Intermediate Spoken Chinese

Lee is invited by her classmate to view a performance of the Peking opera The Chronicle of the White Snake (continued from the previous conversation).

Basic Conversation 20-2

1. CHINESE	Duìle, nĭ duì Jīngjù găn xìngqu ma?
	Oh, yes, are you interested in Peking opera?
2. AMERICAN	Jīngjù a? Wŏ suīrán bú tài dŏng, dànshi tĭng ài kàn.
	Peking opera? Though I don’t understand it very well, I do love to watch it.
3. CHINESE	Zhèige xīngqīliù wănshang wŏ yào gēn fùmŭ yìqĭ qù Rénmín Jùchăng kàn “Bái Shé Zhuàn.” Zhènghăo duō yìzhāng piào. Nĭ yuànyi gēn wŏ yìqĭ qù ma?
	This Saturday evening I’m going to People’s Theater with my parents to see Chronicle of the White Snake. I just happen to have an extra ticket. Would you like to go together with me?
4. AMERICAN	Tài hăole! Jĭdiăn kāishĭ?
	Great! What time does it begin?
5. CHINESE	Bādiăn. Wŏ xīngqīliù wănshang qīdiăn yíkè lái zhăo nĭ.
	At 8:00. I’ll come looking for you Saturday night at 7:15.
6. AMERICAN	Hăo, zhēn xièxie nĭ!
	O.K., thanks so much!
7. CHINESE	Zhè hái yòng xiè? Xīngqīliù jiàn!
	No need to thank me. See you Saturday!

Build Up

1. Chinese
Jīngjù	Peking opera [N]
duì Jīngjù găn xìngqu	be interested in Peking opera
Duìle, nĭ duì Jīngjù găn xìngqu ma?	Oh, yes, are you interested in Peking opera?
2. American
wŏ suīrán bú tài dŏng	although I don’t understand it well
dànshi tĭng ài kàn	but I very much like to watch
Jīngjù a? Wŏ suīrán bú tài dŏng, dànshi tĭng ài kàn.	Peking opera? Though I don’t understand it very well, I do love to watch it.
3. Chinese
rénmín	people [N]
jùchăng	theater [PW]
Rénmín Jùchăng	People’s Theater (in Beijing) [PW]
shé	snake [N] (M: tiáo)
zhuàn	chronicle, biography [N] (M: piān)
“Bái Shé Zhuàn”	“The Chronicle of the White Snake”
zhènghăo(r)	just, as it happens [MA]
duō yìzhāng piào	there is one ticket too many
zhènghăo duō yìzhāng piào	there just happens to be an extra ticket
Zhèige xīngqīliù wănshang wŏ yào gēn fùmŭ yìqĭ qù Rénmín Jùchăng kàn “Bái Shé Zhuàn.” Zhènghăo duō yìzhāng piào. Nĭ yuànyi gēn wŏ yìqĭ qù ma?	This Saturday evening I’m going to People’s Theater with my parents to see Chronicle of the White Snake. I just happen to have an extra ticket. Would you like to go together with me?
4. American
Tài hăole! Jĭdiăn kāishĭ?	Great! What time does it begin?
5. Chinese
Bādiăn. Wŏ xīngqīliù wănshang qīdiăn yíkè lái zhăo nĭ.	At 8:00. I’ll come looking for you Saturday night at 7:15.
6. American
Hăo, zhēn xièxie nĭ!	O.K., thanks so much!
7. Chinese
Zhè hái yòng xiè? Xīngqīliù jiàn!	No need to thank me. See you Saturday!

1A. Remember that the expression duìle “That’s right” often indicates a change of topic, i.e., the speaker has just thought of something new that he or she wishes to introduce into the conversation.

1B. PEKING OPERA. Jīngjù “Peking opera” is also referred to as Jīngxì, Guójù, or (in Taiwan) Píngjù. Combining music, singing, and dance as well as stylized pantomime and strenuous acrobatics, Jīngjù is the national drama of China and can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty (618–906). While scenery in Jīngjù is minimal, consisting mostly of tables and chairs, costumes and makeup are very bright and colorful, with brilliant, lavishly embroidered costumes and hangings. Language in Jīngjù is often in archaic Chinese that is difficult even for native Chinese speakers to understand, hence slides with subtitles in characters are sometimes shown simultaneously. Of course, true Chinese opera lovers would know the story and probably the lyrics before they even go. Striding onto the stage to the sound of strings, woodwinds, drums, and gongs, Peking opera performers somersault across the stage and display their skills in the martial arts. It used to be that only males could perform in Peking opera, but now women perform also. Attending performances of Chinese opera has long been a popular pastime of both ordinary people and the well-to-do. However, the younger generation in China appears to have largely lost interest in Peking opera.

2. Review the important pattern suīrán...dànshi... “although,” that was introduced in 16-4: 3B.

3A. Be careful how you pronounce jùchăng “theater,” making sure it doesn’t sound like zhūchăng “pig farm”!

3B. Bái Shé Zhuàn, one of the most famous and popular Peking operas, is based on a twelfth-century legend which is also recounted in fiction, ballads, and drama. The legend goes as follows: A supernatural white snake, after living an exemplary life on earth for 1,000 years, attains immortality and develops various kinds of magical powers. As it yearns to return to earth, it takes on the shape of a beautiful maiden and meets the young scholar Xu Xian. The maiden and Xu fall in love and marry, and open a medicine shop near West Lake in Hang-zhou. The maiden uses her magical powers so that all the medicines they sell become especially potent, with the result that their business prospers. But the Buddhist monk Fa Hai intervenes, telling Xu the true identity of his wife and, with a magic potion, turning the maiden back into a snake. When Xu sees what his wife really looks like, he’s so shocked he dies, but his snake-wife brings him back to life with another potion. Then Xu once again comes under the influence of the monk and, to be protected from the snake, allows himself to be locked in a temple. With the assistance of other spirits, the white snake then takes over the temple, so as to liberate her husband. However, Fa Hai is able to mobilize all kinds of spirits and, in the end, is able to keep the snake locked up inside a pagoda.

3C. Zhènghăor duō yìzhāng piào “It just happens that I have an extra ticket” literally means “It just happens that there is one ticket too many.” Duō is here a verb meaning “be many.” Some more examples with zhènghăo(r) “just, be just right, as it happens”:

7. Zhè hái yòng xiè? literally means “This (matter of my inviting you to the Peking opera, you) still need to thank (me for it)?” This is an ironic comment; the implication is “Of course you don’t need to thank me for this!” Functional English equivalents of Zhè hái yòng xiè? would include “Don’t worry about it,” “Forget it,” and “Never mind.”

SV1. Learn the common word yánjiū, which can function as both a verb and a noun meaning “research” or “study.” Sometimes if you make a request in Chinese society, you’ll receive the reply Wŏmen yánjiū yanjiu or Wŏmen yánjiū yixia. While this literally means “We’ll study it,” the real meaning may be “No.” In other words, this is sometimes nothing more than a face-saving way to decline a request. However, depending on the context, it’s of course also possible that this truly means a request or proposal will be “studied.”

SV2, SV3, SV4. FRACTIONS, PERCENT, AND DECIMALS. Fractions are created on the following pattern:

The zhī in the above pattern is from Classical Chinese and means the same as -de in modern Chinese. Thus, sānfēnzhī’èr literally means “three parts’ two” or “two of three parts.” Other common fractions include:

More complicated fractions work the same way. For example, 5/18 would be said as shíbāfēnzhīwŭ and 12/49 would be said as sìshijiŭfēnzhīshí’èr.

Percent is expressed, using the same pattern as for fractions, as băifēnzhī..., literally, “...of a hundred parts.”

As regards decimals, the word for the decimal point is diăn. The number before the decimal point is pronounced like any other number, but the numbers after the decimal point are simply “read off,” one digit at a time. The pattern for Chinese decimals is:

SV7. Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó “People’s Republic of China” has been the official name for mainland China since 1949.

SV8. Zhōnghuá Mínguó “Republic of China” was the official name of all China from 1911–1949 and has since 1949 continued to be the official name for Taiwan.

1. yánjiū	study, research [N/V]
yŏu yánjiū	have expertise
duì yīnyuè yŏu yánjiū	have expertise in music
Tā duì yīnyuè hĕn yŏu yánjiū.	She has great expertise in music.
2. fēn	part, fraction [M]
...fēnzhī...	(for fractions) [PT]
sānfēnzhī’èr	two-thirds
Sānfēnzhī’èrde rén méi qù.	Two-thirds of the people didn’t go.
3. băifēnzhī...	...percent [PT]
băifēnzhīshí	ten percent
Zhĭ yŏu chàbuduō băifēnzhīshíde rén qùle.	Only about 10% of the people went.
4. ...diăn...	(pattern for decimals) [PT]
yī diăn bā	1.8
Lí zhèr yŏu yī diăn bā gōnglĭ.	It’s 1.8 kilometers from here.
5. yŏuyòng	be useful [SV]
6. méiyou yòng	not have any use [PH]
7. Zhōnghuá	(literary name for “China”) [N]
gònghéguó	republic [N]
Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó	People’s Republic of China [PW]
8. Zhōnghuá Mínguó	Republic of China [PW]

1. shàngwăng	get on the net, surf the net [VO]
Wŏ yŏukòngde shíhou, xĭhuan shàngwăng.	When I have time, I like to surf the net.
2. diànzĭ	electron [N]
yóujiàn	piece of mail [N]
diànzĭ yóujiàn	electronic mail, e-mail [PH]
-men	(plural suffix) [BF]
péngyoumen	friends
fā	issue, send out [V]
gĕi péngyoumen fā diànzĭ yóujiàn	send e-mails to friends
Wŏ cháng yòng wŏde diànnăo gĕi péngyoumen fā diànzĭ yóujiàn.	I often use my computer to send e-mail messages to my friends.
3. diànzĭ yóuxiāng	electronic mailbox [PH]
Nĭde diànzĭ yóuxiāng shi shémme?	What’s your e-mail address?
4. wăngzhàn	website [N]
Zhè shi wŏmen gōngsīde wăngzhàn.	This is my company’s website.
5. duănxìn	text message [N]
Wŏ gĕi nĭ fā duănxìn.	I’ll text you.

Xiànzài zhènghăo shí’èrdiăn.	“It’s just 12:00 now.”
Zhèishuāng xié zhènghăo gĕi nĭ dìdi chuān.	“This pair of shoes is just perfect for your brother to wear.”

DENOMINATOR	FĒN	ZHĪ	NUMERATOR
sān	fēn	zhī	èr
“two-thirds”

sānfēnzhīyī	“1/3”
sìfēnzhīyī	“1/4”
sìfēnzhīsān	“3/4”
wŭfēnzhīyī “¹	“1/5”
shífēnzhīyī	“1/10”

băifēnzhīyī	“1%”
băifēnzhīshí	“10%”
băifēnzhīwŭshí	“5%”
băifēnzhībăi	“100%”

NUMBER	DIĂN	INDIVIDUAL DIGIT(S)
sìshijiŭ	diăn	bā liù
“49.86”

liăngbăi èrshisān diăn liù wŭ	“223.65”
yī diăn èr sì	“1.24”
líng diăn líng wŭ sān qī	“0.0537”