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2011 Newsletters: December, 2011 issue |
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Chinese Language Programme January Newsletter
Photo of the month: To celebrate the new year, children lie on snow to form the number "2012" in front of a huge snow sculpture in Harbin, China. Read more ... Click here to download a copy of the Chinese-adapted UN calendar for 2012. Programme News ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- T he Winter Term Begins on the 3rd January
The dates of the winter terms are the 3rd January to 30th March. For class schedule and class lists, please visit http://www.un.org/depts/OHRM/sds/lcp/UNLCP/english/mast-sched.html.
please be aware of the no-show and the incomplete (excessive absences)
fees as indicated at
Showcasing Our Students' Works: Chinese Calligraphy and Paintings Exhibition
As part of the Chinese New Year celebrations at the UN, an exhibition of Chinese calligraphy and painting will be held in the corridor of the basement of the GA building (next to the gift shops) the week of the 9th January. This exhibition is co-organized by the Chinese Mission, the Chinese Book Club and our programme. The calligraphy works by the students in our calligraphy class will be proudly on display at the exhibition with the calligraphy and paintings by a few famous artists from China.
The opening ceremony and a wine reception of the exhibition will be held at 7 pm on Tuesday, the 10th January in front of the gift shops of the GA building. It will be attended by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Chinese Ambassador Li Baodong and some other dignitaries. The artists from China will demonstrate calligraphy writing on spot. To click here to see photos of the SG practicing calligraphy with our calligraphy teacher, Prof. Zhou.
The Ministry of Education of China has sent us a shipment of Chinese learning materials, which will be distributed to the students of our programme that day.
Useful Resources
1. More on Chinese Etymology The following is from George Paltakis of the Level 4 class:
Many thanks for the latest newsletter, lots of good information there!
I have been using the http://www.chineseetymology.
2. Learning Chinese Vocabulary the Fun Way
This site http://www.languageguide.org/mandarin/vocabulary/ has categories of vocabulary such as numbers, body parts, animals, fruits and household items. Place your cursor on an image and you can hear its pronunciation, while seeing its character and pinyin.
3. Chinese New Year Guide
If the Western New Year is here, can the Chinese New Year be far behind? The Chinese New Year this year falls on 23rd January. It will be the Year of the Dragon, which is considered the most auspicious of all the 12 zodiac animals. Learn the traditions and customs of Chinese New Year and how to prepare for and celebrate Chinese New Year here and many other sites on the internet. New Publications 1. Developmental Fairy Tales: Evolutionary Thinking in Modern Chinese Culture
Published by Harvard University Press, 2011.
Click
here to hear a podcast interview with the author about his new book.
Published by Oxford University Press, 2011
3. A Girl Named Faithful Plum: The True Story of a Dancer from China and How She Achieved Her Dream
Published by Knopf, 2011
Click
here to read a New York Times review of the book.
Community
Events
1 . Dance Drama from
The
China Arts & Entertainment Group (CAEG), a creative enterprise under the
administration of the Ministry of Culture for the People’s Republic of
China is pleased to announce the US Premiere of a new dance drama
production of The
Peony Pavilion by
the China Jinling Dance
Company of Nanjing taking
the stage at the David H. Koch Theater at
Lincoln Center January
5 - 8, 2012.
There
will be 4 shows from 5 January to 8 January:
THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2012 @ 8PM See details at http://www.davidhkochtheater.org/moreinfoCAEG.html. The organizers of the event are offering UN staff members a 30% discount if you use the code TPPUN. Please click here for a color flier. Copies of the flier can be picked up outside of DC2-207. 2 . Celebrate the Year of the Dragon with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
The Dragon symbolizes potent and auspicious power of the Chinese people. Celebrate the Year of the Dragon with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company to mark this significant year in the Zodiac cycle. To complete the celebration, participate in one of the pre-performance workshops and join the Company for the Feast of the Dragon King Gala.
3. Free Chinatown Food Tour
The Free Chinatown Food Tour (tip & food costs not included) will take you through Chinatown to sample tasty fried dumplings, tapioca bubble tea, taro-filled sticky buns, candied crabs and much more. The tour has been designed to provide visitors with excellent insight into the neighborhood's culinary possibilities. Take a pan-Asian culinary and cultural journey without leaving Manhattan. Phone: 646-450-6831. Email: info@nycbyfoot.com.
4. Chinese New Year Parade in Chinatown
Check out the Lunar New Year celebrations in Chinatown for stunning visuals, tantalizing treats and impressive performances. This street party features all sorts of vendors, food and festivities for all ages. Walk the main streets of Lower Manhattan—from Little Italy through Chinatown—to get a glimpse of the official Lunar New Year Parade, which will be held on 23rd and 29th January. For more information, visit http://explorechinatown.com.
Articles of Interest ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Mandarin necessary for future exchanges
By Zhao Yanrong China Daily,
WASHINGTON - Citing the strategic importance of the relationship between the United States and China, the US government has a strong desire to learn Mandarin, according to a senior adviser at the US State Department. "Some of the study abroad programs funded by the US government are focusing on languages, and Mandarin is definitely one of them," Carola McGiffert, director of the 100,000 Strong Initiative, said on Thursday.
It is estimated that 600 times more Chinese study the English language than Americans study Mandarin. "This imbalance in knowledge can undermine strategic trust between the two countries," a news release from US State Department said.
The 100,000 Strong Initiative seeks to prepare the next generation of American experts on China, who will be charged with managing the growing political, economic and cultural ties between the US and China. Learning Mandarin is an important part of this study abroad program.
2. Two Chinese schoolgirls publish book on how to combat pushy parents
By
Leo Lewis
3. Carter recalls his lifelong fascination with China
By
Mike Peters China Daily, 15 December, 2011
BEIJING - When a 7-year-old farmboy in Plains, Georgia, opened a package from his seafaring uncle nearly eight decades ago, he found a delicate model of a wooden Chinese junk - and at that moment a lifelong fascination with China was born.
"My uncle was in the US Navy here," former US president Jimmy Carter told China Daily on Wednesday, "and he would send me souvenirs from seaports where his ship visited. I got that package from Hong Kong, and others from Shanghai and from Qingdao. I still have that ship, it's in the bedroom of my boyhood home.
"Then later when I was in the submarine force in 1949, I came here as a young naval officer to visit the same seaports, and I was intrigued with the people of China," he said, noting that when he became president he began the process of normalizing relations with China that began in the Nixon administration. "So it's been a long process in my life, involving China and my love for the Chinese people."
Click here to read the full story..
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