Climb mountain of language to see more
By Wang Shuda (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-08-25 06:34

Foreigners learning Chinese want to start speaking immediately. They want to use their newly-found language in daily life as soon as they can. I was the same when I picked up English many years ago.

Speaking is essential for practising and communicating with native speakers. For this reason, nearly all of teaching materials for foreigners contain useful activities, such as greetings, communicating on campus, shopping, banking, going to the post office or travel agency, visiting a doctor, catching a taxi or asking directions.

About the language

But there is more to Chinese than remembering these phrases.

If you are a tourist and only spending a few days or weeks in this country, it's OK to only learn these basic fundamentals. However, if you want a much richer understanding you had better modify the method of your learning. You need to focus on four special skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing all at the same time.

There are also some other issues worthy of consideration.

Do you know anything about "dui lian," the double sentences or antithetical couplet?

Nearly every Chinese household has a pair of "dui lian" written on red paper and glued on each door during the Chinese lunar Spring Festival. Anyone who learns Chinese should not neglect this tradition. But this is not included in basic speaking lessons.

Do you know "cheng yu," set phrases or famous sayings? How many set phrases do you know and how many can you use?

Do you know "dian gu," literary quotations or allusions? How many literary quotations have you learnt and how many can you use to describe something when you need?

Do you know Chinese classical poems, such as "tang shi," the Tang (AD 618-907) Poems? How many can you recite? Do you know "song ci," the special Chinese poetic genre popular in the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279)?

Do you know about Confucius and his philosophy?

What is the difference between calligraphy and simple handwriting? Can write some?

Do you know the "san shi liu ji," (the 36 strategies) were developed by a general 2,000 years ago and today is widely studied by many successful armymen or businessmen?

Do you know anything about yin and yang?

Do you know "wu xing," the five important elements: metal, water, wood, fire and earth, the relationships of conquer and reproducing to each other among them?

Do you know the three main religions in China: Buddhism, Taoism and Christian?

The above questions are closely connected with the Chinese language. You cannot learn Chinese without understanding basic background knowledge.

The more you know, the better understanding you will achieve since the Chinese language has been developed through long period of history.

In-depth understanding

Many set phrases and literary quotations were derived from old events, legends or stories. Each idiom only consists of about four characters but describes an event with deep meaning.

These idioms save space in the written form, but they are able to express a far more vivid picture of a situation. Chinese people have accepted them through long time practising in the history.

These phrases are often used to evaluate one's level of language: The more we know, the higher level we understand.

Before the Qing Dynasty (AD 1644-1911) collapsed, Chinese were considered uneducated if they could not read and write. Of course uneducated people could speak the language. Even children can communicate with others, but that does not mean they fully understand the richness of the language.

Chinese language is not simply a tool for people to communicate to each other. It contains many things far more than orally speaking. It is related to culture and history.

(China Daily 08/25/2006 page14)