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!

Learning Chinese has so many layers of meanings. To capture some of them, new products are now offered at MSL Master. They are printable posters with drawings and printable Chinese character posters. 

Hey fellow Chinese language learners! It's that time of the year. Time to show off your creativities and Chinese writing skills with 320 Chinese characters.

Get ready for Chinese Writing Contest 2022! It's bragging time! 😀

In this contest, depth is valued more than quickness, ingenuity more than vitality, and creativity more than erudition. 

May 4th 2022 is here. 

It’s time to commemorate the May Fourth Movement that happened on May 4th, 1919, and revisit the irrevocable changes happened to the Chinese language.

Attending a big event, such as NCLC, was always something worth talking about. It was especially cool to be a speaker, even a small one as I was among all the big shots. It was a good opportunity to learn and to share some of my experience.

April 3, 2022, is the third day of the third month in Chinese lunar calendar. 1669 years ago, on the same day, i.e. the third day of the third month in 353CE, a great calligrapher, and also a great poet, composed and wrote a poem in the semi-cursive script. His writing eventually became the most well known masterpiece of brush calligraphy in Chinese history. And it is this masterpiece that appears on the covers of all Chinese Reading and Writing series.

International Women’s Day (March 8) is coming. It is a highly celebrated day worldwide. In Chinese, it is called 妇女节, 三八节, 三八妇女节, or 国际妇女节. As MSL Master is 100% female led and operated, I am happy to contribute to this special occasion and introduce three must known Chinese women in history. 

I would say that all these three women were skilled and powerful and all of them have left a huge mark in Chinese culture and in Chinese’s collective memory. However, not all of them were remembered fondly.

Occasionally I receive some good questions about learning Chinese. I never thought about publishing any until today, as it suddenly occurred to me that other people might also be interested in these questions. Below is one I received from a 79 years old grandma from Australia, Pat. 

Of all the prizes offered for contestants who participated in the Chinese Writing Contest 2021, the coolest one should be to become a published author. This is a recognition with a far reaching effect.

With the newly published book, Easy-to-Read Chinese Short Stories, Book 1, seventeen contestants have won this bragging right. Their work is now available for a wide range of audiences worldwide.

When working on Mandarin Express Intermediate Level A, at the end of each chapter, students are required to present something for at least five minutes on a topic they select. 

Over the years, there have been some amazing speeches. Two weeks ago, a particularly timely one was delivered by Nathan. There were some really good thought provoking gold nuggets there. 

SRS (Spaced Repetition Software) is quite popular among Chinese learners. It uses an algorithm that controls how frequently flashcards are shown based on how students grade themselves in previous tests. This is a learning tool. 

However, a tool is a tool. It can be both very helpful or utterly useless. All depend on how you use it. Here I’m going to share some tips on using SRS, and how you can practice recognising Chinese characters and words, taught in the Chinese Reading and Writing series, using SuperMemo cards.