Kong, and Taipei, are all about two hours
away by air.

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Until the mid-nineteenth century, Shanghai was
a sleepy county seat. Once opened to the West,
Shanghai was transformed into a world-class
metropolis within decades. By the 1920s it had
become China’s economic, financial, and cultural
center. At the same time it had also acquired a repu-
tation for being one of the most iniquitous places on
earth. After 1949 the Chinese government closed
down brothels and opium dens; it turned Shanghai
into an industrial city, thus stripping it of its dominance
in trade, finance, and culture. With the new policy
of reform and re-opening up to the West, Shanghai
began to experience a renaissance in the 1990s.
Today Shanghai is sizzling once again, attracting the
brightest and the most adventurous from China and
from other parts of the world.

The Postal System

The Chinese postal system offers more services

than its American counterpart. For instance, most
newspapers are delivered by mail. Also, in the days
when private phones were few and far between,
telephones in the post office provided one of the few
options for making domestic and international long-
distance calls. Even today the bigger branch offices
contain phone booths. However, fewer people are
lining up to use them, as phone cards and private
phones become more and more common. A relatively
new service that is gaining in popularity is postal
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 Mandarin Chinese 2
savings, which offers a convenient alternative to tra-
ditional banks. Consumers can now open a savings
account at any major post office.

Chinese Word Order

wo zuo di tie qu wo de peng you nar chi wan fan.

A salient feature of Chinese word order is the

observance of the chronological principle. Note the
example in the title, which means: “I’m going to
take the subway to go to my friend’s place to have
dinner.” In English, you could also say: “I’m going to
my friend’s place by subway to have dinner,” or even
“I’m going by subway to have dinner at my friend’s
place.” Not so in Chinese. In Chinese, the word order
is determined by the sequence of actions: You must
get on the subway before you can go to your friend’s
place. You have to go to the place before you can
have dinner there. Similarly, to say that you’re going
to pick up a friend at the airport, you must literally say,
“I’m going to drive my car to go to the airport to pick
up my friend.” Saying, “I’m going to pick up my friend
at the airport” is not possible in Chinese. Another
example is the English sentence, “My son is studying
at Boston University.” Because you have to be at the
university before you can study there, Chinese says lit-
erally, “My son at Boston University is studying.” Here
again the chronological principle is at work.

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 Mandarin Chinese 2
Another factor affecting word order in Chinese is
“topicalization.” When someone or something has
already been mentioned, or is the focus or topic of a
discussion, then that thing or person must be stated
first. For instance, if a Chinese person were asked,
“Where did all the moon cakes go?” he or she might
answer, “The moon cakes, I finished them all,” rather
than saying, “I finished all the moon cakes.”

Sports and Board Games

For many years table tennis was perhaps the

most popular sport in China. The reason is simple: it
doesn’t require expensive equipment or much space.
Amateur teams were established all over the country,
and China dominated the sport in international com-
petitions for decades.

Bowling was introduced to China in the late 1980s.

It quickly replaced table tennis in popularity. However,
so many bowling alleys were built that today many
stand empty.

The most popular spectator sport in China is

soccer. All over the country, soccer clubs have loyal
followings. Fans often travel to different parts of the
country to follow the matches of local clubs against
their competitors.

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Traditional sports such as shadow boxing, or tai-
jiquan, are popular with women and the elderly.
Every morning tens of thousands of retirees practice
it in parks and on street corners to taped music.
In addition to taijiquan, other Chinese martial arts
are also popular. But because they are so intense,
martial arts require years of training under expe-
rienced masters. There are many different styles
and schools of martial arts, which are often rivals.
Perhaps the most famous school of martial arts is
the Shaolin Temple in the Henan province. It was an
important center of Chinese chan Buddhism, better
known in the U.S. by the Japanese pronunciation,
zen Buddhism. Shaolin is also famous for having pro-
duced generations of martial monks. Today Shaolin’s
reputation is built primarily on its martial arts school.
Its history as the place where Bodhidharma, the
founder of chan Buddhism, achieved enlightenment
is much less well known.

Besides taijiquan and martial arts, the Chinese

also enjoy more cerebral sports such as Chinese chess
and the board game weiqi, better known in the West
by its Japanese name, go. Chinese chess is said to
descend from the same ancestor as inter-national
chess. All over China, in villages and cities, young and
old play Chinese chess.

The esoteric weiqi has a more exalted status.

Traditionally, it was one of the four requisite accom-
plishments for the well-educated man of leisure – the
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other three being music, calligraphy, and painting.
weiqi still has an elitist image today. Its name means,
“game of encirclement.” Played with 180 white
stones and 181 black stones on a grid consisting of
19 horizontal and 19 vertical lines, the game appears
deceptively simple. Its complexity rises from the
immense number of possible board positions. Every
year corporations in Japan, China, and Korea sponsor
tournaments attracting the best professional players
from these three countries.

Getting Around

Finding one’s way around large Chinese cities is a

relatively straightforward affair. Many cities, especially
provincial capitals, were laid out in a grid pattern.
Street names are often written in both Chinese char-
acters and pinyin (a transcription into Roman letters).
Buses are plentiful, but they can be uncomfortably
crowded; and for foreigners who don’t know the local
language, it can be difficult to know where to get off.

Several cities, such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai,

and Guangzhou, boast subways, and still others have
plans to build them.

For city-dwellers who are in a hurry or do not wish

to fight for standing room in a crowded bus, taxis, or
chuzu qiche, have become a welcome alternative.
“To take a taxi” in Mandarin is zuo chuzu qiche, or
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 Mandarin Chinese 2
simply zuo chuzu. In recent years, another term has
come into popular usage: da di, which comes from
Cantonese. di is a short form of the Cantonese word
for “taxi.” Although taxis are more expensive than
buses, they are still affordable for the average citizen.

Several models of taxis predominate, depending

on the city. Because of regional protectionism, locally
made cars are often favored over models made in
other parts of the country. For this reason, nearly
all the taxis in Shanghai are Volkswagens made by a
Shanghai-based joint venture with the German car-
maker. In Tianjin the city was overrun with small taxis
called xiali made locally with Japanese parts. The
municipal government of Shanghai banned xiali from
the city several years ago, claiming that they were big
polluters and incongruous with the image of the city
as a world-class metropolis. In any taxi, it’s a good
idea to ask for a receipt; this will help to ensure that
you are charged a fair rate.

Rickshaws, once ubiquitous in China, disappeared

decades ago and can be seen only in films or tourist
spots in a few cities.

Parks

Parks in the English sense of the word did not exist

in imperial China. Emperors had their hunting pre-
serves, scholar-officials their private gardens. Both
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had long traditions in China, and both were off limits
to intruders (or commoners). For ordinary urban
dwellers in a predominantly rural society, temple
grounds and open-air markets provided the main
public spaces. Western-style parks were first intro-
duced to urban Chinese in the late nineteenth century
in semi-colonial cities such as Shanghai and Tianjin.
The first park in Shanghai, laid down by the British,
was known as the Public Park. Its front gate reputedly
featured a placard forbidding dogs and Chinese from
entry. The authenticity of this legend is disputed, but
it has become part of the nationalistic Chinese lore.
After the Republican revolution in the early twentieth
century, former imperial playgrounds were opened
to the public. Many of the famous parks in Beijing,
such as the Summer Palace Park and Beihai Park, had
imperial beginnings.

Currency

In the old days of chronic shortages, western hard

currencies were highly coveted by the Chinese. Those
lucky enough to have foreign currency remittances
from overseas could shop in special stores. As a result,
black markets dealing in foreign currency exchange
thrived. Today, China is one of the biggest trading
nations in the world with a huge foreign exchange
reserve. The government has therefore somewhat
relaxed its control on currency exchange.

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Foreign tourists, of course, have no trouble
exchanging money in China. Big tourist hotels, airports,
major bank branches, upscale department stores – all
provide currency exchange services. Chinese wishing
to travel abroad can also obtain foreign currency up
to an amount set by the government at local banks.
However, the Chinese currency, renminbi, (literally,
“people’s money,”) is still not fully convertible, which
to a certain extent insulates the Chinese economy
from the rest of the world. The government has plans
to make the renminbi fully convertible, but there is no
formal official timetable.

Feng Shui

Feng shui, the traditional art of auspicious siting,

has become a fad in the West in recent years. Even
some Fortune 500 companies have hired feng shui
masters to improve the circulation of positive energy.
Ironically, in China the practice largely disappeared
after the Communists came into power, and feng shui
was dismissed as feudal superstition. Since then it has
made a comeback, especially in southeastern China.
Private business owners frequently consult with feng
shui experts in order to site their factories and homes
in the most auspicious locations and thereby improve
their balance sheets.

Feng shui is an amalgam of ancient Chinese

beliefs. The aim of feng shui is to bring various
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water bodies and land configurations into complete
harmony so as to direct the flow of qi, or vital energy.
Benefits of good feng shui encompass health and lon-
gevity, prosperity, fecundity, and general happiness,
and they extend to one’s descendents. According
to the principles of feng shui, an ill-chosen site for
a grave, for instance, will adversely affect the well-
being of one’s children.

Qingdao

Qingdao, also known as Tsingtao, sits on a pen-

insula in Northern China. The city is known for its
abundant local seafood and for its previous incar-
nation as a German colony. In the minds of most
Chinese, and frequent patrons of Chinese restaurants
in the West, the name of the city is synonymous with
its eponymous beer. The local brewery is the largest
domestic producer of beer in China and part of the
city’s German legacy. In addition to the light thirst-
quencher, Qingdao’s beaches, fresh air, clean streets,
and German architecture make the city one of the
most popular tourist destinations in China.

Beijing

Except for a brief period of time when the

Nationalist Party was in power, Beijing, formerly
known in the West as Peking, has been the capital
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of China since the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368). In 1928
the Nationalist government moved the capital to
Nanjing and renamed Beijing “Beiping.” When the
Chinese Communist Party drove the Nationalists to
Taiwan in 1949, Beijing resumed both its original name
and its status as the capital of China. Beijing, literally
“Northern Capital,” is the political and cultural center
of a highly centralized country. While the massive wall
surrounding the city was destroyed in the 1950s, the
vast former imperial palace complex, known as the
Forbidden City, can still be visited. It now houses the
Palace Museum. Other tourist attractions include the
Great Wall, which lies outside the city, the Summer
Palace, and the Temple of Heaven.

Boat Travel

Chinese travelers are abandoning boat travel

en masse in favor of other means of transportation.
China’s network of highways is expanding, and air
travel is increasingly affordable. Several long-standing
services, for instance those from Shanghai to Ningbo,
a seaport to the south, were recently discontinued.
Cruise ships, however, are another matter.

Boat travel may be declining, but Chinese water-

ways are getting busier every year. The government
is dredging rivers and widening canals in hopes of
increasing freight shipping. In fact, one of the benefits
of the controversial Three Gorges dam project is the
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improvement of the navigability of the upper Yangtze
River. With the creation of a huge reservoir, there is a
more constant water level and wider shipping lanes.

Nanjing

Nanjing, in southeastern China, is one of the more

attractive cities in the country. It was the capital
of China during the Six Dynasty period, from 222-
589. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, from the
fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries, the city was
an important economic and cultural center. The old
pleasure quarter along the Qinhuai Creek was famous
throughout China, as was the Confucian Temple.
Both have been restored for the benefit of tourists.
In addition, Nanjing boasts the longest city wall in
the world, as well as numerous other historic sites.
Nanjing is also known for its steamy summer weather.
Together with Wuhan and Chongqing, Nanjing is one
of the so-called “Three Furnaces” on the Yangtze River.

Tianjin

Tianjin, 75 miles from Beijing, is the capital’s

gateway to the sea. It is also the largest industrial
center in northern China. It was one of the five cities
opened to foreign trade in the nineteenth century by
the Qing government. Western powers were able
to carve out enclaves in the city, and this history is
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reflected in its architecture. Because of its proximity
to Beijing, however, Tianjin often finds itself playing
second fiddle to its powerful neighbor.

English in China

English is a highly marketable skill in present day

China. Proficiency in English can lead to a high-paying
job with an international company or to a chance
to study abroad. Although Chinese students begin
learning English as early as elementary or middle
school, teachers and textbooks emphasize grammar
over communication. Therefore, while many edu-
cated Chinese can read English, few can speak it
fluently. For this reason many people attend special
English language schools or classes in their spare time.
In fact, many government institutions and offices
pay employees to take English classes during work
hours. English language schools abound, as do text-
books and instructional tapes. English teachers are in
great demand, and it is not unusual for tourists to be
approached by young people wishing to hone their
conversational skills.

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For more information,

call 1-800-831-5497
or visit us at Pimsleur.com

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