Chinese Paintings by Li Keran 李可染 徐悲鸿

李可染• 钱塘渡牛图

Because of the pic of my last article which is one piece of work of the Chinese Painting master Li Keran 李可染, I suddenly became interesting in traditional Chinese paintings. I surfed for more works of him. I think the top one shows verly clearly the artistic conception of Chinese paintings, very interesting. You do not see water in the picture, but you do 'see' water there.
Le Keran was good at drawing oxen , while Xu Beihong, another Chinese painting master was good at horses.

徐悲鸿• 不用扬鞭自奋蹄

Flying A Kite in Spring

李可染•牛背放风筝

In northern China, spring is always a good time to fly a kite. I used to envy others doing that but today, this morning I did that for the first time! It was fun!

It is not as easy as it looks to fly a kite high. Wind is the most important element. You also need to be skillful to loose or tight the thread, to control the direction and know when and where to run.

It is said kite was first invented in Han Dynasty (206 BC -220AD) and it had different names in different times and areas, like wooden kite(木鸢), paper kite(纸鸢)，in later Five Dynasties (后五代) the name '风筝' came into use till today. Nowadays, in northern Chinese it is also called 纸鸢 while in southern China, it is called 鹞子. During Tang and Song Dynasties, kite was introduced to other countries, to Asian countires, then to European and American countries. Some one said in the National Air And Space Museum in Washington DC, there is a Chinese Kite with a note saying sth like Chinese flying kite is the earliest flying vehicle in human history.

People say playing flying kite can help to cure certain diseases, like high pressure and heart disease. It may not be 100% ture, but I do know a man whose cervical spondylosis was cured by flying a kite. Proper amount of activities always keep us healthy, we should trust that.

008 - A是A，... - learn spoken Chinese

'A是A，...' This pattern indicates concession, kind of like 'although'
the second A can be exactly like the first A, but can also has an addon, the '....' part often contains word meaning 'but' like '可，可是，但，但是，只是etc.'

Exampels:

这条裤子便宜是便宜，可不太合身啊。
---> These trousers are cheep, but they do not perfectly fit.

我唱是能唱，只是现在生病了，嗓子疼。
---> I can sing, but I get sore throat now.

我去是想去，可今天下午实在是没时间。
---> I do want to go, but I am really busy this afternoon.

007 - A就A吧 - learn spoken Chinese

the phrase 'A就A吧' indicates that something does not matter.
A can be an adjective, verb or noun. This phrase carries the tone of tolerance, indifference or having no other choices but to accept something. When A is a verb which is stressed, it shows a strong attitude and the last character '吧' is often omitted.

Examples:

甲：我这儿只有方便面了。
乙：方便面就方便面吧，总比饿着强。
---->
A: I only have fast noodles left.
B: I will have noodles then, which is better than letting me starve.


甲：哟，钢琴这么贵！
乙：贵就贵吧，我弟弟喜欢弹。
---->
A: A piano is so expensive!
B: I have no other choice (except to buy one) since my younger brother likes it.

甲：你敢和我去警察局吗？
乙：去就去！反正你的车子又不是我弄坏的。
---->
A: Do you dare to go to police office with me?
B: Why not! I did not break your car anyway.

006 - A的A，B的B - learn spoken Chinese

'A的A，B的B' refers to the fact that some are in this case, the others are in that case and they stand for the whole when combined.
A and B can be adjectives, verbs or verb compounds.

Examples:

这些衣裳肥的肥，瘦的瘦，没有一件适合我。
These clothes are either too big or too small and none suits me.

为了这次聚会，我们打扫的打扫，做饭的做饭，忙了一上午。
We had a busy morning today for the party. Some of us did cleaning and some others did cooking.

005- A得不能再A了 - learn spoken Chinese

A得不能再A了 is a phrase emphasizing the degree is very high, basically reaching the extreme.
A is always an adjective. This phrase is kind of exaggeration, but sometimes also used in an ironic way.

Examples:

这个孩子胖得不能再胖了，得去看看医生了。
--> This kid is too fat, you need to take him to see a doctor.

你这样做真是好得不能再好了。
--> You are 'too' kind to do this. --> in this sentence, 好得不能再好 is used for irony.

004 - A不说，还B - learn spoken Chinese

A不说，还B is to indicate there is B in addition to A, and both of A and B are usually refer to something or some kind of action unpleasant. “不说”sometimes can be replaced by “不算”

Examples:

我不想和他住一个房间， 他抽烟不说，睡觉还打呼噜。
--> I don't want to share a room with him. He smokes, besides, he snores.

这个饭菜贵不说，还不好吃。
--> The dishes are expensive, besides they are not tasty.

昨天他家被盗了。那个小偷偷了钱不说，还弄坏了他家的东西。
--> He got a breakin last night. The thief not only stole the money, but also broke some stuff.

003 - A不了几B - learn spoken Chinese

The phrase 'A不了几B' emphasizes the limited time, money, number etc.
A is usually an adjective or a verb, B is a measure word.

Examples:

这个馆子的饭不贵，一顿饭花不了几块钱。
--> This restaurant is not expensive, this meal does not cost much.

我去了也住不了几天，不用带太多行李。
--> It is not necesary to take too much luggage, since I won't stay there long.

我家离这儿很近，走不了几步就到了。
--> My home is very near from here, only a few steps away.

002 - A不A B不B的 - learn spoken Chinese

Chinese people use A不A B不B的 to emphasize that it is hard to distinguish, since its characteristic is neither this nor that.

A and B are usually two words implying constrast meanings; the last character 的 sometimes is omitted.

Examples:

我不喜欢这件衣服，中不中洋不洋的。
---> I do not like this dress, it's neither of Chinese style nor of western style.

你的发型真不好看，看起来男不男女不女的。
---> Your hair looks ugly and it makes you look like neither a boy nor a girl.

001 - A A 看 - learn spoken Chinese

AA看 means to have a try. AA represents reduplicated verbs, which are usually nonosyllabic verbs.

Examples:
先说说看，你有什么好的建议。
---> Let's us see what suggestions you have.

这个菜是我做的，你尝尝看。
---> I made this dish, please have a try.

甲：你能解决这个问题吗？
乙：还不知道，试试看吧。
--->
A: Can you solve this problem?
B: I don't know, let me try.