Download TCI Chinese Learning Newspaper 2017 Jan

中文学习报
Chinese Learning
Issue No. 1 (25 Jan 2017 )
The Tourism Confucius Institute at Griffith University
Graduation Ceremony for Term 3
2016
Founding of the Gold Coast Chinese
Language Teachers Association
The Graduation Ceremony for Term 3 2016 was
successfully held on the Gold Coast campus on 19th
November. More than 40 students from both the
Nathan campus and Gold Coast campuses took part
in this event.
On 6 November 2016 more than 20 Chinese
language teachers from local schools and colleges
gathered together at the Tourism Confucius Institute
at Griffith University’s Gold Coast campus to hold
the founding conference of the Gold Coast Chinese
Language Teachers Association.
At the beginning of the performance, Ms Sarah-Jane
Sullivan sang a song about Peking Opera Masks.
The second act featured Mr Steve Thornton-Smith
and Mrs Maxine Sculthorpe-Pike, students from
the intermediate Chinese course. They presented
a short comedy named “Blind Date”, which they
edited, directed and performed. The comedy showed
off their excellent Chinese skills with lots of popular
phrases used in China now such as “I am drunk”
which shows desperation in a hilarious way, and “he
has a safety face” which metaphorically means that
someone is ugly.
Ms Lisa Bale performed a song called “Sweet
Love” portraying a romantic story that professed
Group photo of the TCI course graduation ceremony
her love for the Chinese language. The audience
was touched by her perseverance because she had
recently injured her arms and was recovering from
an operation.
Lucy and Camila, students in the Children’s
Chinese Class, sang two songs that were warmly
received by the audience. All the performances
showcased the students’ progress in learning
Chinese. Some students who were not able to
attend sent a video to the TCI as part of the
graduation ceremony. Mrs Veronica Lah and Mrs
Catalina Nam recorded a song called “Sorry, My
Chinese is Not Good”. The lyrics were, “Sorry, my
Chinese is not good now. But I will study hard and
my Chinese will be better!”
After the performance, the TCI Chinese director
Professor Chaojie Liu awarded certificates and
congratulated the students, encouraged them to
learn more Chinese and wished them a prosperous
future.
Skit “Blind Date” performed by TCI trainees
The Gold Coast Chinese Language
Teachers As s o c i a t i o n i s a n i n i t i a t i v e o f t h e
T o u r i s m Confucius Institute (TCI) which is the
secretariat of the association. The TCI decided to
initiate this organisation after conducting in-depth
research into the local Chinese language teachers’
situation by interviewing some prestigious teachers
in the area. The foundation conference was
hosted by Mrs Rhonda Burton. She spoke about
the development of Chinese language teaching on
the Gold Coast and the importance of establishing
a Chinese language teachers association. Ms
Jane Xu outlined the preparation work leading
up to the conference. Ms Wendy Yuan from the
Coomera Anglican College was voted in as
president and Ms Iris Lin from the Pimpama State
Secondary School was chosen to be the vice
president. They delivered speeches expressing
their thanks for their colleagues’ trust and
reiterated their willingness to serve. Several
teachers then shared their experiences about
Chinese teaching following a discussion on
association regulations.
Professor Chaojie Liu, the TCI Chinese director,
delivered a speech extending his congratulations
to the president and vice president and expressed
his appreciation to Mrs Rhonda Burton and other
organisation members. He said that the TCI would
spare no effort in supporting local Chinese teachers
build the community of Chinese language learners
on the Gold Coast.
Founding conference scene of the Gold Coast
Chinese Language teachers’ Association
Group photo of the Founding Conference for the
Gold Coast Chinese Language Teachers'
Association
The Seventh Chinese Teachers'Professional Development Seminar
Successfully Held at the Tourism Confucius Institute at Griffith
University
On 6 November 2016 the Seventh Gold Coast Chinese Teachers’ Professional
Development Seminar was hosted by the Tourism Confucius Institute on the Gold Coast
campus of Griffith University.
The Tourism Confucius Institute (TCI) asked for discussion topics from local teachers
and then invited keynote speakers and arranged the seminar according to their interests.
The TCI invited Ian Perry and Caitlin Goldston, teachers from the Gap State High School
and members of the Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (PTRS) team from the
MLTAQTCI Network, to be the keynote speakers. During their speech, they analysed the
theoretical foundation and framework of PTRS utilising vivid examples and teaching
videos featuring Chinese vocabulary, sentences and context teaching. Then came
the Q&A session during which relevant videos and websites were shared. Additionally,
Ms Debbie Li, a teacher at Varsity College, was invited to introduce Accelerative
Integrated Methodology as practiced by herself and her colleagues. Ms Debby Chang
Farell from Emmanuel College was also invited to share her Lazy Teacher’s Guide to
Teaching Chinese Methodology with the seminar participants.
More than 40 Chinese language teachers from Gold Coast schools and colleges and
social institutions attended the seminar. They gave high praise to their host and the
presenters, and said they gained much useful information that they hope to use in their
teaching.
Group photo of the Chinese teachers' professional development seminar
02 Language Learning
25 Jan 2017
不 and 没（有）
How to use 的 (de)
Yaqin (Jane) XU
Xuguang ( Shannon) SHAN
Both“ 不”and “ 没（ 有）”are negative adverbs used before verbs and adjectives. “ 没（ 有）”is also used before
nouns. The differences between them are as follows:
没 is used for an objective narration
不 is used to express present or to negate an action which has already
future personal wishes
taken place.
E.g. 他不去。
E.g. 他没（有）去。
我们打电话了，他不打。
我们没（有）打电话，他也没
他不想去。
（有）打。
他没（有）想去。
不 / 没（有） + verb
不 is often used to negate a regular 没 is often used to negate an one-off
or habitual situation.
situation
他平时不喝酒。
他昨天没（有）喝酒。
不 + all verbs of judgment or
cognition or auxiliary verb
不是， 不像，不知道，不认识，
不会，不应该，不可能，不肯
没 + some verb of judgment or
cognition or auxiliary verb
没能，没要，没肯，没敢
没（有）+noun
美丽 (měilì) 的 (de) 黄金 (huángjīn) 海岸 (hǎiàn)（beautiful Gold Coast），优秀 (yōuxiù) 的 (de) 学
生 (xuéshēng)（excellent students），很 (hěn) 长 (cháng) 的 (de) 布 (Bù) 里 (lǐ) 斯 (sī) 班 (bān) 河 (hé)
（very long Brisbane River）
的 (de) as a tag of attributive to define the place or time of events or
subjects, such as ：
昨天 (zuótiān) 的 (de) 报纸 (bàozhǐ)（yesterday’s newspaper），上午 (shàngwǔ) 十点 (shídiǎn) 的 (de)
汉语课 (hànyǔkè)（Chinese lesson of 10 am），墙上 (qiángshàng) 的 (de) 地图 (dìtú)（map on the
wall）；动物园 (dòngwùyuán) 里 (lǐ) 的 (de) 考拉 (kǎolā)（Koala in the zoo）
的 (de) is used to refer to a group of people or items, such as：
送信的 (sòngxìnde)（postman），开出租车的 (kāichūzūchēde)（people who drive taxi, taxi drivers ），
唱歌的 (chànggēde)（singers），跳舞的 (tiàowǔde)（dancers），
我 (Wǒ) 喜欢 (xǐhuan) 吃 (chī) 辣的 (làde)，而 (ér) 他 (tā) 喜欢 (xǐhuan) 吃 (chī) 甜 (tián) 的 (de)。
（I like eating spicy food, while he has a sweet tooth.）
我 (Wǒ) 去 (qù) 超 市 (chāoshì) 买 些 (mǎixiē) 吃 的 (chīde)、 喝 的 (hēde)。（I am going to
supermarket to buy something for eating and drinking）
的 (de) as a tag of possessing relationship, such as ：
不 is often used in double negation
不是不，不能不，不得不，不
会不， 不该不，不可不，无不，
不无
不 / 没（有）+adjective
的 (de) as a tag of attribute in expressions to define the features of
subjects followed, such as：
我 (wǒ) 的 (de) 书 (shū)（my books）；哥哥 (gēge) 的 (de) 朋友 (péngyou)（brother’s friend），这个
(zhège) 学校 (xuéxiào) 的 (de) 学生 (xuéshēng)（this school’s students），澳大利亚 (ao dàlìyǎ) 的 (de)
国歌 (guógē)（National anthem of Australia）
不 is often used to negate a certain
没 is often used to negate the change
nature or state
of a certain nature or state
这些苹果不红。
这些苹果还没（有）红。
不对，不小，不好
没 is often used to negate the
possession or existence
她没（有）书。
桌子上没（有）书。
没（有）可能。 （可能 is a noun
here.）
的 (de)as a tag of modifier to define the key words followed, such as ：
看 过 的 (kànguòde) 电 影 (diànyǐng)（watched movies ）， 新 买 (xīnmǎi) 的 (de) 字 典 (zìdiǎn)
（newly-bought dictionary）， 打 篮 球 (dǎlánqiú) 的 (de) 孩 子 们 (háizimen)（children who play
basketball），预定 (yùdìng) 的 (de) 机票 (jīpiào)（booked flight tickets）
的 (de) is used at the end of a 是 (shì)… 的 (de) Structure to indicate an
affirmative mode, such as ：
我 (Wǒ) 们 (men) 是 (shì) 在 (zài) 悉 (xī) 尼 (ní) 认 (rèn) 识 (shi) 的 (de)。（It is at Sidney that we
met.）
这 (Zhè) 本 (běn) 书 (shū) 是 (shì) 我 (wǒ) 在 (zài) 北 (Běi) 京 (jīng) 买 (mǎi) 的 (de)。（It was in
Beijing that I bought this book.）
他 (Tā) 这 (zhè) 样 (yang) 做 (zuò) 是 (shì) 违 (wéi) 法 (fǎ) 的 (de)。（It is illegal for him to behave in
this way.）
Interesting Stories about Chinese Characters (1)
Hongling (Priya) SHU
Chinese is an ancient language, which some love to the deepest bottom of their
hearts, but feel to be unintelligible. Different from most western languages with
alphabetic writing systems, Chinese has its unique system combining
writing and pronunciation. The writing system and pronunciation system seem
not to have any connection, which puzzles many Chinese learners.
Historians tell us that Chinese characters are some of the most ancient in
the world, with a long history of more than 5000 years. The other character
system is the cuneiform, which has a history of 4000 years and was created by
the ancient Egyptians.
Chinese characters convey the Chinese culture's long history and interesting
stories of how the characters have developed. Chinese characters are mainly
composed of four different types of formation: Pictographs (xiàngxíngzì, 象 形
字 ), Self-explanatory characters (zhǐshìzì,指 事 字 ), Associative compounds
(huìyìzì, 会 意 字 ) and Phonograms (xíngshēngzì, 形 声 字 ). In the following
essays about the stories of Chinese Characters, we will discuss the four means
respectively.
Here we discuss Pictographs (xiàngxíngzì, 象形字 ). Actually Pictographs are
those characters which resemble the object. For example:
While seeing them, do you think they are Chinese characters or just some
pictures? Actually the five pictures are really the early characters of “日”, “月”, “火”,
“木”, “山”. The early Chinese characters came from those pictorial signs.
A long long time ago, ancient Chinese people did not have their written history,
nor the characters. Bright people drew the pictures to show what they wished to
express. Therefore they drew the pictures of “mouth (kǒu, 口 ), ear (ěr, 耳 ), eye
(yǎn, 眼 ), the sun (rì, 日 ), the moon (yuè, 月 ) , fire (huǒ, 火 ), sheep (yang, 羊 ),
bird (niǎo, 鸟 ), rabbit (tù, 兔 ), wood (mù, 木 ), rice(hé, 禾 ) and bamboo (zhú,竹 )”
etc. (look at the above pictures). Slowly those pictures became the beginning of the
Chinese character development.
Culture and Tourism 03
25 Jan 2017
Chinese Names
Tian (Zoe) XING
Every person in the world has his or her name. Due to the differences in race, language, faith and other
facets, the name system in different countries and races will vary, with the Chinese name system being
worth mentioning.
In the long and splendid history of China, the culture of Chinese names has been an important part of
Chinese life. In the fields of politics, culture and social activities, names are crucial to people. As early as
one million years ago, Chinese began to be residents of the ancient land. The history of family names dates
back to the matriarchal clan society, about 5000 to 6000 years ago.
I.
Xing and Shi
In recent years the culture of Chinese names has become a huge treasure of China as it can help people to
learn Chinese history in a different way. A series of the core features of ancient Chinese society such as the
autocracy system, family social system and other rules are all shown through the name culture, which is the
reason why it is constantly noted in the field of academia. Nowadays, since more and more foreigners are
interested in Chinese culture and taking pains to learn Chinese, many of them feel quite proud to have a
Chinese name exactly according to the Chinese way, which indicates the charm of the Chinese culture and
the fun learning Chinese can bring to people.
The Great Wall
Tian (Zoe) XING
In ancient China, one person usually had several names, and naming involved xing( 姓 ), shi( 氏 ), ming( 名 )
and zi( 字 ). Xing( 姓 ) which originally referred to the names of different matriarchal tribes. It also had
something to do with the place where people lived. Thus, family names, which are used to judge the different
places and clans, emerged. The other source was the totems ancient tribes worshipped, for instance, the
names of some animals that ancient tribes worshipped, such as long (dragon) and feng (phoenix) that were
adopted as names for certain tribes and thereafter becoming xing ( 姓 ). People within a tribe shared a
common xing ( 姓 ). The purpose of adopting xing was to clarify one’s race and ancestry and to determine
whether it was appropriate for one person to marry another.
Xing( 姓 ) and shi( 氏 ) were closely related, and shi( 氏 ) had the following origins: zhuhou ( 诸侯 ) had the
names of their territories as their shi( 氏 ), for example, Chen shi ( 陈氏 ), Song shi ( 宋氏 ). Officials had the
names of their titles as their shi( 氏 ), for instance, Sima shi ( 司马氏 ), Sikong shi( 司空氏 ). Common
people only has names without shi( 氏 ).
In conclusion, xingshi( 姓 氏 ) was related to one’s clan name or family name and mingzi ( 名 字 )were
one’s given name. Specifically, xingshi( 姓氏 ) was shared while mingzi( 名字 ) were for individuals. Today,
people use xingshi( 姓氏 ) to refer to a person’s surname, mingzi( 名字 ) to refer to one’s given name.
Xing( 姓 ) and shi( 氏 ), ming( 名 ) and zi( 字 ) are not used separately.
II.
The Evolution of Names
According to the research of Gu Yanwu of the Qing Dynasty, there are about 22 old family names in China.
Maybe there are more, but a lot of them have disappeared. About 4000 to 5000 years ago, China entered
the patrilineal clan society. During this time the society went from a clan society to a class society. One of
the main features of this period was the emergence of conflict among the clans by different ancestors.
The clans that won the conflicts were considered superior to their rivals. Social members who won
gained new territory and awards. These people also gained a new symbol related to their territory - the
clan name. After the unification of China by Qin, there was a combination of a family name with a clan name.
This culture was handed down through generations, centreed on the recogntion of the ancestors.
III.
The Significance of Names
In ancient times, one’s surname was revered because the individual bearing it was but a small link in the
long history of an illustrious clan. One would never change his name, especially his or her surname. People
with the same surname shared a commonality and considered themselves relatives regardless of the
number of generations removed, the geographical distance or lack of consanguinity. Since the commonality
was derived from a common ancestor at some point in time, it was considered an insult when a person with
the same surname renounced family or other close relationships. For the same reason, Chinese custom
prohibited marriages of couples with the same surnames in olden times.
The Great Wall, symbolizing China’s ancient civilization, is one of the most splendid architecture features in
the world. Construction of the Great Wall first began in the seventh century BC which is also called Spring
and Autumn Warring States Period. The first wall that appeared in China was built by the kingdom of Qi and
Kingdom Chu. They built a high wall, which was called the “square wall” surrounding their own territories
that could make the invading enemy feel terrified by the high wall. During the Warring States Period,
there were seven kingdoms known as the kingdoms of Qi, Chu, Yan, Zhao, Han, Wei and Qin. In order to
defend themselves against the infringing enemy from the neighboring states, all the kingdoms built high
walls around their own territories for self-protection. They also built high walls at strategic points to protect
their northern territories. It is recorded that large-scale construction of the Great Wall was concentrated in
three dynasties (Qin dynasty, Han dynasty and Ming dynasty). The Qin Great Wall was over 5000 kilometers
long, the Han Great Wall had a total length of 10000 kilometers, and the Ming Great Wall was more than
6000 kilometers long.
Beacon towers were used for sending signals and warning messages when the enemy was sighted, and
are one of the most significant parts of the Great Wall. A beacon tower was built on both sides of the wall at
commanding points, the top of the mountains or the twists and turns. Fires were lit on the top of the beacon
towers at night and sent smoke during the daytime.
Watch-towers were built on the Great Wall for watching over the invading enemy, and they were usually
two stories. The ground floor was used to store weapons and the upper floor had battlements, peep-holes
and apertures for archers.
The Great Wall was a gigantic defensive project that kept out the invading troops of nomadic tribes. Today,
the Great Wall has lost its military significance, but in ancient times it was not only a strong defensive project
but also played a very important role in the economy and served as a link in promoting harmonious
relationships among the groups in the entire country, especially when the main weapons were swords and
arrows.
The Origin of Tourism
Yaqin (Jane) XU
IV.
Naming
Traveling is a social behaviour. Tourism pioneers were businessmen. The rise of travel activities in China
began as early as the 22 century BC. The most typical traveller probably was Yu. In order to dredge the
river, he toured beautiful mountains and rivers. After that, during the Warring States Period, Confucius
travelled around China to give lectures. In the Han Dynasty, Zhan Qian, an ambassador, journeyed as far as
Persia (now Iran) and Syria. Xuan Zang in the Tang Dynasty travelled to India; Zheng He went on seven
voyages as far the East African coast, and Xu Xiake kept a great Travel Diary.
The given name of a Chinese person may represent the best wishes of his or her family members. Names
for boys reflect their parents’ wishes for his health, longevity, prosperity, expected talents, virtues,
diligence, filial piety, patriotism or intelligence. Girls are named after exotic flowers, pretty birds, musical
instruments or jewels. They might also be named for feminine attributes such as beauty, grace, thrift and
purity. Traditionally, there are mainly two methods of naming. One is all children in one family would be
given names that shared one same character. Since the two characters of the given name go together, they
are spelled together as a single word.
Early in the Yin and Shang Dynasties, people had begun to pay attention to travel. During the Yin and the
Zhou Dynasty people used conventional "brigades", which specifically referred to business travel. In the
Eastern Zhou period, travel was classified more clearly, "trip" for business journeys, "sign" for military
journeys, "return" for wedding trips, "patrol" for the emperor’s travel and "migrate" for migratory journey.
“Trip” or “Lv” was eventually introduced to modern Chinese tourism.
Another method for selecting a given name is based on the child’s horoscope and its relationship to the “Five
Elements”. A fortune teller, after studying the month, day and hour of the birth, determines whether the
infant has a full complement of the Five Elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. If any element is
lacking in the child, a character with the radical or root of the missing element is used in the name to correct
the deficiency and make the child “complete”.
"You" is literally floating on the water line. When people add “leisurely” to travelling, which according to
"Historical Records: Family of Confucius" means enjoying a happy life, travel activities such as hunting,
sightseeing, study tours, etc. are all called “You”. This was the beginning of Chinese tourism entering a
new stage.
There are no “juniors” in Chinese names. A son is never named after his father, nor do parents name
their children after relatives. Each child is considered an entirely unique individual.
The word "tourism" was first seen in the Six Dynasties, in the Qi and Liang periods. Shen Yue (AD 441 --513
years) wrote the poetic lines “Tour in the beautiful spring, spring attracts visitors." This specifically refers
to individual pleasure-oriented travel, in order to distinguish it from various other forms of utilitarian travel.
Currently, overseas Chinese people still follow the tradition of recognizing ancestors in Mainland China.
04 Showground
25 Jan 2017
Calligraphy practice by a TCI student 罗祺龙
司 马 龙 is the CEO of a private enterprise in Australia with more than four
years' of Chinese learning. He is in the advanced Chinese class in TCI at present,
and wishes to negotiate business with Chinese partners in Chinese one day.
Contributions Wanted
Chinese Learning is a newspaper published by the Tourism Confucius Institute
at Griffith University to help Chinese learners to know more about the Chinese
language and Chinese culture.
Written contributions in the following forms and content are warmly
welcome, including
a.
b.
Chinese &calligraphy in Chinese from Chinese learners;
English reports from Chinese language teachers about Chinese
teaching approaches, grammar and teaching experiences;
c.
d.
Reports in English about Chinese culture;
Methods and suggestions written in English about how to learn Chinese
how to write in Chinese, etc.
Contributions are expected to be no longer than 1500 words. Students' Chinese
submissions can be e-manuscripts (PDF) or typed. All writing in English should
be typed.
Contributions should be emailed to the editor Priya Shu (P.shu@griffith. edu.au)
You will be notified within three months if your contributions have been accepted
for publication.
Questions? Please contact:
Chinese Learning editorial section of TCI
Tourism Confucius Institute, Room 319, International Building (G52), Gold Coast
Campus of Griffith University
Phone: (0)7 5552 7479
Email: [email protected]
Ella Kennedy was a student from the Queensland Academy for Health and Science