Chinese Pin Yin Table

Pin Yin is always the first thing our students learn. It is the key to good pronunciation of Mandarin. Here is a very good website to practice your Pin Yin pronunciation.

Pinyin, or more formally Hanyu Pinyin, is the most commonly used Romanization system for Standard Mandarin. Hanyu means the Chinese language, and pinyin means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or "spelled sound".Developed by a government committee in the People's Republic of China (PRC), the system was initially approved by the Chinese government on February 11, 1958.The International Organization for Standardization adopted pinyin as the international standard in 1982,[3] and since then it has been adopted by many other organizations. Since January 1, 2009, it is also the official romanization system in Taiwan (Republic of China, ROC).It is used to teach Chinese schoolchildren and foreign learners the standard pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese, to spell Chinese names in foreign publications and to enter Chinese characters (hanzi) on computers and cellphones.
(Wikipedia)

China Fest @ Asia Civilization Museum 30th, 31st May

Asia Civilization Museum is having a China Fest this weekend. Check it out with friends and family to learn more about the history and tradition of China. More details at ACM's website.

Special Programme
China Fest!
30 May 2009 - 31 May 2009
Saturday-Sunday | 12.00pm-5.00pm | @ Asian Civilisations Museum, 1 Empress Place

Travel through 4000 years of Chinese history, art and culture! Don't miss out on dazzling Chinese opera performances, face-changing performances and traditional dances. Watch as a Chinese paper-cutting master skilfully creates birds out of red paper and get your name written in calligraphy.

Our children's play zone will also feature clay-making and paper-craft where they can make exciting souvenirs of their museum visit. Watch shows on the glory of ancient China from HISTORY (StarHub TV Channel 9) and win prizes.

Get your free ice-cream (while stocks last)! All this against the back drop of our China gallery and our special exhibition, The Kangxi Emperor: Treasures from the Forbidden City.

Chinese Calligraphy Courses for expatriates & children

Chinese calligraphy – a graceful art form that trains patience, discipline and instills a peace of mind. Get in touch with the history and fundamentals of Chinese calligraphy and its related crafts. Delve into this ancient art form, enter a fascinating world of history and culture and discover that it is more than just pretty fonts.

Experience Chinese calligraphy in an interactive learning environment with us. Lessons are open to all expatriates interested in learning more about Chinese culture and children between 7-16 years of age. Parents and children can learn together as a family too.

Location: DJH Chinese Courses
20 Maxwell Road #06-04 Maxwell House
Singapore 608586 (near tanjong Pagar MRT station)

Time: Every Saturday 10am~11am

Course Fee: $200 (10 weeks)

Registration
For enquiries: +65-90702137
enquiries@djhchinese.com
www.djhchineses.com

粽子 (zong4 zi) Dumpling

Chinese dumpling 粽子 (zong4 zi) is a traditional delicacy made and eaten during 端午节 （duan1 wu3 jie2). It falls on the 5th of the 5th month in the lunar calendar. They are mostly made from glutinous rice. They come is different sizes and shapes from different region in China.


A smaller version of zong4 zi from a minority race in China.


From this photo you can see besides glutinous rice, there are also pork,mushroom, a duck egg yolk and peanets, which as the common ingredients in making zong4 zi.


Here, red bean is added which is one of my favourite.


Making of red bean zong4 zi

1. Wash clean the glutinous rice, soak it in water until it softens.
2. Wash the red beans, soak for 1.5 hr and mix well with the glutinous rice.
3. Wash 300g of bamboo leaves, boil in hot water for about 30 min, transfer and soak them in cold water.
4. Put 3 or 4 pieces of the bamboo leaves together, form the shape of a cone, put in the mixed red beans and glutinous rice, wrap it up in the shape of zong4 zi, secure with string.
5. Put the zong4 zi into boiling water for 2 hrs, then use a small flame to heat for another 3 hrs.
6. Ready to serve.


These are other ingredients to spice up your zong4 zi. Duck egg yolk, mushroom, pork.


Zong4 zi takes different shape and sizes. These are zong4 zi made from fresh bamboo leaves.


These are made from dried bamboo leaves.


Tiny zong4 zi.


These ones are common found in Singapore. Usually, the glutinous rice is first cooked then fried with black soy source before they are wrapped and boiled.


These are made by my mother. The red string indicates it is a red bean zong4 zi, while the others are green bean zong4 zi.


Dried bamboo leaves you can buy from the super market in Singapore.


The strings uses are actually a kind of grass being dried. It is better than using nylon strings due to health issue.


This is how my mum's red bean zong4 zi looks like.


Yum....

Speak Mandarin Campaign 2009

It is amazing to see these foreign kids speaking such good Mandarin, reciting Chinese poems and stories. I believe these children must have been living in China or at least in a Chinese speaking environment as they have a mainland Chinese accent in the Mandarin they speak. Most people in Singapore will not have this accent.



I am not sure how effective this Speak Chinese Campaign advertisement will be on Singaporeans with such non-local Chinese accent. However, it will definitely encourage the non-Chinese communities in Singapore to take up Mandarin or allow their children to learn Mandarin from young. With a good environment and exposure to the language from young, children will be encouraged to pick up the new language, master it and it will serve them for life.