User Comments - xiaophil
xiaophil
Posted on: The Various Guises of "Until"
February 1, 2011 at 3:17 PMI haven't listened to this one yet, but I have listened to the last few previous to this one, and I will say that I think recently they have been excellent, but...
They do feel a bit more like "okay, it's another qingwen, let's do it according to the formula and move on". That said, I don't really care much. I still find them useful, and I like all the hosts.
On the other hand, Liliana and Jen don't seem like they are extremely advanced Chinese speakers (if I'm wrong, please don't hate me), so I have thought that they could more actively play the roll of the Chinese learner, as in a stand-in for the typical poddie. You know like asking questions more, and pretending to have learn something new, as opposed to being another teacher.
Posted on: What's in a name?
January 31, 2011 at 4:35 AMI made a 中文吧 post on this sometime back, but now I cannot find it. Anyway:
我有两个中文名字。
白飞侠 (literally means White Flying Hero)
飞利浦 (The Chinese name for Philips, as in the company)
To tell the truth, I like my real name. I usually only use my Chinese name if the other person really cannot pronounce my real one.
Posted on: Registering for a Dating Website
January 28, 2011 at 9:14 AMYes, but let's be realistic, many foreigners that would go through the trouble of using a Chinese dating website that is designed for Chinese single people looking for other Chinese single people, are looking for something other than dinner and a movie. Not all, no, and maybe not most, but many.
Posted on: Registering for a Dating Website
January 28, 2011 at 7:49 AMI guess I have heard of it, but I didn't really pay attention as it's something I'm not really interested in. Why?
Posted on: Registering for a Dating Website
January 28, 2011 at 4:00 AMThe mail-order bride lesson?
(Just kidding... sort of.)
Posted on: Making Dumplings
January 27, 2011 at 11:25 AMFun fact: at restaurants, the measure word for a batch of about 6 jiaozi is 两. Don't think it means two jiaozi ;-)
Posted on: Marco Polo in China
January 25, 2011 at 1:20 PMSpeaking of Genghis Khan, has anyone heard of his environmental achievements? Yes, a bizarre article indeed.
Posted on: Marco Polo in China
January 25, 2011 at 1:58 AMPersonally, I don't have a problem with using the word Han to identify a group of people. There does seem to be some general traditions that are historically a part of this large group of people. There are also groups of people, largely in Yunan, Tibet and Xinjiang, that while undoubtedly influenced by a large degree by the Hans, have nurtured their own traditions that have not been adopted by the Han. I'm sure that the borders between these cultures are blurred, but it seems to me not recognizing them is even more problematic.
What I think might be true is that some groups might have lost their distinctiveness. The Manchus come to mind. When the Qing dynasty started, there was a policy of sinicization for the Manchus. I have wondered if they retain any unique customs. I have met a couple Manchus, and I see no difference between them and the Hans. But admittedly I haven't really looked into it.
Something that does bother me are the national ID's that all Chinese have identifies ethnic group. It seems to me that someone could just put on nice clothes and enter society looking for a job and nobody would know they are, from the outside, 'different', at least in many cases. But as soon as that person shows his or her ID, the employer knows that the person is different. I'm sure many employers don't care, but I bet many in China would also think, "This person is not one of us."
Posted on: Marco Polo in China
January 23, 2011 at 2:39 PMI'm not sure I get what you mean. Are you saying that the cultures around the Han were not smaller in number than the Han? Or are you saying that defining the line that separated/separates the Han and the other peoples is problematic? Or are you saying that xiaoshu minzu is not a valid term because it wasn't used up until relatively recent times?
Posted on: The Various Guises of "Until"
February 3, 2011 at 8:11 AMI just thought I would say that I didn't like how my comment above might imply that Jen and Liliana aren't qualified to teach. What I mean is that if some think the current lineups don't work for the show, perhaps the roles of each person should be more clearly defined and separate. But I think both are great. I can't imagine why people are picking on the two ladies. They are alright in my book.