Learning Chinese My Way

The moon represents my heart 月亮代表我的心

2011-10-14T00:19:00.000-07:00

月亮代表我的心

Yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn

The Moon Represents my Heart

Verse 1

你问我 爱你有多深

nǐ wèn wǒ ài nǐ yǒu duō shēn

You ask me love you have how deep

我爱你 有几分

wǒ ài nǐ yǒu jǐ fēn

I love you have some degree

我的情 也真

wǒ de qíng yě zhēn

My feelings also real

我的爱 也真

wǒ de ài yě zhēn

My love also real

月亮 代表我的心

yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn

The moon represents my heart

Verse 2

你问我 爱你有多深

nǐ wèn wǒ ài nǐ yǒu duō shēn

You ask me love you have how deep

我爱你 有几分

wǒ ài nǐ yǒu jǐ fēn

I love you have some degree

我的情 不移

wǒ de qíng bù yí

My feelings do not move

我的爱 不变

wǒ de ài bù biàn

My love does not change

月亮 代表我的心

Yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn

The moon represents my heart

Verse 3

轻轻 的一个吻

qīngqīng de yīgè wěn

Lightly a kiss

已经 打动我的心

yǐjīng dǎdòng wǒ de xīn

already moved my heart

深深 的一段情

shēnshēn de yīduàn qíng

Deeply a period of love

教我 思念到如今

jiàowǒ sīniàn dào rújīn

Ask me longing till now

Verse 4

你问我爱你有多深

nǐ wèn wǒ ài nǐ yǒu duō shēn

我爱你有几分

wǒ ài nǐ yǒu jǐ fēn

你去 想一想

nǐ qù xiǎng yī xiǎng

you go think about it

你去 看一看

nǐ qù kàn yī kàn

You go take a look

月亮 代表我的心

yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn

The moon represents my heart

Repeat 3

Repeat 4

你去想一想

nǐ qù xiǎng yī xiǎng

你去看一看

nǐ qù kàn yī kàn

月亮代表我的心

yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn

The meaning of the song to me.

Verse 1

You ask me how deep my love is for you

I love you a great deal

My feelings are real

My love is true

The moon represents my heart

Verse 2

You ask me how deep my love is for you

I love you a great deal

My feelings will not move

My love will not change

The moon represents my heart

Verse 3

So soft was your kiss

And my heart was moved

So deep was our love

That I miss you till now

Verse 4

You ask me how deep my love is for you

I love you a great deal

If you go think about it

and take a look you will understand that the moon represents my heart

Kevin Chen's songs

2011-08-16T08:07:00.000-07:00

我们 (当我们同在一起)

wǒ men (dāng wǒmen tòng zài yīqǐ)
Together

一条街有多长年少就多长
yī tiáo jiē yǒu duō zhǎng nián shǎo jiù duō zhǎng
A street in our youth is filled with memories

我时常都回到
wǒ shí cháng dōu huí dào

I often return

昨天去徜徉

zuó tiān qù cháng yáng

to the past to linger

那外面有多大用笑声去丈量

nà wài mian yǒu duō dà yòng xiào shēng qù zhàng liáng

How big the outside world is, I measure it with my laughter

你背影有多长思念就多长

nǐ bèi yǐng yǒu duō zhǎng sī niàn jiù duō zhǎng

The further you are from me, the greater is my longing

我们总是这样借彼此肩膀

wǒmen zǒng shì zhè yàng jiè bǐ cǐ jiān bǎng

We are always leaning on each other's shoulder

我们总是错过幸福那一站

Wǒ men zǒng shì cuò guò xìng fú nà yī zhàn

We are always missing happiness along the way

拥有了全世界可是你却看不见

Yōng yǒu le quán shì jiè kě shì nǐ què kàn bujiàn

We have the whole world in our hands but still we cannot see

我宁愿重回到那一年
wǒ nìng yuàn chóng huí dào nà yī nián

I would rather go back to that year

牵着去你看明天

qiān zhe qù nǐ kàn míng tiān
Hand-in-hand with you to watch a new day begin

失去了全世界还有你在我身边
shī qù le quán shì jiè hái yǒu nǐ zài wǒ shēn biān

If I lose the whole world(everything), I still have you by my side

能不能重回到那一年
néng bù néng chóng huí dào nà yī nián

Is it possible to return to that particular year

你的梦我的歌蓝的天叫永远

nǐ de mèng wǒ de gē lán de tiān jiào yǒngyuǎn

Your dream, my song, the blue sky and all that we thought was forever

能不能重回到那一年
néng bù néng chóng huí dào nà yī nián

Is it possible to return to that particular year

你的梦我的歌蓝的天叫永远
nǐ de mèng wǒ de gē lán de tiān jiào yǒng yuǎn
Your dream, my song, the blue sky and all that we thought was forever

My precious books

2011-08-10T00:28:00.000-07:00

Most, if not all of these books are available in our local libraries. I own them so that I could have them with me all the time not having to bother with return dates and fines. These books are not cheap but they are affordable to me and I always wait for discounts of 20% at the stores so that the purchases are more worth the money paid.

These books are on Chinese Calligraphy and painting.

These are exhibition catalogues or magazines on Calligraphy and painting,two of them were given to me free of charge.

These are books on the history of China and Chinese Art.

Three of these are books on Cantonese Opera bought at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the one on the top right is a Hong Kong magazine that I bought at Bras Basah.

These are books on Chinese Art except the one on the top left which is a book on nature written by a Singaporean teacher and it is in Chinese.

If I have another life to lead, I would want to be given the luxury to finish reading these books.

Practice, practice

2011-02-22T18:15:00.000-08:00

The practice of the past few months. I should really step up on the number of words for practice each week. I am suddenly aware that there are still too many words to complete writing before I can move on to learn the 'running' style (Xingshu) calligraphy. My teacher has corrected some of the characters that I have not written too well and has also circled the strokes that were correct. Circles and ticks are the best thing a student can wish for at the end of each practice.

My aspirations

2010-12-08T01:15:00.000-08:00

One day, I will be able to write like this. Problem is that day may happen when I am seventy, if I live that long.

Practice, practice!

2010-12-08T01:02:00.001-08:00

Practice in the past month. When the teacher puts a circle on the particular stroke, it means that he thinks that you have got the stroke right. Circles denote progress, not backwardness or stupidity. They are not zeroes or duck's eggs. The more the better here in my struggles to write chinese characters well.

A little progress at a time

2010-09-20T02:16:00.000-07:00

Last Friday's homework was tedious but in the end it yielded rewarding results. The first three characters in the extreme left-hand column is word 'jian(4)' which means 'see' or 'catch sight of'. My teacher was especially happy with the third character and indicated this with a tiny circle next to it.

The character below that of 'jian(4)' is 'wu(3)' which means military. Wushu is martial arts.

The character that occupied the entire second column is qian(2) or 'money'. The teacher said that I wrote it pretty well.

Practice is time-consuming. However, every stroke is a tiny step towards mastery even though mastery may be years away.

Practice

2010-09-12T04:14:00.000-07:00

Today for the first time I spent more than an hour practising my chinese calligraphy. I started out telling myself that it is time that I devote more effort to polishing the basic skills I had learned but not yet mastered. After 4 hours of practice I got to enjoy writing with the brush and must say that calligraphy is a very relaxing form of art and even if it takes years to master I will keep on at it.

A Pre-destined relationship

2010-08-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

My friend sent this essay to me through the internet. I took many hours to 0-=gtvbhjyc2wsauk2 ui - I have to mark at this point no matter how inappropriate it is, that I spilled half of my cup of coffee onto the keyboard of my notebook. I was upset for a while but then life goes on. I turned the notebook upside down, cleaned up the mess on the table and the floor and just moved on with my life.

The notebook was fated to survive the ordeal and it is now my time to upload what I have been labouring for hours over to make sense of this article that was sent to me in Mandarin. I am now able to appreciate the full article only because made the effort to do so using the Chinese peraperakun software downloaded free from Firefox and consulting my electronic dictionary to ensure that the English translation that I made captures the essence of each sentence and paragraph. It was hard work but worth the effort. My next post will be my thoughts and reflections on the contents of this essay, hopefully I can write about them in Mandarin.

~ 父母子女的缘份 ~ Parents and Children - It is Fate

二十年前，我的叁个孩子长大了，一个一个相继离家，本来就聚少离多的我们，整个家空洞的....连唿吸都听得到。
Twenty years ago, my three grown-up sons started to leave home one by one even when we hardly saw much of each other when we were together. An emptiness filled the entire house and even our very breathing could be heard through the silence.

我无意中看到一个外国妇女写的文章，把其中片段摘录护贝后，当我寂寞或孤独时就再看一遍...
By chance, I came across an article written by a foreign lady. I extracted a particular portion of that article and I would read it whenever I feel lonely or want to be alone.

你的孩子并不属于你，
Your child does not belong to you.

他们是生命延续的代表，
They are an extension of life.

他们经你而来但非为你而生，你可以给他们爱，却不能给予思想。因为他们有自己的心，
They may have owed their existence to you but they do not owe you a living. You can give them love but you cannot dictate their thinking because they have minds of their own.

你可以给孩子一个家，但这不是他心灵的住所，因为他们的心早已飞到他明天的家，
You can give your children a home but this home is not the dwelling that they want in their hearts because their hearts have long flown away to a future that is their home.

你可以尽力去爱他们，却不能要求他们爱你
You can love them with all your might but you cannot ask or beg them to love you in return.

龙应台最出了一本 "目送" 文字优美洗炼，内容深刻感人，真诚推荐，感动心灵！算是一本 "感,"
Recently, author Long Ying Tai published a new book titled "Watching a loved one leave". It was beautifully and succinctly written. I sincerely recommend it as one of the most touching and witty piece of work ever written.

目送 (Watching a loved one leave)

有些路啊，只能一个人走,我慢慢地、慢慢地瞭解到，
There are some roads that only one person can travel on. I am slowly but surely coming to realise this.

所谓父子女、母子女一场，只不过意味着，你和他的缘分就是今生今世，不断地在目送他的背影渐行渐远。

The parent-child relationship just means that it is fate that has brought both of you together for this particular lifetime and the relationship entails continual episodes of watching them leave as you gaze intensely at their receding backs.

华安上小学第一天，我和他手牵着手，穿过好几条街，到维多利亚小学。
On Hua An's first day of school I held his hand as we weaved through the street to Victoria Primary school.

九月初，家家户户院子裡的苹果和梨树都缀满了拳头大小的果子，
At the beginning of September, the apple and pear trees of every household were full of fruits the size of a small fist.

枝枒因为负重而沉沉下垂，越出了树篱，勾到过路行人的头。
The branches of the trees were so heavily laden with fruits that they were bent over the hedges, touching the heads of passers-by.

在操场上等候上课的第一声铃响。小小的手，圈在爸爸的、妈妈的手心裡，

怯怯的眼神，打量着周遭。

Many children and their parents were at the playground waiting for the first bell to sound the commencement of class. Hands held by their mother or father, they wore nervous expressions as they surveyed their surroundings.

他是幼稚园的毕业生，但是他们还不知道一个定律：一件事情的毕业，永远是另一件事情的开启。
They were the kindergarten graduates but they were still unaware of a rule: The end of something, such as a graduation, is always the beginning of another.

铃声一响，顿时人影错杂，奔往不同方向，
When the bell rang, there was chaos as people hurried off in different directions.

但是在那么多穿梭纷乱的人群裡，我无比清楚地看着自己孩子的背影就好像在一百个婴儿同时哭声大作时，母亲仍旧能够準确听出自己孩子哭声的位置。
But in the middle of this messy situation, I was able to clearly see the back of my son as if I were amongst a hundred crying infants and yet I was able to pinpoint exactly where my son's crying was coming from.

华安背着一个五颜六色的书包往前走，但是他不断地回头；好像穿越一条无边无际的时空长河，
Hua An, carrying a multi-coloured school bag was walking forward but kept turning his head back as if moving through a boundless river of space and time.

他的视线和我凝望的眼光隔空交会。我看着他瘦小的背影消失在门裡。
Our eyes met and I kept gazing at his thin frame until he disappeared behind the door.

十六岁，他到美国作交换生一年。我送他到机场，告别时，照例拥抱，我的头只能贴到他的胸口，好像抱住了长颈鹿的脚。他很明显地在勉强忍受母亲的深情。
At sixteen years of age, he went to the USA for a year on a Student Exchange programme. I sent him to the airport and as usual, gave him a hug. I only reached up to his chest and I must have looked like I was holding on to the leg of a giraffe. He was obviously uncomfortable at his mother's display of deep affection in public.

他在长长的行列裡，等候护照检验；我就站在外面，用眼睛跟着他的背影一寸一寸往前挪。
As he stood in the long immigration line to have his passport examined, I stood outside and watched his back as he slowly inched his way forward.

终于轮到他，在海关窗口停留片刻，然后拿回护照，闪入一扇门，倏忽不见。
Finally, it was his turn. At the officer's window, he waited for a brief moment, collected his passport and disappeared in a flash behind a door.

我一直在等候，等候他消失前的回头一瞥。但是他没有，一次都没有.
I was waiting, waiting for the moment just before he disappeared for him to turn his head back to look at me. But he did not. He never did.

现在他二十一岁，上的大学，正好是我教课的大学。即使同路，他不搭我的车。
Now he his twenty-one years old and is attending the university that I lecture at. Although we take the same route to school, he hardly takes a lift from me.

即使同车，他戴上耳机.....只一个人听音乐，有时他在对街等候公车，我从高楼的窗口往下看：一个高高瘦瘦的青年，眼睛望向灰色的海；我只能想像，他的内在世界和我的一样波涛深邃，但是，我进不去。

Even if he sits in my car, he puts on his earphones to listen to his music. Sometimes I see him waiting for the bus from my office in the building opposite: A tall and thin youth with eyes that seem to be looking out at a grey ocean before him. I can only imagine how similar his inner world and mine are with the turbulent waves and hidden depths except that his world is out of bounds to me.

一会儿公车来了，挡住了他的身影。车子开走，一条空荡荡的街，只立着一只邮筒。
Shortly, the bus pulls up and blocks my view of him. After the bus leaves, there is an empty street with only a post box on it.

我慢慢、慢慢地瞭解到，所谓父女母子一场，只不过意味着，你和他的缘分就是今生今世不断地在目送他的背影渐行渐远。你站立在小路的这一端，看着他逐渐消失在小路转弯的地方，而且，他用背影默默告诉你：不必追。

I am beginning to slowly understand that the parent-child relationship is about only this lifetime together and that you will continually be watching the back of a loved one leaving. You stand at one extreme end of the road and you watch him disappear round the turning of the road. Not only that, he uses his back view to tell you: Don't follow me.

我慢慢、慢慢地意识到，我的落寞，彷彿和另一个背影有关。
I gradually am conscious that my loneliness and sense of desolation seems to be connected to somebody's back view.

博士学位读完之后，我回台湾教书。到大学报到第一天，父亲用他那辆运送饲料的廉价小货车送我。
When I completed my PhD, I returned to Taiwan. On the first day that I had to report for work at the university, my father took me there in his old and battered van that was used to transport fodder.

到了我才发觉，他没开到大学正门口，而是停在侧门的窄巷边。
When we arrived, I realised that he did not drive up to the main gate of the university. Instead, he stopped at a narrow side road.

卸下行，他爬回车内，準备回去，明明启动了引擎，却又摇下车窗，头伸出来说：
After he had unloaded my luggage, he climbed back into the van. He started his engine, wound down his window, poked his head out and said:

「女儿，爸爸觉得很对不起你，这种车子实不是送大学教授的车。」
My daughter, I am sorry that this kind of car is not suitable transportation for a university professor.

我看着他的小货车小心地倒车，然后噗噗驶出巷口，留下一团黑烟。直到车子转弯看不见了，我还站在那裡，一口皮箱旁。
I watched his little goods van reversed noisily out of the alley, leaving a cloud of black smoke behind. I watched until the van disappeared round a corner and I stood there, luggage by my side.

每个礼拜到医院去看他，是十几年后的时光了。推着他的轮椅散步，他的头低垂到胸口。
Twenty years later, I found myself visiting him at the hospital every Sunday. As I took him out for some fresh air, he sat in his wheelchair with his head hung low, almost touching his chest.

有一次，发现排泄物淋满了他的裤腿，我蹲下来用自己的手帕帮他擦拭，裙子也沾上了粪便，但是我必须就这样赶回台北上班。
Once, he soiled his pants and while I was squatting down to clean him up with my handkerchief I dirtied my skirt with his excrement. However, I had no choice but to hurry back to Taipei to teach a class.

护接过他的轮椅，我拎起皮包，看着轮椅的背影，在自动玻璃门前稍停，然后没入门后。我总是在暮色沉沉中奔向机场。
The nurse took over the wheelchair from me. I gingerly picked up my handbag and watched the back of the wheelchair as it stopped momentarily at the automatic glass door. I am always rushing to airports when darkness sets in.

火葬场的炉门前，棺木是一只巨而沉重的抽屉，缓缓往前滑行。没有想到可以站得那么近，距离炉门也不过五公尺。 The coffin looked like a huge and heavy drawer slithering slowly towards the furnace door. I never thought that I could stand so close, a mere 5 metres away from the furnace door.

雨丝被风吹斜，飘进内。我掠开雨湿了前额的头髮，深深、深深地凝望，希望记得这最后一次的目送。我慢慢地、慢慢地瞭解到，所谓父女母子一场，只不过意味着，你和他的缘分就是今生今世不断地在目送他的背影渐行渐远。
The wind blew the slanting rain in and I parted the damp hair on forehead fixing my gaze intensely one last time on this departing soul. I slowly began to understand what the parent-child relationship is all about. It is merely a predestined relationship in this lifetime where you are continually sending him off as he gradually makes his departure.

站立小路的这一端，看着他逐渐消失在转弯的地方，而且，他用背影默默告诉你：不必追。
Standing at the extreme end of the road, watching him slowly disappearing round the corner, his back telling you silently: Do not follow.

My Reflections on the essay - addressed to my children

The writer is right in saying that a parent-child relationship is the result of fate putting two people together for the duration of one lifetime. I see it this way - I am your mum and your are my child by a stroke of fate. If you had a different mum and I, a different child, it would not have made much of a difference because it is still basically parent-child relationship regardless of the composition of the people involved.

What matters, I think is not who your parent is or who my child is. To me, what matters is the quality of that relationship. The writer's own relationship with her son, when compared with her relationship with her father are literally worlds apart. While she was appreciative of her father's thoughtfulness and looked after him when he was sick and dying, the relationship with her son was less heart-warming. It is easy for a mother to be heartbroken when her son treats her like a stranger. It is equally easy for her as a daughter to look after her old man just as he had looked after her before.

Fate may have brought us together but it cannot assure us that the relationship will be a pleasant one. There will be events that fate has laid down that affects the lives of the parent and the child and these cannot be changed. However, I believe that we do have control of the kind of memories that we can create for each other during our time together. We can choose to be nicer and kinder to each other or we can choose to ignore each others' needs and existence.

Ultimately, whether the parent-child relationship turns out to be good or bad, we just have to let things be and learn how to let go when it is futile to cling on as in the case of the writer and her son. When not wanted, do not follow. In the case of the relationship with the father, the relationship was good but the "do not follow" admonishment should be heeded as well. Instead, cherish the memories of the wonderful relationship instead of wallowing in sorrow over the loss.

We watch the backs of our children and parents as they leave us at some points in our lives and they do the same - watching us disappear from their lives when fate dictates the end of the parent-child relationship. When people we love leave us under whatever circumstances, we inevitably feel the pain of losing. So watching a loved one leave knowing that he or she will not be coming back is always a painful process. "Do not follow" is a reminder to us that life goes on despite all the heartaches, worries and suffering that each and every one of us go through.

This essay had made me think more about the quality of relationships. Many times we make things worse by thinking of the negatives instead of focusing on how we are able to make the relationship a better one or trying to prevent it from deteriorating. Though I believe in fate, I also believe that we can influence our lives and those we love through our choices of words and actions and in that respect, the quality of the relationship. If we care enough, we will put in the effort. If we do not, then fate takes over completely.

A touching story

2010-08-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

My friend sent me the following essay through email. She was moved to tears by the contents. I have yet to figure out what it is all about yet. Therefore, I am posting it here and when I have the time I will use the Firefox Perapera-kun software to work out what it means.

~ 父母子女的緣份 ~

二十年前，我的三個孩子長大了，一個一個相繼離家，本來就聚少離多的我們，整個家空洞的....連呼吸都聽得到。
我無意中看到一個外國婦女寫的文章，把其中片段摘錄護貝後，當我寂寞或孤獨時就再看一遍...

你的孩子並不屬於你，
他們是生命延續的代表，
他們經你而來但非為你而生，你可以給他們愛，卻不能給予思想。
因為他們有自己的心，
你可以給孩子一個家，但這不是他心靈的住所，
因為他們的心早已飛到他明天的家，
你可以盡力去愛他們，
卻不能要求他們愛你¡K¡K..

龍應台最近出了一本新書
"目送"
算是一本 "感人大作"
文字優美洗練，內容深刻感人，
真誠推荐，感動心靈！

目送

有些路啊，只能一個人走，
我慢慢地、慢慢地瞭解到，
所謂父子女、母子女一場，
只不過意味著，
你和他的緣分就是今生今世，
不斷地在目送他的背影漸行漸遠。

華安上小學第一天，我和他手牽著手，穿過好幾條街，到維多利亞小學。
九月初，
家家戶戶院子裡的蘋果和梨樹都綴滿了拳頭大小的果子，枝枒因為負重而沉沉下垂，越出了樹籬，勾到過路行人的頭髮。
很多很多的孩子，
在操場上等候上課的第一聲鈴響。
小小的手，圈在爸爸的、媽媽的手心裡，
怯怯的眼神，打量著周遭。

他們是幼稚園的畢業生，
但是他們還不知道一個定律：
一件事情的畢業，
永遠是另一件事情的開啟。
鈴聲一響，
頓時人影錯雜，奔往不同方向，
但是在那麼多穿梭紛亂的人群裡，
我無比清楚地看著自己孩子的背影
就好像在一百個嬰兒同時哭聲大作時，
母親仍舊能夠準確聽出自己孩子哭聲的位置。

華安背著一個五顏六色的書包往前走，
但是他不斷地回頭；
好像穿越一條無邊無際的時空長河，
他的視線和我凝望的眼光隔空交會。
我看著他瘦小的背影消失在門裡。
十六歲，他到美國作交換生一年。
我送他到機場，
告別時，
照例擁抱，
我的頭只能貼到他的胸口，
好像抱住了長頸鹿的腳。
他很明顯地在勉強忍受母親的深情。

他在長長的行列裡，等候護照檢驗；
我就站在外面，
用眼睛跟著他的背影一寸一寸往前挪。
終於輪到他，
在海關窗口停留片刻，然後
拿回護照，閃入一扇門，倏忽不見。
我一直在等候，
等候他消失前的回頭一瞥。
但是他沒有，一次都沒有。

現在他二十一歲，上的大學，
正好是我教課的大學。
即使同路，他不搭我的車。
即使同車，他戴上耳機.....
只一個人聽音樂，
有時他在對街等候公車，
我從高樓的窗口往下看：
一個高高瘦瘦的青年，眼睛望向灰色的海；
我只能想像，
他的內在世界和我的一樣波濤深邃，
但是，我進不去。

一會兒公車來了，擋住了他的身影。
車子開走，
一條空蕩蕩的街，只立著一只郵筒。
我慢慢、慢慢地瞭解到，
所謂父女母子一場，只不過意味著，
你和他的緣分就是今生今世
不斷地在目送他的背影漸行漸遠。

你站立在小路的這一端，
看著他逐漸消失在小路轉彎的地方，
而且，他用背影默默告訴你：不必追。
我慢慢、慢慢地意識到，
我的落寞，彷彿和另一個背影有關。

博士學位讀完之後，我回台灣教書。
到大學報到第一天，父親用他那輛運送飼料的廉價小貨車送我。
到了我才發覺，他沒開到大學正門口，
而是停在側門的窄巷邊。
卸下行李之後，
他爬回車內，準備回去，
明明啟動了引擎，卻又搖下車窗，
頭伸出來說：
「女兒，爸爸覺得很對不起你，
這種車子實在不是送大學教授的車子。」

我看著他的小貨車小心地倒車，
然後噗噗駛出巷口，留下一團黑煙。
直到車子轉彎看不見了，
我還站在那裡，一口皮箱旁。
每個禮拜到醫院去看他，
是十幾年後的時光了。
推著他的輪椅散步，
他的頭低垂到胸口。

有一次，
發現排泄物淋滿了他的褲腿，
我蹲下來用自己的手帕幫他擦拭，
裙子也沾上了糞便，
但是我必須就這樣趕回台北上班。
護士接過他的輪椅，
我拎起皮包，看著輪椅的背影，
在自動玻璃門前稍停，
然後沒入門後。
我總是在暮色沉沉中奔向機場。

火葬場的爐門前，
棺木是一只巨大而沉重的抽屜，
緩緩往前滑行。
沒有想到可以站得那麼近，
距離爐門也不過五公尺。
雨絲被風吹斜，飄進長廊內。
我掠開雨濕了前額的頭髮，
深深、深深地凝望，
希望記得這最後一次的目送。

我慢慢地、慢慢地瞭解到，
所謂父女母子一場，只不過意味著，
你和他的緣分就是今生今世
不斷地在目送他的背影漸行漸遠。
你站立在小路的這一端，
看著他逐漸消失在小路轉彎的地方，
而且，
他用背影默默告訴你：不必追。

Good Efforts

2010-08-07T04:12:00.000-07:00

I am ashamed to say that as one who is learning Chinese Calligraphy I do not set aside time for practising week after week. Except for rare occasions, I actually do my homework in class and after a while, my teacher accepted me as a slow (or lazy) learner and got used to this student who never did homework before class. Well, I am an adult learner and I did not sign up for courses to pass exams or to go for competitions. I take this attitude that I am here to enjoy what I do and when the teacher lets me enjoy my learning without bothering me with homework and exams, I make better progress than one who sees learning as a chore. The writing below have been singled out by the teacher as being good efforts.

My teacher was particularly "impressed" by the third column and characters with circle marks were singled out as good work. However, my writing of the character "shi" in the first column was below standard and he made me write more of it.
The improved writing.

Teachers' Writing

2010-08-07T04:01:00.000-07:00

I have been learning basic calligraphy for about six months and I chose to learn calligraphy despite my poor knowledge of written Chinese. What made it even more difficult was that Chinese Calligraphy is based on the writing of Traditional Chinese Characters and that was setting back my efforts in learning Chinese because I now have to deal with two different ways of writing the same characters most of the time. As time went by and as I struggled to write fluidly and beautifully like my teachers who took 15 years to master the art, I am slowly getting to enjoy my practices. It will be years before I can wield the brush as gracefully as my teachers. So, in order to spur myself on through laborious practices I am putting up my teachers' writing here to serve as the motivation for me to do better each time.

Chinese Calligraphy

2010-05-01T07:47:00.000-07:00

I am now learning how to write Chinese characters following the "Kai" Style of writing to enhance my appreciation of the Chinese language. With proper guidance, I am able to hold a Chinese brush and work towards perfecting each of the eight basic strokes in Chinese calligraphy. Watching my teachers effortless wielding of the brush each time leaving behind beautiful fluid and lively characters on the paper, I am always inspired to practise. Alas, I often end up going to class with characters written an hour before or sometimes doing my homework in class. My teachers are very patient and encouraging circling strokes executed correctly and putting stars next to strokes that they felt were good. These are samples of my practice writing last week.

新年快乐

2010-02-15T21:41:00.000-08:00

一年又这么过了。去年做了什么？有没有达到心愿或完成什么任务？我想每个人都回又好的经验保留在记忆里。虽然一定是有遇到不快乐事我们不需要把它放在心里。明天会更好！把坏的，破得，辛苦的，烦恼，不开心的通通忘了因为最重要是会珍爱所有好的经验向前走。我很满足有的并不是好多的金钱。宝贵的是自己的健康和快乐。虎年会更好。祝大家新年快乐，身体健康！

学华语的决心

2009-12-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

时间是宝贵。县是有限的。时间如金。但时间会好像魔术市的鸽子一转身就在眼前消失。想做的事非常多仿佛破碎镜子把满地变成满天星。宝贵金和星星闪烁的时间把我弄到头晕晕。确实真，我没撒谎。我并不认输。小小的毛病算什么。觉得好一点就出门。

昨天绕到喜欢去的地方。对！就是书店。买了三本书。另外也买了一张唱片。想达到目标就要坚强
努力。除了花花草草的书，我开始对华文书有兴趣。所以每次近书店就往华文书的方向走。最好笑是我会把自己推下好深的游泳池里。眼睛看见得是许多令我害怕的字。不是英文啊！救命！不敢给别人知道原来这个看书的人实际上不会读华文书。是说笑话的。我根本不怕别人那什么眼光来看我。会就是会。不懂就认了吧。要学就不要害羞。就是这样站了很久慢慢了解手上本书然后决定买还是不买。我买书的条件很简单。就是：

子要大，越大越好。（Font size 14 - 16 is best)
内容简单。
有图画是个优点。
最重要是我能认得文章里面最少40 - 50% 的字。

我买书的方法就是这样。如果有10 - 20% 的折扣我会多买几本。就是这样我买下一本书名叫”男人的真话与谎话。“ 我可不是对这个内容有很大的好奇心，却我很兴奋看到一本书这么随我买书的四大条件。满足了！

This part needs more polishing up...mistakes aahhhhh!

现在的问题是时间。我要想办法破把的能力胶回原本，把时间的金磨光。这样我就会慢慢的在可怕游泳池爬上来。以后走近华文书店就会比现在勇敢多了。希望是可以的。

A request to translate a letter

2009-11-30T20:17:00.000-08:00

Last week, my friend sent me this letter that someone had forwarded to her in the mail. She found the letter meaningful and asked that I translate this letter for her. Me??? I am so touched that my friend thought of me. I take this as an exercise for me to acquire more Mandarin vocabulary. As my Mandarin is way below the standard for spontaneous translation, I will have to call upon my Firefox Perakun aid. This software is already installed in my PC and all I need to do is to activate it and mouse over the Chinese characters and the hanyu pinyin as well as the meaning of the character will appear. So I will give it my best shot and here it is:

香港名DJ 梁继璋给儿子的信
A well-known DJ from Hong Kong : Liang Ji Zhang's advice to his son.

梁继璋(1955年8月17日-),英文名Michael, 前香港电台第二台节目主持人,也是一位名DJ、作家, 曾从事广告、电视台等媒体创作。
Liang Ji Zhang (17 Aug 1955), English name: Michael, an ex-Hong Kong Radio 2 Programme Director, also a DJ and author. He was in charge of Advertising, Tv and other Media Productions.

我儿:
My son:

写这备忘录给你,基於三个原则:
This memo that I am writing to you is based on the following three principles:

(一)人生福祸无常,谁也不知可以活多久, 有些事情还是早一点说好。
1. Life's fortunes and misfortunes do not last forever. No one knows how long we will live. There are some things that are best said earlier.

(二)我你的父亲,我不跟你说,没有人会跟你说。
2. I am your father and if I do not say this to you, no one else will.

(三)这备忘录里记载的,都是我经过惨痛失败得回来的体验, 可以为你的成长省回不少冤枉路。
以下,便是你在人生中要好好记住的事:
3. Recorded in this memo are my painful experiences of failure that will save you much agony in your growing-up years.

(一)对你不好的人,你不要太介怀,在你一生中, 没有人有义务要对你好,除了我和你妈妈。
Do not treat people who are not good to you like bosom friends for no one is obliged to be good to you other than myself and your mother.

至於那些对你好的人,你除了要珍惜、感恩外,也请多防备一点, 因为,每个人做每件事,总有一个原因,他对你好,未必真的是因为喜欢你,请你必须搞清楚, 而不必太快将对方看作真朋友。

As for people who are good to you, other than treasuring and being thankful their friendship be on your guard because everyone who does something good for you may not be doing so out of genuine liking for you. You have to be very clear about this point.

(二)没有人是不可代替,没有东西是必须拥有。看透了这一点, 将来你身边的人不再要你,或许
失去了世间上最爱的一切时, 也应该明白,这并不是甚么大不了的事。
No one is irreplaceable and there is no object or material good that we cannot do without. Once you are aware of this, you will not be too overly affected when those who are close to you leave you or when you lose what you love most in life.

(三)生命是短暂的,今日你还在浪费着生命, 明日会发觉生命已远离你了。
Life is short. Today you are wasting your life, tomorrow you may discover that life has left you.
因此,愈早珍惜生命, 你享受生命的日子也愈多,与其盼望长寿,倒不如早点享受。
That is why, the more you value life, the more you will enjoy it. It is better to enjoy life than to wish for a long life.

(四)世界上并没有最爱这回事,爱情只是一种霎时的感觉, 而这感觉绝对会随时日、心境而改变。如果你的所谓最爱离开你, 请耐心地等候一下,让时日慢慢冲洗,让心灵慢慢沉淀, 你的苦就会慢慢淡化。不要过分憧憬爱情的美, 不要过分夸大失恋的悲。
There is no such thing as the ultimate love in this world. Love is a kind of feeling that is just passing by like a drizzle and it follows the vicissitudes of time. Situations or circumstances related to love can change. If your so-called love leaves you, be patient and wait a while. Let time wash away your pain slowly; let your spirit slowly come to rest, then your agony will slowly dissipate. Do not destroy love's beauty unnecessarily and do not unnecessarily exaggerate the pain in losing one's love.

(五)虽然,很多有成就的人士都没有受过很多教育, 但并不等如不用功读书,就一定可以成功。你学到的知识, 就是你拥有的武器。人,可以白手兴家,但不可以手无寸铁,紧记!
Although there are many successful people who have not received much formal education, it does not mean that you do not need to study hard in order to be successful in life. What you have gained in knowledge through learning becomes your weapon or artillary. We can start a family with nothing but we cannot be totally unarmed or un-equipped in life.

(六)我不会要求你供养我下半辈子, 同样地我也不会供养你的下半辈子,当你长大到可以独立的时候, 我的责任已经完结。以後,你要坐巴士还是Benz, 吃鱼翅还是粉丝,都要自己负责。
We will not ask you to look after us when we are old and likewise, we will not support you forever. When you become independent, our responsibilities will end. In future, it will be entirely in your hands, whether you will be taking a bus or driving a Mercedes Benz and whether you can afford to eat sharksfin or plain noodles.

(七)你可以要求自己守信,但不能要求别人守信, 你可以要求自己对人好,但不能期待人家对你好。你怎样对人,并不代表人家就会怎样对你,如果看不透这一点, 你只会徒添不必要的烦恼。
You can make it your responsibility to become a reliable person but you cannot ask others to be reliable. You can be good to people but you cannot ask others to be good to you. How you treat others will not guarantee that you receive the same treatment from them. If you cannot understand this point, you will increase your worries and vexations unnecessarily.

(八)我买了十多二十年六合彩,还是一穷二白,连三奖也没有中, 这证明人要发达,还是要努力工作才可以,世界上并没有免费午餐。
I have been buying lottery tickets for ten or twenty years now and I have yet to win a prize, not even third prize. This proves that if we are to do well in life, we need to work for it because there are no free lunches in this world.

(九)亲人只有一次的缘份,无论这辈子我和你会相处多久, 也请好好珍惜共聚的时光,下辈子,无论爱与不爱,都不会再见。
Fate brings close ones together only once. No matter how long we can be together, we should treasure the time we have with each other. In the next life, be there love or no love, we will never meet again.

你的爸爸
Your father
梁继璋
Liang Ji Zhang

Translating this letter has been hard work and though it is not equivalent to hard labour in a padi field, I am quite exhausted at the end of almost two hours of working on this translation not to mention that I had to convert the Traditional Chinese text into simplified Chinese text using a free software on the internet that I have linked to on this blog. I did not want to translate too literally for the sentences would look stilted and unnatural. So most of the time I had to struggle to understand the meaning and then to put it across in the appropriate structure in English.

I thank my friend for enabling me to discover a new way of learning by her sincerity in wanting to share the contents of this letter which surmounts language. Once you know what the father really wants to impart to his son - life's important principles in life - you will forget the pain of having to labour through the translation.

I have one thing to say about the heated and passionate debates going on in our forum pages of our newspaper (The Straits Times) currently:

We cannot blame anyone or anything if we fail to master a language after 9 years of formal instruction in school. Do not blame the teachers, the educational policies, the lack of aptitude etc if you have gained nothing from it other than aversion to studying Chinese. We only have ourselves to blame for not having had the interest in school and we cannot also blame anyone for not creating that interest in us to learn Mandarin. No one can make us do anything if we are convinced that we are totally hopeless in learning a language be it Mandarin, Japanese or French. It is all in the mind. Look at me I may not have mastered Mandarin but from the time I started I have made significant progress. Chinese characters used to break-dance before my eyes, now they disco and soon with time, they will just do the samba or the cha cha and then it will be a waltz....

练习

2009-08-04T07:22:00.000-07:00

好久没在这里练习写华语但这不表示我对华语失去了兴趣。事实上我有继续努力。我的学华语的方法有几种。我用毛笔把短故事抄下。虽然我的体字写得马马虎虎，我觉得这个方法会让我慢慢认得多几个字。第二个方法就是坐在小贩中心用我的电子字典把招牌的华语字多了解。有些人会好奇想看我在做什么。看就看吧。可能他们以为我是一位记者。我的出现对他们说是一件好事。对我说用这个方法来学华语是非常有趣的。最后我是用歌词来帮助我认字的能力。以前我是跟着唱片音乐一起唱。我喜欢唱歌。英语歌就会唱的很轻松。唱周华健的歌也唱的不错。不过有些歌是满快，让我无法读到歌词。可以唱又有什么用呢？所以我决定改变唱歌的方法。昨晚我无意中发觉到自己一个人唱歌的成效。原来是这么简单。看着歌词，用尽力量读那些字- 不是，就当自是歌手。没有感觉到音乐的压力，我就可能专心把每个歌词的字放在记忆里了。我喜欢唱歌，永远都喜欢。最完美的就是我能用自己的爱好来学这样难学的语言。

A Garden in my Heart by Jimmy Liao

2009-05-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

MIssing my Cat by Jimmy Liao

2009-05-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

The second complete story that I read amongst the Jimmy Liao books that I have in my possession.

After a long absence...

2009-04-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

时间过得好快。
我有很多个月没把我学习华语的结果记录在网上。
但是这不代表我没努力继续学。
虽然最大的障碍是我衰弱的记忆，
我并没有放弃自己的理想目标因为我对华语有很深的兴趣。
所以我就用每种方法来学习。
这日子我用尽宝贵的时间来学。看到什么资料就拿来读和学新的字。

Bank brochure National Museum brochure
Floor plan of a buildingBrochure on the Emperor Kang Xi Exhibition

Menu picked up at the entrance of a restaurant.

。

我的心中每天开出一朵花 - Jimmy Liao

2008-11-14T21:54:00.000-08:00

Ever since I bought the Besta electronic dictionary with its numerous learning tools, I have relied solely on it to learn Chinese. With less dependency on a pc, learning is speedier and a lot more flexible.

It takes place anywhere and anytime when I feel like devoting time to learning. I pick and choose my learning material be it a song lyric, a Jimmy Liao story or just random stuff I happened to pick up here and there like museum brochures, restaurant menus.

I copy the text onto a notebook and then proceed to make use of the electronic dictionary to look up the meaning of the characters, listen to how they are pronounced, search for phrases or sentences that contain the characters I am interested in, learn how to execute the strokes of the characters in the correct sequence and lots more.

我的努力 (My hard work)

我的路 - 多难也要走

2008-10-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

Last night I received an email from a friend. It was in Chinese and I could not make out what it was since my word recognition is limited to very few words. The text was in Traditional Chinese. So I found a conversion tool on the internet and had it converted to Simplified Chinese below. Once it is in this form, I will be able to make use of it to practice my word recognition as well as to learn more words using the Firefox Chinese Perakun tool. All I have to do is mouse over the Chinese characters and the Hanyu Pinyin and the meaning of the character will appear in a box. This makes learning a lot less labourious than having to consult a dictionary in whatever form. Thanks my friend for sending me this article that I will surely make the effort to understand.

给了半个小时的时间终于吧这篇文章看懂了。用尽全部精神慢漫一个一个字来了解内容我有好几次要放弃。但是想到文章里的心华我就感到自己的决心是那么弱。一位没有双脚、没有下半身的女孩可以面对这样困难的生活那么我的问题真的相蚂蚁这样小。所以我就慢慢摩我脑子让我心痛心酸的感觉一点一点灭去。没双脚，用双手走路是那么辛苦。我们有手有脚的人是满幸福的。我可能一辈子也不能学华语到一个高级的地步。但是那不是个好原因去放弃求学。没脚就用手来跑，没很大的本事就用一步一步分的信心来向前走。我写这几行字就是用这个方法。写完了，终于写完了。

***************************************************************************************

你的路，你做主

磨亮心中的钻石！──「你的路，你做主！」

◎文╱ 戴晨志

有一天，我在台南县新荣中学演讲，全校师生千馀人，把大礼堂全都坐满。

在演讲结束前，我对学生说：「有没有人愿意到台上来，把自己的梦想和大家分享？」

在密密麻麻的同学中，我看见一名女生举了手，也慢慢地走出来。可是，我愣住了！

为什麽？因为她个子很矮，矮到可能只有一百公分不到；但，当我再仔细一看，噢，

不，她不是个子矮，而是「她没有双脚」！天哪，她竟然是「用双手走路」！

此时，全校师生都看著这女孩，用双手穿著拖鞋，一步一步地走到台上，我将麦克风

拿给她！而她，压抑著紧张，从容地说：「我的梦想是，明年我能考上成功大学！现

在，我的成绩还不够好，但我一定会继续加油……」当她的话还没说完，全校师生已

给她如雷的掌声！

那时，我好感动！我从来没看过有人「没有双脚、没有下半身」，而用双手来走路；

而且她是那麽勇敢，愿意第一个举手，用双手撑住自己的身体，一步步地走到台上来。

几天後，我的网站上有个署名「王心华」的女孩留话说：「哈囉戴博士，不知你是否

还记得我？那天你到新荣中学演讲，见过一位用手走路的女孩，就是我啦！你好吗？

那天对你真的印象很深刻，因为有善心人士送我你的书全集，我都看过了，所以那天

觉得你好面熟！我住在新营的一家教养院，有空多来参观……」

过一阵子，我特别开车到台南新营，找到「心德教养院」，也看到了王心华。聊天中

才知道，她十九年前被父母遗弃在电话亭前；她右脚残缺、左脚畸形，也没有肛门。

後来经过「双脚截肢」和「施作人工肛门」等四次手术，如今，一直用手代脚来走路。

「现在我什麽事都自己来，洗澡、洗衣服、走楼梯、上下床铺……都靠自己！」在寝室里，

心华对我说著，也动作迅速地爬上她睡觉的上舖。

上学时，她坐校车，但遇下雨时怎麽办？她不能自己撑伞呀！心华笑著对我说：「我下了车，

就用跑的！」「啊？怎麽跑？」我问。

「用手跑啊！淋著雨，用手跑，还好，我很少生病！」

虽然心华没有双脚，但她现在正努力学习电脑和资料处理，也天天开怀、开朗地唱歌！她对我说：

「只要不去比较就好！现在我不会太难过，我不会去想『我没有脚』，因为我还可以『用手走路』呀！

以後，我还想成为歌星或演说家呢！」

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

十九年来，心华一直住在教养院里，她不知道爸爸妈妈是谁？她好想知道，但始终无法如愿。然而，

教养院中的董事长、院长、老师、院童……就是她的爸妈和兄弟姊妹，每天大家都融洽地生活在一起。

上学搭校车时，同学会帮忙她拿书包，让她方便「用手爬上爬下」。有时户外教学，老师看她速度

较慢，或引来别人异样眼光，所以就建议她坐轮椅，但她说：「不要，我要自己走，别人怎麽看我

都没关係，我的心正常就好！」

在教养院里，我看著心华熟练地用手爬楼梯，也大方地打开电视萤幕、拿著麦克风，唱著一首首她

拿手的中英文歌曲。在学校，她曾经拿到全校歌唱比赛第叁名，也受邀到电视台，参加「冠军TV秀」

的歌唱表演。

「我看妳一直笑嘻嘻的，很开朗！」我说。

「对啊，人家也都这样讲，说我很乐观！我就是要乐观，心情才会快乐！」

至於考大学，心华谦虚地说，她成绩不好，还要继续加油！不过，她表示，不管未来如何，她绝不

怨天尤人，她要靠自己的双手活出自己！而且，她还想找到自己的亲生父母！她说：「我知道，要

找到我爸妈的机率很小，但只要我有信心、耐心和毅力，说不定我会找到。我决定再等待奇蹟！」

看著心华低矮的身躯,用双手走路，我真是感动！真的，能在逆境中力争上游、不屈不挠的人，都是

令人敬佩的勇者!只要像心华一样「磨亮心中的钻石」,我们就能发光\'发亮,而不再在意外表的残缺。

从心华身上，我学习到──

「人生路，自己走！」

「不计较，有欢笑！」

「少怨气，多福气！」

我深信，「扭转命运靠自己！」因为──在悲痛中，我们没有哀怨、颓丧的权利，但我们有自我突破、

开创命运的义务！

换句话说，「你的路，你做主！」

终于

2008-10-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

我终于找到一点时间把一首歌痛痛快快用尽我全心全力学它字。还有在那段段的一个小时我终于懂得歌的内容。当然觉得好高兴。

I used the perapera-kun tool to mouse over the characters to understand the meaning and to learn how to pronounce them.

终于

终于把自己逼到这个地步
再无力反复反正退也无路
所有的说服已于事无补
只剩爱与不爱
你去迟迟说不出

面对了真实忍不住了痛楚
爱上一个人爱得走投无路
你自责的痛你两难的苦
爱到情无反顾
我反而看的清楚

曾经相伴要走要走天涯的路
一生一世承担承担彼此的苦

爱就爱了全部断要断得清楚
爱不了的宽恕梦不到的幸福
终于也走到结束

(muisc)

面对了真实忍不住了痛楚
爱上一个人爱得走投无路
你自责的痛你两难的苦
爱到情无反顾
我反而看的清楚

曾经相伴要走要走天涯的路
一生一世承担承担彼此的苦

爱就爱了全部断要断得清楚
爱不了的宽恕梦不到的幸福
终于也走到结束

曾经相伴要走要走天涯的路
一生一世承担承担彼此的苦

爱就爱了全部断要断得清楚
爱不了的宽恕梦不到的幸福
终于也走到结束

终于把自己逼到这个地步
再无力反复反正退也无路
所有的说服已于事无补
只剩爱与不爱
你去迟迟说不出

Shifting my goal from mastery to enjoyment

2008-09-26T01:31:00.000-07:00

Recent ways of learning Chinese. Actually I find it rather stressful to set myself a mastery goal. The problem is that I find it very difficult to recognise Chinese characters once they are out of the context in which I had learned them.

Everytime I watch TV, I try to read the subtitles. I was happy to just be able to recognise the words. But they do not stay long on the screen as the dialogues are usually very fast. So I have decided to change my goal from mastery to enjoyment of the language. With this new goal, I do not get angry or upset with myself for forgetting characters I have seen or learnt before. Instead I am diversifying my reading materials so that I get to enjoy what I read.

An excellent tool I acquired recently is the Besta CD-627 Electronic Dictionary/language learning aid. It is not cheap at around $500 but it is the best thing I have ever bought in my life because its usefulness is unsurpassed! Even my son was so impressed that he said that if he had something like that while he was in school, he would certainly have done better in his Chinese examinations.

Now I rely less on the internet tools because I carry this dictionary that is the size of a wallet in my handbag everywhere. I copy the text of my learning material onto a notebook, look up words I do not know and write down the meaning as well as the hanyu pinyin of the characters. In this way I have got to enjoy reading in Chinese less laboriously. Recent endeavours include:

1 Jay Chou's songs from his Album 'Nocturne' (I obtained the entire lyrics from the internet, printed it out and hand-copied them onto a notebook)
2 Jimmy Liao's 'Love in the Cards'
3. Wakin Chou's songs.

Today, I bought a small pocket-size dictionary (Berlitz Mandarin Chinese Pocket Dictonary) that gives the hanyu pinyin for paired words as well as their meanings. I will carry this with me so that at any time when I have time to spare while waiting for people, I will look at the words at random or according to alphabet because I believe that word recognition is the result of constantly looking at the words and associating the meaning to them. When I have time I shall copy those words a few times to help them get into my long-term memory so that I will be able to recognise them if I were to see them elsewhere.

So it is not that I have lost interest in learning Chinese because I have not updated my blog for quite a number of weeks. I have just redefined my goal in learning shifting the focus from mastery to enjoyment of the language. I believe that as I get to enjoy the language, learning will gradually become a more natural and less stressful process.

Love in the Cards by Jimmy Liao

2008-08-24T01:40:00.000-07:00

“我只能给你一张小卡片” or Love in the Cards by Jimmy Liao. I am now starting on a new book by Jimmy Liao that I thought would be more manageable than the "Turn Left, Turn Right" book I had completed reading. The illustrations were deceptively child-like and what I did below represents about 6 hours of work spread over two days.

First I copied the text of the first postcard in the book by hand. Then I used the electronic dictionary to find the simplified characters and noting down the meaning as well.

Secondly, I copied the text onto another notebook using simplified Chinese in pencil.

Thirdly, I wrote over the characters using an ink pen and took my time to put in the hanyu pinyin for the difficult words as well as writing down the meanings of those words.

Lastly, I extracted words that had to do with feelings and actions and copied them onto a fresh page.

Next, I would like to use this list of words to write my own composition. But that will be a week from now! How I wish I have the luxury of studying the language as a full-time student.

I am back

2008-08-17T02:50:00.000-07:00

我发觉我写了很多个错字在这文章里。很抱歉没时间来改。知道是一部分的学习，能接受自己的缺点是进步的开始。在这个时候我就会想起老师的教导。好久没见到她了。可能我们彼此忙我们个人的生活。我在这里问候她。希望会有机会在见。

今天有时间把错字改了

近来我没有时间和心上网写文章练习华语。也是有些忙。忙什么呢？但是我没偷懒。虽然在这段时间我好像已经消失，一点踪迹也美留下。其实我很努力把那本小说＂向左走，向右走＂整抄了。然后我就用电子词典查那些不明白的字（好多好多阿！）

抄了这样多片的字给我一种害怕的感觉。那些字在我眼前飘来飘去，摇摇摆摆。我无法把它们放在脑里面，好寂寞的感觉，好可怕的情绪。

我知道我一定要坚持到底。所以我没有放弃走这条学华语的辛苦路。过后再看一看那些字，不管怕还是不怕，我不能浪费那段抄字的时间。怎样去做呢？想了一天终于找到答案。看了这本爱情小说，我觉得我可以把那些字分成几种。许多字在小说里是对天气有关系的。天气的高低，阴阳，黑暗，光亮，雨和雪，风和闷热气温是代表情人的心情和深厚的情怀。好，写了整个下午，　我疲倦了。让我用照片来完整今天的写华语练习把！

妈妈的话 - My Mother's Advice

2008-07-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

人是永远会有烦恼。每天得到安静的时间是很难找到的。可以享受理想得生活好像已经被失去，被许多层的梦遮盖无可能移动。藏在我梦里有万样我要完成的事。但是有太多太多了。是不是我不把时间管理得好还是我对生活的要求太过分。

有一天我妈妈看到我紧张的办事方法不忍的对我说。"做人必须要知道这么面对时间的压力。不要匆匆茫茫。你其实是有时间去做你要做的东西。这样紧张又为何呢？不如慢慢来会给自己好过的日子。＂

听了妈妈的话有好几天了。在发生过的事令我回想妈妈的话。记得有些事是应该等一等才去做。着急是会有伤害的结果。这我有体验过。有感觉到害怕。有感觉到后悔。所以我妈妈的话是对的。

Thoughts on Learning Chinese

2008-07-01T20:10:00.001-07:00

今天我觉得世界特别完美。空气充满新鲜的感觉。听到邻居的谈话，车过的噪音，闻道邻居煮菜的香味 - 太好了！可能我已经恢复我的健康了。

虽然这个星期我没有上华语课，我对学习华语一点也没有失去兴趣。因为我觉得学问的追求是满挑战的。我最大的障碍就是认字。看过和写过的字好像梦里的故事一样。每办法记得请请楚出，看了也无法留在脑里面。真辛苦。

但是我不会放弃得。Time is running out as other commitments demand my atttention. I do not have the luxury of time to complete this post in Chinese. However, I will write my thoughts in English and translate when I have the time. So to continue - in English!

It's like people climbing mountains. Why do they do it? For a sense of accomplishment and fulfilment. Learning Chinese is my Mt Everest - one of the toughest tasks I have ever embarked on but also one that is the counted as meaningful in my life because it is motivated by passion, not money or fame and it is steered by my own inner wish to succeed, not driven by external factors like pay or bonuses.

Also I have a friend who is Chinese-educated and who is very supportive and encouraging of my efforts. Despite her busy schedule at work and looking after a family, she finds time to read my blog and to correct the mistakes I have made in the previous two posts. I am so touched by her enthusiasm in helping me to improve in my learning of the language. Knowledg of her support has given me extra fuel in accelerating my learning.

I am also lucky to have a tutor who helps me appreciate the deeper meanings of the lyrics of songs and the writing of Jimmy Liao that on my own I am unable to grasp. I do not want to learn the functionality of the language but rather I want to reach deeper into the rich store of my cultural heritage through the language. That is why normal lessons on Chinese will not suit me. I have to do it my way.

病的时候

2008-06-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

我好久没病得这么利害li4hai4。听来会觉得很夸张kua1zhang1。但是一个人身体健康jian4kang1的时候不会去想失去健康的日子是多难受nan2shou4的。

我有气力的时候能做很多家务jia1wu4把我家打扫得又干净gan1jing4又整齐zheng3ji2。现在我家就已经开始有灰尘chen2了。灰尘是我最恨hen4的敌di2人。健康的时候尘是没有这样容易rong2yi4到我家来长住。因为我有许多方法对付它。

假如jia3ru2对身体有害hai4的病毒bing4du2可以用同样的方法来解决jie3jue2就好了。可惜病痛bing4tong4是不容易应付ying4fu1。吃了医生yi1sheng1开的药yao4我就变bian4得昏昏hun1hun1沉沉chen2chen2(confused, sinking feeling)满身冷汗leng3han4。过了两天虽然是好点了但是会觉得很容易疲倦pi2juan4全身quan2shen1没力气。

病真的是人生一件jian4很不愉快yu2kuai4的事。有得吃有得做，有健康jian4kang1是多么幸运xin4yun4的。没有病过就不会珍惜拥有的健康。

练习写文章

2008-06-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

天气冷。为什么在这六月中会有这么多的雨呢？让我感觉到生命就好像充满黑暗和忧郁。虽然雨是对我们有很多的好处，每一次开始下大雨的时候我的情绪会突然变。阴湿的天气让我失去了内心的阳光。

好了。现在开始亮了。你看，我学习华文这么的辛苦。写这几个字用了大半个小时。真的是伤脑筋。

也可能不是伤却是做了对本身又一点收获的事。这是练习。多练习才会有进步。一步一步的学。还有好多年的岁月去慢慢收回我已经失去了的母语。

Writing the paragraph above was tedious and exhausting because I did not use the dictionary tool. I decided to rely on my recall of the words learned so far and to use the perapera-kun tool to check if the words were used correctly. However, there is no gain without pain. Though I had to labour to write such a short paragraph, it was a worthwhile endeavour.

邓丽君 - 山茶花

2008-06-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

Today I made two discoveries that make my study of Chinese even more interesting and efficient.

Discoveries

Firstly, I found out about Perapera-kun - a Chinese Software that is an add-on of Firefox. Once installed, you will be able to mouse over any Chinese character and find out its pinyin and meaning but it only works if you use Firefox as your browser.

Secondly, I discovered that the songs of Teresa Teng are excellent for someone like me in learning Chinese. Her diction and vocal qualities are crystal clear, so clear that I can off-hand work out the hanyu pinyin without much difficulty. I can check the accuracy of the pinyin using the other online tools. I managed to find the albums of Teresa Teng on the web and was able to access many of her songs.

Method of Learning

1 Have a copy of the lyrics in hand
2 Plug onto Teresa Teng's songs
3 As I listen, I will try to work out the hanyu pinyin for the song
4 Find the meaning of the words to appreciate the song better. There are a few ways to find out the meaning of the song:

5 Use a dictionary (electronic or hard copy)
6 Use an online tool to convert the characters to pinyin and then use the annotation tool to get the meaning of each.
7 Access the song lyrics through Firefox and learn the meaning using the Perakun tool to mouse over characters to find out what they mean.

Now for one of Teresa Tengs beautifully sung songs:

山茶花,

你说他的家开满山茶花。

每当那春天三月乡野如图画,

村里姑娘上山采茶,
歌声荡漾山坡下。

年十七,年纪十八,
偷偷在说悄悄话。

羞答答,羞答答,

梦里总是梦见他。
一朵花,

他说你美丽就象一朵花。

他希望总有一天把你摘回家,

村里姑娘也会羡慕,

羡慕你象一朵花。

年十七,年纪十八,

偷偷在说悄悄话。

梦里总是梦见他。
一朵花,

愿你美丽能象一朵花。

希望有那一天跟他转回家,

里姑娘出来欢迎,

欢迎你这一朵花。

年十七,年纪十八,

偷偷在说悄悄话。

羞答答,羞答答,

梦里总是梦见他。

爱相随

2008-06-03T02:44:00.000-07:00

近来我很忙。但是有时候会觉得不知道忙什么。天天的生活就好像一篇篇空的记事簿 jì shì bù　　让时间去匆匆留下大大小小的过程 guò chéng。谁会有兴致 xìng zhì 看呢？　

开心和寂寞，　快乐跟孤单是自己的全部。别人不会懂得。这首歌是满怀 mǎn huái 了这么深shen的情味 wèi 。　是失去了的情，不是在恋爱的情。虽然爱过了，＂人分飞＂歌手无能把爱过的人自由走另外一条路。

歌手好像被困 kùn 监牢 jiān láo 里，想出也出不了。为他的眼睛给过去的情遮住了。听过这首歌后，我感到这世界真的有一半悲 bēi 。但是幸运还有一半是快乐。问题是怎么去找呢？希望歌手会找到快乐。那时侯他的记事本会有回首那一天了。

爱相随ài xiǎngsuí

歌手：周华健

别想你忍不住我提醒自己
bié xiǎng nǐ rěn bu zhù wǒ tí xǐng zì jǐ

伤了心有些事也要过去
shāng le xīn yǒu xiē shì yě yào guò qu

心很痛痛的不想再做我自己
xīn hěn tòng tòng de bù xiǎng zài zuò wǒ zì jǐ

别回头情已去缘已尽
bié huí tóu qíng yǐ qù yuán yǐ jìn

很想你也不是因为失去你
hěn xiǎng nǐ yě bù shì yīn wei shī qù nǐ

爱了你用尽我全心全力
ài le nǐ yòng jìn wǒ quán xīn quán lì

一生情只为这一次与你相遇
yì shēng qíng zhǐ wèi zhè yī cì yú nǐ xiāng yù

情难了难再续难再醒
qíng nán le nán zài xù nán zài xǐng

人分飞爱相随
rén fēn fēi ài xiǎng suí

那怕用一生去追
nǎ pà yòng yì shēng qù zhuī

我又怎么能追得回
wǒ yòu zěn me néng zhuī déi huí

与你相慰我为你痴为你累
yú nǐ xiàng wèi wǒ wèi nǐ chī wèi nǐ lèi

风雨我都不后悔
fēng yǔ wǒ dōu bù hòu huǐ

我又怎么有路可退
wǒ yòu zěn me yǒu lù kě tuì

曾经深情你给了谁
céng jīng shēn qíng nǐ gěi le shuí

(music)

很想你也不是因为失去你
hěn xiǎng nǐ yě bù shì yīn wei shī qù nǐ

爱了你用尽我全心全力
ài le nǐ yòng jìn wǒ quán xīn quán lì

一生情只为这一次与你相遇
yì shēng qíng zhǐ wèi zhèi yī cì yú nǐ xiāng yù

情难了难再续难再醒
qíng nán le nán zài xù nán zài xǐng

人分飞爱相随
rén fēn fēi ài xiǎng suí

那怕用一生去追
nǎ pà yòng yì shēng qù zhuī

我又怎么能追得回
wǒ yòu zěn me néng zhuī dé huí

与你相慰我为你痴为你累
yú nǐ xiāng wèi wǒ wèi nǐ chī wèi nǐ lèi

风雨我都不后悔
fēng yǔ wǒ dōu bù hòuhuǐ

我又怎么有路可退
wǒ yòu zěn me yǒu lù kě tuì

我如何面对
wǒ rú hé miàn duì

人分飞爱相随
rén fēn fēi ài xiǎng suí

那怕用一生去追
nǎ pà yòng yì shēng qù zhuī

我又怎么能追得回
wǒ yòu zěn me néng zhuī dé huí

与你相慰我为你痴为你累
yú nǐ xiāng wèi wǒ wèi nǐ chī wèi nǐ lèi

风雨我都不后悔
fēng yǔ wǒ dōu bù hòu huǐ

我又怎么有路可退
wǒ yòu zěn me yǒu lù kě tuì

曾经深情你给了谁
Céng jīng shēn qíng nǐ gěi le shuí

风雨无阻 fēng yǔ wú zǔ

2008-05-31T20:50:00.000-07:00

风雨无阻 fēng yǔ wú zǔ 歌手: 周华健

给你我的全部
gěi nǐ wǒ de quán bù

你是我今生唯一的赌注
nǐ shì wǒ jīn shēng wéi yī de dǔ zhù

只留下一段岁月
zhǐ liú xià yī duàn suì yuè

让我无怨无悔
ràng wǒ wú yuàn wú huǐ

全心的付出
quán xīn de fù chū

怕你忧伤怕你哭
pà nǐ yōu shāng pà nǐ kū

怕你孤单怕你糊涂
pà nǐ gū dān pà nǐ hú tu

红尘千山万里路
hóng chén qiān shān wàn lǐ lù

我可以朝朝暮暮
wǒ kě yǐ zhāo zhāo mù mù

给你一条我的路
gěi nǐ yī tiáo wǒ de lù

你是我一生不停的脚步
nǐ shì wǒ yì shēng bù tíng de jiǎo bù

让我走出一片天空
ràng wǒ zǒu chū yī piàn tiān kōng

让你尽情飞舞
ràng nǐ jìn qíng fēi wǔ

放心的追逐
Fàng xīn de zhuī zhú

爱是漫长的旅途
ài shì màn cháng de lǔ tú

梦有快乐梦有痛苦
mèng yǒu kuài lè mèng yǒu tòng kǔ

悲欢离合人间路
Bēi huān lí hé rénjiān lù

我可以缝缝补补
wǒ kě yǐ féng fèng bǔ bǔ

提着昨日种种千辛万苦
tí zhe zuó rì zhǒng zhǒng qiān xīn wàn kǔ

向明天换一些美满和幸福
xiàng míng tiān huàn yī xiē měi mǎn hé xìng fú

爱你够不够多
ài nǐ gòu bù gòu duō

对你够不够好
duì nǐ gòu bù gòu hǎo

可以要求不要不在乎
kěyǐ yāo qiú bù yào bù zài hū

不愿让你看见我的伤处
bù yuàn ràng nǐ kàn jiàn wǒ de shāng chù

是曾经无悔的风雨无阻
shì céng jīng wú huǐ de fēng yǔ wú zǔ

拥有够不够多
yōng yǒu gòu bù gòu duō

梦得够不够好
mèng dé gòu bù gòu hǎo可

以追求
kěyǐ zhuī qiú

不认输
bù rèn shū

(Music)

给你一条我的路
gěi nǐ yī tiáo wǒ de lù

你是我一生不停的脚步
nǐ shì wǒ yì shēng bù tíng de jiǎo bù

让我走出一片天空
ràng wǒ zǒu chū yī piàn tiān kōng

让你尽情飞舞
ràng nǐ jìn qíng fēi wǔ

放心的追逐
Fàng xīn de zhuī zhú

爱是漫长的旅途
ài shì màn cháng de lǔ tú

梦有快乐梦有痛苦
mèng yǒu kuài lè mèng yǒu tòng kǔ

悲欢离合人间路
Bēi huān lí hé rén jiān lù

我可以缝缝补补
wǒ kě yǐ féng fèng bǔ bǔ

(This verse is sung twice)
提着昨日种种千辛万苦
tí zhe zhuó zuórì zhǒng zhǒng qiān xīn wàn kǔ

向明天换一些美满和幸福
xiàng míng tiān huàn yī xiē měi mǎn hé xìng fú

爱你够不够多
ài nǐ gòu bù gòu duō

对你够不够好
duì nǐ gòu bù gòu hǎo

可以要求不要不在乎
kěyǐ yāo qiú bù yào bù zài hū

不愿让你看见我的伤处
bù yuàn ràng nǐ kàn jiàn wǒ de shāng chǔ

是曾经无悔的风雨无阻
shì céng jīng wú huǐ de fēng yǔ wú zǔ

拥有够不够多
yōng yǒu gòu bù gòu duō

梦得够不够好
mèng de gòu bù gòu hǎo

可以追求
kě yǐ zhuī qiú

不认输
bù rèn shū

Fantastic Chinese Song Lyrics Website

2008-05-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

Today I discovered the fantastic website that made my ultimate dream come true - that of getting any song lyric (especially Emil Chao's songs) anytime and in simplified Chinese!

You can search the songs by Artistes or Lyrics and there is really a lot more wonderful stuff there that my limited knowledge of Chinese is depriving me of. I entered Emil Chao's name in Chinese on the search bar and searched by artiste and viola! What did I get on my screen? All the Emil Chao albums and clicking on each album leads me to all the songs in there. Wow!!!!太好了！太丰富了！我的梦从于达到了！

Here it is - my time-saving website of song lyrics!

http://www.music9999.com/

练习写华语

2008-05-29T01:27:00.001-07:00

一大早的雨过了
留下相水晶的珠子
在华瓣上
被新日阳光
发出漂亮的彩虹
天气晴

潇洒走一回

2008-05-27T22:46:00.000-07:00

潇洒走一回
演唱:叶倩文

天地悠悠过客匆匆
潮起又潮落
恩恩怨怨生死白头
几人能看透
红尘啊滚滚
痴痴啊情深
聚散终有时
留一半清醒
留一半醉至
少梦里有你追随
我拿青春赌明天
你用真情换此生
岁月不知人间多
少的忧伤
何不潇洒走一回

This was a very popular hit by Sally Yeh many years ago. I recall that the video for this song was beautifully and elegantly performed by the singer. It has a fast-paced tempo and the overall feeling is one of urgency and hurriedness. Though I could not understand the lyrics of this song then I had enjoyed the rhythm and the melody of the song.

This time, I was determined to find out what this song means so that when I sing it, I can appreciate what it means. The fastest and best way to understand the song would be for my tutor to explain it to me. Since I have just seen her yesterday and will see her again only next week, I thought I could engage in some practice by finding out the meaning of the song on my own. Little did I realise that it can be rather time-consuming and requires a lot of patience and love for working on the computer. Before I post the fruits of my hard labour, let me explain briefly the process of getting there:

Search for song lyrics on the internet. If you are lucky, you find it in simplified Chinese. If not, you have to convert it as I did using the free tool on Purpleculture.net
Cut and paste song lyrics from webpage to Word Document.
Find the Hanyu pinyin for the lyrics. I used the Chinese to Pinyin converter tool on Chinesetools.net here.
Cut and paste the pinyin onto the Word Document and manually insert each line corresponding to the Chinese lyrics.
Get the meaning of the characters by using the Annotation Tool on Chinesetools.net and cut and paste onto Word Document. Manually match the meaning given to the Chinese Characters.

Finally! Here's the precious result of my hard work:

潇洒走一回xiāo sǎ zǒu yī huí
叶倩文yè qiàn wén

***************************************************************
天地(Heaven & Earth) 悠悠(sad)过客(visitor)匆匆(hurriedly)潮起又潮落

tiāndì yōu yōu guò kè cōngcōng cháo qǐ yòu cháo luò

恩恩怨怨(feeling of resentment)生死白头几人(how many people)能看透(see through)

ēn ēnyuàn yuàn shēng sǐ báitóu jī rén néng kàn tòu

红尘(red dust)啊滚滚(boiling)痴痴(sentimental, foolish)啊情深(love that is profound, deep)

hóng chén ā gǔn gǔn chī chī ā qíng shēn

聚(gathering)散(disperse)终有时(ultimately have and ending)

jù sàn zhōng yǒushí

留一半清醒(leave half soberness)

liú yībàn qīngxǐng

留一半醉(leave half drunkeness)

liú yībàn zuì

至少(at least)梦里有你追随(accompany, follow)

zhìshǎo mèng lǐ yǒu nǐ zhuīsuí

我拿青春(youth)赌(gamble) 明天

wǒ ná qīngchūn dǔ míngtiān

你用真情(the truth)换此生(exhange for this life)

nǐ yòng zhēnqíng huàn cǐ shēng

岁月(life’s years) 不知人间多少的忧(worry) 伤(hurt)

suìyuè bùzhī rénjiān duōshǎo dì yōu shāng

何不潇洒(natural, unrestrained, elegant)走一回

hé bù xiāo sǎ zǒu yī huí

雨人yǔ rén

2008-05-27T00:40:00.000-07:00

雨人yǔ rén
周华健

好像就從那一個夜晚開始
好像就从那一个夜晚开始(start)
Hǎo xiàng jiù cóng nǎ yī gè yè wǎn kāi shǐ

下起雨一直沒有放過晴
下起雨一直没有放过晴
xià qǐ yǔ yì zhí méi yǒu fàng guò qíng

我隔著那把傘
我勾(hook)着那把伞
wǒ gōu zhe nei bǎ sǎn

漂浮在人群裡
漂浮(float)在人群(crowd)里
piāo fú zài rén qún lǐ

慢慢的以為身邊還有你
慢慢(slowly)的以为身边还有你
màn màn de yǐ wéi shēn biān hái yǒu nǐ

小氣的用著那些你的記憶
小气(little by little)的用着那些你的记忆(memories)
Xiǎo qì de yòng zhe nèi xiē nǐ de jì yì

一點點就夠我看到彩虹
一点点就够(enough)我看到彩虹(rainbow)
yī diǎn diǎn jiù gòu wǒ kàn dào cǎi hóng

全世界的顏色
全世界(the whole world)的颜色(colour)
quán shì jiè de yán sè

全留在你那裡
全留(flow) 在你那里
quán liú zài nǐ nà li

我隻有不斷一直淋著雨
我只有不断一直淋着雨
wǒ zhǐ yǒu bù duàn yì zhí lìn zhe yǔ

我相信我愛你
我相信我爱你
wǒ xiāng xìn wǒ ài nǐ

蒙上眼手交給(hand over)你
蒙上眼手交给你
mēng shàng yǎn shǒu jiāo gěi nǐ

慢慢的安心在黑暗中
慢慢的安心(be at peace)在黑暗中
màn màn de ān xīn zài hēi àn zhōng

共(together)有一雙眼睛
共有一双眼睛
gòng yǒu yī shuāng yǎn jīng

我要不斷(unceasing)的愛你
我要不断的爱你
wǒ yào bu duàn de ài nǐ

不斷拼湊了自已
不断拼)凑(collect)了自已 (self)
bù duàn pīn còu le zì jǐ

生命中所以好不好的過去
生命中所有好不好的过去
shēng mìng zhōng suǒ yǒu
hǎo bùhǎo de guò qu

仿佛都在等我遇見你
仿佛 (as if)都在等我遇见你
fǎng fú dōu zài děng wǒ yù jiàn nǐ

Sunday's reflections

2008-05-25T02:24:00.000-07:00

This post will have mistakes in the use of words and in the construction of some of the sentences. I have given much time and thought to writing this piece as a means to improve on my Chinese. I will need my tutor to spot these mistakes and help me to make the necessary amendments. Meanwhile, this writing is just a practice session where I try to use the more difficult words I have learned so far in a meaningful manner. These words are in blue.

时间shíjiān(time)过得这么快。我好难得有一点空的时间上网练习liànxí(practise)写华语。我感觉到gǎnjuédào(feel)后悔hòuhuǐ(regretful)小时候没有好好珍惜zhēnxī(treasure)学华文的机会jīhuì。真zhēn的很傻shǎ(foolish)在这么年青niánqīng(young)的时候就决定juédìng(decide)放弃fàngqì(give up)了学华语。可能是対那些听写功课gōngkè(homework)已疲倦píjuàn(tired)了。现在才会懂dǒng(understand)得那决定是错cuò(wrong)的。

藏cáng在心中是一种那么寂寞jìmò的感觉。心很痛tōng，命运 mìngyùn的路是弯wān来弯去的。有时候yǒushíhou梦回忽然hūrán不见去了。路会变成. biànchéng黑暗暗。有可能眼睛yǎnjīng也会蒙méng 了. 这是我以前yǐqián 的感想gǎnxiǎng因为yīnwei我觉得没能力去再学华语。最大zuìdà (the biggest)的问题wèntí(problem)是时间。我有许多梦还没实现shíxiàn(achieved)，许多东西很想去做的。但是一天一天飘过piāo guò(float by)就好像没做到什么的事情。

但是在我这个年纪niánjì(age)还来得及láidejí(there is still time)回首。虽然suīrán(Although)最初zuìchū(the very first)的决定是让我后悔一辈子yībèizi(a lifetime)，到最后 zuìhòu(ultimately)一个人要有个目标mùbiāo(objective)伴随bànsuí(followed by)愿意yuànyì(willingness)去学才可以kěyǐ向新的路走。

最终zuìzhōng要(most importantly)是有决心yǒujuéxīn(determination)坚持jiānchí(persist)到底dàodǐ(till the end)。现在学话语就是我一个很重要的目标。

http://www.chinesetools.eu/tools/chinese-annotation/

爱情路 - from the Wakin in the Rain Album of Emil Chao

2008-05-19T02:49:00.000-07:00

爱情路 is one of Emil Chao's newer songs. My tutor explained the meaning of the words that I did not understand (and there were so many). After her explanation, I felt that this song is filled with so much truth about the path of true love. It is indeed a road filled with pitfalls, pain and hurt. Yet if both parties are willing to compromise and stay together to overcome difficulties along the way, their love should be celebrated at the end of it all.

But is there really an end I wonder? Now I shall attempt to write the same thing in Chinese using the dictionary and typing tools found in Xuehuayue.net

爱情路

‘爱情路’是周华健(Emil Chao)的一首比照新的歌。我老师给我解释(explain)了那些我不明白的字（有许多是我不认识得）。听老师解释(explain)后我觉得这首歌是这么从满(filed with)了爱情的真理(truth about love)。这条路一定是有很多障碍(barriers)，伤(hurt)跟通pain)。假如(if)双方(both parties)会一起渡过难关(overcome difficulties)，他们的爱真的是让人值祝福(congratulate)。但是爱请的路会可能到结果的地步吗？

‘爱情路’是周华健(Emil Chao)的一首比照新的歌。

ài qíng lù shì zhōu huà jiàn dì yī shŏu bĭzhào xīn dì gē

我老师给我解释(explain)了那些我不明白的字

wŏ lăo shī jĭ wŏ jiĕ shì liào nà xiē wŏ bù míng bái dì zì
（有许多是我不认识得）。

(yŏu xŭ duō shì wŏ bu rèn shi de)

听老师解释(explain)后我觉得这首歌是这么从满(filed with)了爱情的真理(truth about love)。

tìng lăoshī jiĕ shìhòu wŏ jué de zhè shŏu gē shìzhème cóng măn liào ài qíng dì zhēn lĭ
这条路一定是有很多障碍(barriers)，伤(hurt)跟通pain)。

zhè tiáo lù yī dìng shì yŏu hĕn duō zhàng ài shāngg ēn tōng

假如(if)双方(both parties)会一起渡过难关(overcome difficulties)，

jiă rú shuāng fāng hui yī qĭ dùguònán guān

他们的爱真的是让人值的祝福(congratulate)。

tā men dì ài zhēn dì shì ràng rén zhi d í zhù fú

但是爱请的路会可能到结果的地步吗？　
dàn shì ài qĭng dì lù hui kĕ néng dào jiē guŏ dìdì bù ma?

爱情路

**********************************************************************
爱情路有点雾 (mist)
ài qíng lù yŏu diăn wù

雾散(disperse)留下了(leaving behind)露珠(dew)
wù săn liú xià le lù zhū

这露珠(dew)丰满(filled with)了爱的泥土(soil)
zhè lù zhū fēng măn le ài dì ní tŭ

爱情路弯弯路(curving road)
ài qíng lù wān wān lù

弯的相一串珍珠(pearl necklace)
wān dì xiāng yì chuàn zhēn zhū

每一步 (every step)都有简单(simple)的领悟(realisation)
mĕi yī bù dōu yŏu jiăn dān dì lĭng wù

答应你我不会再庸庸碌碌(be ordinary)
dā ying nĭ wŏ bù huì zài yōng yōng lù lù

答应我你不要再嘀嘀咕咕(mutter)
dā yìng wŏ nĭ bù yào zài dí dí gu gū

每个朝朝(morning)和暮暮(night)
měi gè zhāo zhāo hè mù mù

我都要和你共度(be together)
wŏ dōu yào hè nĭ gòng dù

让手心(centre of our hands)一直都(continue to)热呼呼(warm up)
ràng shŏu xīn yī zhí dōu rè hū hū

爱情路有种(a kind of)缓慢(slow)的幸福(happiness)
ài qíng lù yŏu zhòng huăn màn dì xìng fú

伴随一点辛苦
bàn suí (followed by)yī diăn xīn kŭ(suffering)

相遇(meeting)是幸福(happiness)等待(waiting)是辛苦(suffering)
xiāng yù shì xìng fú dĕng dài shì xīn kŭ

爱情路有了你我
ài qíng lù yŏu le nĭ wŏ

什么都顶得住(can withstand anything)
shén me dou dĭng de zhù

这一路上所有的顽个顽固(stubborness)
zhè yī lù shang suŏ yŏu dì wán gŭ

到最后(till the end)都值得被祝福(deserves to be congratulated)
dào zuì hòu dōu zhí de bèi zhù fú

I found another website chinesetools.eu that has an annotation tool. My tutor spotted some errors in my previous posts and showed me the correct characters to use. I have done the corrections and the posts should be fine now.

Labrador Nature Reserve - 拉柏多自然保护区

2008-05-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

有很长的时间我没有到这个地方散步(san1 bu1)。想到孩子小的时候，我们一家人会习惯(xi2 guan4)每个周末 (zhou1 mo4) 让孩子在自然(zi1 ran2)的环境（huan2 jing4）跑跑和踢踢球。偶尔(ou2 er3)会幸运（xing4 yun4）看见很壮丽（zhuang4 li4) 的日落(ri1 luo4)。

http://www.singaporevr.com/vrs/labradorreserve/labradorpark.html

Writing Chinese - new words

2008-05-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

In my previous post, I made an attempt to express my thoughts in Chinese. It was difficult to say the least. But through that struggle, I learned how words that I know how to use were written. This is important to me - learning new words.

It is necessary in my learning of Chinese that I am able to recognise words or characters when I see them elsewhere other than where I had first encountered them. Even if I will always have trouble remembering how they sound or what they mean, I will have to keep looking at them over and over again.

I also realise that I should also be using the words that I pick up here and there in the songs I learned, the brochures I read or the signboards in the food centres. I feel that writing is an effective way to learn a language.

Other than being exposed to more words and their meanings, I can also learn to structure sentences correctly but not on my own. For this I will have to turn to my tutor for help. I will ask her to read my Chinese post and to go over the sentences to make them better. Here's the list of words that I have compiled for my reference over and over again just so that I can recognise them if I were to come across these characters in other types of text.

虽然 sui1 ran1 although

无能 wu2 neng2 not capable

方法 fang1 fa3 method

因为 yin1 wei4 because

电闹 dian4 nao3 computer

可以 ke2 yi3 able to

帮助 bang1 zhu4 help, asist

在网 zai1 wang3 on the internet

华语 hua2 yu3 Chinese

资料 zi1 liao4 resources, information

曾经 ceng2 jing1 previously

圆满 yuan2 man3 satisfactory

水平 shui3 ping2 standard

假如 jia3 ru2 If

忘掉 wang4 diao4 forgotten

记住 zhi4 zhu4 remember

其时 qi2 shi2 actually

辛苦 xin1 ku3 suffering

件事 jian4 shi1 matter

工具 gong1 ju4 tools

特别 te1 bie2 special, especially

字典 zi1dian4 dictionary

选 xuan3 choose

时候 shi2 hou4 time

可以 ke2 yi3 able to

意思 yi4 si4 meaning

找 zhao3 find

汉语 han4yu3 Chinese

拼音 pin1yin1 phonetics

最 zui4 most

旁边 pang2 bian1 side

幸运 xin4 yun4 fortunate

这样 zhe1yang4 like this

鼓励 gu3 li1 encouragement

支持 zhi1chi2 support

感到 gan3 dao1 feel

希望 xi1 wang4 hope

可能 ke3 neng2 possible

成功 cheng2 gong1 succeed

虽然 sui1ran2 although

时间 shi2 jian1， time

值得 zhi2 de1 worth it

Writing Chinese

2008-05-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

今晚我想用华语写字。虽然sui1 ran1我不能bu1 neng2用笔来写我会用打字的方法fang1 fa3因为yin1 wei4电脑dian4 nao3可以ke2 yi3给我很大的帮助bang1 zhu4。

在网wang3上有很多学华语hua2 yu3的资料zi1 liao4.

我曾经ceng2 jing1觉得我没有可能把学华语到一个对我来说是满意man3 yi1 的程度cheng2 du1 .

我的老师说假如jia3 ru2我看一个字七次我会很难把它忘掉wang4 diao4。我就回答说＂我要看七十次才能把它记住zhi4 zhu4。＂

其实qi2 shi2我现在打ta3这几个字是很辛苦xin1 ku3的一件事jian4 shi1。

我用两种方法fang1 fa3。第一个是用xuezhongwen.net 的打字工具gong1 ju4.

这个工具gong1 ju4内nei1有特别te1 bie2的字典zi1dian4让我选xuan3字的时候shi2 hou4可以ke2 yi3看到字的意思yi4 si4。

第二个方法是用xuezhongwen.com 的字典。有时候shi2 hou1那个打字工具没有我要找zhao3那个字。我就用汉语han4yu3拼音 pin1yin1跟英语去找我要用的字。

最zui4好是能有一位老师在旁边pang2 bian1。我很幸运xin4 yun4有一位这样yang4的老师。她给我很多鼓励gu3 li1和支持zhi1chi2让我感到gan3 dao1真得有一点希望xi1 wang4可能ke3 neng2有一天会成功cheng2 gong1。

虽然sui1ran2我在这些子里花了好多的时间shi2 jian1，我觉得这些时间是化得很值得zhi2 de1。我看这篇pian1作文会有许多错cuo4字但是没有错哪里有成功呢？

花心 - What the song means

2008-05-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

I find that after my tutor has explained the lyrics of the song to me, I am able to remember the lines better and I can appreciate the song at a deeper level. I am beginning to appreciate the beauty of the Chinese language in the expression of so much emotions in just so few words. Below is the meaning of the song. The choice of words reflect both my feelings and my need to be able to remember the way the characters are written and to enable me to transfer this knowlege in another context.

First Verse

花的心
huādìxīn
The flower’s heart

藏在蕊中
Zàngzàiruĭzhōng
Hidden/buried at its core

空把花期都错过
kòngbàhuā qīdūcuòguò
Has clean forgotten and missed the flower season

你的心忘了季节
nĭdìxīnwàngliàojìjié
Your heart has forgotten the season

从不轻易让人懂
cóngbuqīngyìràngréndŏng
Never easily allowing others to understand it

为何不牵我的手
wèihébuqiānwŏdìshŏu
Why not hold my hand

共听日月唱首歌　
gòngtìngrìyuèchàngshŏugē
Together day(sun) and night(moon) singing a song　

黑夜又白昼
hēiyèyòubáizhòu
The night will become day

人生为欢有几何
rénshēngwèihuānyŏujĭhé
How often do we pursue happiness

Chorus
春去春会来
chūnqùchūnhuilái
Spring leaves, Spring returns

花谢花会再开
huāxièhuāhuizàikāi
Flowers fade, flowers will open again

只要你愿意
zhīyàonĭyuànyì
If you are willing

只要你愿意
If you are willing
zhīyàonĭyuànyì

让梦划向你心海
ràngmènghuàxiàngnĭxīnhăi　
Let your dreams paddle towards your heart

Second Verse

花瓣泪飘落风中
huābànlèipiāoluòfēngzhōng
The tears(dew) on the petals float into the heart of the wind

虽有悲意也从容　
suīyŏubēiyìyĕcóngróng
Although there is sadness and unhurriedness

　
你的泪晶莹剔透
nĭdìlèijīngyíngtītòu
Your tears are crystal clear and transparent

心中一定还有梦
xīnzhōngyīdìnghuányŏumèng
In your heart, there must be dreams

为何不牵我的手
wèihébuqiānwŏdìshŏu
Why don’t you hold my hand

同看海天成一色　
tóngkànhăitiānchéngyīse
Together we look at sea and sky merge to become one of a kind

　
潮起又潮落
cháoqĭyòucháoluò
The tide rises and ebbs

送走人间许多愁
sòngzŏurénjiànxŭduōchóu
Carrying away with them our worldly woes

Chorus (2x)

花心

2008-05-10T04:12:00.000-07:00

今晚老师会教我这首歌。
This evening my tutor will be teaching me this song by Emil Chao .

花心

花的心
花的心
huā dì xīn

藏在蕊中
藏在蕊中
Zàng zài ruĭ zhōng

空把花期都錯過
空把花期都错过
kòng bà huā qī dū cuò guò

你的心忘了季節
你的心忘了季节
nĭ dì xīn wàng liào jì jié

從不輕易讓人懂
从不轻易让人懂
cóng bu qīng yì ràng rén dŏng

為何不牽我的手
为何不牵我的手
wèi hé bu qiān wŏ dì shŏu

共聽日月唱首歌
共听日月唱首歌　
gòng tìng rì yuè chàng shŏu gē

黑夜又白晝
黑夜又白昼
hēi yè yòu bái zhòu

黑夜又白晝
黑夜又白昼
hēi yè yòu bái zhòu

人生為歡有幾何
人生为欢有几何
rén shēng wèi huān yŏu jĭ hé

Chorus

花瓣淚飄落風中
花瓣泪飘落风中
huā bàn lèi piāo luò fēng zhōng

雖有悲意也從容　
虽有悲意也从容　
suī yŏu bēi yì yĕ cóng róng

你的淚晶瑩剔透
你的泪晶莹剔透
nĭ dì lèi jīng yíng tī tòu

心中一定還有夢
心中一定还有梦
xīn zhōng yī dìng huán yŏu mèng

為何不牽我的手
为何不牵我的手
wèi hé bu qiān wŏ dì shŏu

同看海天成一色　
同看海天成一色　
tóng kàn hăi tiān chéng yī se

潮起又潮落
潮起又潮落
cháo qĭ yòu cháo luò

潮起又潮落
潮起又潮落
cháo qĭ yòu cháo luò

送走人間許多愁
送走人间许多愁
sòng zŏu rén jiàn xŭ duō chóu

Chorus
春去春會來
春去春会来
chūn qù chūn hui lái

花謝花會再開
花谢花会再开
huā xiè huā hui zài kāi

只要你願意
只要你愿意
zhī yào nĭ yuàn yì

只要你愿意
只要你愿意
zhī yào nĭ yuàn yì

讓夢划向你心海　
让梦划向你心海
ràng mèng huà xiàng nĭ xīn hăi　 ( 重覆 * )

Authentic materials - Brochures

2008-05-06T08:21:00.001-07:00

While I enjoy Jimmy Liao's 'Left Turn, Right Turn' very much and cannot wait to read the entire text with the guidance of my tutor, I am also eager to read messages transmitted in daily life that are written in Chinese.

Everytime I visit a food court, I am very keen to see if there are words that I am able to read off the signboard telling me the name of the stall and the food it serves. In restaurants, I study the menus but alas my comprehension of Chinese is really at a dismal level.

Another source of material that is rich in educational content for learners of Chinese like myself can be found in brochures that can be obtained in our nature reserves, parks, tourist information booths and at hotel lobbies. I am a collector of these brochures pertaining to my interest in nature, buildings and museums in Singapore and nowadays.

Some of these brochures contain text in three languages - English, Chinese and Malay. The one below is an example of such a brochure giving information on Labrador Nature Reserve.

I thought that the best way to learn characters that recur frequently across various text that one comes across daily would be to familiarise myself with these characters. In copying out the text of of a particular section of this brochure in Chinese, I realise that there are many repetitions of the same character and that helps me in remembering the way they look. This Saturday, I would like to ask my tutor to read and explain what I have copied. And then I will move on to another brochure to see if some of those characters appear again. I am sure they do!

Learning a language is not like learning or Geography. For that matter even these subjects could be learned and enjoyed at the same time outside of a school curriculum. What with the excellent documentaries on cable TV especially National Geographics and the History Channel and the internet, how could these subjects ever be boring?

It is the same with the learning of Chinese. I find that this is so probably because I am a self-directed learner in the true sense of the term and my tutor is the facilitator who steers me in the right direction and is a valuable resource to me. So to summarise my learning resources, I have the following list:

Emil Chao's songs
Jimmy Liao's stories
Brochures, advertisments, signboards, restaurant menus ad infinitum

Reading - 'Left Turn, Right Turn' by Jimmy Liao

2008-05-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

Learning to read the text in Jimmy Liao's 'Turn Left, Turn Right'.

The purpose of this post is to learn to recognise the characters in both the traditional and simplified forms as well as to be able to read them with help of the Hanyu Pinyin associated with them.

As I find it extremely difficult to remember the characters learned in each session with my tutor, I figured out that the more often I see these characters through repeated readings, the more likely that they will be commited to my long-term memory.

向左走，向右走
********************************************************
那年的冬天特別寒冷
那年的冬天特别 (especially)寒冷(very cold)
Na nián dì dōng tiān tè biéhán lĕng

整個城市籠罩在陰濕的雨裡。
整个城市笼罩(covered)在阴湿(dark, damp)的雨里。
zhĕng gè chéng shì lŏng zhào zài Yīn shī dì yŭ lĭ

灰矇矇的天空遲遲不著陽光
灰(grey)蒙蒙(blurry) 的天空迟迟不着阳光
huī méng méng dì tiān kōng chí chí bu zhao yáng guāng

讓人感到莫名的沮喪。
让人感到(feel)莫名(indescribable)的沮丧(dejection, sadness)。
ràng rén găn dào mò míng dì jŭ sàng

常常走在街上就有一種
常常走在街上就有一种
cháng cháng zŏu zài jiē shang jiù yŏu yī zhŏng

落淚的衝動。
落泪的冲动。
luò lèi dì chōng dòng

***********************************************************

10月6日

她住在城市郊區棟舊遇大樓裏
她住(live)在城市(city)郊区(suburban)栋旧遇(old residence)大楼里(building)
tā zhù zài chéng shì jiāo qū dòng jiù yù dà lóu lĭ

每次出門不管去那裏
每次出门不管(no matter)去那里
mĕi cì chū mén bù guăn qù nà li

總是習慣性地先向左走（向右走
总是(always)习惯性(habit, nature)地先向左(left)走（向右(right)走）
zŏng shì xí guàn xìng de xiān xiàng zuŏ zŏu (xiàng yòu zŏu）

tā cóng bù hui yù jiàn tā
他從不会遇見她
他(He)从不会(never)遇见(met)她(her)

*********************************************************

10月15日

陽光被不斷飄過的雲朵遮住
阳光(sunlight)被不断飘过的云朵(clouds)遮住(cover)
yáng guāng bèi bù duàn piāo guò dì yún duŏ zhē zhù

屋內的光線忽明忽暗
屋内的光线(rays of sunlight)忽明忽暗 (alternate between light and dark)
wū nèi dì guāng xiàn hū míng hū àn

他從不用遇見她
他从不用遇见(meet)她

tā cóng bù yòng yù jiàn tā

*********************************************************

10月28日

他近來不是過的很好，
他近来(recently)不是过的很好(not doing well)，
tā jìn lái bù shì guò dì hĕn hăo

晚上偶爾會到城中
晚上偶尔(by chance, accidentally)会到城中(city)
Wǎn shǎng ǒu ěr huì dào chéng zhōng

上流餐廳拉琴賺點外快。
上流(high-class)餐厅(restaurant)拉琴(play the violin)赚点外快(earn some extra money)。
shàng liú cān tīng lā qín zuàn diăn wài kuài

*******************************************************

Annotation Marks

2008-05-04T07:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my tutor explained a few more pages of the text in Jimmy Liao's book 'Turn Left, Turn Right'. She gave me the hanyu pinyin for the difficult words as well as the simplified Chinese characters.

This evening, I was typing the text into a word document when I could not find the word I was looking for and so I accessed the Chinese-Tools.com website. I managed to find the character and then decided to explore more of the features in the 'Chinese Tools' section.

I found another tool that is just so fantastic. It is an Annotation Tool. All I needed to do to obtain the Hanyu Pinyin equivalents of the Chinese Text I had was to:

1. Cut the text below from my Word Doc and paste it onto the Annotation page in the space provided.

他近來不是過的很好，晚上偶爾會到城中上流餐廳拉琴賺點外快。
or
他近来不是过的很好，晚上偶尔会到城中上流餐厅拉琴赚点外快。

2. Click the Annotate Button and see what comes up other than the Hanyu Pinyin with the annotation marks:

1.他 tā he / him2.近来 jìn lái recently / lately3.不是 bú shì not be / blame or fault4.过 guò (experienced action marker) / to cross / to go over / to pass (time) / to celebrate (a holiday) / to live / to get along / (surname) / excessively / too-5.的 dì aim / clearde (possessive particle) / ofdí really and truly6.很好 hěn hǎo well7.晚上 wǎn shang in the evening8.偶尔 ǒu ěr occasionally / once in a while9.会 huì can / be possible / be able to / to assemble / to meet / to gather / to see / union / group / associationkuài to balance an account / accounting10.到 dào to (a place) / until (a time) / up to / to go / to arrive11.城 chéng city walls / city / town12.中 zhōng within / among / in / middle / center / while (doing sth) / during / China / Chinesezhòng hit (the mark)13.上 shàng on / on top / upon / first (of two parts) / previous or last (week, etc.) / upper / higher / above / previous / to climb / to go into / above / to go up

1.流 liú to flow / to spread / to circulate / to move2.餐厅 cān tīng dining-hall3.拉 lā to pull / to play (string instruments) / to drag / to draw4.琴 qín (mus. instr.)5.赚 zhuàn earn / make a profitzuàn cheat / swindle6.点 diǎn (downwards-right convex character stroke) / o'clock / (a measure word) / point / dot / (decimal) point)7.外快 wài kuài extra income besides salary

Have fun here:
http://www.chinese-tools.com/tools/annotation.html

Finding out how characters sound

2008-04-28T00:54:00.000-07:00

The greatest frustration in learning Chinese is that I stare at the characters in the face and for the life of me cannot prononunce them. So in a sentence of ten words or so, I am lucky if I manage to read two or three.

When I bought Jimmy Liao's 'Turn Left, Turn right', I wanted so badly to be able to read the words. My tutor taught me the first five lines mentioned two posts ago.

I am hungry for more and in the Chinese-Tool.com site, I found this excellent tool that allows me to use my mouse to write a chinese character in both traditional and simplified form, select the one that I am interested to know about and the Hanyu Pinyin would appear. If the word is a traditional character, the simplified version will be given. Here is the tool:

http://www.chinese-tools.com/tools/mouse.html

This China-Tools.com is really a fantastic website!

I am using this tool to learn the simplified forms of the Turn Left, Turn Right story as well as how to read them. It may seem to be a laborious way to learn Chinese. However, being actively engaged in seeking out the forms and meanings of the words, I am at least breaking out of the frustration of not being able to figure out Chinese characters at all.

Confucius said:
"I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand'

I need not say more.

Typing Hanyu Pinyin with intonations

2008-04-28T00:02:00.000-07:00

I am unable to use the Microsoft Languages feature to produce Hanyu Pinyin with the proper intonation as I am using Windows Vista and it appears that to get this feature I will have do download a language pack and install it into my computer.

I am totally clueless about how this is done with my chief worry being that of my computer becoming messed up as a result of downloading things I do not fully understand. So I sought alternative solutions and in exploring China-Tools.com, I came across a pinyin editor on this website that does the job for me. It is not the best (the ideal would be to be able to highlight the pinyin sentences and get the intonation marks to appear at the click of a button or two) but it does the job well.

http://www.chinese-tools.com/tools/pinyin-editor.html

Just found this cool site that does the job just right -

http://www.purpleculture.net/Chinese-Character-Pinyin-Converter-Online.asp

朋友（Friend）周华健

这些年已个人
zhē xiē nián yí gè rén

风也过雨也走
fēng yé guò yú yé zóǔ

有过泪有过错
yǒu guò leì yǒu guò cuò

还记得坚持甚么
hái jì dē jiān chí shèn mè

向左走向右走 - Turn Left Turn Right

2008-04-27T01:59:00.000-07:00

Last night, my tutor explained the first five lines of the book 'Turn Left, Turn Right' by Jimmy Liao. It was written in Traditional Chinese. My tutor explained the difficult words and gave me the Hanyu Pinyin for those words. I could manage the pinyin for the rest.

How nice, I thought to myself, if there were a tool that could convert Traditional Chinese to Simplified Chinese, I thought. Nowadays, thinking can be put into action at the touch of the keyboard. Through Google, I found the exact tool I was wishing from an excellent website for learning Chinese called Chinese-tools.com

The conversion tool is here:
http://www.chinese-tools.com/tools/converter-simptrad.html

Here's how I was engaged in learning Chinese through the 5 lines of Jimmy Liao's book Turn Left, Turn Right:

1 Copy the lines from the book (handwritten) Got the Hanyu Pinyin and simplified Chinese for the difficult words from my tutor who also taught me how to read it in poetic style

2 Typed the lines in Traditional Chinese and did a conversion to Simplified Chinese using the online tools I have found

3 Copied the texts of both Traditional and Simplified Chinese onto a Word Document.
Added the Hanyu Pinyin

My effort is reproduced below:

************************************************************
向左走向右走 (Turn Left, turn right)
Jimmy Liao (幾米)
*************************************************
那年的冬天特別寒冷
那年的冬天特别寒冷
Na nian de dong tian te bie han leng

整個成市籠罩在陰濕的雨裡
整个成市笼罩在阴湿的雨里
Zheng ge cheng shi long zhao zai yin shi de yu li

灰蒙蒙的天空遲遲不著揚光
灰蒙蒙的天空迟迟不着扬光
Hui meng meng de tian kong chi chi bu zhao yang guang

讓人感到莫名的沮喪

让人感到莫名的沮丧
Rang ren kan dao mo ming de ju shang

常常走在街上就有一種
常常走在街上就有一种
Chang chang zou zai jie shang jiu you yi zhong

落淚的衝動
落泪的冲动
Luo lei de zhong dong

The words in blue are Simplified Chinese characters.

Reflection

Although it was like hard labour just to understand five lines from a story, I feel that it was worth it because I was totally engaged in the learning process. At the same time, I could not help but feel that the road ahead is really long and endless. There seems to be no end to the number of characters and seeing more and more of the characters while I was using the tools can be daunting.

How does one recognise and remember thousands of characters that cannot be pronounced? All I want is to be able to read Chinese well enough to step into another world and another culture that strangely is also my heritage. I figure that the only way is to immerse in the language through learning to read. For a start, I have found the reading materials that are enjoyable to me i.e. lyrics of songs and stories.

朋友（Friend）

2008-04-26T06:01:00.000-07:00

Second Session with Tutor

Today I had my second session with my Chinese Tutor. She tested me on the writing of the list of words she gave me for 'spelling' last week from the song 在爱我吧（Love me again). I almost got everything correct except for one word. She was pleased that my hard work in practising everyday had paid off. We then moved to another song by Zhou Hua Jian, one that was very popular called 朋友 (Friends). She explained the words that I did not understand (there were many) and gave me another list for 听写(Spelling)next week.

I showed her the contents of this blog and invited her to comment on my entries so that I can learn more. I asked if there was a way to make the intonation mark appear in the Hanyu Pinyin words that I type. She said I did not have Chinese fonts and downloaded a set for me. For some reason, even though we have saved the Chinese fonts into the Fonts folder, it could not be detected in word. I will have to find out why because it would be great to have hanyu pinyin with the proper intonations indicated.

I also showed her a book I bought a book written and illustrated by Jimmy Liao. It was one of many beautiful works that he has produced called 'Turn Left, Turn Right' 向左走，向右走。 It was written in traditional Chinese and I saw the potential of this book in helping me to further my study of Chinese as it has wonderfully descriptive pictures and not too many words.

To facilitate her teaching, I copied the first five lines that was written in traditional Chinese in a notebook leaving ample spaces in between so that she could write for me the hanyu pinyin as well as the simplified Chinese characters. This method worked for me and now I have two types of materials for learning - songs and story.

Lyrics of 朋友（Friend）周华健

这些年一个人
Zhe xie nian yi ge ren

风也过雨也走
Feng ye guo yu ye zou

有过泪有过错
You guo lei you guo cuo

还记得坚持甚么
Hai ji de jian chi shen me

真爱过才会懂
Zhen ai guo cai hui dong

会寂寞会回首
Hui ji mo hui hui shou

终有梦终有你在心中
Zhong you meng zhong you ni zai xin zhong

朋友一生一起走
Peng you yi sheng yi qi zou

那些日子不再有
Na xie ri zi bu zai you

一句话一辈子
Yi ju hua yi bei zi

一生情一杯酒
Yi sheng qing yi bei jiu

朋友不曾孤单过
Peng you bu ceng gu dan guo

一生朋友你会懂
Yi sheng peng you ni hui dong

还有伤还友痛
Hai you shang hai you tong

还要走还有我
Hai yao zou hai you wo

Characters in blue are my spelling list for next week.

Meaning of the song as I understand it to be

朋友（Friend）周华健

这些年一个人
Zhe xie nian yi ge ren
All these years I have been alone

风也过雨也走
Feng ye guo yu ye zou
The wind has passed, the rain has left

有过泪有过错
You guo lei you guo cuo
There has been tears, there have been mistakes

还记得坚莫甚么
Hai ji de jian chi shen me
Do you remember why we persisted

真爱过才会懂
Zhen ai guo cai hui dong
When you have really loved, you will understand

会寂寞会回首
Hui ji mo hui hui shou
I feel loneliness, I turn back

终有梦终有你在心中
Zhong you meng zhong you ni zai xin zhong
In the end, there are dreams and there is you in my heart

朋友一生一起走
Peng you yi sheng yi qi zou
Friends are forever

那些日子不再有
Na xie ri zi bu zai you
Those days will not be here again

一句话一辈子
Yi ju hua yi bei zi
A word, a lifetime

一生情一杯酒
Yi sheng qing yi bei jiu
A lifetime of love, a cup of wine

朋友不曾孤单过
Peng you bu ceng gu dan guo
Friends will never be alone

一生朋友你会懂
Yi sheng peng you ni hui dong
A lifetime of friendship, you will understand

还有伤还友痛
Hai you shang hai you tong
There is hurt and there is pain

还要走还有我

Hai yao zou hai you wo

Want to carry on, there is me

Learning Chinese My Way

The moon represents my heart 月亮代表我的心

月亮代表我的心

Yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn

Kevin Chen's songs

My precious books

Practice, practice

My aspirations

Practice, practice!

A little progress at a time

Practice

A Pre-destined relationship

A touching story

Good Efforts

Teachers' Writing

Chinese Calligraphy

新年快乐

学华语的决心

A request to translate a letter

练习

A Garden in my Heart by Jimmy Liao

MIssing my Cat by Jimmy Liao

After a long absence...

我的心中每天开出一朵花 - Jimmy Liao

我的路 - 多难也要走

终于

Shifting my goal from mastery to enjoyment

Love in the Cards by Jimmy Liao

I am back

妈妈的话 - My Mother's Advice

Thoughts on Learning Chinese

病的时候

练习写文章

邓丽君 - 山茶花

爱相随

风雨无阻 fēng yǔ wú zǔ

Fantastic Chinese Song Lyrics Website

练习写华语

潇洒走一回

雨人yǔ rén

Sunday's reflections

爱情路 - from the Wakin in the Rain Album of Emil Chao

Labrador Nature Reserve - 拉柏多自然保护区

Writing Chinese - new words

Writing Chinese

花心 - What the song means

花心

Authentic materials - Brochures

Reading - 'Left Turn, Right Turn' by Jimmy Liao

Annotation Marks

Finding out how characters sound

Typing Hanyu Pinyin with intonations

向左走 向右走 - Turn Left Turn Right

朋友（Friend）

向左走向右走 - Turn Left Turn Right