Study chinese in china

eight   八[ba] (the first tone) Just as the Arabic numeral “8” is composed of a small circle followed by a larger one, so the character for eight is composed of a short line followed by a longer line that leans towards it without touching it. And just as the “lazy 8” ∞ is the mathematical symbol for “infinity,” so the expanse opened up below these two strokes sometimes carries the sense in Chinese of something “all-encompassing.”
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seven   七[qi] (the first tone) Note that the first stroke “cuts” clearly through the second. This distinguishes seven from the character for spoon 匕, in which the horizontal stroke either stops short or, depending on the font, extends just slightly beyond the vertical stroke.
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six   六[liu] (the fourth tone) The primitives here are top hat and animal legs. Once again, we glide over them until later.
 

five   五[wu] (the third tone) As with four, we shall postpone learning the primitive elements that make up this character. Note how the general principle we just learned in the preceding frame applies to the writing of the character for five.

four   四[si] (the fourth tone) This character is composed of two primitive elements, mouth 口 and human legs 儿, both of which we will meet in the coming lessons. Assuming that you already knew how to write this character, we will pass over the “story” connected with it until later.
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two    二 [er] (the fourth tone) Like the Roman numeral II, which reduplicates the numeral I, the character for two is a simple reduplication of the horizontal stroke that means one. The order of writing goes from above to below, with the first stroke slightly shorte

three    三[san] (the first tone) And like the Roman numeral III, which triples the numeral I, the character for three simply triples the single horizontal stroke. In writing it, think of “1+2=3” (一+二=三) in order to keep the middle stroke shorter

   one     一 [yi] (the first tone) In Chinese characters, the number one is laid on its side, unlike the Roman numeralⅠwhich stands upright. As you would expect, it is written from left to right.
When this character is used as a primitive element, the keyword meaning is often discarded, since it is too abstract to be of much help. Instead, the single horizontal stroke takes on the meaning of floor or ceiling, depending on its position: if it stands above another primitive, it means ceiling; if below, floor.
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Harbin is a town few people in the west have heard of. Harbin is fairly lively these days. Take a quick tour through Harbin and you will soon understand why prices of construction materials on the world market are rising. Enormous construction sites are operated 24 hours a day. The city is mushrooming. Despite this, noise pollution and air quality in Harbin remain at reasonable levels, possibly because of its remote location in northern China. It is not yet a truly international city. However it is a major centre for Chinese language study as Harbiners speak a particularly clear, standard version of Putonghua Mandarin. There are many foreign students studying Mandarin in Harbin at the present time.
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Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang Province, is located in the central part of the Songneng Plain, on the west bank of the Songhuajiang River. It is the center of politics, economy, science, technology, and culture, and the transportation pivot. Its unique history and geological location endows Harbin with historical culture of northern ethnic minority groups as well as Chinese culture, and makes it a famous historical and cultural city and tourist destination in China. The city is reputed as the City of Rivers, and the City of Rice.
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