Learning Chinese

Learn Chinese - Some Simple Tips to Apply

2011-07-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

Chinese Astrology - Summer, the Rise of Yang

2011-07-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

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Low Calorie Chinese Cooking Methods

2011-07-25T06:51:00.001-07:00

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A Beginners Guide to Chinese Cookery

2011-07-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

Is Chinese Food Unhealthy?

2011-07-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

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Celebrate the Chinese New Year

2011-07-12T08:28:00.001-07:00

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The Role of the Five Elements in Chinese Astrology and Chinese Zodiac

2011-07-12T08:26:00.000-07:00

For a Chinese Astrology reading, people generally know about the Chinese Zodiac which is comprised of twelve animals, the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. What most people do not know is that there are also five elements in Chinese Astrology which are wood, fire, earth, metal, water. When the elements and zodiac animal signs are combined, then the accuracy and richness of a Chinese Astrology reading increases substantially.

In Chinese Astrology, the relationship between the five common elements seen on earth are fundamental and intricate. As on earth, each element is dependent on another element yet can trump and be trumped by another element. Together, the five elements of the Chinese Zodiac form a fluid and nurturing environment with each element of similar strength.

For example, metal can contain water; water fosters the growth of trees which is wood; wood is the fuel for fire; fire burns out to leave ashes which return to the earth; and earth is compressed over time to create metal. So there is a cyclical and rationale approach for this balanced philosophy for the elements in Chinese Astrology.

These five elements are also paired with the Chinese animal in the zodiac. Therefore, one could be a born in the year of the pig and fire, creating a "fire pig" like the year 2007. Or one could be born in the year of the "water dragon." It is by understanding these subtleties that one can begin to truly grasp the implications of their birth year on their future fame, fortune, and destiny in Chinese Astrology readings.

Introduction To Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

2011-07-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) involves the use of Chinese herbal medicine, Acupuncture, Moxibustion, Qi gong, Tuina (Chinese massage), and a medicated diet, and is one of the world's most ancient medical systems, with its own principles, diagnostic methods and therapies. It has become very popular in the west.
Meridians and Collaterals
TCM views the meridians and collaterals networks using Zang-Fu, which categorises tissues and organs in an organic whole. Each Zang and Fu organ transports Qi and blood, and regulates Yin and Yang, maintaining the functions and activities of all parts of the body. This system guides the diagnosis, treatment and application of all the branch subjects of TCM.
Yin and Yang
TCM also holds as its central belief that health in all parts of body is due to the relationship between Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang theory is the general principle used to classify in TCM's holistic approach to health and disease, and also offers a clinical guide to preventing and curing disease.
Diagnosis
TCM's diagnosis depends merely on the doctor's sense organs to acquire clinical data. It mainly consists of the four techniques of diagnosis, namely: interrogation, inspection, auscultation (listening) and olfaction (smelling), pulse feeling and palpation.
Treatment
TCM has three basic components: Chinese herbal therapy, Acupuncture and Tuina (Chinese massage) therapy, and Diet therapy.
Chinese herbal therapy
This is based on the principle that good health depends on achieving optimum vitality and balance - a balance described in terms of the polarity of Yin and Yang.
Chinese herbs come from nature, and include flowers, stems, leaves, roots and barks. Each herb has its own specific characteristics. Their different characteristics are employed to treat disease, rectify the hyperactivity or hypoactivity of Yin or Yang, and help the body restore its normal physiological functions - consequently, curing the disease and restoring health.
Chinese herbal administration (herbal dosages and powder forms) usually depends on your condition, your constitution and age. It should be larger for serious emergencies and stubborn problems with a young and strong patient, smaller for mild problems, and with the aged, the frail, and with children and pregnant women.
The doctor will carefully select different herbal dosages or powder forms to treat you as your treatment starts, and closely monitor your progress through regular consultations. As your condition change, the treatment will be altered accordingly.
Acupuncture and Tuina therapy
These are two practical therapies in TCM. They are to regulate the meridians or channels of the body, to unblock the stagnation of Qi and blood, and balance Yin and Yang, maintaining their function, via the extraordinary points, scalp points, auricular points, and other special points by needle (in the case of Acupuncture) or by the fingers, hands and limbs of the Tuina therapist.
When using Tuina for infant and prenatal care, some special points exist besides the acupoints on the 14 meridians and extra-points. Manipulation using pushing, kneading, rubbing is mostly used.
measuring the waistline
Diet Therapy
Each food (vegetable, fruit, meal, nut, etc.) has its own specific characteristics. We can guide you to the best foods to treat your condition, in accordance with the actual condition of disease, the characters and functions of the foods, and therapeutic requirements found through the doctor's consultation.
Other treatments
Moxibustion, Cupping therapy, Ear authority, Electrolysis, Electrotherapy (without needle) are often used. All of them work by same principles of acupuncture therapy.
What does Chinese Medicine treat?
TCM treats your mind and body as a whole, not just the condition. Using the principles of TCM, a very wide variety of conditions, and any age can be helped, including:
1.Common Internal Diseases
Anaemia, Asthma, Arthritis, Cerebral Thrombosis, Cold, Colitis, Constipation, Constipation, Cholecystitis, Coronary Heart Disease, Digestive Ulcers, Diabetes, Diarrhoea, Oedema, Flu, Gout, Headaches, Hypertension, Hyperlipoproteinemia, Hay fever, Irritable bowel syndrome, Malabsorption, Nephritis, Neurosis, Neurasthenia, Thyroid, Pneumonia, Pancreatitis, etc.
2.Women's problems
Pre-menstrual syndrome, Painful periods, Menopausal syndromes, endometriosis, Sterility, Morning sick, Pelvic Inflammation, etc.
3.Men's problems
Ejaculation Praecox, Hypertrophy, Low Steam Court, Impotence, Prostitutes, Sex Drive Problems.
4.Skin problems
Herpes Zoster, Contact Dermatitis, Eczema, Urticaria, Neurodermatitis, Psoriasis, Acne Vulgaris, Alopecia Areata, Resaca, etc.
5.Muscular, neurological, skeletal and vascular problems
Arthritis, Back Pain, Frozen Shoulder, Gonitis, Hemiplegia, Lumbago (lower back pain), Neuralgia, Omalgia, Sciatica, Stiff Neck Stroke, Sprain, Sports Injury, Tennis Elbow, Trigeminal, Tendon Injury, etc.
6.Mental and Emotional Problems
Anxiety, Depression, Stress, Panic Attack, Insomnia, Palpitation, etc.
7.Ear, Nose, Throat and Ophthalmic Problems
Conjunctivitis, Optic Neuritis, Myopia, Obits Media, Sore Throat, Hay Fever, Halitosis, Pharyngitis, Rhinitis, Sinusitis, etc.
8.Oncology
Liver Cancer, Lung Cancer, Gastric Cancer, etc.

The Truth About Chinese Casket Manufacturers

2011-07-04T06:52:00.001-07:00

There is a growing interest in Chinese casket manufacturers. I should know because I import Chinese caskets. Whenever I am approached by a potential client the first thing they mention is the poor quality of Chinese caskets. I'm only too excited to set the record straight with them.

A truth of manufacturing quality through out the whole world is this: when there is quality control the product is good. When there isn't quality control the product is substandard. So, how are all the poor quality caskets from China entering the US?

The answer is straightforward. Because importing caskets from China is a new thing there are several casket buyers here in the US that are purchasing caskets over the phone or internet and hoping that what arrives at there door is a good product. Sadly, often what does arrive is substandard. Trying to return this product to the factory in China is just as impossible as trying to get a refund from them. When the caskets arrive in the US, you are stuck with them. At this point, the buyer here in the US has no choice but to sell them in order to recoup his or her money. This in turn feeds the perception that Chinese casket manufacturers produce poor quality caskets.

Now, you are no doubt aware of the beautiful, high-quality Chinese caskets that are out and about in the market. Where did they come from and wouldn't you like to get some? After all, they are hundreds of dollars cheaper than what US casket manufacturers charge. The answer to this question is just as straightforward. They came from the same factory as the poor quality Chinese caskets.

Confused? Well, you shouldn't be. Chinese casket manufacturers do not excel at quality control. Poor quality Chinese caskets come from buyers in the US importing Chinese caskets directly from the factory. High quality Chinese caskets come from the same factory, however the buyer sought the services of a casket quality control and risk management sourcing agent.

There are many trading companies that will help you buy Chinese caskets, but they are not adding any value by inspecting the quality. They are usually just skimming profit. You must seek out a sourcing agent that provides quality control services. Additional services should include the following:

ISO factory inspections of Chinese casket manufacturers
Purchase order facilitation
Facilitation of custom requests
Facilitation of worldwide door-to-door shipping
handling of credit for damaged product

This last one is important. You will rarely ever be able to bargain compensation for damaged product over the phone. You need representation in China.

Chinese casket manufacturers are capable of producing the highest quality metal and solid wood caskets equaling or surpassing the quality of the most well-known US casket manufacturers. The key to importing these high quality caskets is to use the services of a Chinese casket sourcing agent.

By Jonathan Grant Higgins

How To Have The Perfect Chinese-Themed Dinner Party With Chinese Cloisonne

2011-07-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

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The Easy Way To Learn Chinese And How To Go About Finding It

2011-07-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

Does the Strength of Chinese Manufacturers Make the Feed-In Tariffs Pointless?

2011-07-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

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Applying For A Chinese Tourist Visa? Read This

2011-07-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

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Chinese Imari - From the 18th Century to the 21st Century

2011-07-01T06:35:00.000-07:00

When speaking of oriental porcelain we normally associate the name "Imari" with Japan, but there is also a Chinese Imari. Production of Japanese style decoration began at Jingdezhen in the early 18th century. Jingdezhen, historically, being the great centre of Chinese porcelain production.

For over 2,000 years, Jingdezhen has been known as the Porcelain Capital of the world. Originally known as Xinpin, its name was changed when the Jingde Emperor (1004-1007) of the Southern Song dynasty, decreed all the pieces made for the Imperial court were to be marked 'made in the Jingde period'.

During the long Ming and Qing dynasties, porcelain production reached new levels of refinement and kilns were set up to cater exclusively to the need of the imperial house. The imperial porcelain was so exquisite that it was described as being "as white as jade, as bright as a mirror, as thin as paper, with a sound as clear as a bell". Today, Jingdezhen remains the national Chinese centre for porcelain production.

The Japanese, circa 1700, were the first to produce the combination of enamel colours which typify the Imari pallet, underglaze blue, red and gilt, and occasionally green enamels.

Dutch traders now had a monopoly on the insatiable European demand for porcelain. The first large orders placed with the Japanese kilns at Arita by the Dutch East India Company in 1656. With trade peaking in the late 17th century It soon came to the attention of the vast Chinese Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, that Japanese Imari porcelain was in high demand in Europe and promptly began to produce Imari wares in competition with the Japanese.

The first Chinese Imari pieces were produced during the latter half of Kangxi Emperors reign (1662-1722).with the kilns soon producing a Chinese version of the Japanese Imari style. With the establishment of large European orders, Chinese kilns slowly replaced the Japanese production in the early 18th century, particularly as social conditions in China settled down, the production of export porcelain having almost stopped with the turmoil at the end of the Ming dynasty. Now, with the full establishment of the Qing dynasty, the factories reopened around 1700 with the Jingdezhen kilns finally eclipsing the original Japanese exports.

The Chinese product differs from the Japanese Imari in that the porcelain is thinner and clearer in colour with the decoration more delicate and more sparsely placed. The decoration can also include painting in the Famille Verte enamels with some of the earliest armorial services produced for the English market decorated in the Chinese Imari style. This first period of Chinese porcelain in Japanese Imari style is generally considered to have been produced from circa1700 - circa 1760.

The Chinese attitude to their vast legacy of art and design differs markedly from Western thinking, which tends to classify art into different historic periods, associating styles, framed in time.

The Chinese, on the other hand, tend to overlap distinctive artistic styles with no real concept of when a style began, or, if it had reached a finish date! And Chinese Imari certainly fits this concept. Chinese Imari is still produced at Jingdezhen today and examples are still decorated with devices and symbols, so ancient that few have the understanding to interpret their meaning.

As example, the decoration often includes the ancient "Eight Trigrams" dating to 2852 - 2737 BCE. The eight trigrams are groups of lines arranged in ranks; they form the bases of the Bagua, which is an ancient Chinese system of philosophy and divination. The symbols were and, are used as a decorative motif on many Chinese items.

Chinas' recorded history of over 5000 years has left a vast legacy of art and design and it is from this wealth of art that China still draws from.

By Maurice Robertson

Do Chinese Herbs Work For Acne?

2011-07-01T06:34:00.000-07:00

When you hear the term traditional Chinese medicine, you will probably think of chigong, herbal concoctions and acupuncture. Chinese medicine has been in existence for more than 4,000 years. It has been a long-held concept in Chinese medicine that any disease is a physical manifestation of the imbalance or blockage of the flow of life energy or "chi" in a person's body.

One of the primary beliefs closely held in traditional Chinese medicine is that sickness is the absence of harmony between Yin and Yang, two opposing energies moving in constant harmony. These two energy forces emanate from the Tao and perpetually interact with each other. Thus, the Chinese physician will diagnose and treat the energy imbalance and not directly the disease.

Chinese Herbal Preparations

For many centuries, Chinese herbal preparations have been employed for acne treatment. Medicinal herbs are the most common remedies at the disposal of Chinese physicians to restore the balance of the two opposite forces and bring back the body to a balanced, healthy state or homeostasis. Herbs and acupuncture are among the tools designed to restore balance.

Chinese herbalists don't normally prescribe just a single herb as a cure. Herbal decoctions are usually made with a combination of various herbs. Each ingredient is weighed, mixed and then boiled into a soup mixture and consumed like tea. The tea can sometimes have a disagreeable taste.

One of the disadvantages of herbal medications is not knowing their inherent properties as there is no specific law regarding their content. Herbs can have the same efficacy and potency as any drugstore medicine. Severe toxic reactions from drinking herbal teas have been reported, so be cautious before taking untested herbal medications.

Here are a few herbal ingredients that are occasionally used for acne treatment. Different herbs are mixed depending on the type of acne condition. Consult an experienced herbalist before trying one of these herbal preparations.

o Chrysanthemum, dandelion and honeysuckle flowers
o Cape jasmine, Forsythia fruit
o Roots of red peony, coptis, scrophularia, scutellaria, red sage, licorice, Chinese angelica, and platycodon.
o Loquat leaves
o Moutan and mulberry tree bark
o Tangerine seeds
o Bulbs of Zhe jiang fritillaria

Efficacy of Chinese Herbs

Very few of these herbs have passed laboratory research and tests. Nevertheless, feverfew, which belongs to the chrysanthemum family, has demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties needed for mild acne treatment when applied to the affected area twice a day for six weeks.

If the taste or smell of an herbal medication offends your senses, you can always go to Chinese drugstores to buy the herb in tablets or capsules. There are also ready-made herbal acne preparations that you can buy without having to mix and boil your own herb mixture.

Chinese Herbal Works Slow

Chinese herbal treatments are meant to work but at a slow pace. Die-hard adherents of herbal medicine stated that if they take it long enough, the herbs can cure as well as prevent their acne.

Many Western physicians, however, claim that acne, like the common cold, would have gone away on its own and any cure is owed to the faith in the treatment itself, not in its efficacy. If you are taking any herbal product, or are considering taking it, first inform your doctor or dermatologist about it.

By Monica C.

Where to Meet Chinese Women Seeking Marriage and How to Bring Them to the United States

2011-06-30T10:39:00.001-07:00

The question of where to meet Chinese women seeking love and marriage with a U.S. Citizens 10 or 15 years ago would be much harder to answer given the time and cost factor of traveling to China. Today, there are many Chinese personals and dating sites that for the purpose of meeting and building a relationship work much better then flying to China and hoping for the best. Many men from the U.S. including myself have taken the relationship from dating site to marriage with a beautiful Chinese lady. After corresponding with each other over a period of time we both came to realize that we were deeply in love but what next? The Internet had lead me to the woman of my dreams but the next hurdle to cross was understanding the legal paperwork involved in marrying and bringing a Chinese spouse to the United States.

Each year in the United States there are thousands of men going on-line that have learned where to meet Chinese women. With their beautiful looks, femininity and gracefulness they still hold marriage and family to the highest honor. They have been conditioned for centuries by Chinese culture that has placed more value on males then females. Many men in China, especially those who are successful providers feel it is their birth right to have a mistress after marriage. This practice is becoming less acceptable to the modern Chinese woman. They have learned that men from America can be trustworthy and very romantic. This has lead more and more beautiful Chinese women to seek men from the west for love and future happiness. This has all been made possible today with the world-wide web.

Since the problem of where to meet Chinese woman has been solved with the power of the Internet the next step is to gather information on how to marry in China or bring your fiancee to the U.S. for marriage here. There are (2) ways to do this, either through the K1 fiancee visa where as she would marry you in the U.S. or the K3 marriage visa after a marriage in China. The wait times for both are now the same for her to enter the United States but the K3 visa has a shorter time for her to receive a green card and a few hundred dollars less in fees.

After learning where to meet Chinese women seeking a loving marriage to a U.S. Citizen the next step for me was to marry in China. This turned out to be the most rewarding journey of my life. Thanks to the Internet it is easy to connect with others where you can learn the differences between the K1 and K3 visas and the legal process for filing your own paperwork.

Don't let confusion over forms, documents, and paperwork stop you from having the lady of your dreams. When you take the time to discover all the Chinese dating sites and where to meet Chinese women the next step will be up to you. With a little research and information you may find yourself stepping on an airplane to meet the love of your life with the knowledge you have others to turn to for help.

By Randy M Marsh

Do Chinese Herbs Work For Acne?

2011-06-30T10:38:00.001-07:00

Chinese Herbal Preparations

Efficacy of Chinese Herbs

Chinese Herbal Works Slow

Chinese herbal treatments are meant to work but at a slow pace. Die-hard adherents of herbal medicine stated that if they take it long enough, the herbs can cure as well as prevent their acne.

By Monica C.

Chinese Americans Are Making an Effort to Stay Connected With China

2011-06-29T09:09:00.001-07:00

There are close to four million people of Chinese origin that live in the United States today. Their presence can be felt while viewing a video clip on YouTube (created by Steve Chen), watching a Bruce Lee movie or listening to a conversation in Cantonese (the third most widely spoken language in the United States). Admirably, their ability to integrate into American society is not taking away from their desire to stay connected with their Chinese roots. Through community organizations, Chinese cultural schools and monetary support to China, a bridge is being built that transcends continents.

Founded in 1895, the Chinese American Citizen Alliance (CACA) is an organization that aims to empower and educate Chinese Americans. The Alliance has battled against attempts to segregate Chinese children in public schools and against movements trying to separate women from husbands who were brought to work in the United States. More recently, the alliance has hosted weekend socials, picnics and educational training programs for Chinese youth. Some examples of their youth outreach are the National Essay Contest held for high school students of Chinese ancestry and college scholarships awarded to excelling students. In these ways the alliance is able to help preserve the Chinese-American identity.

The American Chinese School in Fremont, California, is an example of one of the many centers of learning that allows children and adults to expand their knowledge of Chinese culture and tradition. Their mission is to provide the local community with a place to learn Cantonese and understand Chinese culture. In addition they offer classes such as Kung Fu, traditional dance, Abacus and Mandarin. The school's curriculum enables their students to strengthen their native character.

The increased amount of Chinese-Americans sending money to China is another testament of their desire to stay connected with their roots. These remittances, a term used for a foreign worker who sends money to his/her family have been growing from year to year. In fact, over 40.5 billion USD were sent from individuals living in the United States to their relatives in China in 2008. This is close to twice the amount of money that was sent to China in 2007. This trend reveals the importance of China to their brothers in America.

The flourishing Chinese-American community is constantly working to maintain their heritage. Through organizations that promote equality and justice, schools that focus on traditional education, and the sending of money to China, the connection between the Chinese American and China is being fortified.

Oded Porat is a writer who studies the significance of foreign born Americans to the United States. He has recently preformed an in-depth study on the effects of Americans sending money to China.

Chinese Translation - An Uphill Struggle

2011-06-29T09:07:00.001-07:00

While it's questionable about whether absolutely anybody could become translate other languages effective, it is true that Chinese translation does present a number of challenges that, for example, Spanish translation doesn't offer. A lot of that is due to the fact that Chinese utilizes a radically different written alphabet than English and many similar languages.

There is an immediately apparent difference between written Chinese and written English, and that's the fact written English is based around an alphabet of 26 distinct characters that combine into words that hold meaning. Chinese does not have an equivalent written alphabet, Written Chinese is pulled from a massive catalog of thousands of representative symbols. These symbols aren't actually pictographs, contrary to common belief, and relate to different sounds within the language.

As such Chinese writing is based on a spelling system, but one that's considerably larger and which utilizes a different character set than English.
The written languages of Chinese and English come from distinctly different origins. English is a Germanic language but its character set is derived from the Latin alphabet. The origins of the written Chinese language are somewhat hazier, though most modern linguistic scholars believe it comes from Aramaic.

It's important to note that English is a fairly standardized written language. All English speakers utilize the same 26 characters to spell out there words, even if the spelling and pronunciation of those words differs from dialect to dialect. On the other hand there are multiple different spelling and logographic systems for written Chinese, and some of those written languages utilize as many as eighty thousand different characters.

All of these differences create the impression that Chinese translation is a nearly impossible task. This isn't remotely true. Even though written Chinese is overall a far more diverse language than written English, it has been standardizing recently and all signs show that it will continue to standardize as time goes on. While there are many different spelling and symbol systems, most people write in the alphabet known as Pinyin these days.

If you are looking for a high quality Chinese translator than most of the time you can get by finding someone who is able to translate between English and Pinyin and vice versa. Pinyin is a thoroughly Anglicized version of the written Chinese language that was developed in the 1950's and has become the standard written language used by many universities throughout the "Western" world.

While Chinese translation is NOT an impossible task, it's a task that's best left up to the professionals.

Charlene Lacandazo works in the marketing department of Rosetta Translation, a prominent Chinese translation agency.

Headquartered in London, the company leverages the language skills in its thriving Shanghai office to provide market-leading Chinese translation services to its global customers.

Chinese Language Learning Strategies For Intrapersonal Learners

2011-06-29T09:04:00.001-07:00

The Theory of Multiple Intelligences states that are seven distinct types of learners, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, linguistic, and logical-mathematical. When using this theory to design your personal Chinese language learning strategy, it is important to note that you use every intelligence, to some degree. You just use some much more than others. This particular article will present Chinese language learning strategies for those of you who are Intrapersonal learners.

What is an intrapersonal learner?

Intrapersonal learners, in contrast to interpersonal learners, tend to shy away from social situations. This does not, however, mean that they lack confidence or ability. They are simply more comfortable working alone. They are people who are in tune with their inner feelings, and they often possess wisdom, intuition, motivation, and a strong will. They tend to learn best on their own through self-study.

The First Chinese Language Learning Strategy For Intrapersonal Learners

If you are an intrapersonal learner then Chinese language learning software is for you. You have the will, determination, and self-discipline to accomplish much using this kind of tool. Just look online and find a package that suits you. As some packages are far better than others, be sure to do a fair bit of research and opt for courses or programs that allow you to try the product for free.

The Second Chinese Language Learning Strategy For Intrapersonal Learners

When learning Chinese, it is essential to speak out as much as possible. As face-to-face social interaction may not be attractive to you, you need to find another alternative. That alternative is Skype, the free online communication tool. All you need to do is find an online language learning forum or message board (there are lots of them). Go to one and find a partner whose native language is Chinese and whose target language is your native language. Then engage in a language exchange. This will give you the conversation practice you need from the comfort of your own home.

The Third Chinese Language Learning Strategy For Intrapersonal Learners

Intrapersonal learners are intrinsically creative, and they enjoy turning their creative thoughts into physical creations. If this is you, use your creative skills to aid you in learning Chinese. For example, you may like to write in a diary. If so, start writing down simple thoughts and ideas in Chinese, even if they are at the most basic level. As you progress, move on to writing short stories and poems.

The Fourth Chinese Language Learning Strategy For Intrapersonal Learners

If you are an intrapersonal learner you will love Chinese language learning workbooks. They provide a great mix of reading, writing, and listening work, and they typically include a good amount of intellectually stimulating projects centered around grammar and language learning theory; you'll feel right at home with these great tools. In addition, they often include puzzles, essays, and other learning games that you can complete on your own.

Summary

If you are an intrapersonal learner, you are disciplined, wise and motivated. You study well on your own, and you will be most comfortable using online language courses and books that you can use in the comfort of your own home. Just be sure to get plenty of speaking practice, which you can do using the free Internet tool Skype.

Western Misconceptions About Chinese Women (For Western Men)

2011-06-28T15:37:00.000-07:00

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Moving Towards a Healthy Lifestyle-Evaluating Chinese Medicine

2011-06-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

Can You Learn How to Speak Chinese?

2011-06-28T07:23:00.000-07:00

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Chinese Language - Learn to Use Your Learning Style

2011-06-28T06:41:00.000-07:00

As time has passed we know more about the science of learning. We know now that different people learn in different ways. Primarily, we know that people's learning can be categorized as visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. If you want to learn Chinese easy, it can be helpful to come to understand better what your personal learning style is.

Think about the last time you were in a classroom. Did you have an easy time understanding the subject matter based only on what the teacher said, or did you have an easier time when you saw it written on the board? Did you have an easier time when you could feel it in your hands? How can you accelerate your Chinese language learning based on understanding your learning style?

Most people are primarily visual learners. This means they learn best when they can see something on the page. For these learners, the Chinese system of writing will come relatively easily while speaking and pronunciation might be more of a challenge. In this case it actually might be more beneficial to fight your learning style. While it might be difficult to listen to native speakers and reproduce the sounds that they make it will accelerate your learning to do so, because Chinese must be spoken to be learned. This doesn't mean that it will be extremely difficult for you. It just means you might have to fight the habit of turning back to the book when you should be speaking. It is helpful for visual learners to get a good acquaintance with pinyin romanization. Reading the conversations written in pinyin will help you get a better feel for the language.

Auditory learners are in luck. Language learning is easy for those who learn best by hearing. It is essentially the same though. Practice listening and speaking, but fight your learning style when it comes to learning the written language.

Kinesthetic learners are described as learning best through touch and sensation, but this is also a way to describe learners who prefer to learn through experience rather than by concepts. Kinesthetic learners can learn Chinese easy by throwing themselves into the experience of listening and speaking. It does not require memorization or study to begin the process of learning Chinese experientially.

Whatever your learning style is it is possible to learn Chinese easy. It is just a matter of getting in touch with what works best for you. There are many paths to the same goal of fluency in Mandarin Chinese. Everyone has to decide for themselves which way they will take.

By Justin O White

Jury convicts ex-Ill. Gov. Blagojevich at retrial (AP)

2011-06-28T02:58:00.000-07:00

By MICHAEL TARM and KAREN HAWKINS, Associated Press Michael Tarm And Karen Hawkins, Associated Press – 2?hrs?48?mins?ago

CHICAGO – Rod Blagojevich, who won two terms as Illinois governor before scandal made him a national punch line, was convicted Monday of a wide range of corruption charges, including trying to sell President Barack Obama's Senate seat.

The verdict, coming after his first trial ended last year with the jury deadlocked on most charges, was a bitter defeat for Blagojevich, who spent 2 1/2 years professing his innocence on reality TV shows and later on the witness stand. His defense team insisted that hours of FBI wiretap recordings were just the ramblings of a politician who liked to think out loud.

Blagojevich becomes the second straight Illinois governor convicted of corruption. His predecessor, George Ryan, is now serving 6 1/2 years in federal prison.

When sentenced later this year, Blagojevich is virtually certain to get a significant prison term that experts said could be 10 to 15 years.

After hearing the verdict, Blagojevich turned to defense attorney Sheldon Sorosky and asked "What happened?" His wife, Patti, slumped against her brother, then rushed into her husband's arms.

Before the decision was read, the couple looked flushed, and the former governor blew his wife a kiss across the courtroom, then stood expressionless, with his hands clasped tightly.

The verdict capped a long-running spectacle in which Blagojevich became famous for blurting on a recorded phone call that his ability to appoint Obama's successor to the Senate was "f---ing golden" and that he wouldn't let it go "for f---ing nothing."

The 54-year-old former governor, who has been free on bond since shortly after his arrest, spoke only briefly with reporters as he left the courthouse, saying he was disappointed and stunned by the verdict.

"Well, among the many lessons I've learned from this whole experience is to try to speak a little bit less, so I'm going to keep my remarks kind of short," Blagojevich said, adding that the couple wanted "to get home to our little girls and talk to them and explain things to them and then try to sort things out." His two daughters are 8 and 14.

The case exploded into scandal when Blagojevich was awakened by federal agents on Dec. 9, 2008, at his Chicago home and was led away in handcuffs. Federal prosecutors had been investigating his administration for years, and some of his closest cronies had already been convicted.

Blagojevich was swiftly impeached and removed from office.

The verdict provided affirmation to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, one of the nation's most prominent prosecutors, who, after the governor's arrest, had condemned Blagojevich's dealings as a "political corruption crime spree."

"The jury sent a loud and clear message that Governor Blagojevich committed very serious crimes shaking down a children's hospital, trying to sell a Senate seat and demanding cash campaign contributions in advance before signing a bill," Fitzgerald said.

Referring to the verdict against Ryan five years ago, he said: "I hope that that message is heard this time."

Fitzgerald pledged to retry the governor after the first jury failed to reach a decision on all but the least serious of 24 charges against him.

On Monday, the jury voted to convict on 17 of 20 counts after deliberating nine days. Blagojevich also faces up to five additional years in prison for his previous conviction of lying to the FBI.

Blagojevich was acquitted of soliciting bribes in the alleged shakedown of a road-building executive. The jury deadlocked on two charges of attempted extortion related to that executive and funding for a school.

Judge James Zagel has barred Blagojevich from traveling outside the area without permission. A status hearing to discuss sentencing was set for Aug. 1.

The charges carry a possible sentence up to 300 years in prison, but federal guidelines mean he will serve only a fraction of that.

Judges have enormous discretion in sentencing and can factor in a host of variables, including whether a defendant took the stand and lied. Prosecutors have said that Blagojevich did just that.

Two legal experts speculated that Blagojevich would probably receive around 10 years in prison, with little chance that he would get more than 15.

Former prosecutor Jeff Cramer estimated that Blagojevich would get between six and 12 years. Another former assistant U.S. attorney, Phil Turner, guessed closer to six years.

All 12 jurors — 11 women and one man — spoke to reporters after the verdict, identifying themselves only by juror numbers. Their full names were to be released Tuesday.

Jurors said the evidence that Blagojevich tried to secure a high-paying, high-powered position in exchange for the appointment of Obama's successor in the Senate was the clearest in the case.

"There was so much more evidence to go on," said Juror No. 140. Jury members said they listened and re-listened to recordings of Blagojevich's phone conversations with aides. They also acknowledged finding the former governor likable.

"He was personable," Juror No. 103 said. "It made it hard to separate what we actively had to do as jurors."

Still, Juror No. 140 said she found Blagojevich's testimony over seven days at times "manipulative."

"Our verdict shows that we didn't believe it," she said.

The quiet Blagojevich who left the courthouse Monday was a sharp contrast with the combative politician who emerged after his arrest. Back then, he called federal prosecutors "cowards and liars" and challenged Fitzgerald to face him in court if he was "man enough."

Over the months that followed, he engaged in what many saw as embarrassing indignities for a former governor. He sent his wife to the jungle for a reality television show, "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here," where she had to eat a tarantula. He later showed his own ineptitude at simple office skills before being fired on Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice."

To most Illinois residents, he was a reminder of the corruption that has plagued the state for decades.

For the second trial, prosecutors streamlined their case, and attorneys for the former governor put on a defense — highlighted by a chatty Blagojevich taking the witness stand for seven days to portray himself as a big talker but not a criminal.

Richard Kling, a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law who watched much of the trial, said the defense had no choice but to put Blagojevich on the stand, even though doing so was risky.

"The problem was with some of his explanations," Kling said. "It reminded me of a little kid who gets his hand caught in a cookie jar. He says, `Mommy I wasn't taking the cookies. I was just trying to protect them and to count them.'"

Robert Grant, head of the FBI's Chicago office, said the agency's eavesdropping helped seal the verdict.

"A famous artist once said that lady justice is blind but she has very sophisticated listening devices, and that was certainly the case in this matter," Grant said.

Blagojevich seemed to believe he could talk his way out of trouble from the witness stand. Indignant one minute, laughing the next, seemingly in tears once, he endeavored to counteract the blunt, greedy man he appeared to be on FBI wiretaps. He apologized to jurors for the four-letter words that peppered the recordings.

"When I hear myself swearing like that, I am an F-ing jerk," he told jurors.

He told jurors the wiretaps merely displayed his approach to decision-making: to invite a whirlwind of ideas — "good ones, bad ones, stupid ones" — then toss the ill-conceived ones out. To demonstrate the absurdities such brainstorming could generate, he said he once considered appointing himself to the Senate seat so he could travel to Afghanistan and help hunt down Osama bin Laden.

Other times, when a prosecutor read wiretap transcripts where Blagojevich seems to speak clearly of trading the Senate seat for a job, Blagojevich told jurors, "I see what I say here, but that's not what I meant."

Lead prosecutor Reid Schar started his questioning of Blagojevich with a quick verbal punch: "Mr. Blagojevich, you are a convicted liar, correct?"

After the judge overruled a flurry of defense objections, Blagojevich eventually answered: "Yes."

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Associated Press Writer Don Babwin contributed to this report.

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