Chinese Characters
汉字是现今世界上唯一的表意文字，其他所有的文字都是拼音文字。不论是从拉丁文发展出的法文、德文，或者英文，还是阿拉伯文，韩文，泰文，以及日本的假名等等，都是以字母发音为基础的拼音文字。世界上至今还在通用的文字里，只有汉字是表意文字。
This can be the pride of all Chinese people and all people who can read and write Chinese characters!
It's nice to learn from a young age
When it comes to languages, one hears that it's good to learn from a young age. When it comes to musical instrument, one hears that it's good to learn from a young age. It's almost certain that a young person has great advantages in learning new things.
That's the reason why I've seen a increasing number of kids running around from classes to classes. Apart from their normal school, they have additional curriculum. Monday, piano lesson. Tuesday, dancing lesson. Wednesday, Chinese lesson. Thursday, French lesson. Saturday, homework tutoring. Sunday, off.
It looks to me that learning at a young can be a double edged sword. On one hand, this kind of busy children will have a head start in lots of things that can make their adult life more competitive. On the other hand, this kind of busy children don't have childhood that they will cherish and love, and that may not lead to a competitive adult life. They would probably spend all their time playing toy trains.
The 2nd best time of learning
The first best time of learning a language is during childhood. At that time, learning is a duty; learning is a responsibility. The sad thing is that we only have one childhood per person. There is not enough to go around. And when it's over, it's over.
The 2nd best time of learning is the rest of one's life. However it's plagued with other duties and responsibilities, like work, family, inflation, and house, etc. Learning is very difficult to carry on.
Don't fail this second chance, because there isn't any left after this.
If you travelled around the World 100 years ago
如果你可以在一百年前就进行环球自助旅行, 那你肯定是幸福的，因为那时还没有“全球化”，所有国家的建筑都具有浓厚的本民族特色。譬如你到了越南的河内，看到的就是越式风情；到东京，看到的就是和式建筑。不论到哪一个国家与民族，他们穿的衣服和城市的建筑都有着很鲜明的民族特色。这时你看到的是一个完整的、承传自身文化的国家，没有外来文化的杂质，整座城市，不论是传统建筑，还是人民身上的服饰，其文化的协调性都很强，可以想象那真是一种属于本民族的极致美学的画面。
The above is quoted from a magazine article 《做有质感的民族》. Unfortunately, even 100 years ago, you would not be able to see a pure culture. All the cultures are connected with one another in one way or another.
What is Business Chinese?
I have seen some Business Chinese books. They all talk about trading, buying, selling and bargaining. What happened to other businesses? My guess is that people in other businesses do not need to learn Chinese. Or, those Business Chinese books should be tossed to the nearest waste basket.
There is no so called Business Chinese. There is Chinese and some business terms.
Can't Find Chinese Fortune Cookies in a Chinese Restaurant in China
Things can be so different after traveling overseas. For example, Chinese food.
So many people living outside of China think that fortune cookies are an essential part of Chinese food. But when they come to China and eat in a Chinese restaurant, they never find them.
The question is: Where can you taste the most authentic Chinese food? In Chinese restaurants outside of China, or in Chinese restaurants in China? They are quite different things, mind you!
Writing is an Idea
Quote from Ideas A History From Fire To Freud by Peter Watson:
Writing is an idea, a very important idea, which was invented before 3000 BC. Today, however, we tend not to regard letters or words as inventions, as we do computers or mobile phones, because they have been so long with us. But inventions are evidence of ideas. I have treated language an an idea, because language reflects the way that people think, and the ways in which languages differ characterize the social and intellectual history of different populations. In addition, most ideas are conceived in language. Thus I consider th history and structure of the world's most intellectually influential languages: Chinese, Sanskrit, Arabic, Latin, French and English.
