Posts Tagged ‘learn Chinese online’

• Chinese Online Class – Li Shizhen

  Date: 2009.01.11 | Category: Chinese Mandarin, Chinese Online Class, Chinese School, Chinese Tutor, Chinese language, Learn Chinese Class, Study Chinese, learn Chinese, learn Chinese online, learn Mandarin online, learn mandarin | Response: 0

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  Library>China ABC>Sci-Tech>Ancient scientists

  Li Shizhen

  Li Shizhen (1518-1593), author ofBen Cao Gang Mu(Compendium of Materia Medica), was a pharmacist and naturalist of the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). He was born into a family of doctors in Qizhou (present-day Qichun County of Hubei Province).

  Both Li Shizhen’s grandfather and father were doctors. His grandfather had been an itinerant doctor, carrying medicine pills and acupuncture needles as he journeyed from place to place. Such doctors were called Lingyi (bell doctors), because they would announce their presence by ringing a bell. Li
  Shizhen’s father, Li Yenwen attained the rank of a subordinate medical officer of the Imperial Medical Academy. He was widely respected by his peers and wrote several famous medical works such asTale of the Ginseng,Tale of the Aiye,andSi Zhun Faming.

  Li Shizhen went to the mountains with his father to pick herbs since childhood and acquired a lot of knowledge on animals, plants and medicine. In 1531, when he was only 14 years old, he passed the imperial examination at the county level (entitled Xiucai), but failed to passed the provincial
  examinations (entitled Juren) for three times. Then he turned his attention to medicine.

  Later, he started to work in a hospital in the capital city and had the opportunity to read a lot of books on medicine. During the period, he found that there was a mess in the naming and categorization of the herbs. So he resigned in 1561 and devoted all his time to writing a book in this regard.

  He collected and consulted about 800 medical books and traveled extensively, and consulting experts in each area of interest and finding individuals who worked daily with field plants, water animals, snakes, birds, minerals. After 27 years’ of efforts, the first draft ofBen Cao Gang Mu(Compendium
  of Materia Medica) was completed in 1578 when he was 61 years old, and it was later revised three times.

  The book summed up the previous medical knowledge and experience, and corrected the previous errors, lifting the Chinese medicine science to a new level. The book also contained much information on animals, plants and minerals, including 1,167 plants and 478 animals.

  In the book, Li Shizhen also developed the categorization method of animals and plants, dividing them into 11 categories.

  Three years after Li Shizhen died in 1593,Ben Cao Gang Muwas first published in Nanjing. Later, it was re-published for tens of times. In the 17th century, the book was introduced to Japan. In the 18th century, it went to Europe and was translated into several other languages, including Korean,
  Japanese, German, French, Russian and Latin.

  Ben Cao Gang Mu, one of the most frequently mentioned books in the Chinese herbal tradition, contains 52 chapters. Li Shizhen wrote more than ten books, but only three survived, includingBin Hu Mai(a book on pulse diagnosis),Study on the Eight Extra ChannelsandBen Cao Gang Mu.

  The Pulse Studies of Bin Huhas been regarded as the guidance for generations of medical workers. Even today it is a must for students of pulse study.The Study of the Eight Extra Channelsconfirmed the basic methodology of diagnosis on the basis of analysis of the eight extra channels. It laid the
  foundation for Chinese theories on channels and clinical medicine.

  The three books established his incomparable position in the history of Chinese medicine. Today, Li Shizhen’s image is to be found at every traditional medical college in China and in any illustrated books about the history of Chinese medicine.

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• Chinese Online Class – Va Ethnic Minority

  Date: 2009.01.08 | Category: Chinese Mandarin, Chinese Online Class, Chinese School, Chinese Tutor, Chinese language, Learn Chinese Class, Study Chinese, learn Chinese, learn Chinese online, learn Mandarin online, learn mandarin | Response: 0

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  Library>China ABC>People>Ethnic Groups

  Va Ethnic Minority

  The Va people number around 351,947 (as of 1999) and live mainly in compact communities in the Ximeng, Cangyuan, Menglian counties and surrounding areas in southwestern Yunnan Province.

  The Va people have a unique spoken language, which belongs to the Austroasiatic Phylum. They previously had no written language, but an alphabetic script was created for the Va people in 1957. In ancient times, Va recorded their life through object or wooden-carving or counting or message
  transferring instead of any written word. Such as the sugarcane, banana and salt mean friendship, chili means angry and cock feather means urgent.

  The Va people call themselves “Va”, “A Va”, “Ba Rao Ke”, etc. According to historical records, the Va people are the descendants of the Baipu people who lived before the Qin period (221-26 BC). During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) they were called “Ha Wa”, “Ka Wa”, etc and with the founding of the
  People’s Republic of China (PRC), they were formally named the Va ethnic minority.

  The Va people are mainly engaged in agriculture. They enjoy drinking bitter tea and chewing on betel nuts and make their own wine.

  In the past, the Va people worshipped nature, believing that all mountains, rivers and other natural phenomena had their deities. Now, some Va people have become followers of Christianity and Buddhism.

  The New Water Festival, a folk festival, is celebrated during the new year of the lunar calendar. For welcoming the festival, villagers come together to repair and clean the well. People would rather sit until the daybreak instead of sleeping on the festival day, in order to fetch the first pail
  of water of this year in the well. Who got the No. one will be visited and be asked for the lucky water.

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• Chinese Culture – Insurance

  Date: 2009.01.07 | Category: Chinese Mandarin, Chinese Online Class, Chinese School, Chinese Tutor, Chinese language, Learn Chinese Class, Study Chinese, learn Chinese, learn Chinese online, learn Mandarin online, learn mandarin | Response: 0

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  Library>China ABC>Economy>Finance and Insurance

  Insurance

  The insurance industry in China recovered in 1980 after 20 years’ standstill. In 1981, the People’s Insurance Company of China was transformed from a government department into a specialized company, with branches or sub-branches in every part of China. 1988 saw the founding of the Ping An
  Insurance (Group) Company of China, and the Pacific Insurance Company, both operating mainly in the coastal areas. In 1996, the People’s Insurance Company of China made a big step forward in transforming its administration system and operational mode, in setting up a modern enterprise system, and
  in integrating with the international market. The promulgation of the Insurance Law in 1995 and the founding of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission in 1998 have provided the legal basis and specific rules for the operation of the insurance market. In 1980, China only had one insurance
  company; in 2005 there were 93, with premium revenues totaling 493.2 billion yuan, and compensation and expenditure totaling 113.7 billion yuan.

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  Learn Chinese, Chinese Mandarin, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet