Read A Cultural History of the Chinese Language

A Cultural History of the Chinese Language

Sharron Gu

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Description:Chinese A Cultural History Forward and IntroductionThis is an introductory essay of Chinese cultural history, and it is written for people whose first language is not Chinese. Chinese, as used here, refers to cultural rather than ethnical characteristics. By this definition, the shape and capacity of the Chinese mind do not include a biological inheritance. To understand the Chinese mind, one has to speak, read, and to understand the tone, rhythm, imagery, and gestures of the language and see the world through the Chinese imagination which is expressed in a diverse multi-media spectrum, crowded with images and connotations that have accumulated and refined for over five thousand years. Cultural identity is not determined by the origin of one’s ancestors although this factor can provide easy entrance to a culture. It is, rather, a way of life that is defined and cultivated by a unique world of idioms, rhythms, gestures, attitudes, and wisdom. It is reflected in the way that one sees, feels, listens and speaks, and how one sings, dances, laughs, cries, and dreams. It also includes the ways that one communicates and relates to others and how one thinks of oneself and the world. Language often sets the horizon of vision. As it ages, it provides more and varied images, expends the scope of imagination, and stimulates deeper thoughts. Cultural history tells the story of a community as it constantly reaches for its horizons, shifts perspectives and sets sail into the unknown and foreign. As they accumulate new expression and connotation, speakers and readers fined a higher level of consciousness and a deeper awareness of their potential as well as their limitations. This book illustrates the evolution of the Chinese repertoire of expression as it accumulated, and transformed. It depicts how Chinese, as a language and culture, acquired its unique characteristics as it continuously transformed and reinvented itself. * * * * The initial inspiration for this book is my son. He was born in North America and considers Chinese, my first language, to be jibberish. Like many Chinese parents in North America, I failed to keep him in a language school to read Chinese literature. It seemed irrelevant, and had little to do with his life here. He thought and still thinks that learning Chinese is very difficult and extremely boring. He has become one of those people, whom everyone thinks is Chinese, yet he knows practically nothing about his heritage. He is Chinese in appearance only. Even after three trips to China, his impressions remain a collection of scattered images: exotic food, the babble of a foreign tongue, and busy streets with an ocean of people on bicycles. The first time that I encountered a person like my son was thirty years ago, shortly after I arrived in America to study in a graduate school. I had no family in Philadelphia and I spent most of my weekends at the home of my friend, Dr. Yang, a math-professor-turned businessman. To become a successful American, he gave up university teaching and opened a restaurant. He made a fortune and bought a huge house in an exclusive suburban neighborhood. He was very proud to be a member of the affluent middle class. In order to emulate the American lifestyle (which he believed would open doors for his three children), he became a Christian and a loyal churchgoer. He was also spending a fortune on schooling for his children. Yang had an American born, sixteen-year-old daughter. Grace spoke, gestured, thought, and behaved like any American teenager. Before long, I realized that she had no consciousness of her own face. One Sunday in 1981, Yang was hosting a house party. I arrived at his elegantly decorated mansion just as Grace was returning from the church. Grace loved Sundays because she got to wear her designer dresses and hats, and sing in the choir. She greeted me at the door with American hugs and kisses, a warm and emotional expression that a native Chinese rarely displays. She seemed very happy, and why not? She possessed everything that her imagination could conceive. Yes, this was America. With her father's money she could have everything including the dream that she was someone else. My conversation with her on that day concerned one of her teachers, whom she greatly adored. "He told me that I am the best and brightest student that he has ever taught in his twenty- year career." This flattering comment obviously had a great impact on Grace. She was so excited that her eyes were sparkling and her voice began to tremble. "Guess what?" She whispered in my ear: "I did not tell him I am a Chinese! He has yet to see my parents…. To tell you the truth, I did not tell him because I was afraid that he would change his mind about me." As she averted her beautiful brown eyes, and looked down, I could see her long lashes trembling as they struggled to hold back her tears. Her Chinese roots seemed to be a...We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with A Cultural History of the Chinese Language. To get started finding A Cultural History of the Chinese Language, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Pages: 270

Format: PDF, EPUB & Kindle Edition

Publisher: —

Release: —

ISBN: 0786466499

Description: Chinese A Cultural History Forward and IntroductionThis is an introductory essay of Chinese cultural history, and it is written for people whose first language is not Chinese. Chinese, as used here, refers to cultural rather than ethnical characteristics. By this definition, the shape and capacity of the Chinese mind do not include a biological inheritance. To understand the Chinese mind, one has to speak, read, and to understand the tone, rhythm, imagery, and gestures of the language and see the world through the Chinese imagination which is expressed in a diverse multi-media spectrum, crowded with images and connotations that have accumulated and refined for over five thousand years. Cultural identity is not determined by the origin of one’s ancestors although this factor can provide easy entrance to a culture. It is, rather, a way of life that is defined and cultivated by a unique world of idioms, rhythms, gestures, attitudes, and wisdom. It is reflected in the way that one sees, feels, listens and speaks, and how one sings, dances, laughs, cries, and dreams. It also includes the ways that one communicates and relates to others and how one thinks of oneself and the world. Language often sets the horizon of vision. As it ages, it provides more and varied images, expends the scope of imagination, and stimulates deeper thoughts. Cultural history tells the story of a community as it constantly reaches for its horizons, shifts perspectives and sets sail into the unknown and foreign. As they accumulate new expression and connotation, speakers and readers fined a higher level of consciousness and a deeper awareness of their potential as well as their limitations. This book illustrates the evolution of the Chinese repertoire of expression as it accumulated, and transformed. It depicts how Chinese, as a language and culture, acquired its unique characteristics as it continuously transformed and reinvented itself. * * * * The initial inspiration for this book is my son. He was born in North America and considers Chinese, my first language, to be jibberish. Like many Chinese parents in North America, I failed to keep him in a language school to read Chinese literature. It seemed irrelevant, and had little to do with his life here. He thought and still thinks that learning Chinese is very difficult and extremely boring. He has become one of those people, whom everyone thinks is Chinese, yet he knows practically nothing about his heritage. He is Chinese in appearance only. Even after three trips to China, his impressions remain a collection of scattered images: exotic food, the babble of a foreign tongue, and busy streets with an ocean of people on bicycles. The first time that I encountered a person like my son was thirty years ago, shortly after I arrived in America to study in a graduate school. I had no family in Philadelphia and I spent most of my weekends at the home of my friend, Dr. Yang, a math-professor-turned businessman. To become a successful American, he gave up university teaching and opened a restaurant. He made a fortune and bought a huge house in an exclusive suburban neighborhood. He was very proud to be a member of the affluent middle class. In order to emulate the American lifestyle (which he believed would open doors for his three children), he became a Christian and a loyal churchgoer. He was also spending a fortune on schooling for his children. Yang had an American born, sixteen-year-old daughter. Grace spoke, gestured, thought, and behaved like any American teenager. Before long, I realized that she had no consciousness of her own face. One Sunday in 1981, Yang was hosting a house party. I arrived at his elegantly decorated mansion just as Grace was returning from the church. Grace loved Sundays because she got to wear her designer dresses and hats, and sing in the choir. She greeted me at the door with American hugs and kisses, a warm and emotional expression that a native Chinese rarely displays. She seemed very happy, and why not? She possessed everything that her imagination could conceive. Yes, this was America. With her father's money she could have everything including the dream that she was someone else. My conversation with her on that day concerned one of her teachers, whom she greatly adored. "He told me that I am the best and brightest student that he has ever taught in his twenty- year career." This flattering comment obviously had a great impact on Grace. She was so excited that her eyes were sparkling and her voice began to tremble. "Guess what?" She whispered in my ear: "I did not tell him I am a Chinese! He has yet to see my parents…. To tell you the truth, I did not tell him because I was afraid that he would change his mind about me." As she averted her beautiful brown eyes, and looked down, I could see her long lashes trembling as they struggled to hold back her tears. Her Chinese roots seemed to be a...We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with A Cultural History of the Chinese Language. To get started finding A Cultural History of the Chinese Language, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

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A Cultural History of the Chinese Language

A Cultural History of the Chinese Language

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