圣诞树 Shèngdàn shù
calkins
December 22, 2008, 09:32 AM posted in General Discussion
Shèngdàn shù
T : 聖誕樹
S : 圣诞树
Example Sentences
Lessons Related to 圣诞树 Shèngdàn shù:
Newbie - A Present from Santa Claus
Elementary - Christmas Presents
Intermediate - Christmas
Advanced - 中国圣诞节
Dear Amber - Getting Stuff Made & Meeting People
changye
December 22, 2008, 12:50 PMHi calkins,
“圣” is one of most drastically simplified Chinese characters. Actually, “圣” and its traditional form “聖” were two different characters in the past, and “圣” was pronounced “ku1” and originally meant “掘, dig”. Thanks to the PRC government, the “earthy” character has successfully made its rise to the current position!
The traditional character “聖” consists of three parts, namely 耳 (ear), 口 (mouth), and 王 (king). In fact, the lower part of “聖” was originally “壬” (ting3, a standing man) in ancient times, but not 王 (king). It’s easy to assume that people often mistook 王 for 壬, and emperors also preferred 王 (king) to 壬 (man), perhaps!.
The original meaning of “聖” was “clever, smart”, and not the same as it is now. It didn’t mean “sacred, holy” in ancient times. The 耳 (ear) and 口 (mouth) in “聖” connote abilities to readily understand other people’s words and speak fluently. And therefore, in ancient China, a super clever/intelligent guy was called “聖人”.
Chinese Characters for Christmas created by John
http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2007/12/22/chinese-characters-for-christmas
kimiik
December 22, 2008, 09:59 AM倒转树 (术)