I truly believe that with motivation and the tools listed below you can learn Chinese as fast as anyone paying to study in university. And you won’t have to pay a dime for it since the sites listed below are all free.

Without further ado, let’s get straight into the five must-see websites to advance your Chinese:

Site #1: Nciku

Nciku (pronounced “en-tse-koo”) is a free online dictionary that supports English and Chinese. I’ve been personally using Nciku for years and it has been my go-to online dictionary for as long as I’ve known about it. Although there are a ton of sites that offer similar functionality, Nciku stands above the competition with awesome features like:

• Example sentences which show you how your new vocabulary is used correctly in practical sentences
• Handwriting recognition which works even with incorrect stroke order
• Q&A section where your specific Chinese questions are answered by the community
• Vocabulary lists which allow you to create your own list based on words you look up, or browse others’ lists

Every Chinese learner should have an online Chinese-English dictionary bookmarked, and for me Nciku is simply the best.

My Favorite Nciku Resources

Nciku Vocab Lists

Nciku’s Free “Chengdu Snacks” iPhone app

Nciku Blog

Site #2: Pinyin.info

When you’re just getting started, learning Mandarin is intimidating. Regional dialects are confusing, characters are complex and daunting, and correct tonality will seem impossible at first.

It’s absolutely essential that you build a solid foundation by fully understanding pinyin, the romanization of the Chinese language. Some learners choose to get started studying characters from the beginning, but I’ve found that this can in fact hurt your progress if you don’t master pinyin. The best site to do this, unquestionably, is Pinyin.info.

My Favorite Pinyin.info Resources

Basic Rules of Hanyu Pinyin

Where to Place Tone Marks in Pinyin

Pinyin News Blog

Site #3: Chinese Hacks

I stumbled upon this blog several months ago and great content like “Retro Video Games in Chinese” have kept me coming back. The site is authored by a foreigner in Taiwan who’s been self publishing tips and tricks on learning Chinese for nearly a year. Much of the content featured on Chinese Hacks is topical and includes a vocabulary list for learning related words in context.

My Favorite Posts on Chinese Hacks

Retro Video Games in Chinese

Resume Keywords in Chinese

DVR Your Way to Better Chinese

Site #4: HSK Flashcards

The HSK (Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì) is China’s “national standardized test to assess the Chinese language proficiency of non-native speakers”. It’s also a giant collection of characters and words you should aim to understand, whether you choose to take the actual HSK examination or not.

While Nciku has a vocabulary list section on their website with various HSK lists, this site is dedicated solely to the task. HSK Flashcards features HSK vocabulary at various levels and includes both simplified and traditional characters and a fantastic interface. For learning HSK vocabulary, it’s tough to best HSK Flashcards.

My Favorite HSK Flashcards Resources

Download HSK Lists for other software or printing

Browse HSK Flashcards

Site #5: Sinosplice

Sinosplice is a site authored by John Pasden, Shangha-based linguist and the Academic Director of ChinesePod. It’s part personal blog and part language aid, but considering the heavyweight credentials that John carries (a decade in China speaking Chinese, a masters in applied linguistics, etc) you’ll do well to check out Sinosplice.

My Favorite Resources on Sinosplice

The Five Stages to Learning Chinese

Chinese Pronunciation

The Process of Learning Tones

Conclusion

Of the dozens of websites devoted to learning Chinese, these are five which have helped me along. I’d love to hear what you think on the topic though: what sites are most beneficial to you as you advance your Chinese?

It takes years of practice, dedication and exposure to characters. Despite the learning curve, I’ve found it an enjoyable and rewarding journey. But not everyone is willing to spend long hours studying and practicing to gain proficiency in writing Chinese. For those people, the new OCR feature built into Pleco on iPhone is a blessing.

What is Pleco?

Tones are color-coded in Pleco for iPhone

Pleco is a Chinese English dictionary full-featured Mandarin learning application available in the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It’s a free download which includes a basic dictionary but has a selection of paid upgrades available which include:

• content from eight different dictionaries (ranging from free to $40)
• search by pinyin, English or character
• full-screen handwriting input ($15)
• audio & stroke order diagrams ($8 and $10)
• a document reader ($10)
• highly customizable flash cards ($15)

Despite having known about Pleco for years (and mentioning it specifically in this post about Learning Chinese with an iPhone) I hesitated to pay for upgrades because of the price. Why pay $20+ for flashcards (or $35+ for a bundle) when other apps do the same thing for much less?

The Killer “OCR” Feature

OCR, that’s why.

It stands for Optical Character Recognition and simply put, you point your phone at Chinese characters and it displays the pinyin and English definition live. It doesn’t work all all characters (it won’t work on handwriting or embellished fonts) but it’s amazingly accurate and fast.

In addition to the lookup mode, there’s a flashcard mode as well. Once this is enabled and you’ve selected a flashcard category (mine is “Street vocabulary”) you point and hold the phone on a character or phrase and it adds it to your flashcards with no delay.

Usage Examples

• 

  Scanning a book with OCR. Characters go in the green box.

  You want to translate what’s on the menu in front of you (like we did when we published A Sichuan Menu Translated) and save the dishes you don’t know as flashcards so you’ll know them next time.

• You have a rental agreement from your landlord that you can’t read but want to learn the details of.
• You’d like to read a newspaper article, novel or short story but looking up words in a dictionary every 2 minutes is too time consuming.

And so on.

Example Youtube Clip

In order to demonstrate what this is really like, I filmed a brief clip of me using the OCR feature on an iPhone 4. The video is below but because it’s on Youtube, you won’t be able to see it unless you’re using a VPN. If you’re in China and you aren’t using one, you should! (and then subscribe to our Youtube channel for future videos).

What’s Required to Use This

• An iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS. Pleco works on all iPhones, iPad and iPod Touches but OCR only works on newer iPhones. This is because only these newer devices have fast processors and auto-focus capability on the lens. The latest (fourth generation) iPod Touch includes a camera but won’t work because it lacks auto-focus.
• Pleco, the $15 OCR add-on, and a way to purchase apps on iTunes. This could be a nuisance for some in Mainland China who don’t have an active credit card, but an alternative is to buy iTunes credit on Taobao or elsewhere.
• A bit of patience. Pleco is pretty much the last rung on the ladder of Chinese study aids on the iPhone for me. And while it is without a doubt the most powerful and extensive application of its kind, it comes with a learning curve. The sheer amount of custom options available in the settings is daunting, and with this many features odd-looking buttons are numerous. It’ll take some time for you to learn to operate quickly but it’s worth it.

Here’s more information on Pleco for iOS on their website.

What tools have you been using to learn Chinese?

Despite making these critical realizations, Chinese tends to intimidate newcomers and they weren’t sure how or where to start. Here are 4 proven tips which will set you on a path to master basic Chinese.

Tip #1: Start with the fundamentals

three very fundamental Chinese characters

The first thing I recommended to my visiting pals was to learn Pinyin, the official method to transcribe Chinese language into roman characters. This is best taught by a Chinese person because this step involves learning how each syllable in the Chinese language is supposed to sound, and accordingly how to read and write these sounds with English letters. Without pinyin and an understanding of how each syllable is supposed to sound, you won’t be building upon a solid foundation. Learning tones at the beginning is a good idea also, although you probably won’t begin to nail the tones until you’ve spent a considerable amount of time interacting with native speakers.

Helpful links:

Pinyin.info – a guide to writing Mandarin Chinese in romanization

Pinyin Practice – Mandarin pronunciation exercises and learning components

Tip #2: Record your progress

My personal Moleskine from several years ago

The traditional way of going about this tip is to maintain a journal or a book with everything that you’ve learned. For me, I carried a handful of Moleskine notebooks across the country, recording new words, phrases and grammatical patterns. After the word list grew past the first volume, I began scrawling very poorly-proportioned characters that looks like they were written by a Chinese toddler. But over time my skills improved, and as you look back on what you’ve learned previously, your progress will definitely encourage you.

You don’t have to use a notebook, though. Many devices, like an iPod Touch or electronic dictionary, can store thousands of words in organized lists to be reviewed at any time. The choice is up to you whether you prefer the old school or new school methods. There are advantages to both and you might find, like I have, that a combination of both yields the best results.

Helpful links:

Studying Chinese with an iPhone – the Chengdu Living rough guide

Tip #3: Interact with native speakers

If you’re fortunate enough to be in China, utilize your prime advantage and make an effort to interact with locals. For those of you who aren’t in China, your task is considerably more difficult.

It doesn’t matter if you’re chatting with a taxi driver about your home town or negotiating over the price of bananas. Interaction is the key and the more time you spend hearing how native speakers communicate, the faster and more accurately you’ll be able to pick it up. First, master the basics which you’ll hear over and over throughout your time in China:

1. What country are you from?

2. Are you studying or working?

3. What do you think of this place?

Once you’ve exhausted these questions to every possible conclusion imaginable, you’ll be equipped to start getting into the interesting conversations.

Tea houses are a great casual social atmosphere to practice your Chinese with friendly locals

One additional thing to keep in mind is regional dialects. Depending on where you’re located and the kind of people you’re surrounded by you might be subjected to a lot of whichever dialect is local to your region. In this case you can choose to speak some or much of the local dialect, or avoid it completely.

Helpful links:

ChinesePod – free and paid podcast with a lot of useful situational dialogue for all skill levels

Nciku Conversations – hundreds of situational dialogues on one of the best sites for learning Chinese

Tip #4: Find a way to enjoy it

If you can’t find a way to enjoy learning Chinese, the process will be much more laborious for you. Most people who pick it up quickly are passionate about some aspect of Chinese culture or life and it’s the language which connects them to it. For example:

• You’re dying to learn kung fu but local masters don’t speak English. Eager to learn, you train with native speakers and quickly pick up the skills required to aid your training
• You want to do business in China and can’t wait to feel like you aren’t getting ripped off at every turn
• You’re compelled to learn about modern Chinese culture but want to learn first hand. When books won’t get you close enough, nothing but close interaction will do. As your language skills improve exponentially, you gain a meaningful understanding of Chinese culture
• Chinese poetry fascinates you but when you translate it into English, it loses its elegance. Start with simple idioms and your diligence will be rewarded when you’re enjoying more challenging pieces

You get the idea. Having a passion for the language, regardless of what you want it to connect you with, goes a long way.

Whatever it is that excites you about learning Chinese, use that as motivation

What has served you well in your quest for better language skills? Is there anything that you wish someone had told you years ago?

You know how the routine goes: tracing your own footsteps (literally and figuratively) and ending up with the same dishes over and over again. Sure, they’re delicious. But eventually you have to break out of our culinary comfort zone to experience and enjoy the incredible variation of Chinese cuisine available to you. Those of us who find ourselves in China are privileged to bear witness to one of the greatest culinary civilizations on earth. You owe it to yourself to pay tribute to that entitlement by sampling all that China has to offer. Because chicken feet, dog meat and pig brain hotpot are as necessary an experience as any other meal you’ll have in China.

The Routine

The popular favorite: Gongbao Jiding

As a rule, we tend to stick to what we like. Whether you’ve been in China for two years or ten, you’re likely to be ordering the same dishes on a regular basis. After all, it makes perfect sense: everyone loves the taste of Kungpao Chicken (宫暴鸡丁) and Fried Shredded Potato (干煸土豆丝)  because they’re familiar and mighty tasty. But by sticking to the minority of dishes that you’re familiar with there’s a good chance you’re passing up literally hundreds of unfamiliar dishes which could turn into your favorites.

The Aversion

Perhaps a food allergy, religious affiliation or ethical crusade (vegetarian or vegan) prevents you from going outside of your dietary routine. As legitimate as those reasons are for not ordering an unfamiliar dish in a new restaurant, they’re outnumbered 100 to 1 by laziness. Why take the chance on something new, especially when it falls outside the boundaries of the culinary practices of your own culture?

Turtle soup, along with chicken feet and dog, is absolutely worth trying. Nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I vividly remember an encounter I had with a Peruvian English teacher in Chengdu who had spent ten years in Sichuan Province. He couldn’t read Chinese and ordered the same handful of dishes year after year. Ordering outside of his comfort zone or broadening his dietary outlook didn’t even seem to cross his mind. When I inquired about how he’s managed to get by for so long on so little, he justified his position by saying that the dishes he does order taste fine to him. As he fumbled clumsily with his chopsticks the wait staff at the restaurant took note and sneered.

Don’t be that guy.

The Solution

Approach food with an experimental outlook. If you suspect that you might not like this or that particular dish, go ahead and try it anyway. At the very least it’ll be an experience that connects you more closely with the culinary history of Chinese people.

If you’re having trouble reading the menu at a Chinese restaurant, taking it home and learning all the characters on it is a great practice. You’ll improve your knowledge of local dishes and increase your vocabulary simultaneously. To get you started, check out this Chengdu Living post of A Chinese Menu Fully Translated.

Open Yourself Up to New Experiences

Picky eaters who respond to foreign food cultures with shock and revulsion are the product of narrow mindedness. When you leave your home country, you’re better off leaving behind your reservations about what the rest of the world is or isn’t and just participating. Open your mouth and open your mind.

This course is designed to give a practical command of spoken Standard Chinese. Nine situational modules form the core of the course. Each core module consists of tapes, a student textbook, and a workbook. In addition to the core modules, there is a resource module and eight optional modules.

The amount of content for languages offered varies, but the offering for Mandarin is significant, including several days worth of MP3 lessons. The texts come in the form of PDF files, which make for easy viewing on whatever platform you prefer, be it Windows, OSX, iPhone, or the recently released iPad (which would be perfect for this use).

note: Because this particular restaurant offers more than 150 dishes, content is divided among six posts each covering one type of dish. If you’re using Firefox, install this plugin and you’ll be able to mouse over Chinese characters and see their English translation and pinyin romanization

This restaurants delivery menu is printed on an over-sized business card. Click to enlarge the image

Stir Fried Dishes

In contrast to “Szechwan Cuisine” served outside China, in Sichuan Province, most dishes are stir-fried in lots of vegetable oil with garlic, ginger, either green or red huājiāo and a small amount of sugar, salt and MSG.

Spiciness and M.S.G.

You’ll have to specify to your server if you want your food non-spicy or without MSG (see #2 at the end of the article for these phrases). Unfortunately, chances are fifty-fifty that your message will be forgotten or ignored due to the rarity of special requests made in Chinese restaurants.

The categories below each assume the above ingredients, plus their preparation as further described. So you can pronounce these as correctly as possible, we’ve included tone indicators on the pinyin. Listed as well are three of the “Big Four Sichuan Dishes,” below. The fourth just wouldn’t fit into any of our categories. See if you can get your name first with the name of the dish on the comments list below!

Categories

Lanrou (烂肉) dishes have small bits of softened pork, stir-fried with the following differences:

烂肉豇豆 Lànròu Jiāngdòu has cow-peas and possibly a few dry red chilly peppers.
烂肉粉丝 Lànròu Fěnsī has glass noodles made from sweet-potato starch.
烂肉豆腐 Lànròu Dòufŭ has soft tofu.
烂肉茄子 Lànròu Qiézi has Chinese eggplant.

Rousi (肉丝) dishes are pork cut into short shoelace-thick strings, stir-fried with the following other vegetables, all of which are cut into the same string-shape:

鱼香肉丝 Yúxiāng Ròusī has mu’er (#3 below), qingsun lettuce stalks, pickled red chillies, pickled ginger and douban sauce (#4 below). It is one of the Big Four Sichuan Dishes.
芹菜肉丝 Qíncài Ròusī has celery.
青椒肉丝 Qīngjiāo Ròusī has anaheim peppers.
土豆肉丝 Tŭdòu Ròusī has potatoes.
蒜薹肉丝 Suàntái Ròusī has crispy garlic stalks.
韭黄肉丝 Jíuhuáng Ròusī has yellow leeks.
甜椒肉丝 Tiánjiāo Ròusī has sweet pepper.
(京)酱肉丝 (Jīng) Jiāng Ròusī is fried in duck sauce with fresh spring onions on top.
青椒鸡丝 Qīngjiāo Jīsī is a chicken version of Qīngjiāo Ròusī (see above).
蒜苔腊肉 Suàntái Làròu is the bacon version of Suàntái Ròusī (see above).
蒜苔鸡丝 Suàntái Jīsī is a chicken version of Suàntái Ròusī (see above).
蒜苔牛肉丝 Suàntái Níuròusī is the beef version of Suàntái Ròusī (see above).

Rou (肉)and Roupian (肉片) dishes have a small serving of lean pork slices, fried with a lot of the following vegetables:

锅巴肉片 Guōbā Ròupiàn starts with a large plate of dry, unflavored, rice-crispy-treat shaped squares of glutinous rice. A starchy stew of pork, mù’ér, qīngsūn and other vegetables are then poured over squares to start a snap-crackle-and-pop sound. This is another of the Big Four Sichuan Dishes.
盐煎肉    Yánjiān Ròu is fried with garlic sprouts (#5), with a name implying that this dish is on the salty side.
苦瓜肉片 Kŭguā Ròupiàn is mostly bitter melon.
木耳肉片 Mu’er Ròupiàn has mu’er. (#3)
熊掌豆腐 Xióngzhăng Dòufu has firm tofu, garlic sprouts (#5) a little black vinegar and dòubàn sauce.

Huiguo (回锅) means fatty, bacon-like, slices of pork that have been pre-boiled, and then fried with the following differences:

回锅肉     Huíguō Ròu has garlic sprouts (#5) and dòubàn sauce (#4). This is another of the “Big Four Sichuan Dishes.”
咸菜回锅  Xiáncài Huíguō has a chopped, brown, pickled mustard stock (#6).
尖椒回锅 Jiānjiāo Huíguō has green Anaheim peppers.

Gongbao (宫暴) “Kung Pao” dishes have fried peanuts and a little douban sauce (#4)

宫暴鸡丁 Gōngbào Jīdīng is another of the Big Four Sichuan Dishes, with tender little cubes of chicken meat and red and green anaheim peppers.
宫暴肉丁 Gōngbào Ròudīng is a pork version of Gōngbào Jīdīng (see above).

Notes:

1 Sichuan ‘prickly ash’ peppercorn (花椒) gives your mouth a numbing, tingling sensation (Mandarin: 麻味 mawei)
2 Mandarin: “Don’t want spicy”: 不要辣的 buyao lade, “Don’t want MSG”: 不要味精 buyao weijing
3 Wood-ear/tree fungus (木耳)
4 Broadbean Paste/Chili Bean Sauce (豆瓣酱)
5 Long-flat green garlic leaves, cut (Mandarin: 蒜苗 suanmiao)
6 Xiancai includes meicai (梅菜) and yacai (芽菜)

Menu List:

• 烂肉豇豆 cowpea with minced meat
• 烂肉粉丝  mungbean with minced meat
• 鱼香肉丝  fish-flavored shredded pork
• 芹菜肉丝  celery with shredded pork
• 青椒肉丝  green pepper with shredded pork
• 土豆肉丝  potato with shredded meat
• 蒜薹肉丝   garlic bolt with shredded pork
• 韭黄肉丝   shredded pork with chives
• 甜椒肉丝   sweet pepper with shredded pork
• 苦瓜肉片   balsam pear with sliced meat
• 木耳肉片   edible tree fungus with sliced meat
• 回锅肉   double-cooked pork slices
• 盐煎肉   fried pork slices
• 咸菜回锅   double-cooked pikles
• 赣豇豆回锅  double-cooked dry cowpea
• 面皮回锅   double-cooked noodle skin
• 尖椒回锅   double-cooked chilli pepper
• 宫暴肉花   kung pao flower-shape pork
• 宫暴肉丁   kung pao diced meat
• 宫暴鸡丁   kung pao chicken
• 泡椒腰花   kidney with pickled pepper
• 干腰合炒   fried kidney and liver
• 鸡米芽菜   minced chicken with bean sprouts
• 碎肉芽菜  minced pork with bean sprouts
• 熊掌豆腐  ”bear paw” with bean curd
• 酱肉丝    sauteed shredded pork in sweet bean sauce
• 青椒鸡丝  green pepper with shredded chicken
• 蒜苔鸡丝 garlic stems with shredded chicken
• 蒜苔腊肉  garlic stems with preserved ham
• 蒜苔牛肉丝  garlic stems with shredded beaf
• 泡椒鸡杂 chicken giblets with pickled pepper
• 太子豆花  douhua prince
• 烂肉豆腐 minced meat tofu
• 烂肉茄子 minced meat eggplant

This section was translated by Jiao Jiao – thanks!

Translating the Rest of the Menu

Next time we’ll translate another section of the menu:

Which do you think we should move to first? Soups, fried rice, dumplings & noodles?

Studying Efficiently

Over the last few years we’ve seen a huge jump in the accessibility of every kind of study aid you can imagine. From dictionaries, to flash cards, to edutainment, literature, and guides to idioms, there are hundreds of applications available on the iPhone for learning Chinese that are fun and easy to use. Flipping through flashcards or tracing characters with your fingertip is a more engaging and interactive learning experience than sitting through a dull class or flipping through textbooks. Which means you’re more likely to stick with it and see results.

Four Key Features

Some of the standout features that make the iPad great for learning Chinese:

• A bright and clear 9.7″ screen, great for displaying a lot of characters and dictionary entries. On a device more portable and more svelte than any laptop.
• It’s Wi-Fi enabled, so you can download new vocabulary lists or use online dictionaries like Nciku wirelessly.
• Uses multi-touch technology so you can write characters with a stroke of your fingertip, or flip through flash cards with speed and ease. Chinese support is built in.
• Access to hundreds of apps made specifically for studying Chinese, available now in the app store for the iPhone and iPod touch. They’ll all work on the iPad.

Application Development & Porting Existing Apps

If you search for “Chinese dictionary” in the App Store, more than 25 variations emerge. They mostly offer similar features, but the abundance of dictionaries demonstrates the size of the Chinese learning market: it’s huge and growing quickly. Application developers will be updating their offerings and creating new ones especially for this device, which means that as with the iPhone, the sky is the limit.

Any study aid that you can probably think of has either already been made or is in development. A year from now, this thing will most likely have produced new and innovative applications that we can’t even imagine now. Utilizing these  more efficient tools and techniques will enable you to spend less time acquiring your language skills and more time actually using them.

When it’s released in a month, all existing applications for learning Chinese (read about our favorites) will work from day one. Apps that aren’t updated to support the iPad’s higher resolution will display either in their native format, which will look tiny on the iPad, or in a blown-up full screen version. This is important whether you’ve paid $149.99 for the Pleco Complete Bundle or if you’re just comfortable with the Qingwen dictionary app and don’t want to switch to another.

iPad’s Competition: Big and Small

If you’ve been studying with paper and textbooks for years, you know that these are time-tested methods which work. What the iPad and it’s competition offer, however, is a more streamlined and efficient method for language acquisition. Using modern techniques like intelligent flash cards will only drill you on the words and phrases that you have trouble with, cutting down your study time significantly. If you’ve found yourself getting bored and giving up after writing 200 characters a day (like one of my friends recently has), utilizing methods like these can make all the difference.

Internet-connected Laptops & Desktops

They’re more powerful and versatile but sometimes they aren’t as effective because they’re slow, cumbersome, and mired with distractions. It takes a lot of typing, clicking, and waiting to get a definition online in your browser. If you want to investigate a character, word, or phrase, you might get distracted by incoming e-mail or IM’s and lose your direction. If your home computer is off and you have to turn it on, you might not even bother after waiting so long. If you want to review flash cards for just a few minutes, you might not bother if you can’t do it immediately and at your whim.

Let’s say you hear an unfamiliar word in conversation and want to find the definition right away. The faster you can execute this action, the more likely and often you are to actually use it.

E-Dictionaries and the iPhone & iPod Touch

This electronic dictionary costs $400.

E-Dictionaries are costly and unwieldy at the same time. They have tiny displays, cramped keyboards, and you can’t write characters. The graphics generally resemble Windows 3.1, they have a limited number of functions, and they still cost up to  $400.

The iPhone and iPod Touch, however, are great tools for learning Mandarin. They will run the bulk of Chinese learning apps in the app store and feature nearly all the same technology as the iPad. What they lack though, is the larger resolution display and faster speed due to the new A4 processor designed by Apple. With these allowances, developers can improve the function and features of basic tasks that we use to study everyday.

The iPad comes out in March and starts at $500.

What do you think of the iPad? Leave a comment!

#5 – China’s Rich History

When you learn Mandarin you’re opening the window to thousands of years of culture and history. From the military conquests of (Sichuan native) Zhuge Liang in the Three Kingdoms period to the Tang Dynasty’s discovery of gunpowder, China has thousands of years of renowned history. And better still, a study of the language reveals the subtleties of the Chinese character through it’s fables and idioms. Chinese people often touch upon ancient tales and traditions in everyday conversation, so it follows that to understand the language, is to understand the rich culture and history from which it derives.

#4 – Calligraphy

Practicing on the street with water & brush

At once a language and an art, Chinese calligraphy is a gateway to the spiritual word of the artist.

As a hundred people have different faces, so too do those hundred have a unique way of expressing themselves. From the way they handle the brush to their presentation, style, and technique, calligraphy as an art communicates not only broad ideas, but the character and emotion of the artist.

Calligraphy is a joy to learn and being a natural extension of Chinese, you’ll have taken the first steps on the path by deciding to learn Mandarin. Once you’ve mastered the basics and can read and write elementary Chinese, learning how to add beauty to your written Chinese advances your linguistic and artistic skills alike. And in the end, it’s the hallmark symbol of a timeless culture that’s recognized around the world.

#3 – Literature and Written Chinese

Understanding the written language gives you an understanding of the people and culture of China that you can’t get anywhere else. Once you learn the basics and realize that Chinese characters are built upon a logical and practical system, you’ll take pride in gaining mastery of the written language. When you’re ready, you’ll have access to thousands of years of literature authored by people who at the time couldn’t speak to each other, but shared a common writing system. Very few of these ancient tales have been translated to English, but as anyone who speaks and reads Chinese will tell you, it’s simply not the same if you don’t read it in it’s original form.

#2 – Business Opportunities

China is the fastest developing market in the world and is poised to become the world’s economic leader in our lifetime. To be able to speak or read Chinese and access that group of a billion people offers you a huge advantage, no matter what your industry or profession is. Whether you’re working for multi-national or are self-employed, your chances of success increase by learning Mandarin. Even if you can’t use it professionally, it looks great on a resume because it’s still perceived as one of the world’s most difficult languages. Because it takes years of dedication, a lot of people try and give up, which will make your achievement all the more impressive.

#1 – Discover a New World, Outward and Within

Most people learning Chinese as a second or third language will be exposed to a different realm of thought and reasoning that’s new to them. It’s belonged to China (among earth’s oldest civilizations) for over five thousand years but despite it’s age, it has incredible practical application to the modern world. Military, political, and business leaders who’ve shaped the world in the last century have drawn upon the wisdom of ancient China by reading early Chinese works like Sun Tzu’s Art of War, among others, for guidance. After you’ve illuminated some of the mysteries of China and start to understand another way of thinking, you’ll find your own principles and world-views being expanded.

What do you think?

Shengdiyage seems to be the pinyin for San Diego, but other than the pronunciation there is no clear connection between the city and the company. China’s online Baidu Encyclopedia, however, does have a listing for the company and describes their main product, Jin Ke La (“Golden Clumps”), as “non-polluting, non-harmful, long-lasting, seedling-strengthening and disease resistant while improving soil, increasing crop-yields, quality and more. It was countries and regions like China, Japan and Africa that started the agro-craze. Agriculturally advanced countries including America, England and France are now in fierce competition for Jin Ke La.”

The use of foreign influence to peddle a domestic brand is not uncommon in China: there are countless examples of a Chinese company using a “white face” to add a bit of prestige to their product, but no one comes close to Shengdiyage’s brazen genius in this regard.

Foreigners fight over Jin Ke La on the street. Click to view

In video linked on the right, an African of unknown origin and a Japanese man struggle to gain control of a truck load of Jin Ke La (notice the distinguished old white man on the side of the truck). They scream Jin Ke La repeatedly in clumsy, retarded Chinese. The African eventually punches the Japanese and an American comes in to stop the fight, telling them to come up with the best reason why one should buy Jin Ke La. Whomsoever comes up with the better reason, gets the truckload. An English translation of the exchange:

Japanese, African: Jinkela! Jinkela! It’s ours! Ours!
American: What are you doing??
Japanese, African: Jinkela! Jinkela! It’s ours! Ours!
African: I want Jinkela! African agriculture is undeveloped. We need Jinkela!
Japanese: I want Jinkela! Japan lacks natural resources. We need to use Jinkela!
Japanese, African: Jinkela! Mine! Mine!
African: Mine, dammit!
American: No fighting! No fighting! Whoever better states the benefits of Jinkela will be awarded with the product.
African: Africa needs Jinkela, our agricultural infrastructure is undeveloped. Jinkela doesn’t run-off or evaporate!!
Japanese: Japan lacks natural resources, we need it. Jinkela nourishes roots two meters deep!!
African: World fertilizer prices are going up. Use Jinkela! Twice the potency, half the cost!
Japanese: Use Jinkela for millet and get 1,800 jin per mu. Japan no longer needs to rely on American imports for its grain! Hahaha!
American: (to self) Clever devil! If I give him the Jinkela, it’s a threat to American agriculture. I won’t do that.
American: African agriculture is underdeveloped. We need to aid them. Don’t even think about getting the Jinkela, Japan.
Japanese: Sneaky! What will happen to our crops without Jinkela? Jinkela!!!

The commercial demonstrates the power of the fertilizer in Third World countries as well as developed countries, but assures the background dominance of the Chinese product overall. Shengdiyage’s crude racism might work in backward parts of China, but for the educated web-savvy populace of this nation, the commercials are just pure entertainment.

Ever since the tainted milk scandal, Chinese food inspectors have been strict in enforcing safety standards, while advertising remains largely unregulated. A general argument goes “While it is a shame, it’s will remain uncontrollable due to our oversized population and poverty.”

Foreign scientist verfies Jin Ke La's superiority. Click to view

Now that video looks pretty poor and might not qualify as best in show, but things get better for the Shengdiyago Co. In this next commercial linked on the right, they really up the ante, featuring Presidents Clinton and Bush, actors in white capes and flashing lights. They claim that every US President visits the Shengdiyago headquarters before stepping into the White House, to consult with company officials about the right path for America’s agricultural development.

They also claim to have a special fertilizer from America with twice the potency of ordinary fertilizer. The very same stuff that helped America rise to the top of the world and will help China do the same. They sell all over the world and are engaged in discussions with G8 leaders on on a weekly basis. The daring of it all is really admirable.

Some of the claims made in the video linked above:

“Jin Ke La props up America’s agriculture…. It has become self-evident that Jin Ke La is the nuclear weapon that has changed national agricultural.”

“Large scale computer positioning refines this product from 80 kinds of scarce minerals at precisely 30,000 degrees Celsius!”

“One kilogram of Jin Ke La can be valued at up to 5 million dollars!”

“Jin Ke La has helped over 68 countries realize agricultural modernization (more so in Africa!)”

“Over 3000 freight trains, 1000 cargo ships and 500 planes carry Jin Ke La to over 129 countries around the world, daily!”

“Jin Ke La came to China in 2007, at the turning point when Sino-US relations had proven an honest 30 years, helping Chinese agriculture to soar!”

“Jin Ke La was named “Greatest Discovery in the Promotion of Agricultural Development in the 21st Century” by the United Nation’s Agricultural Cooperatives Organization.”

“Experiments conducted in 129 countries have proven: Using Jin Ke La is a small investment with huge gains!”

“NASA has proven through research that Jin Ke La is an effective component in terra-forming Mars, substantially increasing the survival rate of plants and driving forward the program for human migration.”

“Believe in Jin Ke La and you can be the president of America!”

For more, you can check out more Jinkela videos on Tudou and take a look at their company site. Perhaps one of these days we’ll actually start switching our ordinary fertilizer with the doubly-potent Presidential-grade Jin Ke La.

Notice: Reed assisted in research and translation of this article. Thanks!

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Viewing the results page after finishing the first vocabulary list. Lingt mimics the game consoles with Achievements

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