English Excerpt:

Page 2

Power Over Storms

The Chinese dragon is a mythical animal which is connected with water and rain fall. In times of drought, government ministers used to offer sacrifices to the dragon and pray for rain. Dragons are also supposed to have power over moving bodies of water such as rip-tides, storms and tornadoes. They fly by magic and occasionally show themselves as twisters or water sprouts.

Chinese legend says a fish saw a beautiful mountain and decided to swim to the top. It fought its way upstream, struggled against rapids, overcame waterfalls and finally reached the summit. There it found the stream blocked by a locked gate. Undaunted, the fish jumped over the gate and was immediately transformed into a dragon. Thus an ordinary fish can turn into a dragon if it tries hard enough. (Many waterfalls in China are named Dragon’s Gate).

Chinese Translation:

Page 2 = 第 dì 二 er 页 yè

Power Over Storms

The Chinese (中国 zhōng guó) dragon (龙 lóng) is a mythical animal (动 物 dòng wù) which is connected with water (水shuǐ) and rain (雨yǔ) fall. In times of drought, government ministers used to offer sacrifices to the dragon (龙 lóng) and pray for rain (雨 yǔ). Dragons 龙 are also supposed to have power over moving bodies of water 水 such as rip-tides, storms and tornadoes. They fly (飞fēi) by magic (魔法 mó fǎ) and occasionally show them (他们 tā mén) selves (自己 zì jǐ) as twisters or water 水 sprouts.

Chinese 中国 legend says (说 shuō) a fish (鱼yú) saw a beautiful (美 丽 měi lì) mountain (山shān) and decided to swim (游 yóu) to the top (山 顶 shān dǐng). It (它tā) fought its way upstream, struggled against rapids, overcame waterfalls and finally reached the summit (山顶). There it 它 found the stream (小xiǎo河hé) blocked by a locked gate (门mén). Undaunted, the fish (鱼yú) jumped (跳tiào) over the gate 门 and was immediately transformed into a dragon 龙. Thus an ordinary fish 鱼 can turn into a dragon 龙 if it 它 tries hard enough. (Many waterfalls in China 中国 are named Dragon’s Gate (龙门).

Vocabulary

1. Animal = 动 物 dòng wù

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动 dòng means move, act, alter

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物 wù means thing, matter

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Together, the two words 动物 means MOVING THING OR ANIMAL.

2. Water = 水 shuǐ

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3. Rain = 雨 yǔ

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The character 雨looks very much like rain drops seen through a window, don’t you think?

4. Fly = 飞 fēi

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5. Magic = 魔 mó 法fǎ

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魔 mó means magic, mystic, spirit, devil, demon

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法 fǎ means law, method, way

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6. Them = 他们tā mén) selves = (自己 zì jǐ)

他 们 means they or them

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自 己 means self or selves

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他 们 自 己 means themselves

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7. Say = 说 shuō

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also means speak or talk

8. Fish = 鱼 yú

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(look for 鱼in Chinese restaurant menus)

9. Beautiful = 美 丽 měi lì

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10. Mountain = 山 shān

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(Doesn’t 山 look like a mountain?)

11. Mountain Top or Summit = 山 顶 shān dǐng

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12. Swim = 游 yóu

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(Note the three dots to the left of 游. A character with the `three dots’ radical usually indicate that the word has something to do with water.)

13. It = 它 tā

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(Please note that the three pronouns he 他, she她 and it它 are all pronounced tā. However, they are written differently. Many Chinese people, including myself, often mistakenly say he instead of she or it because the three words are all pronounced tā in Chinese.

14. Stream = 小 xiǎo河 hé

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小xiǎo means small, little, minor

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河 hé means river. Note the three Dots radical to the left of 河

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15． Gate = 门 mén

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also means door or entrance.

16. Jump = 跳 tiào

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also means leap, spring or bounce. Note the radical to the left of 跳.

足 zú means foot and words with this radical usually indicate physical activity.

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In the future, we will be formatting the lessons as follows. We will list the English excerpt as taken from the book “China Land of Dragons and Emperors”, along with the page number, then list the Chinese translation, followed by the vocabulary for that lesson. The vocabulary for each lesson will also be added to the vocabulary section, which you can refer to at any time.

English Excerpt:

Page 1.

Enter the Dragon

Let’s start before recorded history in the mythical times when dragons were supposed to exist. They were said to have the eyes of a demon and the claws of an eagle. They were associated with power over water, with the lucky number nine and with royalty.

Chinese Translation:

Page 1. = 第 dì 一 yī页 yè

Enter the Dragon (龙 lóng)

Let’s start before recorded history (历 史 lì shǐ) in the mythical times (时间 shí jiān) when dragons (龙 lóng) were supposed to exist. They were said to have the eyes (眼睛 yǎn jīng) of a demon (魔鬼 mó guǐ) and the claws (爪 zhuǎ) of an eagle (鹰 yīng). They were associated with power over water (水 shuǐ), with the lucky number (数 字 shù zì) nine (九 jiǔ) and with royalty (皇 族 huáng zú).

Vocabulary

1. Page = 页 yè

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Page 1 or first page is translated as 第 一 页。

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The word 第 dì is a prefix for ordinal numbers such as first, second, third, fourth etc. 一 means one. 页 means page.

2. Time = 时 shí 间 jiān

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时 间 shǐ jiān means Time, Interlude, or Interval. Note the radical
日 rì on the left side of the character 时. 日means sun or day.

时 shǐ

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间 jiān

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3. Eyes = 眼 yǎn 睛 jīng

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眼睛 yǎn jīng means EYE or EYES Note the radical 目 mù to the left of the two characters 眼睛. 目 also means EYE.

眼 yǎn

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睛 jīng

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4. Demon = 魔 mó 鬼 guǐ

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魔 mó 鬼 guǐ means Demon or Devil

魔 mó

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鬼 guǐ

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鬼 also means Ghost.

5. Claw = 爪 zhuǎ

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Note the shape of the word 爪。It resembles a Claw.

6．Eagle = 鹰 yīng

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Note the word 鹰 has the radical鸟 niǎo at its bottom. 鸟 means Bird.

7． Water = 水 shuǐ

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8． Number = 数 shù 字 zì

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数 shù means to Count

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字 zì means Word.

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Thus 数字 means Counting Word or Number.

9. Nine = 9 = 九 jiǔ

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10. Royalty = 皇 huáng 族 zú

皇 族 means Imperial Clan

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皇 huáng means emperor or imperial

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族 zú means clan

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So how can we (我们 wŏmeń) find out about Chinese (中 国 的zhōng gúo de) history (历 史 lì shǐ)? As it happens, Chinese history中国的历史 is better documented than the history 历史 of any other country (国 家 guó jīa). From the time of the Han Dynasty (汉 hàn 朝chaó) 2200 years (年 niάn) ago, each court historian kept a diary of current events. These diaries were compiled into a national history, which was kept secret.

A dynasty (朝chaó 代 dài) is a period of time when members of the same family (jiā 家) ruled China中国. The emperor of each new dynasty 朝代 would appoint his (tā de 他的) own historians to write (xǐe 写) an account of the preceding dynasty 朝代. This standard history 历史 was made available to the public. Today (jīn 今tīan 天) there are 3600 volumes of China’s 中国的 Standard History 历史. The last of the series was published in 1986 in Taiwan (Tάi 台Wān 湾).

During the last 2200 years 年, there have been only six major dynasties 朝代 in China 中国。Those dynasties 朝代, and the Communist (gòng 共 chάn产 dăng 党) rulers of the twentieth century, are the subjects of this book (shū 书). It is well known that Chinese 中国 history 历史 goes back much further, to at least 5000 years 年 ago. The early period is summarized in a chart on pages 231-4.

Vocabulary

1. We = wŏ 我 meń 们

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   我 is pronounced wŏ in the third tone. 我 means I or me.
   When the word meń 们 is added after a pronoun such as 我, that pronoun becomes plural. Thus 我们 means we.
   The word 们 is pronounced in the second tone.
   

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2. Chinese = zhōng中gúo国 de 的

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   中 is pronounced Zhōng (Joan) in the first tone. 中 means middle or center.
   国 is pronounced Gúo in the second tone. 国means country or kingdom.
   中国 means middle kingdom or central kingdom

   When the word 的 is added after 中国(China), the three words 中国的 means (belonging to China) or Chinese.

   However, 中国新年 also means Chinese New Year. Chinese grammar is flexible.
   

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3. History = lì历 shǐ史

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   历 is pronounced lì in the fourth tone. 历 means all that came previously. It also means calendar.

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   史 is pronounced shǐ in the third tone. 史 means history.

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   历 史 means history or previous records.
   

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4. Country = Guó国 jiā 家

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   国 is pronounced guó in the second tone. It means country, state or nation.

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   家 is pronounced jiā in the first tone. It means family, home or household.

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   The two words 国 家 mean country, state or nation. This reinforces the Chinese belief that a nation is one big family.

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5. Han Dynasty = Hàn汉 chάo朝

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   汉 is pronounced Hάn in the fourth tone. 汉 means Chinese nationality, Chinese language, man or hero.

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   朝 is pronounced chάo in the second tone. 朝 means dynasty or court.

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   The two words汉 朝 mean Han Dynasty which lasted for 426 years from 206 BC to 220 AD. From then on, the word 汉 became synonymous with anything to do with China.
   

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6. Dynasty = Chάo朝 dài 代

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   朝 is pronounced chάo in the second tone. 朝 means dynasty or court.

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   代 is pronounced dài in the fourth tone. It means historical period, generation, or `to take the place of.’.

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   The two words 朝代 means dynasty.
   

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7. Write = Xǐe 写

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   写 is pronounced xǐe in the third tone. (the letter X is pronounced SH in Chinese pinyin). It means write.
   

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8. Today = Jīn 今 Tiān 天

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   今 is pronounced Jīn in the first tone. It means modern, present day, contemporary, of our era, today, now.

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   天 is pronounced tiān in the first tone. It means day, sky, heaven, god, a period of time, season, weather, nature.

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9. Taiwan = Tάi 台 Wān 湾

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   台 is pronounced tάi in the second tone. It means platform, stage, terrace.

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   湾 is pronounced wān in the first tone. It means bay, gulf, a bend in a stream. Note the water radical (three dots) on the left side of the character 湾 which denotes that the word has something to do with water.

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   台湾 is an island-state situated 99 miles off the south-eastern coast of Mainland China in the Pacific Ocean. Majority of the population came from the neighboring province of Fujian in China and speak Chinese.
   

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10. Communist Party = Gòng共 Chăn产 Dăng党

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    共 is pronounced Gòng in the fourth tone. It means share, common, general, together.

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    产 is pronounced Chăn in the third tone. It means to produce, yield, give birth to.

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    党 is pronounced Dăng in the third tone. It means political party, gang, faction. clique, follower.

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11. Book = Shū 书

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    书 is pronounced Shū in the first tone. It means book, letter, document or to write.
    

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