As a student of putonghua, I've been very frustrated with the available learning materials designed to help me. Often they are boring or irrelevant, but usually just plain boring.
Worse has been my foray into Chinese culture. I know it's fact that to aid you in learning your new language, you should start immersing yourself into said culture; as a matter of fact, immersing yourself into the new culture is ultimately the final goal.
But, learning putonghua Chinese has proven difficult for me as mainland Chinese culture is conservative and staid. Mainland Chinese culture does not challenge or stimulate or provoke. It is a boring re-hash of cliches and stereotypes that when served with sour cream, baked beans and ground beef make up your mother's tired Mexican night.
Any time you turn on the TV in China you'll watch either a WWII victory over evil Japanese invaders or some cliche ridden soap opera about a) working hard all your life and b) contracting the pretty woman disease, leukemia. Any time you watch a movie it is usually about how people can fly in a time that is viewed as better than the present. Any time you "turn on the radio" and hear a song it is usually a love song in which irregardless of which gender is singing, the male is sorry to the female in a short stanza which is sung once and then repeated verbatim in the second half.
These are my complaints as a student of putonghua Chinese. I have complete faith in the beauty and majesty of this culture with "5000 years of history"*; however, I have been having trouble finding suitable culture for me to appreciate.
That's where this blog comes in. I have been studying putonghua for a number of years, and my worst fault has been not interacting with the culture that I am learning.
This blog hopes to find and identify interesting and worthy items of Chinese culture, whether mainland or island, and use them as study aids. Through transcriptions of dialog, script, and verse this blog aims to better understand Chinese culture and language. As well as learning what people are saying, this blog hopes to understand why they are saying it; analysis will be used in trying to understand the traditional and ritualistic culture of China.
As I am still a student of putonghua, many times I won't be correct. I am still learning, I'll be making guesses at times, so please indulge me. Furthermore, aid and suggestions would be appreciated.
Just talking about China is a passionate subject for many speakers, Chinese or otherwise. This blog hopes to try to provide insight into the language and culture of "the people of the dragon" and the pride and passion that make them go.
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