It’s here! 

Time to give the gift of creativity and inspiration!

This year we saw 14 talented writers stood out in the second Chinese Writing Contest. Their works were included in Easy-to-Read Chinese Short Stories, Book 2, which was just released. 

Send this book as a gift and let it encourage and inspire someone to learn and to be creative. 

The final prize for Chinese Writing Contest 2022 is coming out. It is an old fashioned paper book that gives bragging rights to all fourteen authors who have written remarkable short stories and powerful poems. 

Following the previous book in the series, the title of this book is Easy-to-Read Chinese Short Stories, Book 2. It’s ready for shipping starting Dec 1, 2022.

Chinese Writing Contest 2022 is coming to an end. It has been fantastic to read so many high quality entries that really blew me away!

Thank everyone for your support, all the contestants, sponsors, collaborators, voters, evangelists, and all the readers. Without you, this event wouldn’t have had a chance. And you made it exciting and interesting. Thank you all very much.

It’s time for the final result.

If you ask any Chinese people to name a day for them to customarily go hiking in the mountains, they will probably answer that it is the ninth day of the ninth month in the lunar calendar. That day is Chong Yang Jie (重阳节), the Double Nine Festival. This year, it is Oct 4, 2022.

Chinese Writing Contest 2022 is closed on Sep 16. A total of 58 entries have been received. Thank you for participating! I hope you all have had great fun!

27 entries are qualified for the next round. Let’s appreciate how they have collectively created a new universe using only 320 Chinese characters.

Have you ever thought about learning classical Chinese but are discouraged by its difficulties? Here is a good news. A series of mini video lessons that teach some must known classical Chinese is now available! 

September 12th, 2022 is Qian Xuantong (钱玄同)’s 135th birthday. In 1923, when he was 36 years old, he proposed to simplify Chinese characters, which was the first step to his ultimate goal of making Chinese into a phonetic writing system. He wanted to abolish the Chinese characters.

This year’s Zhong Qiu Jie (中秋节), Mid-Autumn festival, is just around the corner, Sep 10th to be precise, and it is a time for Chinese learners around the world to take a break in their regular study routines and to enjoy some of the festivities. Let’s remind ourselves that learning Chinese is also about gaining insights into Chinese cultural practices and about participating in the cultural activities. And you don’t have to be in China to enjoy Mid-Autumn festival.

NCACLS (National Council of Associations of Chinese Language Schools ) annual conference is a great place for ideas. I was in one a few years ago and I still remember that a teacher shared how she used kites to inspire her students and to build connections between learning Chinese language and doing scientific experiments.

A few days ago, I returned to this marvellous event, the eighth annual conference this time, sharing my idea to a roomful of (or rather, a screenful of) Chinese teachers from the other side of the world. 

It’s time for a beautiful folklore to be told again for anyone who is interested in learning Chinese and learning about Chinese culture, as the seventh day of the seventh month is coming. It is August 4th this year. On this day, two lovers will meet on Queqiao (鹊桥), the Magpie Bridge, to celebrate their eternal love for each other.

This is an important question! I’m glad it is asked.

For people who get their creativity going, it’s very likely that they can write more than one story or poem or mini play. All writings are written using the 320 Chinese characters, and all are really good.

This question has been asked a few times. One of them was particularly elaborate on why the limitation of Chinese characters made no sense.

When reading this particular email, I was really touched, as I knew this email was from someone who really loved the Chinese language and really enjoyed writing in Chinese.

Things happen in Google often make into the news. This time, it is about an engineer who was placed on paid leave because he claimed that Google’s A.I. is sentient. 

From a language learning point of view, this story reveals the power of A.I.’s ability to process language is far better than any human beings. It probably won’t be long when we think that “artificial intelligence” is convincing enough to be considered as “authentic intelligence”. 

Chinese Writing Contest is intended to be an open event that connects people. Anyone can have some fun with it. Therefore, the requirement is about what to write, not about who can participate. It is also about how to let everyone have a say in selecting the winners.

How to keep the selection process as open and as fair as possible is an important question. Voting on Twitter makes it very transparent and open. But, will that be fair?

Chinese people are very proud of Chinese food. One important aspect of learning Chinese is to learn about Chinese food. 

During the Chinese New Year, it’s about dumplings and all the auspicious good food. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, it’s about moon cakes and those wonderful seasonal fruits. Right now, it is about zong zi (粽子), as Duan Wu Jie (端午节) is here!