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Discussion Topics & Interesting Idioms
 Discussion topic |  有朋自远方.jpgsee below for more information |  君子之交.jpgsee below for more information |
|---|---|---|
 行万里路.jpgsee below for more information |  曲水流觞.jpg |  拖延症.jpg[拖延] v.procraste [症] (medicine), disease, illness, usually used at the end of the word. 用法 usage: 几乎每一个我认识的人都有拖延症。 Almost everyone I know has procrastination. |
 茶饭不思.jpg茶饭不思 【茶】Tea 【饭】rice, meal 【不】no 【思】thinking No appetite (because thinking about/worry about something important). 妻子的病令他茶饭不思。His wife’s sickness took apart his appetite. |  茶马古道.jpg茶马古道 【茶】tea 【马】horse 【古】ancient 【道】road Ancient Tea Horse Road/South Silk Road, a commerce route between Sichuan Province and Tibet. Beginning in the 10th century, the route was almost 1398 miles long. Here’s more information if you’re interested. http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20120830-asias-ancient-tea-horse-road |  闻鸡起舞.jpg |
 金鸡报晓.jpg |
Mandarin Meetup Theme Card
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Mandarin Meetup Theme 1 Set 1
君子之交
这四个字出自庄子的“君子之交淡如水”，用来形容君子之间的交往像水一样纯净。庄子是中国道家的主要代表人物，他崇尚天人合一.
It comes from Zhuangzi "The friendship between gentlemen is as pure as crystal", which means the relationship between gentlemen is pure as clear water. Zhuangzi is a prominent figure in Taoism. He believes that the highest achievement is the identification of the individual with the universal.
Mandarin Meetup Theme 1 Set
有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎？
这句话出自论语第一篇第一章，可见在孔子思想中占非常重要的地位。
【朋】是中国社会非常重要的社会关系，是五伦之一（见初级语言卡 Theme1 Set 1的解释）
【自】来，从
【远方】很远的地方
【乐】快乐
朋友从远方来，这怎么能不快乐呢？
为什么快乐？
1. 和自己志趣相投的朋友来到家里，孔子感到快乐。
2. 在交通不发达的古代，人和人之间的交往局限于空间距离。远方来的朋友一定许久没见，孔子当然快乐。
3. 当时有很多诸侯国，再加上信息交流手段的落后，每个国家的文化、经济、政治都有差异，所以当远方来的朋友到来时，他一定带来了不同的文化和知识，这让孔子很快乐。
This sentence is essential in Confucian philosophy--it comes from the first chapter of the first book of Confucian Analects.
【朋】friends (Read more at Beginner Language Card Theme1 Set 1 )
【自】from
【远方】far away
【来】to come
【不亦乐乎】isn't joyful?
Isn’t delightful to have friends coming from far away?
Why Confucius is happy?
1. He is happy because friends who have lot in common visit.
2. The transportation system at that time is not convenient like today! Confucius and his friends must have not seen each other in a long time.
3. There were lots of small kingdoms that has different culture, economy and political situation at that time. A friend from far away will bring different culture and knowledge. this is something Confucius definitely happy about.
Mandarin Meetup Theme 2 Set 1
行万里路，读万卷书。
【行】walk, travel
【万里】ten thousand miles
【路】street, distance
【读】read
【万卷】ten thousand (usually means books)
【书】books
这是用法非常广泛的一个词语。本意是”鼓励人多到不同的地方看看，多读书”。后来引申到”多实践和多学习书本上的知识”。 最出名的出处是明代的书画家董其昌。
This is a very common used vocabulary. It originally encourages people to “travel more places and read more books”. Later extending to “practice as well as learning from the book”. The famous reference is from a Ming Dynasty painter and calligrapher Dong Qichang.
用法Usage: 如果你想成为一个成功的画家，就要行万里路，读万卷书。
If you want to be a success painter, you must travel ten thousand mile, read thousand books.