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The centrepiece of the 2008 Summer Olympics is the Beijing National Stadium,Beijing opera after the Chinese Civil War,learn chinese, nicknamed the Bird’s Nest because of its nest-like skeletal structure. Construction of the venue began on December 24,Beijing opera is not actually a monolithic form, 2003. The Guangdong Olympic Stadium was originally planned,The character Sun Wukong at the Beijing opera from, constructed, and completed in 2001 to help host the Games, but a decision was made to construct a new stadium in Beijing. Government officials engaged architects worldwide in a design competition. A Swiss firm, Herzog & de Meuron Architekten AG, collaborated with China Architecture Design & Research Group to win the competition. The stadium features a lattice-like steel outer skeleton around the concrete stadium bowl and has a seating capacity of over 90,000 people. Architects originally described the overall design as resembling a bird nest with an immense ocular opening with a retractable roof over the stadium. However, in 2004, the idea of the retractable roof was abandoned for economic and safety reasons. The Beijing National Stadium was the site of the opening and closing ceremonies,In addition to more formal reform measures, Beijin, as well as the athletics events and soccer finals.
The Beijing Olympic Village opened on July 16, 2008 and to the public on July 26, 2008.
 

A male Beijing opera performer
Beijing opera or Peking opera (simplified Chinese: 京剧; traditional Chinese: 京劇; pinyin: Jīngjù) is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing and Tianjin in the north,learn chinese, and Shanghai in the south.The art form is also enjoyed in Taiwan, where it is known as Guoju (國劇; pinyin: Guójù). It has also spread to other countries such as the United States and Japan.
Beijing opera features four main types of performers. Performing troupes often have several of each variety, as well as numerous secondary and tertiary performers. With their elaborate and colorful costumes, performers are the only focal points on Beijing opera’s characteristically sparse stage. They utilize the skills of speech, song,Beijing opera after the Chinese Civil War, dance, and combat in movements that are symbolic and suggestive, rather than realistic. Above all else, the skill of performers is evaluated according to the beauty of their movements. Performers also adhere to a variety of stylistic conventions that help audiences navigate the plot of the production. The layers of meaning within each movement must be expressed in time with music. The music of Beijing opera can be divided into the Xipi and Erhuang styles. Melodies include arias, fixed-tune melodies, and percussion patterns. The repertoire of Beijing opera includes over 1,400 works, which are based on Chinese history,Beijing opera is not actually a monolithic form, folklore, and, increasingly, contemporary life.
In recent years, Beijing opera has attempted numerous reforms in response to sagging audience numbers. These reforms, which include improving performance quality, adapting new performance elements, and performing new and original plays, have met with mixed success. Some Western works have been adopted as new plays, but a lack of funding and an adverse political climate have left Beijing opera’s fate uncertain as the form enters the 21st century.
  The Etymology of &ldquo,Beijing opera is not actually a monolithic form;Beijing Opera”
"Beijing opera" or "Peking opera" is the English term for the art form; the Oxford English Dictionary’s earliest record of the term is from 1953.
In China the art form has been known by many other names in different times and places. The earliest Chinese name was a combination of the Xipi and Erhuang melodies, and was called Pihuang. As it increased in popularity, its name became Jingxi or Jingju, which reflected its start in the capital city, Jing, and the form of the performance, Xi. From 1927 to 1949, Beijing was known as Beiping, and Beijing opera was known as Pingxi or Pingju to reflect this change. Finally, with the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the name of the capital city was reverted to Beijing, and the formal name of Beijing theatre in Mainland China was established as Jingju. In Taiwan, this type of opera is known as Guoju, national theatre style, reflecting disputes over the true seat of the Chinese government.
&nbsp,In addition to more formal reform measures, Beijin;

The character Sun Wukong at the Beijing opera from Journey to the West
It is regarded that Beijing opera was born when the Four Great Anhui Troupes came to Beijing in 1790. Beijing opera was originally staged for the court and came into the public later. In 1828, some famous Hubei troupes came to Beijing. They often jointly performed in the stage with Anhui troupes. The combination gradually formed Beijing opera’s main melodies. Beijing opera is generally regarded as having fully formed by 1845. Although it is called Beijing opera (Beijing theatre style),learn chinese, its origins are in the southern Anhui and eastern Hubei, which share the same dialect of Xiajiang Mandarin (Lower Yangtze Mandarin). Beijing opera’s two main melodies,In addition to more formal reform measures, Beijin; Xipi and Erhuang originated from Shanxi but developed in Anhui and Hubei. Xipi literally means ‘Western Skin Puppet Show’, referring to the puppet show that is originated from Shaanxi province. Puppet Shows in China always involve singing. Much dialogue is also carried out in an archaic form of Standard Mandarin, in which Zhongyuan Guanhua (Zhongyuan Mandarin) dialects in Henan and Shaanxi are closest. This form of standard Mandarin is recorded in the book Zhongyuan Yinyun. It also absorbed music and arias from other operas and local Zhili musical art forms. Some scholars believe that the Xipi musical form was derived from the historic Qinqiang, while many conventions of staging,Beijing National Stadium, performance elements,Beijing opera after the Chinese Civil War, and aesthetic principles were retained from Kunqu, the form that preceded it as court art.[12][13][14]
&nbsp,In addition to its presence in Mainland China,;

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Thus, Beijing opera is not actually a monolithic form,Beijing opera after the Chinese Civil War, but rather a coalescence of many older forms. However, the new form also introduced its own innovations. The vocal requirements for all of the major roles were greatly reduced for Beijing opera. The Chou, in particular, rarely has a singing part in Beijing opera,Beijing National Stadium, unlike the equivalent role in Kunqu style. The melodies that accompany each play were also simplified,Beijing opera after the Chinese Civil War, and are played with different traditional instruments than in earlier forms. Perhaps most noticeably, true acrobatic elements were introduced with Beijing opera. The form grew in popularity throughout the 19th century. The Anhui troupes reached their peak of excellence in the middle of the century,Beijing National Stadium, and were invited to perform in the court of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom that had been established during the Taiping Rebellion. Beginning in 1884, the Empress Dowager Cixi became a regular patron of Beijing opera, cementing its status over earlier forms like Kunqu. The popularity of Beijing opera has been attributed to the simplicity of the form, with only a few voices and singing patterns. This allowed anyone to sing the arias themselves.

After the Chinese Civil War, Beijing opera became a focal point of identity for both involved parties. When the Communist Party of China came to power in Mainland China in 1949, the newly formed government moved to bring art into line with Communist ideology, and "to make art and literature a component of the whole revolutionary machine". To this end,In addition to its presence in Mainland China,, dramatic works without Communist themes were considered subversive,learn chinese, and were ultimately banned during the Cultural Revolution (1966&ndash,Beijing National Stadium;1976).Among the eight model plays eventually retained during that time were five Beijing operas. Notable among these operas was The Legend of the Red Lantern, which was approved as a concert with piano accompaniment based on a suggestion from Jiang Qing, wife of Mao Zedong. Performances of works beyond the eight model plays were allowed only in heavily modified form. The endings of many traditional plays were changed, and visible stage assistants in Beijing opera were eliminated. After the end of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1970s,In addition to more formal reform measures, Beijin, traditional Beijing opera began to be performed again. Beijing opera and other theatrical art forms were a controversial subject both before and during the Twelfth National People’s Congress in 1982. A study carried in the People’s Daily revealed that over 80 percent of musical dramas staged in the country were traditional plays from the pre-Communist era,In addition to more formal reform measures, Beijin, as opposed to newly written historical dramas promoting socialist values. In response, Communist party officials enacted reforms to curb liberalism and foreign influence in theatrical works.

During the second half of the 20th century, Beijing opera witnessed a steady decline in audience numbers. This has been attributed both to a decrease in performance quality and an inability of the traditional opera form to capture modern life. Furthermore, the archaic language of Beijing opera required productions to utilize electronic subtitles,Beijing opera after the Chinese Civil War, which hampered the development of the form. The influence of Western culture has also left the younger generations impatient with the slow pacing of Beijing opera. In response, Beijing opera began to see reform starting in the 1980s. Such reforms have taken the form of creating a school of performance theory to increase performance quality, utilizing modern elements to attract new audiences,In addition to its presence in Mainland China,,learn chinese, and performing new plays outside of the traditional canon. However, these reforms have been hampered by both a lack of funding and a sensitive political climate that makes the performance of new plays difficult.
In addition to more formal reform measures, Beijing opera troupes during the 1980s also adopted more unofficial changes. Some of those seen in traditional works have been called "technique for technique’s sake&quot,A male Beijing opera performer;. This has included the use of extended high pitch sequences by female Dan,A male Beijing opera performer, and the addition of lengthier movement sections and percussion sequences to traditional works. Such changes have generally met with disdain from Beijing opera performers, who see them as ploys to gain immediate audience appeal. Plays with repetitive sequences have also been shortened to hold audience interest.New works have naturally experienced a greater freedom to experiment. Regional, popular, and foreign techniques have been adopted, including Western style makeup and beards and new face paint designs for Jing characters. The spirit of reform continued during the 1990s. To survive in an increasingly open market, troupes like the Shanghai Beijing opera Company needed to bring traditional Beijing opera to new audiences. To do this, they have offered an increasing number of free performances in public places.
 

In addition to its presence in Mainland China,In addition to more formal reform measures, Beijin, Beijing opera has spread to many other places. It can be found in Hong Kong, Taiwan,A male Beijing opera performer, and overseas Chinese communities elsewhere.[37] Mei Lanfang,Beijing National Stadium, one of the most famous Dan performers of all time,learn chinese, was also one of the greatest popularizers of Beijing opera abroad. During the 1920s, he performed Beijing opera in Japan. This inspired an American tour in February 1930. Although some, such as the actor Otis Skinner, believed that Beijing opera could never be a success in the United States,Beijing opera after the Chinese Civil War, the favorable reception of Lanfang and his troupe in New York City disproved this notion. The performances had to be relocated from the 49th Street Theater to the larger National Theater, and the duration of the tour extended from two weeks to five.[38][39] Lanfang traveled across the United States, receiving honorary degrees from the University of California and Pomona College. He followed this tour with a tour in the Soviet Union in 1935.[40]

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As Chinese astrological culture, year 2009 is the ox year which is the second sign of the Chinese zodiac. The ox year follows the rat year, and in general opinion this year is connected with slow and silent. If you have patient, you can get a long term consequences.learn chinese.

Comparing with last year,As Chinese astrological culture, this year is belongs to yin(阴). So year 2009 is silent and less noisy in common. People need to be patient, to follow nature and not to be aggressive, and then people can get a good achievement.

Chinese Calendar

According to the way of numbering the year in Chinese lunar calendar, there are two seasonal division points in each month, making 24 in a year.

The seasonal division points are peculiar to China. In the long period of labour, ancient men gradually realized the rule of climate change. According to the relationship between the sun and the earth, they divided all the days in a year into 24 parts to indicate the change of seasons and climate. Thus,As Chinese astrological culture, there is a seasonal divisional point about every 15 days,As Chinese astrological culture; those in the first half of the year(from January to June) all fall around the sixth or 21st day of the month, and those in the latter half of the year (from July to December), or about the eighth or 23rd day of the month.&nbsp,As Chinese astrological culture;
 

&nbsp,learn chinese;&quot,Chinese"Basic Chinese" language instruction starts from ground zero. It is designed to teach people how to satisfy all of their basic needs by introducing a variety of topics that cover all of the basic necessities of life. It imitates the real life environment of China and teaches people how to listen, speak, read and write Mandarin Chinese.

After taking this course, you will be able to speak Chinese fluently, as well as know a great deal about contemporary Chinese life. "Basic Chinese&quot,Intermediate; meets the requirements of people who want to study Chinese language and establish a solid foundation within a certain period of time.

Primary Chinese:
For those students who have no knowledge of spoken Chinese. By learning Chinese pinyin and mastering Chinese tones, and practising in 20 daily language scenes, students will be able to conduct the most basic conversations in Mandarin Chinese. The topics covered by "Primary Chinese" instruction include introducing oneself,introducing, asking for directions, telling the time, family life, careers, meals, shopping and more. After finishing "Primary Chinese" instruction, students will be able to recite a simple self-introduction and cope with common conversations of daily life.learn chinese

&nbsp,directions;

 Advanced Chinese:
For students who have completed basic and intermediate Mandarin Chinese instruction. Advanced Chinese includes "20 Hot Topic Lessons" covering practical interests such as current affairs, work discussion and a great deal more. Students are expected to be capable of expressing themselves and freely discussing these subjects with Chinese people after completing this course.

 Intermediate Chinese: learn chinese
For students who have learned basic conversational Chinese and wish for further study on other topics.

At this stage, students will study in live social situations and have their accents corrected, improved and polished by professional Chinese language teachers. All of these conversational exercises will be very helpful in student’s social lives. Through these exercises students will be able to understand and use everyday Chinese expressions involving appointments, visits, hobbies and much more.

Chéngyǔ (also called "set phrases" or "Chinese Idiom") are a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expressions. Most of Chengyu contain four characters. Chengyu are widely used in Classical Chinese, and are very common in Chinese writing and Spoken Chinese today.
 
According to the most strict definition, there are about 5,000 chengyu in Chinese language, though some dictionaries list over 20,000.They are often referred to as Chinese idioms or four-character idioms; however, they are not the only idioms in Chinese.Chengyu are mostly derived from ancient literature, Chinese history, Chinese fable etc..

                                                                                                    &nbsp,intimately;                                     &nbsp,traditional;    &nbsp,learn chinese;       &nbsp,characters; &nbsp,characters.;                    >>more
 
 
（成语）

A fish jumping to Jiang Taigong’s no hook and no bait line- a willing victim Jiang Taigong refers to Jiang Ziya, a person who has rendered outstanding service in the Zhou Dynasty. When he lived in seclusion at the side of the Weishui River, he cast a no hook and no bait line for the fish. In fact, his action was not in order to fish the fish but to fish the person who can give free play to his ability and wisdom. At last it realized.
 
姜太公钓鱼-愿者上钩 姜太公是周朝的功臣姜子牙，当他在渭水河边隐居时，用无诱饵的直钩在水中钓鱼。事实上，他的目的不是钓鱼，而是“钓人”—–希望有识之士请他出来，施展自己的才智。后来，他的理想终于实现了。 人们把姜太公钓鱼的经历作为歇后语，用来指心甘情愿地做某件事情。

We also must make clear that  chengyu do not follow the common grammatical rules and syntax of the modern Chinese language, and are instead highly compact and synthetic.Chengyu in isolation are often unintelligible to modern Chinese, and when students in China learn chengyu in school as part of the Classical curriculum, they also need to study the context from which the chengyu was born.
 

Chinese Language & CharactersrLearn Chinese Anywhere and Anytime!A fish jumping to Jiang Taigong’s no hook and no bait line- a willing victim

The meaning of a chengyu usually surpasses the sum of the meanings carried by the four characters, this is because chengyu are often intimately linked with the myth, story or historical fact from which they were derived.