What Do We Know About China?

A Primer…

What is China’s capital city?

Hong KongBeijingShanghaiTaiwan

What is China’s official language? Does everyone speak this type of Chinese?

MandarinCantoneseEnglishMongolian

Major varieties of Chinese include:

Pŭtōnghuà (Mandarin) Yuè (Cantonese) Mĭn Nán (Southern Min) Jìnyŭ Hakka Xiāng (Hunanese) Gàn Mín Bĕi (Northern Min) Mín Dōng (Eastern Min) Mín Zhōng (Central Min) Dungan Pŭ-Xián Huīzhōu

Mandarin Chinese

Is a complex language

Consists of five thousand characters-called hanzi

Hanzi began over 3000 years agoToday use PINYIN to teach reading to young

children

Why is Chinese difficult to learn?

Mandarin Chinese is a TONAL languageThe four tones :

First-high and stay

Second-rising tone

Third-falls and rises

Fourth - falls

A word’s meaning depends on the tone used to pronounce word

Ma – mother (First-high and stay )

Ma – Linen Cloth (Second-rising tone)

Ma- horse (Third-falls and rises)

Ma- Swear (Fourth – falls)

China’s most greatly populated city is …

ShanghaiBeijingHong KongChungking

Chinese Names

If a Chinese woman’s name is Zhang Xiaomei, is Zhang Husband’s last name Her own name Her own last name

JIANG Ji- li CHEH-Ying – Ji – li’s mother JIANG Xi-reng – Ji – li’s father

Facts about Family Names

Family Name + Generational Name + Personal Name

There are only a few hundred family names in China

Change in family name order is needed to meet the western world, so the Chinese CAPITALIZE their family name

Ex. COLBY Diane

More about names…

Personal names are very important

Ugly nicknames like “dog face” and girl’s nicknames for boys are used to keep away evil spirits from taking children

How many minority nationalities are there in China?

A. OneB. TwoC. Ten D. Fifty-five

The largest ethnic group is the Han Chinese

What is China’s population?

A. One billionB. 1.3 billionC. 1.6 billion

A friend in China asks you, “Have you eaten yet.?” What does this mean?

A. You are invited to dinnerB. HelloC. I am a curious personD. You need to watch your weight, you need a diet!

You’ve received a red envelope from a person while visiting China. What is inside this envelope?

A.PenaltyB.A love

letterC.CashD.Candy

True or False-Fortune cookies were invented in China.

•David Jung, living in Los Angeles and founder of the Hong Kong Noodle Company invented the fortune cookie in 1918. He handed the cookies to the poor in Los Angeles. They contained inspirational messages of hope for the poor

OR

•   A Japanese immigrant named Makoto Hagiwara invented the fortune cookie in San Francisco in 1914. He used the cookie and its message to thank those people who had been kind to him following a negative experience he had with the San Francisco mayor.

Approximately When was the first Chinese empire formed?

2100 BC210 BC21 BC210 AD

Who is China’s current President? What do we know about his life?

President Xi Jinping

http://www.3news.co.nz/Xi-Jinping-takes-helm-of-China-amid-reform-calls/tabid/313/articleID/276855/Default.aspx

China does not allow its people human rights…

What are human rights?Who wrote the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights? What is it?If this document exists, why doesn’t everyone

have human rights?What is the solution?

http://www.youthforhumanrights.org/what-are-human-rights.html

Twenty of these human rights are…

Right to privacy Right to have a family To own property Free Speech Safety from violence Equality of both males and females; women's rights Fair trial To be innocent until proven guilty To be a citizen of a country To be recognized as a person To vote To think freely To believe and practice the religion a person wants To peacefully protest (speak against) a government or group Health care (medical care) Education Not be forced into marriage The right to work The right to express oneself