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Lesson Introduction
No trip to China would be complete without a look at the (sleeps for 23.7 hours a day) panda and the (will take your mobile phone) golden-haired monkey. In this podcast, we take a trip to the erm, “exotic zoo” (Google that if you’re bored), where you will learn about some interesting animals in Mandarin Chinese.
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ConnieSeptember 6, 2006
Supplementary vocab for this lesson: 针对性(zhēnduìxìng)focus, focalization 灭绝(mièjué)become extinct 捕捉(bǔzhuō)catch, seize 傻乎乎(shǎhūhu) simpleminded, naive 温顺(wēnshùn) docile, meek, gentle 寄托(jìtuō) place (one's hope etc.) on 羡慕(xiànmù)envy, admire 仙子(xiānzǐ) female immortal, beautiful woman
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Mike in JubeiSeptember 6, 2006
Hi Connie Here are my "最喜歡s" from todays lesson Lxical bits 曾說 céng shuō once said 就算 jiùsuàn even if 挺聰明 tǐng cōngming quite smart 大多數人 dàduōshù rén majority of people 又愛又怕 yòu ài yòu pà love and fear (note to self why haven't I heard this one in a CPop Song?) 想起 xiǎngqǐ remember, recall 成雙成對 chéngshuāngchéngduì form a pair btw: I nest in Taiwan and my wife is in the States. We both carry small silver 鴛鴦 where ever we go. Mike in Jubei
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Bei Ren BoSeptember 6, 2006
What is the character "FU" for "crack an egg (FUDAN)? 谢谢！ 贝人伯
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ConnieSeptember 6, 2006
Bei Ren Bo 贝人伯, The character of "fū" is "孵". And "fū dàn" is "孵蛋".
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art Kho 许冠俊September 6, 2006
今天是我第一次听到 “我有位。。。“ 为什么不用 “我有一位。。。“？ 潘吉，哈哈， 捕杀一个好的男人，很好笑。可是我想中国女孩应该收藏这些很少的好男人。:) 光听这个词是什么意思？ Connie 说仙子是美丽的女仙。 好！我有一个问题，如果世界上有稀奇的仙子，有男人会说"只羡鸳鸯不羡仙"吗？
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Mike in JubeiSeptember 6, 2006
Connie and Bei Ren Bo Speaking about "dan's" are 复旦大学学生 ever "punned" about their brains ? I guess in China someone may have 豆腐 是 头脑 but in America we ask if someone has scrambled eggs for brains. I can make a horrible mixed metaphor if I use 混蛋 for scrambled eggs. Perhaps a strong word for Jenny and Airc's show. Mike in Jubei
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OliviaSeptember 7, 2006
许冠俊， Sometimes in a sentence ,"一" with measure word in Cinese we can omit '一". As: 有一个～(Yǒu yī gè） 有个（ yǒu gè） 有一点（yǒu yīdiǎn ） 有点（yǒudiǎn） 这一天（zhè yī tiān） 这天（zhètiān） 光 means only. This meaning is usually used in spoken Chinese. So 光听 means only by listening. I am not sure Itranslate correctly.
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ConnieSeptember 7, 2006
许冠俊， 仙子，仙女，这些都是说天上的女神仙（shénxiān）immortal。 人们都认为，仙子都是永远年轻、漂亮的。所以你夸一个女子长得漂亮，也可以说“你长得真像仙子”。 “只羡鸳鸯不羡仙”的意思是：只羡慕(xiànmù)envy成双成对的幸福人,不羡慕神仙（因为神仙不能结婚）。 男人应该爱情和仙子都想要吧。^_^
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ConnieSeptember 7, 2006
Mike in Jubei ， Great work! Your Lxical bits! 加油！ “豆腐脑子”means the people is stupid, so this saying may make people angry. But in China there is a kind of food called"豆腐脑", many people like it. 复旦大学，this is a very famous university, of course there isn't any relation with复旦and孵蛋except similar in pinyin.
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BazzaSeptember 7, 2006
I have a fly on my monitor screen at the moment and it just wonders back and forth along the blue bar at the top of the screen. I think it likes the colour blue, if I point my mouse at it, it gets confused and dances around. It's quite fascinating hehe.
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Learn Chinese - 12 Exotic Animals | Cool Shanghai GuideSeptember 7, 2006
[...] No trip to China would be complete without a look at the (sleeps for 23.7 hours a day) panda and the (will take your mobile phone) golden-haired monkey. In this upper intermediate lesson, we take a trip to the erm, exotic zoo (Google that if you re bored). LINK TO DOWNLOAD THIS EPISODE (right-click, save as) : chinesepod341_H12_20060907.mp3(12.4mb) […] Read Me … [...]
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ChinesePodSeptember 7, 2006
I concur with Bazza aboout the blue thing. In fact, I often feel a strange attraction to the blue thing. If I point my mouse at it it makes me dance around as well. Ken
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LukeLightningSeptember 8, 2006
Pandas in the US are always given Chinese names...Ling Ling, Taishan, etc. So let's say there's an American animal in a Chinese zoo (let's say it's a Mountain Lion). Does the zoo name it "Bob"?
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Andy 美國土子September 8, 2006
Reading the intro for the lesson, I think it should be changed to "no trip to china is complete without seeing a smoking monkey". China has loaned out so many panda's you can see them anywhere in the world... but monkeys that smoke cigarettes, that's a China exclusive!
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markSeptember 9, 2006
So, would 只羡鸳鸯不羡仙 be better translated as "just envy mandarin ducks, don't envy imortals" or less literally as "just aspire to a happy marriage, don't bother about pretty girls/boys."? Mark
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mikeSeptember 10, 2006
was that evans in the dialogue!!! :D mm maybe not... where is she :)
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ApolloSeptember 26, 2006
"只羡鸳鸯不羡仙" means: " hope to be with lover, not to be an immortal people.'
newbie888 says
July 13, 2008
Ohne Gewähr auf Richtigkeit:
Exotic Animals - D0244
sammeln 收藏 shou1 cang2
fangen und töten 捕杀 bu3 sha1
blöd 憨厚 han1 hou4
gutmütig 温顺 wen1 shun4
die Hoffnung auf etwas setzen 寄托 ji1 tuo1
beneiden 羡慕 xian4 mu4
weibliche Unsterbliche, schöne Frau 仙子 xian1 zi3
clever 机灵 ji1 ling
lazypupil says
August 3, 2008
I have quite a bit to say about this lesson, so please forgive the length of the comment below. This comes mainly from the fact that this lesson loosely covers what I engage myself in doing for a living, which is species conservation.
I would actually like to begin with a matter pertaining to vocabulary. I do believe that the term “捕殺” used in this lesson has been mistranslated as “to poach”. I would like to suggest that “捕殺” connotes more the meaning of “to hunt” (capture+kill), similar to “捕獵”, “獵殺” and of course “打獵”, and that “to poach” is better represented by “偷獵” or “偷殺” in Chinese. To emphasize my point, if you replace the word “poach” with “hunt” in all three of the English translations for the example sentences under “捕獵” in the Expansion section for this lesson, those sentences make a lot more sense.
Jenny, to clarify your uncertainty about 鴛鴦 they are considered ducks, but calling them birds is also fine (just less precise). They are migratory, and can in fact fly considerable distances. It is the male (drake) of the species which has the impressive plumage. A spectacular bird for sure! They are native to South East Asia, and are not currently considered endangered. Apparently, their saving grace is the fact that their meat is not very tasty, and so are not widely hunted. Perhaps their veneration as a symbol of love helps somewhat as well!
I wanted also to share with you the fact that Tibetan Antelope numbers do appear to be rising steadily. This is very positive. For those who are perhaps unaware, these animals were poached to near extinction mainly during the 90’s for their fur. More precisely, they were killed (and to some extent are still being killed) for their underwool which is woven into what is perhaps the finest of materials on the planet, known by its Persian name as “Shahtoosh”. Concerted efforts by the Chinese government to stop poaching and create reserves in the Tibetan highlands have apparently paid off, and this species does appear to be making a comeback. I would highly recommend a fantastic movie on the topic filmed by National Geographic which portrays the efforts of locals in Kekexili (可可西里) to stop poaching of this amazing animal before such efforts were put into place. The link is: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/mountainpatrol/, or just search Kekexili: Mountain Patrol.
There are so many other species, animal and plant alike, in China which are “feeling the crunch” of the unprecedented growth there. Those that are reaching dire numbers due to habitat loss could fill this page, but it is the ones that are targeted for human consumption which really bother me. Many of these species are used for medicinal purposes, and have no demonstrated curative effect at all. In terms of animal species these include tiger and leopard bone (虎/豹骨), saiga antelope horn (羚羊角), deer musk (麝香), bear bile (熊膽), pangolin scales (穿山甲) and many others. I have to say, the one that gets me the most is bear bile, due to the fact that the main source of this bile is (sanctioned) bear farms. For those not familiar with the practice of bear farming, the WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals) sponsors a good site on the topic at: http://www.endbearfarming.org/en/. Anyone interested in information on wildlife trade in general should definitely check out TRAFFIC (a wildlife trade monitoring network) at http://www.traffic.org/home/. Don’t get me wrong, I have a deep respect for the practice of Chinese medicine and its associated belief system. I do also think, however, that the harvesting of certain ingredients used in Chinese medicine is clearly not sustainable, and in some cases downright cruel. Ok, I’ve had my rant. Sorry everyone, I guess this lesson hit a bit of a nerve with me. Great work, C-Pod staff. Keep it up!
doezeedoats says
December 9, 2008
Wonder if there has been a detectable "Viagra effect" on things like tiger bone and rhino horn...Seems like so many of the real tragic cases are all about the 陽.