China 中国 (Zhōngguó) Finals

Location: There are 35 finals in all, 6 are simple finals and 29 are compound
● Eastern Hemisphere finals.
● Continent – Asia
● Land Area – 9,326,410 sq. km
● Land Borders: North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan,
Burma, Russia, Bhutta, Mongolia, Kazakhstan
● Natural Borders: Yellow Sea, East China Sea, South China
Sea, Korea Bay
● The People's Republic of China's capital, Beijing (Peking), is
also the country's cultural, economic, and communication
powerhouse. Shanghai is the major industrial city, whereas
Hong Kong is the commerce and shipping capital.

Population
● China's population is one of the most distinctive features of
the country for the rest of the world. Due to China's massive
population with 1.41 billion as of 2021, the country's
population density is frequently assumed to be uniformly
high, however significant swaths of the country are either
uninhabitable or remote areas.

Religion
● The "three pillars" of ancient Chinese society were
Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Rather than
onetradition supplanting the others, the three ideas have
coexisted in society, influencing, changing, and blending
together at times. Understanding how these three traditions
intertwine gives us a unique perspective on ancient Chinese
civilization as well as present China
● During the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E. ),
Confucianism became the dominant political philosophy.
Confucius, the founder of Confucianism and his teachings
have had a significant influence on the organization of
Chinese culture, particularly on rituals, familial respect and
obligation, ancestor worship, and self-discipline.
● Taoism (also known as Daoism) is a Chinese religion that
emerged roughly two thousand years ago, after
Confucianism. Taoism, unlike Confucianism, is primarily
concerned with spiritual aspects of existence, such as the
nature of the universe. Taoism’s guiding principle is "the
Way," which is a harmonious natural order that occurs
between humans and the world, and which Taoists should
seek to fulfill.
● In ancient China, Buddhism was the third most popular
religion. Buddhism was created in India around the sixth
century B.C.E. by Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as
the Buddha.
● Buddhism is a philosophy that emphasizes personal growth
and the pursuit of profound knowledge.

Characteristics of Mandarin Language

● Chinese is one of the most difficult languages to learn for
native English speakers due to various characteristics.
● In Chinese, every character corresponds to one single
syllable. Therefore, one syllable marks the pronunciation of
one character. A typical Pinyin syllable consists of three
parts: initial, final and tone.

Chinese Alphabet (Pinyin)

● Pīnyīn (汉语) is the Chinese language phonetic system. The
approach is now utilized to teach Chinese to students in
China and as a second language around the world.
● The Pinyin system in Chinese overcomes the barrier between
writing and speech, allowing students to determine character
meanings.
Initials
There are 23 initials in Chinese Pinyin. They look like consonants in
European language. But it doesn‘t mean they always sound similar.

Tone Marks
● Chinese is a tonal language, i.e., tones change the meanings
of words. Since Mandarin has a limited number of syllables,
there are a lot of homophones whose meaning varies with the
tone.
● The first tone is the highest. It‘s like when a doctor examines
your throat, you open your mouth and say ―mā‖.
● The second tone is the rising tone ―má‖ . It‘s like when you
don‘t understand what somebody says, you say ―What?‖ in a
rising tone.
● The third tone falls first and then rises ―mǎ‖ .
● The fourth tone is a falling tone. It‘s like when somebody hits
you suddenly, you shout “mà”.
● When there is no mark on the final, we call it a neutral tone,
read it quickly and lightly ―ma‖.

Greetings
Lǐyí Zhībāng (礼仪之邦)
● Chinese Etiquette: Fist and Palm Salute
● China has been referred to as a or "land of ceremonies."
● The fist and palm salute is one of the most traditional.
People still give fist and palm salutes when paying a visit to
someone during the traditional Chinese New Year or visiting
someone's wedding celebration, birthday reception, or
burial, even though they would normally shake hands when
meeting friends and family, as they would in the west.
 7. 他是我爸爸。
Tā shì wǒ bàba. / He is my father.

8. 很高兴认识你
Hěn gāoxìng rènshí nǐ / Happy to know you.

● Country Name + 人 (rén)

So "country name + 人" suggests one's identity of having this
country's Nationality.
● City / State / Province + 人 (rén)
● So "state/province/city... + 人 (rén)" suggests one's identity
of being from the state/province/city
1. 我是中国人。
Wǒ shì Zhōngguó rén. / I am Chinese.

2. 我是美国人。
Wǒ shì Měiguó rén. / I am American.

3. 我是北京人。
Wǒ shì Běijīng rén. / I'm from Beijing

4. 我是菲律宾人
Wǒ shì Fēilǜbīn rén. / I am Filipino.

CONVERSATION:

A. 你好
Nǐ hǎo / Hello.

B. 你好
Nǐ hǎo / Hello.

A. 你叫什么名字?
Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì? / What is your name?

B. 我叫杜飞. 你叫什么名字?
Wǒ jiào Dù Fēi. Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì? / I am Du Fei. What is your
name?

A. 我叫韩梅. 很高兴认识你
Wǒ jiào Hán Méi. Hěn gāoxìng rènshí nǐ. / I’m Han Mei. I’m happy to
meet you.

B. 我也很高兴认识你
Wǒ yě hěn gāoxìng rènshí nǐ. / I am happy to meet you too.

Counting numbers
1. 你叫什么名字？
Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì? / What is your name?

2. 我叫 Anna.
Wǒ jiào Anna. / My name is Anna.

3. 你是学生。
Nǐ shì xuéshēng. / You are a student.

4. 我是老师
Wǒ shì lǎoshī. / I am a teacher.

5. 他是谁？
Tā shì shéi? / Who is he?

6. 他是我的朊友。
Tā shì wǒ de péngyǒu. / He is my friend.