2024年春天杂志来了！| The Spring 2024 Issue Is Here!

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Spring Issue 2024 cover
Spring Issue 2024 cover

《镜》杂志的第二期年度春季刊现在已经在网上发布了！这一期重点突出书法艺术，并且有两篇来自西华大学校外作者的特写文章。请大家点击下面的链接阅读：

2024年春天版《镜》杂志的PDF

感谢所有我们的读者和撰稿人。对我们的资助方华盛顿州孔子学院、西华大外文系及中文项目的学生和老师们所提供的大力支持和帮助，我们也致以诚挚的谢意。

祝大家夏天好！

《镜》杂志的编辑团队

Translation

The second annual Spring Issue of Mirror is now available online! This edition highlights the art of calligraphy, with two special features from authors outside of Western. You can read this issue at the link below:

Mirror Magazine Spring 2024 Issue PDF

Thank you to all of our readers and contributors. We are also immensely grateful for our sponsor, the Confucius Institute of Washington, and support from faculty and students in Western’s Chinese program and MCL department.

Wishing everyone a wonderful summer,

Mirror’s Editorial Team

Editorial Team

2023-2024 Student Editors: Maven Neumiller & Maggie Wettergreen
Faculty Editor in Chief: Claudia Liu

认识CCC的领导人们 / Meet the CCC Leadership

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Podcast Audio:

CCC的领导人们: 玫芬，爱乐，玉兰
CCC leadership: Maven, Alexa, Maggie

Audio Transcription:

玉兰：大家好！我们是汉语对话社的领导。
Hello everyone! We are the leaders of the Chinese Conversation Club.

玫芬：欢迎收听CCC的第一集交谈录音。
Welcome to the first episode of CCC’s conversation recordings.

爱乐：我希望咱们这个播客可以继续下去。
I hope these podcasts of ours can continue [to be made].

玉兰：没错。今天我们想要介绍一下我们自己，让你们认识CCC的领导人们。谁先说？
That’s right. Today we would like to introduce ourselves and let you get to know the leaders of CCC. Who will go first? 

玫芬：我可以先说。 我是会长, 我叫刘玫芬。
I can speak first. I am the president, my name is Liu Meifen.

玉兰：“会长”的英语意思是什么？
What does “huì zhǎng” mean in English?

玫芬：哦对，意思是 “president”.
Oh right, it means “president”.

爱乐：嗯，还有你的名字怎么写？
En, and how do you write your name?

玫芬：刘备的刘，玫瑰的玫，芬芳的芬。
“Liu” is the same as Liu Bei, “Mei” is from “rose”, “Fen” from “fragrance”.
(t/n: explaining which characters are used in a name by giving examples of common words or famous people that also use those characters)

玉兰：好， 好。我可以第二个说。我是副会长，在英语是 “vice-president”。 叫文玉兰，中文的文，玉兰花的玉兰。你呢？
Okay, I can speak second. I am the “fù huì zhǎng”, or “vice-president” in English. My name is Wen Yulan, the “Wen” is from the word for “Chinese”, and “Yulan” is from “magnolia flower”. And you?

爱乐：我是财务长那是“treasurer”, 我叫爱乐，我爱你的爱，快乐的乐。
I am the “cáiwù zhǎng”, that is “treasurer”, my name is Ai Le, “Ai” from “I love you”, “Le” from “happy”.

玫芬：很高兴认识你。
Nice to meet you!

爱乐：哈哈对啊。我也很高兴认识你。
Haha, right, nice to meet you too!

玉兰：接下来，我们有一些小问题要问你。
Next, we have some quick questions for you.

爱乐：好。
okay.

玫芬：来吧！
Bring it on!

玉兰：你的专业是什么？
What is your major?

玫芬： 我的专业是语言学还有中文
My major is linguistics, and also Chinese.

爱乐：那很酷。现在我的专业是中文。玉兰，你呢？
That’s cool, currently my major is Chinese. And you Yulan?

玉兰：我的专业也是中文，但是明年希望我是英文研究生。其实，现在我是学士后学生。
My major is also Chinese, but next year I hope I will be a grad student in English. Actually, right now I am a post-baccalaureate student.

爱乐：好的，下个问题。你学中文学了多长时间了？还有你为什么学中文？
Ok, next question. How long have you been studying Chinese? And why do you study Chinese?

玫芬：我学中文学了两年左右了。
I have been studying Chinese for about 2 years.

玉兰：真的吗？我也学了两年了。你为什么开始学？
Really? I’ve also been studying for 2 years. Why did you start?

玫芬: 自小以来，我很喜欢学别的语言，但是我不会说的。开始学中文的时候，我觉得很有意思，学中文快速地成我最喜欢的爱好。玉兰，你呢？
Since childhood, I have loved learning other languages, but I couldn’t speak them. When I started learning Chinese, I found it very interesting. Learning Chinese quickly became my favorite hobby. Yulan, what about you?

玉兰：一开始，我只想学新语言。因为我喜欢音乐和唱歌，所以我想学一门有声调的语言，给我自己挑战。
At first I just wanted to learn a new language. Because I like music and singing, I wanted to learn a tonal language to give myself a challenge.

玫芬： 爱乐，你呢？ 你为什么开始学中文？
Aile, what about you? Why did you start learning Chinese? 

爱乐：我学中文因为我觉得汉字不但漂亮而且很多汉字有有意思的事。
I learn Chinese because I think Chinese characters are not only beautiful, but also many Chinese characters have interesting matters. (T/N: backgrounds, features).

玫芬：我同意！除了学中文以外，你们还有什么爱好？
I agree! Besides learning Chinese, do you have any other hobbies?

爱乐：除了中文以外。。。我还喜欢看电影和看书！我很喜欢看惊悚片。
Besides Chinese… I also like to watch movies and read books. I really enjoy watching thriller movies (jīngsǒng piàn).

玫芬：惊悚片是 “thriller movies” 对吗？
“Jīngsǒng piàn” is “thriller movies”, right?

爱乐：对。
Correct.

玉兰：哇，很酷。我不喜欢可怕的电影。
Wow, that’s cool. I don’t like watching scary movies.

爱乐：真的吗？那你有什么爱好？
Really? Then what are your hobbies?

玉兰：我的主要爱好是音乐。除了音乐以外，我也喜欢跑步和看书。
My main hobby is music. Besides music, I also like running and reading books.

玫芬：我也很喜欢看书！如果我有空，我总是看书。最近，我学做饭，我觉得那也很有意思。
I also love reading books! If I have free time, I will always read. Recently I’ve been learning to cook. I think that’s also really interesting.

爱乐：做饭是很好的生活技能。
Cooking is a good life skill.

玫芬：是啊。
Indeed.

玉兰：好，最后的问题。 CCC的哪个部分是你最喜欢的？
Ok, last question. Which part of CCC is your favorite?

玫芬：什么意思？
What do you mean?

爱乐：那什么活动呢？
Such as “what activity”?

玉兰： 对啊，比如，看电影，打麻将，书法，绘画。。。我最喜欢看电影，但是教室的椅子不太舒服。。。
Yeah, for example, watching movies, playing mahjong, calligraphy, painting… My favorite is watching movies, although the seats in the classroom are not that comfortable…

玫芬：啊，我同意。我喜欢学书法，但是我最喜欢的部分是跟大家聊聊儿。
Ah, I agree. I like learning calligraphy, but my favorite part is chatting with you all.

爱乐：我最喜欢学书法。很难，可是很有意思。再说书法很美。我希望我们会写书法，我觉得很多人喜欢。
My favorite is learning calligraphy. It’s difficult, but very interesting. Moreover, calligraphy is beautiful. I hope we will write calligraphy, I think many people will like it.

玉兰：你说得对，书法一定是特别的。
You’re right, calligraphy is indeed special.

爱乐：所以，除了看电影和书法以外，参加CCC有什么好处？
So, apart from watching movies and doing calligraphy, what are the benefits of participating in CCC?

玉兰：还有,可以找人帮你做功课。
Also, you can find someone to help you with your homework.

玫芬：对。再说，可以认识新朋友。
Right. Moreover, you can make new friends.

爱乐：没错！好吧，我们下次见！
That’s right! Okay, we’ll see you next time!

都：再见！
Bye!

Chinese Conversation Club Logo

CCC Leadership

Chinese Conversation Club leaders Maven Neumiller (president), Maggie Wettergreen (vice-president), and Alexa Agbayani (treasurer), are students in the second year of the Chinese program at WWU.

《纸动物园》| The Paper Menagerie

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刘宇昆在二零一六年发表的《纸动物园》是一个很感动的故事，讲了一个小男孩子和他与父母之间的发生的故事。他的爸爸是美国人，而他妈妈是从中国来的。小孩的妈妈用纸做了动物送给他。叙述者反感他的妈妈，因为他学校的朋友欺负他。他的朋友都有比较贵的玩具，所以嘲笑他妈妈做的动物。他对妈妈很刻薄，所以他长大后，他跟妈妈的关系很疏远。过了三十年后，他的妈妈生了病，快要去世了。他去了医院看望妈妈。但是到医院的时候妈妈已经去世了。几个星期以后，他在打扫和清理妈妈旧的东西，找到了两个东西：妈妈做的纸老虎和一封信。这封信中有他妈妈心里的想法和疑问。首先，她写了他生活中和移民到美国的故事，其实也承认了她孩子对自己的反感。最后，她问了她的孩子一个问题：“你为什么不跟你自己的妈妈讲话？”

我觉得这个故事代表很多的第二代移民和跨种族家庭中的孩子的感觉和故事。我们的身份是有一点儿矛盾和分裂的。我们常常会想：“我是美国人还是中国或者是别的国家的人呢？”长大以后，我们不知道这个问题的答案。比如说，有些人不理解别的国家的文化，可以影响你自己身份的。这就是故事里孩子的经历。我自己以前有这样的经历和心理冲突，但是我越来越成熟的时候，发现你生活全部的内容是一定要找到平衡的。这个想法也能对身份认同有帮助。我们第二代混血不只是美国人或者中国人，我们是美国人和中国人。

Translation

Ken Liu’s 2016 short story “The Paper Menagerie” is a very moving and emotional story. It tells the story of a young boy and his relationship with his parents. His father was American, while his mother came from China. As he was growing up, the boy’s mother gifted him paper animals to play with. However, these toys were made fun of by his friends, which led to bullying. This caused him to begin to resent his mother. His friends had more expensive and intricate toys, so they looked down upon and made fun of the paper animals crafted by his mother. This resentment grew and grew, so as he continued to grow up, his relationship with his mother became more strained and distant. After 30 years had passed, his mother was severely ill and on the verge of death. As he rushed to the hospital to see her in her final moments, she had already passed away. A few weeks later, as he was cleaning out his mother’s old belongings, he found two things: the paper tiger that his mother made for him as a child, and his mother’s old journal. Besides containing details about his mother’s journey immigrating to the US, it also contained his mother’s thoughts about her faltering relationship with her son. The very last sentence in the journal wrote, “My son, why won’t you speak to your own mother?”

I believe this story is very representative of the story and feelings of many second generation immigrants and children of multiracial families. One’s personal identity can be very divisive and contradictory. For example, biracial children commonly ask themselves, “Are we American, or are we Chinese (or any other nationality for that matter)?” After growing up, I still don’t know the answer to this question. Furthermore, there are times and situations that lead us to choose one side or the other. For example, there are some people who do not understand the cultures of other countries, and thus can influence how somebody looks upon their own culture. This is exactly the experience told by the boy in “The Paper Menagerie”. Personally, this is an internal conflict that I have experienced many times. However, as I grew and matured, I began to realize that all aspects of life have to include balance, which is a philosophy that is very applicable to discovering identity. As a biracial child of an immigrant, I’ve come to realize that I am not solely Chinese or American. I am a Chinese-American.

Derek Newton 陈启恒

3rd Year Chinese Language Student at WWU.

学年 中文学部 大记事 | Chinese Program Year In Review

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观看同学们的春节演出
Watching classmates’ performances for Chinese New Year

演讲嘉宾讲座
在2022年秋季学期，中文学部邀请了两位国际知名学者，为对中文和中国文化感兴趣的西华大师生做了两场线上的精彩讲座。北京外国语大学的李雪涛教授是著名的历史学家、翻译家和汉学家，他与我们分享了许多关于如何进行汉学学术研究的重要观点，学生们感到受益匪浅，因为他们中的许多人正在计划毕业之后继续攻读硕士或博士学位。北京大学的赵杨教授是知名的汉语教育家，他的演讲主要围绕如何成为一名专业的对外汉语教师的标准，他还与我们分享了关于在就业市场上获得教师职位的重要建议和技巧。每场讲座都非常成功！

Guest Speakers
In fall quarter, the Chinese program invited two internationally recognized scholars to deliver two excellent speeches on Zoom to Western students and community members interested in Chinese language and culture. Professor Xuetao Li shared with us many pertinent ideas on how to conduct academic research in Sinology. Many students felt his ideas were very helpful for further MA or PHD program education planning. Additionally, Professor Yang Zhao delivered a speech mainly about the standards for how to become a professional instructor who teaches Chinese as a foreign language. He also shared important advice and tips with us about securing teaching positions in the job market. Thanks to student participation, useful tips and ideas from the guests, the talks were very successful!

刘海燕老师的书法讲习班
Professor Liu’s calligraphy workshop

中文桌子活动
在整个学年里，中文项目组织了各种中文桌子的主题活动。那些刚接触到中国语言和传统的人都觉得这些活动非常有趣! 例如，在冬季学期，初学阶段的学生能够体验如何使用毛笔和宣纸来书写汉字，传统的书法方式让大家感受到了中国文化的优雅气息。

Chinese Table
Throughout the academic year, the Chinese program organized various Chinese Table activities. Those who are new to Chinese language and traditions found these events extremely interesting! For instance, in winter quarter, students at the beginning level were able to experience how to write Chinese characters by using ink brush and Xuan paper, and the traditional calligraphy demonstration enchanted everyone with the elegance of this Chinese cultural tradition. In fact, many students mentioned looking forward to a Chinese Calligraphy course next academic year.

中文小型图书馆
自2023年1月以来，中文学部一直在努力建立一个小型图书馆。这些中文书籍将提供给中文主修专业、辅修专业的学生，以及任何其他中文学习者以服务。中文学部各年级的老师也会给学生布置一些阅读作业，包括读书报告或评论，以使这些书能得到更好的利用。

Chinese Mini-Library
Since January of 2023, the Chinese program has been working on the establishment of a mini-library. Chinese language books will be available to Chinese majors, minors and any other language learners. Instructors of all levels in the Chinese program will also assign students some reading homework with book reports or reviews so that these books will be better utilized.

同学们在CCC学怎么打麻将
Students learning to play Mahjong at CCC

汉语会话俱乐部（CCC）活动
每个学期，在中文系教师的支持和帮助下，学生定期举办的汉语会话俱乐部活动和研讨会为学生提供了一个复习所学知识的机会，同时它也是一个参与更多文化活动的场所。所有的活动都使学生在许多有意义的方面受益良多，这为他们深入学习提供了机会。

Chinese Conversation Club (CCC) Events
Each quarter, CCC events and workshops are held regularly by students with the support and assistance of Chinese faculty members. This club offers a chance for students to review what they learn and a place to participate in more cultural activities. All events thus far have had enormous positive benefits for students’ studies.

中国饮食文化周
在2022年秋季学期，中文学部的学生门在饮食文化周期间学到了很多只在语言课堂上无法学到的饮食文化知识。在品尝美食之前，老师布置了作业，让学生们提前研究一下中餐的历史、特点、菜系流派。在活动过程中，学生们将所学知识运用到实践中，他们还现场提出了很多相关问题，很多问题甚至与早期中国移民的职业和目前美国餐饮业的布局有关。中餐背后的文化和语言也让学生们对中国的历史有了更深层次的了解，激励他们在课堂内外更深入地学习中文。

Chinese Food Culture Week
In fall quarter, the Chinese students learned a lot about food culture during Food Culture Week that they would not have learned in class. Before a food tasting event, the teachers assigned homework to encourage the students to research more about the history, characteristics, and schools of Chinese cuisine in advance. Then, during the event the students applied what they learned in practice by asking relevant, impromptu questions, many of which were related to the occupation of early Chinese immigrants and the current climate of the American food service industry. The culture and language behind the Chinese food also gave students a deeper understanding of the history of China and encouraged them to further immerse themselves in their Chinese studies in and outside of the classrooms.

同学们跟随陈淑光教授学习中国画
Students follow along with Professor Chen’s instruction

艺术家嘉宾工作坊
在冬季学期，中文学部和汉语对话俱乐部组织了一次中国美术工作坊研讨会。我们邀请了山东艺术设计学院的陈淑光教授，他在讲座中向中文主修专业和辅修专业的学生、教师和其他参与者介绍了中国水彩画的历史。然后他在线上教授所有参与者来现场画水彩画。这次活动也获得了非常成功的效果! 所有参与其中的人都对中国艺术变得越来越感兴趣。

Guest Artist Events
In winter quarter, the Chinese program and Chinese Conversation Club organized an art workshop. We invited Professor Shuguang Chen of Shandong University of Arts and Design, who delivered a presentation introducing the history of Chinese watercolor painting to both Chinese majors and minors, as well as faculty members and visitors. He then taught all participants via Zoom call how to do watercolor painting. The workshop participants were very successful in their learning, and many students became even more interested in traditional Chinese arts.

苏老师给学生讲解年兽的传说
Professor Su tells students the legend of Nian

中国新年庆祝活动
中国新年，也被称为春节，是中国文化中最重要的节日，全世界有数百万人在庆祝。在2023年的冬季，中文学部举行了一年一度的新年庆祝活动，以庆祝传统和所有中文主修和辅修专业同学们的进步，许多对中文感兴趣的学习者也加入到活动中来。这是自疫情以来第一次面对面的线下聚会，全体教师和学生志愿者共同成功地组织了这次活动。我们邀请了外国语学院的系主任Shannon Dubenion-Smith教授致开幕词，中文学部的主任吴思远教授向大家宣布了未来中文系的发展计划。大家对即将出版的中文杂志《镜》、春季郊游、中文会话俱乐部的活动、中文小图书馆的建立，暑期留学项目等都感到十分期待。各年级学生表演了很多精彩的节目，包括中文歌曲、小品、舞蹈、诗朗诵、绕口令、脱口秀等等。 此次活动不仅使中文项目和中国文化在校园内得到了更广泛的传播，而且大大增强了师生对教学工作以及学生们学习的信心。这个活动提供了一个文化交流和理解的机会，并促进了文化多样性。它还促使参与者相互学习，分享他们自己的学习经验和文化传统，并建立起一种跨文化的纽带。

一年级的学生邱文颢和邱舞医
First year students Nevaeh Qiu and Wuyi Walters

Chinese New Year Celebration
The Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is the most important holiday in Chinese culture and is celebrated by millions of people worldwide. In winter quarter of 2023, the Chinese program held its annual New Year Celebration to celebrate the tradition and the progress of all Chinese majors and minors. Many students who are interested in Chinese also joined the event. This was the first face-to-face gathering since Covid started three years ago. The entire faculty membership worked with student volunteers to successfully organize the event this year. We invited the department chair of MCL, Professor Shannon Dubenion-Smith to deliver the opening remarks, and Chinese faculty head Professor Julian Wu announced program development plans to everyone. Everyone was excited about the upcoming Chinese magazine, spring field trips, activities of Chinese Conversation Club, the establishment of a Chinese mini-library, faculty-led summer study abroad program, etc. Students of all levels performed a variety of great shows, including Chinese songs, skits, dancing, poem recitation, tongue twisters, a talk show, and many others. This event not only provided a good exposure for the Chinese language program and Chinese culture on campus, but also greatly enhanced the confidence of teachers and students in the importance of their achievements. This event provided an opportunity for cultural exchange and understanding, as well as the promotion of cultural diversity. It also allowed participants to learn from each other, share their own study experience and cultural traditions, and build cross-cultural connections.

Claudia Liu 刘海燕

Claudia Liu, Language Instructor of Chinese, holds two M.A. degrees in the fields of linguistics (University of Washington U.S., and Newcastle University, U.K). Her research interests include: teaching Chinese as a foreign language, second language acquisition, and multilingualism. As a talented professional with more than 20 years of teaching experience, her passion for teaching and love of language make her classes a joy to attend.

理財建議 / Financial Advice

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Podcast Audio:

Audio Transcription:

同學們、教授們、各位聽眾朋友，大家好！歡迎收聽這個小播客的最後一集。
Fellow students, professors, and dear listeners, hello everyone! Welcome to the final episode of this small podcast. 

今年我很高興有這個機會認識了很多同學，聊天，並錄製播客。
This year, I am very happy to have had the opportunity to meet many classmates, chat, and record podcasts. 

這個最後一集和別的不太一樣。這一次只是我跟您說話，所以，請讓我再介紹一下我自己。
This last episode is a little different from the others. This time, it’s just me talking to you, so please allow me to introduce myself once more.

我是文玉蘭，目前是一名自由職業者，擔任網站開發人員和顧問。
I am Wen Yulan, and I am currently a freelancer working as a web developer and consultant. 

拿到學士學位後，我先在兩家公司工作，然後成為一名自由職業者，之後重返大學學習中文。
After obtaining my bachelor’s degree, I first worked at two companies before becoming a freelancer, and later I returned to university to study Chinese.

最近，和同學的討論讓我想起，許多年輕的大學同學沒有任何理財經驗。
Recently, discussions with my classmates reminded me that many young university students have no financial experience. 

因此，作為一名在這些方面有一定經驗的老學生，我想分享一下我的經驗和建議，希望對您有用。
Therefore, as an older student with some experience in these areas, I want to share my experiences and advice, hoping it will be helpful to you. 

因為這些都只是我的意見，所以在做任何投資之前，必須做好研究。
Since these are just my opinions, you must do thorough research before making any investments.

課程裡我們學過一些常見的理財方式，比如把錢存在銀行裡，投資股票，買房子，等等。
In the course, we learned about some common financial management methods, such as depositing money in the bank, investing in stocks, buying a house, and so on. 

但並不是每種方法都適合學生。以普通大學生為例，他們買房合理嗎？
However, not every method is suitable for students. For example, is it reasonable for a typical university student to buy a house? 

對學生來說，開始理財最簡單、最合理的方法就是在銀行開立儲蓄帳戶。但並不是每個賬戶都是一樣的。
For students, the simplest and most reasonable way to start managing finances is to open a savings account at a bank. But not all accounts are the same.

如果銀行的利息太低，那麼仍然可能因為通貨膨脹而賠錢。
If the bank’s interest rate is too low, it may still result in a loss due to inflation. 

這一點我早就知道，但我去年才剛剛開設了一個高息賬戶。我真的後悔沒早點開設。
I knew this early on, but it was only last year that I finally opened a high-interest account. I really regret not opening it sooner.

我的會計好朋友告訴我，“生活節儉很好，但也得聰明地投資。”
My good accountant friend told me, “Living frugally is good, but you also need to invest wisely.” 

 除了開高息帳戶以外，他還建議購買存款證，因為利息可能高一點。
Besides opening a high-interest account, he also suggested buying certificates of deposit, as the interest rates might be higher. 

在股市上，他說相比炒股，投資共同基金風險較低。
Regarding the stock market, he said that compared to trading stocks, investing in mutual funds carries lower risk.

最後，我想提一下債務和信用卡。很多人都害怕信用卡債務，我也是。
Finally, I want to mention debt and credit cards. Many people are afraid of credit card debt, and I am too. 

但擁有和使用信用卡可以幫助你建立良好的信用評分。當你將來想要買房或者買車的時候，這一點很重要。
But having and using credit cards can help you build a good credit score. This is important when you want to buy a house or a car in the future. 

另外，使用信用卡不但可以保護銀行訊息，而且有的卡還有獎勵。
Additionally, using credit cards can protect your bank information, and some cards even offer rewards. 

所以我建議您把信用卡當作借記卡使用，永遠不要花你沒有的錢，每月完全付清賬單。這樣做就好了。
So, I suggest you use your credit card like a debit card, never spending money you don’t have, and always paying off the balance in full every month. Do this and everything will be good.

因為時間關係，我的播客到此結束。感謝大家的聆聽和支持，祝大家學業進步、理財順利、身體健康！謝謝。
In the interest of time, my podcast ends here. Thank you all for listening and supporting me. I wish you success in your studies, good luck with your financial management, and good health! Thank you.

Maggie Wettergreen

Maggie Wettergreen is a student in the second year of the Chinese program at WWU. This podcast was written as part of a class assignment.

男女平等的问题/ Gender Equality Issues

Jing Magazine on

Podcast Audio:

Audio Transcription:

玉兰:大家好，欢迎来到我们的小播客！我是文玉兰，今天我们有两位特别的客人。欢迎国先生和国太太。
Hi Everyone, and welcome to our little podcast! I’m Wen Yulan [Maggie]. Today we have two special guests. Welcome Mr. Guo [played by 国静 Anna ] and Mrs. Guo [played by 民育苹 Wuyi].

国太太: 谢谢你请我们来。认识你我们很高兴。
Thank you for inviting us. It’s nice to meet you.

国先生: 嗯。
en…

国太太: 哎呀，老公你也来说几句。
Hey, husband, you should say something too.

国先生: 你好，很高兴认识你。
Hello, nice to meet you.

玉兰: 您俩结婚多久了？
How long  have you two been married?

国太太: 今年已经二十五年了。
This year will be 25 years.

玉兰: 哇，好长时间。您们都做什么工作？
Wow, a long time. What do you both do for work?

国先生: 我是工厂里的工人，一辈子都在工作。
I am a factory worker, I’ve been working my whole life.

国太太: 而我现在是医生。
And now I am a doctor.

玉兰: 那么，在您们家里，男女平等吗？
Then, in your household,  are men and women equal?

国先生: 差不多，但是大部分家务都是我做的。
Pretty much, but I do the larger part of the household chores.

国太太: 是的，好几年来都是我在照顾孩子。孩子毕业以后我想轻松轻松。
Yes, for many years I was taking care of children. After the kids graduate I want to relax.

国先生: 你轻松轻松，而所有的劳动都是我来做的。
You relax, and I do all the labor.

玉兰: 是吗？有的人说女人应该在家里做所有的家务，照顾孩子，而男人应该出去挣钱。您觉得呢？
Is that so? Some people say that women should do all of the housework at home, take care of the kids, and men should go out and earn money. What do you think?

国先生: 有道理， 因为在古老的年代男人出门去打猎，所以现在挣钱的大多是男人。
It makes sense, because in ancient times men went out to hunt, so now mostly men earn money.

国太太: 但是现在不是古老的年代。你看现代女人可能成为医生。
But now is not ancient times. Look, in the modern era women can become doctors.

国先生: 当医生是当医生，但是男人比女人强壮多了！你连我一半的工作都做不了。
Working as a doctor is well and good, but men are much stronger than women! You couldn’t even do half of my job.

国太太: 什么意思？我看起来你每天都只看电视，跟朋友去公园打太极拳，晚上你就喝酒醉了。谁是一个医生？谁是养我们的孩子？
What’s that supposed to mean? I see you every day just watching TV, going to the park to do Tai Chi with your friends, in the evening getting drunk. Who is the doctor? Who raised our kid?

国先生: 那些活动都很重要！你怎么都不懂？
Those are all important activities! Why can’t  you understand?

玉兰: 好好好，国太太，别生气啊，很多男人都有这样的想法。
Ok, ok, ok, Mrs. Guo, don’t be angry, lots of men have this same way of thinking.

国太太: 常见不等于是对的。现在社会不再重男轻女。
Commonplace doesn’t mean it’s correct. Nowadays society does not favor boys over girls.

玉兰: 您说得对。国先生，改革开放以来，越来越多的女人选择去工作。这不是一件好事吗？
You’re right. Mr. Guo, since the reform and opening up, more and more women have chosen to work. Isn’t this a good thing?
(t/n: “Reform and opening up” refers to the period of Chinese economic reform in the late 1970s and early 1980s where more access to foreign trade and travel became available.)

国先生: 一直以来都是这样，但我知道我的国家缺少老师，所以…我并不讨厌。
It’s always been like this, but I know there’s a shortage of teachers in my country, so… I don’t hate it.

国太太: 哇，你太落伍了。
Wow, you are so out of date.

玉兰: 那么，您们有孩子吗？是男孩还是女孩？
Then, do you have children? Boys or girls?

国先生: 我们有一个儿子，我们为他感到骄傲。他刚开了一家店，他是个模范男人。
We have one son, and we are very proud of him. He just opened a shop, and he’s a model man.

玉兰: 哦，很厉害！是一位业主， 真酷。
Wow, that’s awesome! He’s a business owner [proprietor], that’s really cool.

国太太: 对啊，他是最好的花商。他和他的妻子一起经营这家店。
Yeah, he is the best florist. He and his wife run the shop together.

国先生: 他们互相合作。他负责设计广告，而妻子负责买卖花卉。
They mutually support each other: he designs the advertisements and his wife buys and sells the flowers.

国太太: 哦？听起来你说我们的儿媳妇做所有的重活。
Oh? It sounds like you’re saying our daughter-in-law does all the heavy lifting.

玉兰: 听起来他们相处得很幸福。我觉得时间差不多到了。谢谢您们来给我们这个机会认识您们的家庭。
It sounds like they get along very happily. I think time is about up. Thank you for coming and giving us this chance to get to know your family.

国太太: 别太客气了！
Don’t be so polite!
(t/n: a common response to “thank you”, similar to “you’re welcome” or “no thanks necessary”)

玉兰: 那么，最后，我们总是对听众朋友说 “下次在见”. 可以吗？
Then, lastly, we always give our listeners a “see you next time”. Can we?

国先生: 好的。
Ok.

都: 下次在见！
See you next time!

Anna Holmes, Wuyi Walters, & Maggie Wettergreen

Anna Holmes, Wuyi Walters, and Maggie Wettergreen are students in the second year of the Chinese program at WWU. This podcast mock-interview was written as part of a class assignment.

Spring Cover Contest! / 春期封面比赛！

Jing Magazine on

Mirror Magazine is looking for your photos, calligraphy, or artwork to feature in our Spring 2024 issue of the magazine! The theme should be related to school life, Chinese culture, or spring time (preferably all three). The winning photo or artwork will appear on the cover of the Spring issue with credit to the artist. Unfortunately we can not offer monetary prizes, but the winner will receive 5 copies of the print magazine to share with family and friends.

Submissions are due by May 13th

Rules:

  • All entries must be original work or photographs by the entrants.
  • Content must be appropriate for an academic setting.
  • No third party may own or control any materials the photo contains, and the photo must not infringe upon the trademark, copyright, moral rights, intellectual rights, or rights of privacy of any entity or person.
  • By entering the contest, entrants agree that works submitted can be used by Mirror Magazine for print and online content, as well as promotional purposes.
  • Entries will be judged by Mirror’s editors and WWU MCL faculty. All decisions are final. The magazine reserves the right to disqualify any entry that is deemed inappropriate or does not conform to stated contest rules.

Email inquiries and submissions to: jingeditors@gmail.com

出国旅游经历/ Experience Traveling Abroad

Jing Magazine on

Podcast Audio:

Audio Transcription:

玉兰： 大家好，欢迎来到春学期第一次的播客。 我是文玉兰在这儿欢迎我们的新同学邱文颢。
Hello everyone! Welcome to our first podcast of spring quarter! I’m Wen Yulan [Maggie] here welcoming our new classmate Qiu Wenhao.

文颢：大家好，我是邱文颢。霍邱的邱，中文的文，崔颢的颢。认识你们很高兴！
Hello everyone! I’m Qiu Wenhao; “Qiu” as in the province Huoqiu, “Wen” from “Chinese” and “Hao” like Cui Hao. Nice to meet you!
(t/n: explaining which characters are used in a name by giving examples of common words, places, or famous people that also use those characters)

玉兰：这次我认为我们可以谈论我们不同的旅行经验。怎么样？
This time, I thought we could discuss our different travel experiences. How does that sound?

文颢：可以！听起来好玩儿。
Sure! Sounds fun.

玉兰：你去过哪些国家，城市呢？
Which Countries and Cities have you been to?

文颢：我去过中国，主要是北京，香港，和青岛！
I’ve been to China, mainly Beijing, Hong Kong, and Qingdao.

玉兰：那，哪个城市是最有意思的？
So, which city is the most interesting?

文颢：对我来说，最有意思的是北京。
For me, the most interesting was Beijing.

玉兰：哦，听说北京有很多有意思的景点。是真的吗？
Wow, I’ve heard Beijing has a lot of interesting tourist attractions. Is that true?

文颢：是啊！我去了长城，紫禁城，和别的很古老的地方。
It is! I went to the Great wall, the Forbidden City, and other ancient places.

玉兰：很多，哪个给你留下最深的印象？
That’s a lot, which left you with the deepest impression?

文颢：长城给我留下很深的印象，因为那里的风景很美。
The Great Wall left me with the deepest impression, because the scenery there is very beautiful.

玉兰：长城这么大，你怎么上去的？需要门票吗？
The Great Wall is so big, how did you get to the top? Did you need entrance tickets?

文颢：我们坐了升降椅。我不知道有没有票，因为我参加了旅行团。
We took a chair lift. I don’t know if you need a ticket because I went with a tour group.

玉兰：我们的大学的旅行团，对吗？你们的旅行团团费包括了什么？
Our university’s tour group, right? What did your tour group fee include?

文颢：是的。包括了游览北京三天，从北京到青岛的高铁票，然后 在青岛留学五个星期的学费，住宿费。
Right. It included sightseeing in Beijing for three days, the high-speed rail ticket from Beijing to Qingdao, and then five weeks of tuition and accommodations in Qingdao.

玉兰：那在青岛的生活呢？那里的海洋大学的校园怎么样？餐厅的食物好吃吗？
Then how about life in Qingdao? How’s the campus at Ocean University? Is the dining hall food good?

文颢：海洋大学的餐厅是非常好的。很便宜，也比西华大的更好吃。
Ocean University’s dining hall is really good. Very cheap, and tastier than at Western’s.

玉兰：有一道最喜欢的菜吗？
Did you have a favorite dish?

文颢：我每天吃饺子！一盘是十块钱。
I ate dumplings every day! A plate is 10 yuan.

玉兰：哇！ 真的很便宜！其实，我今年夏天也打算去 青岛。关于哪里去，什么做，你有什么建议呢？
Wow! Really cheap! Actually, this summer I am also planning to go to Qingdao. Do you have any suggestions about where to go or what to do?

文颢：我建议你去青岛的海边儿。然后，必须去李村的购物中心买东西。
I suggest you go to Qingdao’s seaside. Then, you must go shopping at the mall in Licun.

玉兰：好，谢谢你的建议，我一定会去看一看。
Okay, thanks for your suggestion, I will definitely go take a look.

文颢：你去过什么国家？你最喜欢的是哪一个？
What countries have you been to? Which one is your favorite?

玉兰：我已经去过日本，和韩国。要选最喜欢的一个很难回答。因为它们都很棒，但是我觉得日本更有意思。
I’ve already been to Japan and Korea. It’s hard to choose which one I like better because they’re both great, but I think Japan is more interesting.

文颢：为什么？
Why?

玉兰：因为我去过日本的一些比较小的城市，人不是那么多，但风景很美，可以让你好好休息。
Because I went to some relatively small cities in Japan. There are not too many people, but the scenery is beautiful; it can let you have a good rest.

文颢：喔，真的？哪一个小城市是你最喜欢的？
Oh, really? Which small city is your favorite?

玉兰：一定是一个叫做高山的城市。那里有许多独具特色的传统建筑。
It’s definitely a small city named Takayama. There is a lot of unique traditional architecture there.
(t/n: The city name “Takayama“ in Japanese is written as 高山 , which is pronounced “Gāoshān” in Chinese.)

文颢：你是参加旅行团去游览的吗？
Did you join a tour group to go sightseeing?

玉兰：没有，我自助游。
No, I traveled on my own.

文颢：喔，很酷啊！你给别的想自助游的游客什么建议？
Wow, how cool! Do you have any advice for tourists who want to travel independently?

玉兰：可以，我觉得，去外国旅行时候，千万不要只去大城市和著名的地方，一定要找到更当地的景点。
Sure, I think that when traveling to a foreign country you absolutely must not only go to big cities and famous places, you must find more local attractions as well.

文颢：好的，谢谢！
Okay, thanks!

玉兰：好，时间差不多到了。 谢谢你参加我们的播客。
Okay, time is almost up. Thank you for joining our podcast.

文颢：没事儿！谢谢你请我来。
No problem! Thank you for inviting me.

玉兰：当然，我们给 听众朋友一个 “下次见” 吧！
Of course, let’s give our listeners a “see you next time”!

文颢：谢谢大家!
Thanks everyone!

都：下次见！
See you next time!

Nevaeh Qiu & Maggie Wettergreen

Nevaeh Qiu and Maggie Wettergreen are students in the second year of the Chinese program at WWU. This podcast interview was written as part of a class assignment.

在华盛顿州旅行 / Traveling in Washington

Jing Magazine on

Podcast Audio:

Audio Transcription:

玉兰：大家好，我是文玉兰。欢迎来到我们冬学期的最后一期播客！这一次，我们为大家准备了一段关于旅行的小对话。同学，你想介绍一下你自己吧？
Hello everyone, I’m Wen Yulan [Maggie]. Welcome to our final podcast of the winter quarter! This time, we have prepared a small conversation about travel for you. Classmate, would you like to introduce yourself?

山：谢谢你请我来。大家好，我叫山，我是从中国来的！我们认识很久了吧?
Thank you for having me. Hello everyone, my name is Shan and I am from China! We’ve known each other for a long time?

玉兰：对啊，我们认识了差不多一年了，可是从来没见过面，我们算是老友吧！我很高兴去年夏天我们在华州一起花了两周旅行。
Yes, we’ve known each other for about a year, but had never met in person. We can be considered old friends! I’m so glad we spent two weeks traveling together in Washington last summer.

山：嗯，是真好玩儿！
Yeah, that was really fun!

玉兰：那是你第一次来美国，对吧？
That was your first time in America, right?

山：对啊！之前，我从来没去过外国。
Correct! Previously, I had never been to a foreign country.

玉兰：那么，你第一次来美国，就选择来华州？为什么？
So, your first time coming to the US, and you chose to come to Washington State? Why?

山：那是一个很有意思的问题。。。
That’s an interesting question…

玉兰：我以为你想来看看我啊。
I thought you wanted to come and see me.

山：对对，当然，这是我主要的目的! 哈哈。 再说，纽约或者旧金山是很热门的城市，对吧？
Yes, of course, this is my main purpose! haha. Besides, New York or San Francisco are very popular cities, right? 

玉兰：对啊，我听说，很多旅行者第一次来美国就是来到这些城市，所以你选择来华州真的很特别。
Right, I heard that many travelers –when they come to the United States for the first time–come to these cities, so it is really special that you choose to come to Washington State.

山：对对，但我觉得华州比那些城市更有意思。
Yes, but I think Washington is more interesting than those cities.

玉兰：为什么？
Why is that?

山：大自然是特别的，而且化州不太大，城市也不太拥挤。
The nature [here] is special, and Washington is not too big and the cities are not too crowded.

玉兰：我知道你的意思，比方说，我们去西雅图的时候，环境很热闹，可是跟中国大城市比，算不上人山人海。
I know what you mean. For example, when we went to Seattle, the environment was very lively, but compared with big cities in China, it was not such a sea of people.

山：这样我很喜欢。那天我们走来走去，看过很多景点。
I like that very much. We walked around and saw many attractions that day.

玉兰：我记得你两小时后就已经饿的发火。
I remember you were already hangry after two hours.

山：别提了，我的肚子咕噜咕噜了！果然，民以食为天啊！
Don’t bring it up, my stomach was growling! Sure enough, food is the most important thing for the people!

玉兰：幸运，我们找到了一些小吃。你还记得吗？
Luckily we found some snacks. Do you remember?

山：哦，对啊！烟熏三文鱼！
Oh, right! smoked salmon!

玉兰：你知道这是化州特色的小吃吧？
You know this is Washington’s specialty snack, right?

山：我知道，三文鱼对华州的生态，历史和文化来说很重要，再说吃起来真好吃!。
I know. Salmon is very important to the ecology, history, and culture of Washington, and besides, it tastes so delicious!

玉兰：对啊。除了西雅图以外，我也带你去了奥林匹克国家公园看风景。是我最喜欢的地方。
Right. Besides Seattle, I also took you to see the scenery in Olympic National Park. It’s my favorite place.

山：对啊！那是我第一次见到这么自然的环境。那么高的山，那么绿的树，那么安静，连一只老鼠的脚步声都能听见。
Right! That was the first time I saw such a natural environment. The mountains are so high, the trees are so green, and so quiet, you can even hear the footsteps of a mouse.

玉兰：你的家乡没有这样的东西吗？
Your hometown doesn’t have these kinds of things?

山：都没有，我的家乡是上海，人口很多，到处都有快餐店。
None. My hometown is Shanghai, the population is large and fast food restaurants are everywhere.

玉兰：但是上海有高铁。我从来没坐过，听说很方便。
But Shanghai has high-speed rail. I’ve never ridden on it, but I heard it’s very convenient.

山：是的，我很惊讶美国没有高铁。你知道为什么吗？
Yes, I’m surprised the US doesn’t have high-speed rail. Do you know why?

玉兰：那是因为在美国的历史上，很多人一直使用汽车，所以政府并不重视发展火车系统。
That’s because throughout America’s history, a lot of people have always used cars, so the government didn’t pay much attention to developing the train system.

山：恩恩，原来是这样，在美国，开车文化是一个特色。我希望这种做法会改变。
Oh, so that’s the case. Driving culture is a special feature of the United States. I hope this practice will change.

玉兰：我同意。有时开车也可以浪费时间。。。哎呀，别提醒我。
I agree. Sometimes driving can also be a waste of time. . . Jeeze, don’t remind me.

山：好，好， 别生气。肚子饿了吗？
Okay, okay, don’t be angry. Are you hungry?

玉兰：是啊！拍完播客以后，我们一起去吃小吃吧？我请客。
Yes, I am! After we’re done filming the podcast, shall we go get a snack? My treat.

山：一言为定！谢谢你和我一起回忆我们的旅行经历。
It’s a deal! Thank you for reminiscing with me about our travel experiences.

玉兰：别太客气了！谢谢你来！快，我们先给听众朋友一个“下次见！”，再去吃饭吧。
Don’t be so polite! Thank you for coming! Quick, let’s give our audience friends a “see you next time!” and then go eat.

山：好啊！
Okay!

都: 下次见！
See you next time！

Shan Robinson & Maggie Wettergreen

Shan Robinson and Maggie Wettergreen are students in the second year of the Chinese program at WWU. This podcast mock-interview was written as part of a class assignment.

网上春节特刊来了！| The Online Spring Festival Special Issue is Here!

Jing Magazine on
Mirror Winter 2024 Spring Festival Edition

我们杂志的第一期春节特刊终于在网站上发布了！为了呈现给大家这期特刊，我们的编辑们花费了很多时间与国际撰稿人合作，精选了最有趣的题材，并进行了编译。感谢所有的读者和撰稿人，祝大家龙年快乐！

在网上看：2024年春节特刊镜杂志 PDF

我们对我们的资助方华盛顿州孔子学院、中国海洋大学、所有这期杂志的撰稿人、西华大外文系及中文项目的学生和老师们所提供的大力支持和帮助，致以诚挚的谢意！请您欣赏电子版《镜》杂志！

顺祝编安！

《镜》杂志编辑团队

Translation

The first New Year Special Edition of our magazine is finally available on the website! In order to bring you this special issue, our editors spent a lot of time working with international contributors, selecting and compiling the most interesting topics. Thank you to all our readers and contributors, and happy Year of the Dragon!

Read Online: Mirror Magazine Spring Festival 2024 Special Edition PDF

We are immensely grateful for our sponsor the Confucius Institute of Washington, China’s Ocean University, all the contributors to this edition, and support from faculty and students in Western’s Chinese program and MCL department. Enjoy the e-version of Mirror Magazine!

Sincerely,
The Mirror Editing Team

Editorial Team

2023-2024 Student Editors: Maven Neumiller & Maggie Wettergreen
Faculty Editor in Chief: Claudia Liu

父母管你的教育吗? / Do Your Parents Manage Your Education?

Jing Magazine on

Podcast Audio:

Audio Transcription:

玫芬: 欢迎大家！我是玫芬，今天 我在这儿跟我的同学玉兰，想讲一讲童年教育。
Welcome everybody! My name is Meifen [Maven], and today I am here with my classmate Yulan [Maggie] to talk about childhood education.

玉兰：对，在孩子教育的问题上各个家长有自己的看法。
Yes, every parent has his or her own opinion on the issue of children’s education.

玫芬：不但父母都有不同的意见，而且住的地方和文化也对孩子的童年有影响。
Not only do parents have different opinions, location and culture can also have an impact on children’s childhood.

玉兰：比如说，我们俩都是美国人，但是我是在华盛顿州出生长大的，而你是从中西部来的，对吗？
For example, we are both from the US, but I was raised in Washington and you are from the Midwest, right?

玫芬：对。我小时候，我和我的家庭住在几个地方，但是我在南达科他上中、高中学。
Right. When I was a kid, my family and I lived in several places, but I went to middle school and high school in South Dakota.

玉兰：你的家长管你的教育吗？带你去上课外活动像钢琴，画画儿，游泳，什么的？
Did your parents control your education? Take you to extracurricular activities like piano, painting, swimming, etc.?

玫芬：不完全是。那时候，我主要的重心是念书，把时间都花在学习上。
Not entirely. At that time, my main focus was school and I spent all my time studying.

玉兰：你应该让你的家长很高兴吧。你有什么自己选的兴趣爱好吗？
You must have made your parents happy. Did you have any interests or hobbies you chose yourself?

玫芬：我花了几年学舞蹈，但是那是我自己的兴趣爱好。我父母从来没逼迫我。
I spent a few years studying dance, but it was my own hobby. My parents never pushed me. 

玉兰：我的妈妈带我去参加一些课外活动，但是不太多。比如，弹钢琴、游泳、和骑马。
My mom took me to some extracurricular activities, but not too many. For example, playing the piano, swimming, and riding horses.

玫芬：哇，骑马？很高档的运动。你的家庭很有钱吗 哈哈
Wow, horseback riding? A very fancy sport. Is your family rich? Haha 

玉兰：没有，没有，一点儿也没有。我的阿姨是骑马老师。因为免费，所以我妈妈让我去和她学。
No, no, not at all. My aunt was a horseback riding teacher. Because it was free, my mother had me learn from her.

玫芬：啊，我懂了。听起来那让你不太高兴？
Ah, I understand. Sounds like that didn’t make you very happy?

玉兰：是的。我喜欢马，但是我阿姨太严格了，她让我真讨厌骑马。但是，别的活动还好。我一直喜欢游泳和钢琴。
That’s true. I like horses, but my aunt was too strict, she made me hate riding. But the other activities were ok. I have always enjoyed swimming and piano.

玫芬：无论那时候你喜不喜欢，你觉得学这些东西都是对你现在有用的吗？
Whether or not you liked them at the time,  do you think learning these things will be useful to you now?

玉兰：我觉得是有用的。对一些技能来说，只要知道怎么做就好了。你呢？你希望小时候你的家长让你学过什么吗？
I think it’s useful. For some skills, it’s just a matter of knowing how to do them. And you? Is there anything you wish your parents had taught you when you were a child?

玫芬：有时候，我希望我也有一些这样的技能，但是我很高兴父母让我好好念书，不急着参加课外活动。长大以后，我还可以学新的东西。
Sometimes, I wish I had some of these skills, but I’m glad my parents let me study hard and not rush into extracurricular activities. After growing up, I can still learn new things.

玉兰：不过，有一些东西在小的时候学比较容易。比如，学语言。
But some things are easier to pick up when you’re a kid. Like learning languages.

玫芬：你说的对。如果是那样，现在上中文课当然就比较容易。
You’re right. If that [having studied as a child] were the case, it would certainly be easier to take Chinese classes now.

玉兰：我希望我的家长鼓励我学习其他语言。虽然那时候没有机会学中文，我可能学了西班牙语。那会非常有用。
I wish my parents had encouraged me to learn other languages. Although at that time there were no opportunities to learn Chinese, I could have studied Spanish. That would be very useful.

玫芬：你说的有道理。有时候，不是父母或者孩子的选择。在我的家乡，就没有那么多机会学东西，像别的语言。
You make a good point. Sometimes, it’s not the choice of the parents or the children. In my hometown, there were not many opportunities to learn things, like other languages.

玉兰：那你在高中学什么外语呢？
Then, what foreign language did you study in high school?

玫芬：我的高中提供学生选西班牙语或者法语。我选法语，但是只学了两年因为我不喜欢那门课。
My high school offered students a choice of Spanish or French. I took French, but only studied it for two years because I didn’t like the class.

玉兰：你可以继续自己学习。
You could continue to study on your own.

玫芬：哎，我试了。没有老师，学法文就很难。
I’ve tried. Without a teacher, it’s difficult to learn French.

玉兰：是的，在大学的语言课比高中的更好。但是一些东西不能从书上学的。
Yes, language classes in college are better than those in high school. But some things cannot be learned from books.

玫芬：对，像怎么说得和母语的人一样好、怎么用现代的俚语、成语、什么的。
Right, like how to speak as well as a native speaker, how to use modern slang, idioms, etc.

玉兰：没错，我从玩儿游戏和看电视中学到了不少。
Exactly. I’ve learned a lot from playing games and watching TV.

玫芬：啊，我就知道，把所有的时间都花在看抖音上是教育性的！
Ah, I knew all that time spent on Douyin was educational!

玉兰：对，对，给我们自己一个玩儿的好借口。
Right, right, give ourselves a good excuse to have some fun.

玫芬： 好，时间差不多到了，那我们需要结束这个播客。谢谢你跟我们一起说话。
Okay, the time is almost up, so we need to end this podcast. Thank you for speaking with us.

玉兰：当然没问题，谢谢你请我来。
Of course, no problem, thank you for having me.

都： 再见！
Bye!

Maven Neumiller & Maggie Wettergreen

Maven Neumiller and Maggie Wettergreen are students in the second year of the Chinese program at WWU. This podcast interview was written as part of a class assignment.

孩子上网时间的问题 / The Issue of Children’s Online Time

Jing Magazine on

Podcast Audio:

Audio Transcription:

玉兰： 欢迎大家来到我们的冬学期第一次的播客！我是文玉兰，在这儿跟我们的同学山一起为大家带来节目。
Welcome, everyone, to our first podcast of winter quarter! I’m Wen Yulan [Maggie], here with our classmate Shan to bring you a program.

山: 大家好！我是山。今天的节目是一个有声剧，是关于两个母亲的故事。这两个母亲先在咖啡馆见面。
Hi everyone! I’m Shan. Today’s program is an audio drama about the story of two mothers. First, these two mothers are meeting in a coffee shop.

玉兰：那我们一起来听吧！
Then let’s go listen!

山：好的。
Okay.

******

山：姐，你好！谢谢你跟我见面。
Hi big sister! (t/n: way of addressing older female friends, not necessarily blood related) Thanks for meeting with me.

玉兰：别太客气了！你的孩子怎么样？
Don’t be so polite! How is your child?

山：他有个很严重的问题。
He has a serious problem.

玉兰：真的吗？什么问题？
Really? What problem?

山：他整天从早到晚玩儿游戏。看起来他上瘾了！
He plays games all day long from morning until night. It looks like he’s become addicted!

玉兰：那你要怎么帮助他呢？
So how do you help him?

山：昨天我告诉他，每个星期只能玩儿一个小时。
Yesterday I told him that he can only play for one hour a week.

玉兰：你不觉得有点严格吗？我的两个孩子做完功课以后, 想玩多久就玩多久。
Don’t you think it’s a bit strict? After my two children finish their homework, they can play as long as they want.

山：在网上多久都可以吗？
They can spend as much time online as they want?

玉兰：对啊！但是必须先做完功课。
Yes! But they must finish all their homework first.

山：可是网上垃圾太多。
But there is too much garbage online.

玉兰：我知道，但是我相信我的孩子。
I know, but I trust my kids.

山：我不想让我的孩子受到垃圾的影响。
I don’t want my kids to be exposed to trash.

玉兰：你不可能永远保护他，不管怎么样，他最后自己都会看到那些垃圾信息。
You can’t protect him forever. No matter what, he will eventually see the junk information himself.

山：这个我知道，可是我以为我的规则对他的成绩有好处。
I know this, but I thought my rules would be good for his grades.

玉兰：那，你有什么新情况就告诉我吧。我们可以再讨论讨论。
Then, if you have any new information, please tell me. We can discuss it further.

******

玉兰：这么有意思，这两个人有很不同的想法。
Very interesting, these two people have very different ideas.

山： 但是他们的想法都很有趣。
But their ideas are interesting.

玉兰: 我想知道孩子们怎么想。
I wonder what the kids think.

山：看起来，他们正在网上聊天。
It looks like they are chatting online right now.

玉兰：我们去看看吧！
Let’s go have a look!

******

山：哎呀，我妈让我烦死了。整天唠叨！
Geeze, my mom annoys me to death. Nagging all day long!

玉兰：哦？怎么回事儿，大哥？
oh? What’s going on, bro?

山：我之前的考试成绩是有一点点低的。现在可好了，可她又限制我上网的时间。
My previous test scores were a little low. It’s okay now, but she limits my time online again.

玉兰：又是啊？我记得之前你只能一周玩三个小时，对不对？
Again? I remember before you could only play for three hours a week, right?

山：对啊！但是，她还不知道我可以用邻居的网络。我每天就等她睡觉以后，偷偷上网。
yes! But, she still doesn’t know that I can use the neighbor’s network. Every day I wait for her to go to bed and sneak online.

玉兰：难怪我总是看到你在晚上十一点以后玩游戏。
No wonder I always see you playing games after eleven at night.

山：当然，我一定要得到我的游戏时间，这样才能玩不过瘾啊。
Of course, I must have my gaming time, otherwise I won’t be satisfied.

玉兰：那，你为什么不先学习再玩呢？
Then, why don’t you study first, then play?

山：为什么要？ 我整天在学校学习，累都累死了，回家就想休息。
Why should I? I study at school all day long, it’s exhausting. When I get home I just want to rest.

玉兰：有道理。而我，只要我完成功课，成绩没问题，我妈妈不管我上网的活动。
Makes sense. As for me, as long as I finish my homework and my grades are fine, my mom doesn’t care about my online activities.

山：希望我妈妈能这样就好了。 无论我做什么，她老是掌控我。
Wish my mom could be like that. No matter what I do, she always controls me.

玉兰: 真糟糕啊。所以，你明晚想再玩游戏吗？
That sucks. So, do you want to play games again tomorrow night?

山：当然了！
Of course!

******

玉兰：原来这些孩子不太乖。不过，我们可以听到家长和小孩双方不同的意见，真不错。
It turns out that these children are not very obedient. However, it is great that we can hear the different opinions of both parents and children.

山：对对， 这个有声剧很好玩。
Yes, this audio drama is really fun.

玉兰：谢谢你参加我们的播客！
Thank you for participating in our podcast!

山： 不客气！
No thanks needed!

玉兰: 好啊，听众朋友下次见！
Okay, see you next time listeners!

都：再见！
Bye!

Shan Robinson & Maggie Wettergreen

Shan Robinson and Maggie Wettergreen are students in the second year of the Chinese program at WWU. This audio drama dialog was written as part of a class assignment.

我的童年 / My Childhood

Jing Magazine on

我的童年像大名鼎鼎的中国作家鲁迅在《朝花夕拾》写的那样，“童年是一条河，荡漾着美好的回忆；童年是一幅画，描绘多彩的生活；童年是一首歌，欢唱难忘的幸福。噢，美好的童年！”

窗外淅淅沥沥地下着雨，窗内一个失意的我正在练习着与她心情格格不入的贝多芬写的钢琴曲–《欢乐颂》。下一秒，突然间倾盘大雨起来了，我终于因为沉淀了好长时间的难过而忍不住哭了。因为这次的英语考试把我弄得很不开心，而我又总是在学习上喜欢争强好胜。从此，我总是认认真真地预习，全神贯注地听着每一节课，坚持不懈地做每天的功课。考完三年级的期末考，我才亲身体会到“一分耕耘，一分收获“的道理。因为我不但英语单科成绩全班第一名，而且语文、数学和英语总分也是全班第一名。当我从容不迫地走上讲台领奖状的时候，听着同学们热烈的掌声，从老师的手里接过那一张张令我满意的奖状，心像是喝了蜜一样地高兴着。自这一刻起，我变得更加热爱学习。日复一日，年复一年，我觉得学习会给我带来一种快乐。这不仅仅是因为获得奖状和别人的掌声让我感到快乐，而是因为我每一次同完课后都学习到了新的知识，对这个世界有了新的认知而得到的快乐。在这些不断学习的日子里，我也不断地创造着我童年美好的回忆。

为了汲取更多的知识，我便喜欢上了阅读。记得我阅读完海伦·凯勒写的《假如给我三天光明》，我学会了珍惜自己健全的身体、与不断生活中的困难作斗争、感谢父母对的爱给我的生活带来的影响和如何在逆境中成长等等。当我阅读到曹雪芹的《红楼梦》里黛玉葬花的时候，被她感人肺腑的葬花诗句而深深地打动了。黛玉在大观园里看过花开花落的过程，然后联想到自己的身世才做了一首诗叫《葬花吟》。我最喜欢的两句是：“花谢花飞花满天，红消香断有谁怜？”和“一年三百六十日，风刀霜剑严相逼。”看到第一句，我被黛玉的才华横溢所折服了，也让我为这部文学作品中的女人们的各种悲惨命运而感到伤感和怜惜。当我读到《葬花吟》的第二句，我感受到她在贾家寄人篱下的生活的难过，这苦日子正在一天一天地摧残着她这朵花。她的《葬花吟》让我觉得有她具备着刘禹锡，“可以调素琴，阅金经”的高尚情操。我觉得是这首诗让我认识了更全面的黛玉。而《活着》这本书虽然有一些沉重，但是让我懂得了每个人的活法都不一样，存在着不一样的意义，也让我赋予了我活着的意义。正是这些阅读，让我体会到了童年生活的丰富多

彩。

再说，我的童年回忆充满了歌声。因为我喜欢聆听各种各样的歌曲并学会如何唱歌，感受它们给我童年生活带来不一样的享受。例如：我上音乐课学习的第一首歌曲《春天在哪里》让我感受到春天的美丽，学会善于从观察生活中，发现这其中的美。歌曲《让我们荡起双桨》，不仅让我感受到这歌词中描写的北海秀丽的风光，更让我体会到孩子们划船愉悦的心情，以及对国家的感激之情。还有就是在学习唱《茉莉花》的过程中，我既学会了热爱大自然的美，又学会了如何热爱生活。全是这些歌曲，使我体会到这幸福的生活。

我的童年，多么美好！这些由学习、阅读和唱歌组成的点点滴滴的童年回忆，让我每每想起，都恋恋不舍。童年像是一道彩虹，使我的脑海中充满了五颜六色的回忆；童年像是太阳，使我的人生充满温暖；童年像是天上的繁星，使我的人生更加闪耀。

Translation

My childhood is like the famous Chinese writer Lu Xun wrote in Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk, “Childhood is a river, rippling with beautiful memories; childhood is a painting, depicting colorful life; childhood is a song, joyously singing of unforgettable happiness. Oh, sweet childhood!”

Outside the window, the rain fell gently, while inside, a frustrated me practiced Beethoven’s piano “Ode to Joy”, which was completely out of tune with my mood. The next second, suddenly, it began pouring rain, and I finally couldn’t help crying because of the sadness that had been accumulating for a long time. Because this English test made me very unhappy, and I always like to be competitive in my studies. From then on, I always previewed carefully, listened to each lesson with rapt attention, and persisted in doing my homework every day. After the final exam of the third year, I realized the truth of “no pain, no gain”. I was not only top of my  English class, but also ranked first in my year in Chinese, mathematics and English. When I walked calmly up to the podium to receive the awards, listening to the warm applause from the students, and receiving the satisfying certificates from the teacher one after another, my heart was as happy as drinking honey. From this moment on, I became more passionate about learning. Day after day, year after year, I felt that learning would bring me a kind of happiness. This was not only because I enjoyed receiving awards and applause from others, but also because,  with each class, I learned new knowledge and gained new understanding of the world. During these days of continuous learning, I was also constantly creating good childhood memories.

In order to acquire more knowledge, I fell in love with reading. I remember, after reading If You Give Me Three Days of Light by Helen Keller, I learned to cherish my healthy body, fight against constant difficulties in life, and thank my parents for their influence on my life. And also how to grow in adversity and so on. When I read about Daiyu burying flowers in Cao Xueqin’s Dream of the Red Chamber, I was deeply moved by her touching poems about burying flowers. Daiyu watched the process of flowers blooming and falling in the Grand View Garden, and then thought of her own life experience and wrote a poem called “The Song of Burying Flowers”. Two of my favorite lines are: “Flowers wither, flowers fly, and the sky is full of flowers, who will have pity when the red disappears?” and “Three hundred and sixty days a year, wind, knife, frost, and sword are fierce.” I was impressed by Daiyu’s brilliance, and it

also made me feel sadness and pity for the tragic fate of the women in this literary work. The second sentence made me feel the sadness of her life under the Jia’s family’s roof. Like a flower, these hard times are slowly destroying her day by day. Her “Burrying Flowers” made me feel that she has the noble sentiment of Liu Yuxi who “can tune the plain qin and read the golden scriptures”. I think this poem made me understand Daiyu more comprehensively. Although the book “To Live” is a bit heavy, it made me understand that everyone lives in their own way and has their own meaning of life, and helped me find new meaning in my own existence. It was through these readings that I came to appreciate how colorful my childhood life was.

In the end, my childhood memories are filled with songs and singing. Because I like to listen to all kinds of songs and learn how to sing, I feel they brought a different kind of enjoyment to my childhood life. For example: The first song I learned called “Where is Spring”, which I learned in music class, helped me feel the beauty of spring, and taught me to be adept at observing life and discovering it’s beauty. The song “Let’s Swing Our Oars” not only made me feel the beautiful scenery of the North Sea described in the lyrics, but also made me feel the joy of the children rowing and their gratitude toward the country. Also, in the process of learning to sing “Jasmine”, I not only learned to love the beauty of nature, but also learned how to love life. All these songs make me realize all the happiness in my life.

How wonderful my childhood was! These fragments of childhood memories composed of learning, reading and singing make me nostalgic every time I think of them. Childhood is like a rainbow, filling me with colorful memories; childhood is like the sun, filling my life with warmth; childhood is like stars in the sky, filling my life with its shining light.

Rose Snyder

Rose is a senior at WWU Graduating from the Chinese Language Program in 2023.

妈妈和女儿一起去购物 / Mother and Daughter Go Shopping Together

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凯琳的妈妈刚才接了她，她们现在开车去购物中心购物。

妈妈：凯琳，大学上课怎么样？都还好吗？

凯琳：我两个语言课都很好，但是希腊神话课不太好。

妈妈：真的吗？为什么呀？

凯琳：因为在上课的时候，虽然老师说的我都听得懂，但是下课以后我已经忘了。所以我考试考得不太好。

妈妈：哦，那加油！我相信你！我知道你很聪明，不要紧张，好吗？

凯琳：好，谢谢妈妈。

妈妈：你说过你两门语言课都很好，难不难？

凯琳：都难，但是我觉得非常好玩。因为我学中文学了五年了, 这个中文课不太难。每天我学新的语法，还有上课的时候老师说很多中文。日文课比中文课难，因为我刚开始学，所以当然难, 但还是很好玩！

妈妈：太好了！

到了购物中心的时候。

凯琳：这个购物中心这么大！你想先去哪儿？

妈妈：这购物中心有很多名牌的店，像 Lululemon，Hollister，Altar’d State，什么的。我觉得我们应该先去 Lululemon。

凯琳：好！我喜欢 Lululemon。

在购物中心看衣服。

妈妈：凯琳，你看，这顶帽子好看！你觉得呢？

凯琳：嗯，真时髦！多少钱？

妈妈：帽子现在打八折，就三十块。我觉得价钱不错啊！

凯琳：这价钱是不错！我也喜欢这套运动服，样子，大小和质量都很合适。

妈妈：我同意，而且是纯棉的。我买给你，无论贵不贵，我都买。

凯琳：真的吗? 谢谢，你好厉害！

妈妈：不用谢！我是你的妈妈，送给你。你还想去哪个店？

凯琳：我想去 Converse 店！

妈妈：但你已经有这么多鞋子，你为什么要更多？

凯琳：因为我想要各个不一样颜色的鞋，然后我的鞋子和衬衫都搭配。

妈妈：哎，你好麻烦。Converse 店在这边，来吧。

凯琳：哇塞！有这么多鞋！这个Converse店是最大的。还有每个东西都大六折！

妈妈：你为什么喜欢 Converse？

凯琳：因为 Converse 鞋子的质量很好，而且又时髦又好看。哎！这双鞋子的颜色好看。

妈妈：我让你选两双鞋，好不好？

凯琳：好啊！那我想买蓝色的和绿色的。

妈妈：好。你想不想去Alter’d State？我知道你喜欢那个地方。

凯琳：我们可以去，我喜欢，但是找到合适的大小有点难。

妈妈：没事儿，我帮你。

凯琳：这条裙子好看呐！但是有点短。

妈妈：我觉得那条裙子太短。最近很冷，你得买长的裙子。要不然容易感冒。

凯琳：你说的对，那我不买裙子，就买暖和的衣服。

店员：请问你买衣服的标准是什么？

凯琳：我买衣服的标准第一是样子好不好，第二是髦不时髦，第三是质量怎么样，第四是舒不舒服。无论是不是名牌，还有贵不贵，我都不在乎。

店员：好，那这个夹克怎么样？

凯琳：夹克好看，还有颜色不错，质量也好，我买。

店员：太好！请来收银机。

妈妈：你要我买吗？

凯琳：不用，我自己买。

店员：夹克大九折，一共九十九块九毛九。付现金还是刷卡？

凯琳：我刷卡，谢谢。

Translation

Katelyn’s mother just picked her up, they’re driving to the mall.

Mom： Katelyn, how has college been going? Everything good?

Katelyn： My two language classes are going super well! But my Greek Mythology class, not so much.

Mom： Really？How come?

Katelyn： Because during class, even though I understand what the professor is saying, once class ends, I’ve already forgotten everything. So I don’t do too well on tests.

Mom： Oh, well good luck! I have faith in you. I know you’re very smart, don’t be nervous, ok?

Katelyn： Ok, thank you mom!

Mom： You said your two language classes were going well, are they hard?

Katelyn： Yeah they are hard, but I find them really fun! Because I’ve been studying Chinese for 5 years, this Chinese class is not too difficult. Every day I’m learning new grammar and during class the professor speaks a lot of Chinese! The Japanese class is harder than the Chinese class, since I just started learning Japanese, of course the class is difficult, but still fun!

Mom： That’s good! 

Arriving at the mall.

Katelyn： This mall is huge! Where do you want to go first?

Mom： This mall has a lot of famous brand stores like Lululemon, Hollister, and Altar’d State， etc. I think we should start at Lululemon.

Katelyn： Okay! I like Lululemon. 

Looking at clothes in the shopping center.

Mom： Katelyn, look, this hat looks great! What do you think?

Katelyn： Oh, very fashionable! How much is it?

Mom： It’s 20% off right now, only 30 bucks. I’d say that’s a pretty good price!

Katelyn： This price is pretty good! I also like this set of sportswear, the look, size, and quality are all very suitable.

Mom： I agree, plus it’s 100% pure cotton. I’ll buy it for you, it doesn’t matter how expensive.

Katelyn： Really? Thank you! You’re awesome!

Mom： No need to thank me, I’m your mom, I can buy things for you. Which shops do you still want to go to?

Katelyn： I want to go to the Converse store!

Mom： But you already have so many shoes, why do you need more?

Katelyn： Because I want various different colors of shoes, then my shoes and shirts can match.

Mom： You’re such a hassle. The Converse store is this way, come on.

Katelyn： Woah! There are so many shoes! This is the biggest Converse store! And everything is 40% off!

Mom： Why do you like Converse?

Katelyn： Because the Converse shoes are good quality, move over, they’re stylish and good looking. Hey! This pair of shoes are a good color!

Mom： I’ll let you choose two pairs of shoes, okay?

Katelyn： Okay! Then I want to buy the blue ones and the green ones.

Mom： Okay, do you want to go to Altar’d State? I know you like that place.

Katelyn： We can go, I do like it, but finding clothes of a suitable size is a little hard.

Mom： It’s okay, I’ll help you.

Katelyn： This skirt looks nice! But it’s a little short.

Mom： I think that skirt is too short. It’s been very cold lately, you should buy long skirts. Or else you’ll easily catch a cold.

Katelyn：You’re right. Then I won’t buy a skirt, I’ll just buy warm clothes.

Shop Clerk: Excuse me, what are your criteria for buying clothes?

Katelyn： My criteria for buying clothes are, firstly, how they look, secondly, whether they are fashionable or not, thirdly, the quality, and fourthly, how comfortable they are. Whether it’s a famous brand or not, and whether it’s expensive or not, I don’t care.

Shop Clerk: Okay, then what do you think of this jacket?

Katelyn： This jacket looks good, the color is pretty good too, and it’s good quality. I’ll get it!

Shop Clerk: Awesome! Please come to the cash register.

Mom： Do you want me to get it for you?

Katelyn： No need, I can buy it myself.

Store Clerk: The jacket is 10% off, all together it’s $99.99. Are you paying with cash or card?

Katelyn： I’ll use card, thank you!

Katelyn Widell

Katelyn Widell is a freshman at WWU and has been learning Chinese for 5 years. She is also starting to learn Japanese.

选择最好的专业 / Choosing The Best Major

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Podcast Audio:

Audio Transcription:

玉兰：大家好，我是文玉兰，我在这儿跟我们的同学任立行。今天我们有不一样的活动：我们将一起辩论一下。
Hello everyone! I’m Wen Yulan [Maggie], here with our classmate Ren Lixing [Dalraj]. Today we have a different activity: we are going to debate a little.

立行: 对， 是的.
Right.

玉兰：那，我们的辩论是关于什么的？
Then, what are we going to debate about?

立行: 今天我们一起辩论的题目是：大学生应该学哪个专业?
Our debate topic today is： What major should college students study？

玉兰：很有意思，可能对一些同学会觉得有帮助。
That’s interesting, maybe some of our classmates will find it helpful.

立行: 你也许是对的。
You may be right.

玉兰：好啊，这是辩论题目：上大学的目的是为了在将来找工作有准备，所以念理工科学院、商学院才是最好的选择。你想辩论哪一方？
Ok, this is the debate topic: The purpose of attending college is to prepare you to find a career in the future, therefore studying in Science and Engineering or Management colleges are the best choices. Which side do you want to argue?

立行: 我的专业是会计， 而且我的父母从印度来的。 他们觉得工程和管理都很厉害。 所以我就会辩论赞成方。
My major is accounting, and also my parents are from India. They think that engineering and management are both great. So I’ll argue for.

玉兰：有道理。因为我会申请创意写作项目的研究生，所以我一定要辩论反对方。
Makes sense. Since I will apply to the graduate school creative writing program, I must argue against.

立行: 好。准备开始吧？
Ok, ready to get started?

玉兰：准备好了！你可以第一个说。
Ready. You can speak first.

立行: 我们都知道工程和管理工作最挣钱。如果你学人文学科， 那将来就少挣钱。有更多钱，我就能过更舒服的生活。
We all know that engineering and management jobs make the most money. If you study humanities, in the future you will make less. Having more money, I can experience a more comfortable life.

玉兰：这个，不见得是真的。为了挣一样多的钱，花在工作上的时间可能并不一样。
I don’t think that’s necessarily true. The amount of time spent working for the same amount of money might not be the same. 

立行: 你说的是什么意思？
What do you mean?

玉兰：理工科和商业管理的工作得长时间工作，常常加班，或者得跟同事一起合作。与这些工作相对，有的人文学科工作的日程比较灵活。有钱可是没有自由，怎么可能有舒服的感觉。
Jobs in science and engineering and business management require long work hours, often working overtime, or require working with colleagues. In contrast to these jobs, some jobs in the humanities have more flexible schedules. Having money but no freedom, how can you feel comfortable?

立行: 将来, 我觉得我在我的法拉利上坐着很舒服. 如果我挣更多钱， 我有更多自由，也可以去轻松度假。
In the future, I think I’ll feel pretty comfortable sitting in my Ferrari. If I make more money, I’ll have more freedom and can go on relaxing vacations.

玉兰：不过，如果你真的喜欢你的工作，而且不会给你太多麻烦，你还需要请假吗？在我看来，有一份可以一直喜欢的事业是最重要的。这样，一辈子可以慢慢挣钱，不用放弃幸福。
But if you really enjoy your job and it doesn’t give you much trouble, would you still need to go on vacation? In my opinion, having a career that you can always enjoy is the most important thing. In this way, you can slowly earn money throughout your life without giving up happiness. 

立行: 但是你需要找到一份你喜欢的工作，人文学科的工作比STEM的工作更难找到。
But you need to find a job you like, humanities jobs are harder to find than STEM jobs.

玉兰：在人文学科的技能很广泛，因此找工作并不像人们以为的那么难。比如说，现在我们在图书馆，图书管理员是人文学科的事业。
Skills learned in the humanities are broad, so finding a job is not as hard as people think. For example, we’re in the library right now, and librarians are a humanities career.

立行: 是的。但是图书馆是工程师做的， 不是图书管理员做的。
True, but libraries are built by engineers, not librarians.

玉兰：可是这所大学一开始是师范学校，教育也是一项人文学科的事业。没有老师、图书馆管理员和作家，就不会有工程师建造图书馆。
But this college was originally a normal school [teacher’s college], and education is also a humanities career. Without teachers, librarians, and writers, there wouldn’t be engineers to build the library.

立行: 行，行，除了图书馆，其他基础设施像路桥、网路、技术，什么的，都是工程师建造的。
Ok, ok, besides libraries, other infrastructure like roads, bridges, networks, technology, etc. are all built by engineers.

玉兰：这些东西是要很多人建造的，不是只是工程师。
It takes many people to build these things, not just engineers.

立行: 最终，工程师还是挣更多的钱。
But in the end, engineers still earn more money.

Maggie： 哎呀，你真麻烦。
Jeeze, you’re really troublesome.

立行: 对不起，我知道。 我们都知道每个人都有各自的意见。
Sorry, I know. We all know everyone has their own opinion.

玉兰：对，虽然理工科事业可能挣很多钱，但是如果你受不了就没用。
Right, although science and engineering careers can make a lot of money, if you can’t stand it then it’s no use.

立行: 比如说， 我的朋友的第一份工作是会计但是他受不了。 后来他换了工作去当DJ，现在他很高兴。
For example, my friend’s first career was accounting, but he couldn’t stand it. Later he changed careers to DJ-ing, and now he’s very happy.

玉兰：就是。好的，谢谢你今天跟我一起辩论。这个活动原来很有意思，很好玩儿。
Exactly. Ok, well thank you for debating with me today, this activity has turned out to be really interesting and fun.

立行: 你也是。 祝你创意写作越来越成功！
You too. I wish you more and more success in creative writing.

玉兰：也祝你会计事业顺利发展! 我们给大家一个”再见“吧。
I also wish you smooth development in your accounting career! Let’s give everyone a “goodbye”.

都：再见！
Bye!

Dalraj Romana & Maggie Wettergreen

Dalraj Romana and Maggie Wettergreen are students in the second year of the Chinese program at WWU. This debate dialog was written as part of a class assignment.

在国外吃中国菜 / Eating Chinese Food Abroad

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Podcast Audio:

Audio Transcription:

玉兰：大家好，我是文玉兰，今天我在这儿跟我们的同学晚明花，一起聊聊关于在国外吃中国菜的话题。
Hello everyone, I’m Wen Yulan (Maggie) and today I’m here with our fellow student Wan Minghua (Kaitlyn) to talk about eating Chinese food abroad.

在北京餐馆儿吃饭。
Eating at a restaurant in Beijing, China

明花：没错，旅行的时候，在餐馆点菜很有意思。
Right, when traveling it’s very interesting to order food at restaurants.

玉兰：还有有点儿难，对不对？
And a little difficult, right?

明花：不太难，就是很紧张。
Not too difficult, just nerve-wracking.

玉兰：嗯，我同意。那，听说夏天你跟我们中文系的同学们一起去了中国留学。
En, I agree. Well, I heard over summer you and our Chinese department classmates went to study abroad in China.

明花: 对啊，我跟九个大一和六个大二的中文学生一起去的。头两天我们先跟吴老师和刘老师看看北京，然后就去青岛。我们有五个星期住在中国海洋大学。
Correct, I went with nine freshmen and six sophomore Chinese students. For the first two days, we visited Beijing with Teacher Wu and Teacher Liu, and then went to Qingdao. We spent 5 weeks at Ocean University of China.

玉兰: 在中国，你吃了什么菜？
In China, what kind of food did you eat?

明花： 我吃了很多不认识的东西，哈哈！在北京吴老师和刘老师带我们去一家高级餐厅点了很多食物。去中国以前，我只知道一点中国菜。我吃了很多不知道名字的菜。但是我发现我喜欢炒白菜木耳，而且在离长城很近的餐馆儿，有我很喜欢冰川茄子。味道甜甜的，好吃极了。
I ate many unfamiliar things, ha! In Beijing Teacher Wu and Teacher Liu brought us to a fancy restaurant and ordered a lot of food. Before going to China I knew little about Chinese food. I ate many dishes I didn’t know the names of. But I discovered I like stir-fried cabbage and wood-ear mushrooms, and also, in a restaurant near the Great Wall they had a glacial eggplant I liked.

玉兰: 听起来真好吃。还有呢？
Sounds really tasty. Anything else?

明花: 啊对了，在海洋大学的附近我们常常到小烧烤馆儿或者火锅馆儿吃晚饭。
Oh, right, near Ocean University we would often go to small barbeque or hot pot restaurants to eat dinner.

玉兰：怎么样？合你的口味吗？
How was it? Did it suit your taste?

明花： 菜都太好吃了！但是很多东西是辣辣的。
The dishes were all so delicious! But many things were very spicy.

玉兰： 是吗？你没点比较清淡的吗？
Is that so? You didn’t order something lighter?

明花： 在烧烤馆儿和火锅馆儿服务员常常问我 “你要辣的吗”？每次我都会说 “要，好听啊”。虽然这些菜辣得受不了，但是一直点，因为太好吃的。
At barbecue restaurants and hot pot restaurants, the waiters would often ask me, “Do you want it spicy?” Every time I say “yes, it sounds good”. Although these dishes are unbearably spicy, I keep ordering them because they are so delicious.

玉兰：所以，如果你一辈子只能选一道菜吃，你会选什么？
So, if you could only choose one dish to order for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

明花： 冰川茄子吧！要是我只吃冰川茄子，我的生命会短得很，可是我不在乎我反而会很高兴。
Glacial Eggplant! If I only eat glacial eggplant, my life will be very short, but I don’t care, I will be very happy instead.

玉兰：好，好。
ok, ok.

明花：夏天你也去了国外，对吗？
You also went abroad over summer, right?

玉兰：对。
Right.

明花：去哪儿？
Where did you go?

玉兰：我去了日本。
I went to Japan

明花：啊，听说日本料理很清淡。是真的吗？
Ah, I heard that Japanese cuisine is very light [in flavor]. Is that true?

玉兰：是啊，我觉得比较清淡。他们吃很多鱼，不放太多的盐。菜也不辣。
Yes, I think it’s relatively light. They eat a lot of fish and don’t use too much salt. The dishes are also not spicy.

明花：你喜欢吗？我以为你爱吃辣。
Did you like it? I thought you loved spicy food.

玉兰：就是。我的口味一般很重。可是，我不挑剔。我特别爱吃新鲜的鱼，所以我觉得日本料理也适合我。
Exactly. My taste is usually very strong. But I’m not picky. I especially love to eat fresh fish, so I feel Japanese food also suits me.

在横滨的中国城吃着中国菜。
Eating Chinese food in Chinatown in Yokohama, Japan

明花：那在日本你吃了很多寿司吗？
Then in Japan did you eat a lot of sushi?

玉兰：太多。有一餐我一个人就吃了三十块寿司。
Too much! In one meal I ate 30 pieces of sushi by myself.

明花：不会吧！
No way!

玉兰:  是真的！我可以给你看照片！
It’s true! I can show you pictures.

明花：哈哈，我相信你。那，在日本餐馆儿点菜怎么样？你会说日语吗？
Haha, I believe you. Then, in how was ordering in Japanese restaurants? Do you speak Japanese?

玉兰:  我不会说，就在菜单上指出你想要的，没问题。可是为了练习中文，在横滨的中国城，我也去了一家餐馆儿。
No, I don’t speak it. You just point out what you want on the menu, it’s no problem. But I also went to a restaurant in Yokohama’s Chinatown to practice Chinese.

明花：有意思，你跟服务员聊天吗？
Interesting, did you chat with the waiter?

玉兰:  一点点。我一边说， “我们想点这个，这个，还有这个” 一边指着菜单。后来我问她 “这些菜太多吗？” 还有她说 “不太多。” 买单以后我说，“谢谢您，真好吃的！”
A little. I said “We would like to order this, and this and this” while pointing at the menu. Later, I asked her, “Are these dishes too much?” and she said “not too much”. After paying the bill I said “Thank you, it was very delicious!”

明花：在校外用中文你一定很高兴。
Using Chinese outside of school, you must be very happy.

玉兰: 对啊，非常高兴。
Yes, very happy.

明花：好，好，我们还有想跟大家分享的事吗？
Okay, do we have anything else we want to share with everyone?

玉兰: 没有。就这样。我们下次见！
No, just this. We’ll see you next time!

都：再见！
Bye!

Kaitlyn Bahn & Maggie Wettergreen

Kaitlyn Bahn and Maggie Wettergreen are students in the second year of the Chinese program at WWU. Kaitlyn participated in WWU’s 2023 summer study-abroad program at Ocean University in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China.

融汇东西的艺术家：张莉莉 | An Artist Who Blends East and West: Lili Zhang

Jing Magazine on
油画 《紫调系列—花季》
Oil Painting “Purple Series- Flower Season”

张莉莉，出生于中国山东省德州市，是一位杰出的画家，擅长风景速写和油画。2007年至今任职于德州学院美术学院，从事环境设计的教学研究工作。作为一位多才多艺的艺术家，张莉莉的创作涵盖了静物、人物、风景等多种题材，展现了她对于细腻情感和丰富内涵的理解。

张莉莉从小就对绘画产生了浓厚的兴趣，经过多年的勤奋学习和研究，她精通了中国传统绘画技法的同时也掌握了油画、素描、水彩等多种技巧。这使得她能够在作品中自由地穿梭于东西方艺术之间，将两种绘画传统巧妙融合，创造出独具特色的艺术作品。

她的作品曾在多个中国艺术展上展出，并获得了如山东省艺术院校美术大赛（油画类）金奖等一系列荣誉。这些奖项不仅体现了她在绘画领域的卓越成就，还彰显了她为东西方艺术传统的发扬光大所做出的贡献。

上图 风景速写 《秋山图》
Landscape Sketching “Autumn Mountain”

作为一位具有国际视野的画家，张莉莉通过她的作品传达了中西文化交流的价值观念。她的创作不仅赋予了中国传统绘画新的生命力，还向世界展示了东西方艺术的美好融合。

中国绘画章法与线条的特色对她的艺术创作有深远影响。其中，林风眠的作品启发了她对形态与线条的灵感，从而引导她创作出了《憩》等优秀作品。在速写作品《秋山图》中，空间的层次、线条的疏密、和画面兴趣点的营造都体现出画家对于构图、造型、笔意的深入理解和细腻演绎。她的油画作品《花季》，既展现出中国绘画保留偶然性的特色，又结合了西方绘画构图的严谨性的特点，令人印象深刻。

上图 油画 《紫调系列—瓶花》
Oil Painting “Purple Series- Flowers in Vases”

Translation

Lili Zhang, born in Dezhou, Shandong Province, China, is a distinguished artist specializing in landscape sketching and oil painting. She has been working as an instructor teaching and researching environmental design at the College of Fine Arts of Dezhou University since 2007. As a versatile artist, Lili Zhang’s works include a wide range of subjects from still life to people, and landscapes, demonstrating her grasp of delicate emotions and rich subtext.

Professor Zhang developed a strong interest in painting from a young age. After years of study and research, she became proficient in traditional Chinese painting as well as oil painting, sketching and watercolor. This enables her to freely move between Eastern and Western styles in her art, skillfully blending the two painting traditions to create unique pieces.

Professor Zhang’s works have been exhibited in multiple Chinese art exhibitions and have received numerous honors, such as the Gold Award in the Shandong Fine Arts Competition (Oil Painting category) of Art Schools. These awards not only reflect her outstanding achievements in the field of painting but also highlight her contribution to the promotion and development of Eastern and Western art traditions.

上图 油画 《紫调系列—憩》
Oil Painting “Purple Series- Leisure”

As a painter with a global view, Professor Zhang demonstrates the value of cultural communication between China and the West through her works. Her pieces breathe new life into traditional Chinese painting and showcase the beautiful fusion of Eastern and Western art styles to the world.

The characteristics of Chinese painting have had a profound impact on her creations. The artworks of Fengmian Lin in particular inspired her in form and line, guiding her to create paintings such as “Leisure”. In the sketch “Autumn Mountain”, the layers of space, the density of lines, and the creation of visual focal points in the picture all reflect the painter’s deep understanding and delicate interpretation of composition, modeling, and brushwork. Her impressive oil painting “Flower Season” demonstrates the spontaneity characteristic of traditional Chinese painting, combined with the rigor of Western painting composition.

Editorial Team

本文由与艺术家合作的编辑小组成员共同完成。
Written by the editorial team in partnership with the artist.

Artist 张莉莉 Lili Zhang
Born: 1980
Nationality: Chinese
Artistic Fields: Oil Painting, Decorative Art

《三国演义》| The Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Jing Magazine on

从小，我最期待的事，就是睡觉前可以听上侯文勇与蔡康永的《欢乐三国志》的CD。他们用了现代幽默风趣的对话方式来讲《三国演义》的故事，当时我中文能力不足以直接阅读罗贯中的《三国演义》，更是对历史毫无兴趣，但是我在听故事的过程中听得津津有味。

当我长大好好学习之后，第一个想阅读的中国的四大名著便是《三国演义》。 在阅读的过程中，我被各个鲜明的角色深深吸引。想复兴汉室的刘备，年纪轻轻就管理着江南的孙权，还有著作中的大反派“挟天子以令诸侯”的曹操。但是我最喜欢的人物还是诸葛亮。他 在赤壁之战前后扮演了一个很重要的角色，不管是“草船借箭”还是“三气周瑜”，都深深让我体会到不管是在哪个时代，有学问都是非常重要的。刘备有那么多猛将愿意跟随着他，但他还是需要有计谋的诸葛亮才得以三分天下。

从《三国演义》中，我深深体会了中国文化中文武双全的意义。说到《三国演义》，自然是离不开精彩的“赤壁之战”，不论是政治还是生意都离不开结盟，就如刘备与孙权的两个不被曹操看在眼里的合作者能扳倒号称有百万大军的曹操 ，不仅仅是有才智超群的诸葛亮、擅长水战的周瑜、再加上刘备的虎将以及勇敢的黄盖，曹操东拼西凑的降军哪里是他们的对手?

先是“草船借箭”减少了曹操的资源，接着是黄盖的 “苦肉计 ”，最后是诸葛亮神乎其技借来了东风打得曹军落花流水。一连串的连环计让我也挺同情曹操的。在华容道上，罗贯中安排了有情有义的关羽放了曹操一马，不仅让关羽的性格更加鲜明， 更是让赤壁之战结束在一个和气的场景中。

罗贯中对每个角色都刻画得淋漓尽致，也对每个角色的爱恨情仇描述得很完美。侯文咏与蔡康永的作品，能让听众在历史与现代中来回思考刘备以德服人的管理方式，把五虎上将的忠心耿耿放到现代的社会依然受用。中国人所谓的“德”跟刘备的“德”其实本质上是一样的。关羽的忠义也非常能体现中国的文化。不痛打落水狗、牢记恩情，是中国人的美德。在三国演义中，我不仅仅学到了历史，更能深深体会中华文化的博大精深。

Translation

When I was young, I looked forward to listening to the CD of “Happy Three Kingdoms” by Hou Wenyong and Cai Kangyong before going to bed. They told the story of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms in a modern, humorous, and witty style of dialogue. At that time, my Chinese was not good enough to read Luo Guanzhong’s The Romance of the Three Kingdoms directly, and I was not interested in history, but I had a great time listening to the story.

When I grew up and studied Chinese diligently, the first out of the four Chinese classics I wanted to read was The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In the process of reading, I was very impressed by the distinctive characters. Liu Bei who wanted to revive the Han Dynasty, Sun Quan who managed the south of the Yangtze River at a young age, and Cao Cao who was the villain in the book “Holding the Emperor to Order the Dukes”. But my favorite character is still Zhuge Liang. He played a very important role during the Battle of Chibi. Whether it was in “Straw Boat Borrowing Arrows” or “Zhou Yu’s three angers”, I understood that no matter what era you are in, having mastery of knowledge is especially important. Liu Bei has many talented generals willing to follow him, but he still needs Zhuge Liang, who devised the strategy to divide China into three.

From reading The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, I deeply understand the importance of having both knowledge and physical power in Chinese culture. When talking about The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is impossible not to discuss the remarkable “Battle of Chibi”. Whether it is politics or business, both rely upon forming alliances, just like Liu Bei and Sun Quan, two partners who were initially overlooked by Cao Cao. They were able to defeat Cao Cao, despite his million-strong army through a combination of Zhuge Liang’s intelligence, Zhou Yu’s water warfare skills, Liu Bei’s talented generals and Huang Gai’s bravery. How could Cao Cao’s ragtag army of defectors, assembled from different places, ever compete with them?

First, “Straw boat borrowing arrows” reduced Cao Cao’s resources, followed by Huang Gai’s “taking the pain to gain trust”, and finally Zhuge Liang’s miraculous skills borrowed the east wind to defeat Cao’s army. This series of chain tricks made me sympathize with Cao Cao. On Huarong Road, Luo Guanzhong arranged for the virtuous and righteous Guan Yu to let Cao Cao go, not only making Guan Yu’s character more distinct, but also ending the Battle of Chibi in a peaceful manner.

Luo Guanzhong not only vividly portrays each character, but also perfectly describes the love and hatred of each character. The works of Hou Wenyong and Cai Kangyong allow the audience to reflect back and forth between history and modern times. Liu Bei’s leadership style of winning people over with virtue ensured the loyalty of the five Tiger generals, which is still applicable in modern society. Liu Bei’s morality is representative of the morals shared by many Chinese people. Guan Yu’s loyalty can also embody Chinese culture very well. It is a Chinese virtue not to beat a drowning dog, but instead to remember kindness. Thanks to The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, not only did I learn history, but also deeply understood the profoundness of Chinese culture.

Ariel Chen 陈敬柔

3rd Year Chinese Language Student at WWU.

书法：中国的古而美艺术 | Calligraphy: China’s Ancient and Beautiful Art

Laura Wagner on
王劳拉和她的书法作品。
Author Laura Wagner with one of her works of calligraphy.

在我看来，在欣赏艺术的西方人眼中，书法是忽略最多的那些艺术形式之一。很多外国人以为书法就是写字，然而，这种美观的艺术形式有许多复杂的方面。有悖于有的西方思想，书法不仅是“用宣纸写中文字”。

书法用四件工具：砚、墨、纸、笔。根据不同的情况，书法家灵活使用不同的工具，比如笔应该有多少墨、想用什么颜色的纸、笔应该用用哪种毫、墨是深或浅、手移动的速度怎么样、等等。无论标准是什么，每一个书法作品都有正文、题词、和图章三个部分。除了有这三个部分以外，每一个作品的内容和结构都有匹配的规则。书法还有四种常见的风格；篆书、隶书、楷书、和草书。书法家还可以创作自己的风格，比如皇帝宋徽宗的“瘦金体”。再加上，人们有时候用书法创作新语言或新书法风格，比如说“女书”或书法家徐冰的“方块字书法”；一种由中文书法的灵感所启发的英文书写方式。书法不但是艺术，而且可以体现历史和文化的改变，比如书法多个世纪以来的风格改变就是证明。

写好看的书法十分困难。姿势、呼吸，或者感觉心烦都可以影响最重要的书法特色：平衡。你只有许多年练习，才能有李白或苏轼的水平。虽然一个懵懂的人一看张旭（亦称“颠张”）的书法就觉得很难看，然而，为了写出那么漂亮的笔划，需要有快且沉着的手。如果我想有王羲之的完美书法水平的话，尽管已经有三年多的经验，我还要好多年练习，才能达到那种完美水平。

我毕业时间快到了，最近思考在西华盛顿大学的这些记忆，特别是中文专业课程，显而易见我最宝贵的专业课程记忆是学书法历史和艺术。我不仅学到了书法怎么写、书法的历史，还有书法教我的很多难能可贵的经验和教训。

为了自我爱护，人们要会忙里偷闲 。揪心的时候，休息紧张的身体，大喘气。出神入化几乎做不到，全力以赴就好了，欣赏自己的苦功，重视短但宝贵的时间。最后，我觉得有的时候，书法之类的东西可能看起来很简单，懵懂的人以为只是中文字被写在宣纸上而已，然而，书法的确有其隐秘复杂性。

Translation

In my opinion, calligraphy is one of the most neglected art forms among westerners who appreciate art. Many foreigners think calligraphy is just writing, but on the contrary, this beautiful art has many complex aspects. Contrary to some western points of view, it is not just “words that have been written on paper”.

Calligraphy involves 4 main instrument: stone (砚）, paper（纸）, ink（墨）, and brush（笔）. Depending on the situation, these four tools change to best suit the goals of the calligrapher; how much ink the brush should have, what color paper to use, how dark or light the ink should be, how fast is the movement of the hand, etc. Regardless of personal style, every single calligraphy composition has 3 parts: main text（正文）, inscription（题词）, and a seal stamp （图章/章）. In addition to having these three parts, each part’s content and composition have rules pertaining to their use. There are also four main calligraphy scripts: Seal script （篆书）, clerical script （隶书）, regular script (楷书), and cursive script （草书）. Calligraphers can also create their own style, such as Emperor Huizong’s “Slender Gold” style. In addition, people sometimes use calligraphy to create new languages ​​or new ways of writing, such as “Nüshu” or Calligrapher Xu Bing’s “Square Word Calligraphy“; a method to write English that is inspired by Chinese calligraphy. Not only is calligraphy an art form, but it can reflect historical or societal changes, and the calligraphy style changes through several centuries proves this point.

Making good looking calligraphy is an extremely difficult task. Posture, breath, or getting distracted can all influence the most important calligraphy feature: balance. It takes many years of practice to reach the level of calligraphers like Li Bai (李白) or Su Shi (苏轼). Although some might see the calligraphy of Zhang Xu (张旭), otherwise known as “Crazy Zhang”, and think it is ugly calligraphy, in order to have such beautiful strokes, one must have a fast, steady hand. If I wanted to have Wang Xizhi’s (王羲之) perfectly beautiful calligraphy skills, in spite of me already having more than two years of experience, I would have to practice for many more years to finally attain that level of “perfectly beautiful”  skill.

Since my graduation rapidly approaches, I’ve recently been reflecting back on my memories as a WWU student, especially those in the Chinese major courses. It goes without saying that one of my most treasured memories in Chinese major courses was learning about calligraphy’s history and art. Not only did I learn how to write calligraphy and its history, but calligraphy also taught me many rare and precious lessons.

In order to love and care for oneself, one must find time in their busy life for relaxation. When one is very anxious, they must relax their tense body, and take a big breath. Achieving perfection is nearly impossible, so giving an all out effort is good enough; one should enjoy their effort, and value their short and precious time. Finally, sometimes calligraphy and such things may appear simple; those with a limited outlook or experience mistakenly think it is merely Chinese words that have been written on paper, but on the contrary, they have hidden complexities.

Laura’s Calligraphy Gallery | 王劳拉的书法美术馆

A Chinese watercolor blue painting of a butterfly on the right, with the words 女书 Written in the slender Nushu style of calligraphy to the left, written and painted by Laura Wagner. The image is on top of white paper.

女书书法、水彩画蝴蝶 | Nüshu Calligraphy & Chinese Watercolor Butterfly

这是我第一次试着写女书文字。只有两个字，“女书”，然而用笔尖跟篆书的技巧稳定地写曲线的字非常难。我很惊讶地发现画漂亮且多彩的蝴蝶跟写两个女书字差不多一样困难。最后，我自己写女书的全过程使我更加尊重女书写作和江永女人。
决定画一只蝴蝶的原因是有的女书和结拜姐妹文化特点跟蝴蝶的中国象征主义有交叉；例如自由、爱心、期望、新生、和长寿等等。

This is the first time I have tried to write Nüshu characters. It was only two words, “女书”, but having to steadily write the curved letters with only the tip of a calligraphy brush and while using seal script technique was still difficult. Surprisingly, trying to paint a beautiful, colorful butterfly was about as challenging as writing two decent looking Nüshu characters. In the end, whole process of trying to write Nüshu myself made me respect Nüshu writings and Jiangyong women even more.
The reason for painting a butterfly is that some characteristics from Nüshu and sworn sisterhood culture intersect with some Chinese symbolism for the butterfly; freedom, love, hope, rebirth, longevity, among other things.

The calligraphy reads “女书“ from left to right, so you can compare the style to the regular style inscription below

山林多奇采水彩画 | “How Resplendent are the Forested Mountains” Watercolor Painting

王劳拉（郑月）的水彩画作文，用《子夜四时歌》摘录；“山林夺妻财”。这是我第一次画彩画作文。我在陈淑光老师的水墨画讲习班学怎么画。

Laura‘s (郑月）Chinese Watercolor Painting. I used an excerpt from the Midnight Songs Poetry; “How resplendent are the forested mountains”. This is my first time making a Chinese watercolor composition. I learned how at Professor Shuguang Chen’s Watercolor Painting Workshop.

An artistic, minimalistic calligraphy inspired line depiction of a bunny, with the words 吉兔 in the middle in regular script Chinese Calligraphy. A red seal stamp is under the left arm of the rabbit.

2023春节书法 / 2023 Lunar New Year Calligraphy

“吉兔”

我2023年春节写完了作文。一张在网上的兔子Stock照片是这个兔子的蓝本。兔子里说“吉兔”。最合适的形容词可能有两个音节，可是这个办法有更多的平衡。

Main text: lucky or propitious rabbit

I wrote this composition on Lunar New Year 2023. I based the rabbit off a stock image calligraphy rabbit I found online. Inside the bunny it says “lucky rabbit”. A more fitting adjective may have had two syllables, but this method has more balance.

A Chinese Calligraphy work by Laura Wagner including poem about nature written in regular script moving downwards and read right to left on top of white paper. The poem is translated in english in the image caption. A red seal stamp is under the inscription to the left.

地球日书法 / Earth Day Calligraphy

唐朝的李白：”望庐山瀑布”

题词：”地球日劳拉北林海“
正文：”日照香炉生紫烟，遥看瀑布挂前川，飞流直下三千尺，疑是银河落九天.“

Poet Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty: “Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu”, written by Laura Wagner

Sunlight shining on “Incense Burner Peak” (Mount Xianghu) emits a violet smoke.
From a distance, I watch this waterfall like a river hung before me.
The flying waters drop 3000 feet straight down.
I mistook it for the Milky Way fallen from the highest heaven.

This is a calligraphy I wrote in April of 2022. My job was the ASWWU VP for Sustainability. Last year I led and managed the planning for a whole week of celebrations of Earth Day at Western Washington University. Our theme was to center BIPOC experiences with the environment. 

The first Earth Day event was a keynote speaker event on Monday where Indigenous people came to speak about their relationship with the environment. One of the esteemed guest groups was Children of the Setting Sun Productions. My coworker, Naira, and I gave them gifts to thank them for coming to Western Washington University to speak, in addition to compensating them. I wrote them this calligraphy as a gift. Professor Wu helped me choose this poem about nature and it took 9 hours of writing before finally having the finished product.

A Chinese Calligraphy work by Laura Wagner on yellow paper in a hanging clear frame. The main text is the name of a cat, Anika, translated into Chinese and written in the 4 main styles of Chinese calligraphy; seal, running, clerical, and regular.

纪念阿尼哥的书法 / Calligraphy Commemorating Anika

正文：“阿尼哥”

题词: 辛丑年，辛丑年春，“心肝”- 她的外号. 

我2021年3月写完了。我的童年猫子突然越来越病，然后死亡了。她有舒服且幸福的生活，还有家人和我都爱她。我把这篇书法作品当成办法抬举她的生命。作文很简单，有她名字的声发音；阿尼哥。我四次写了名字，每一次是篆书，隶书，楷书，和草书。一个写书法正文的规则是“别写名字”，可是我打破规则追思曩昔。

Main text: “Anika”. Inscriptions include: 2021, Spring of 2021, “Sweetheart”- her nickname

I made this in March 2021. My childhood cat suddenly grew very sick and passed away. She had a happy, comfortable life and we loved her. I consider this calligraphy work a way to honor her life. The piece is her name “Anika” sound translated into Chinese and written in the four main Chinese scripts: seal, cursive, regular, and running script. In official calligraphy, one is not supposed to write names as calligraphy in the main text, but I broke the rules to memorialize her.

Chinese calligraphy work by Laura Wagner on yellow paper featuring a well known Analects phrase: “To review the old and learn the new is to learn the past and understand the future”. It is written in black clerical script with the inscription to the left and seal stamp under the inscription.

父亲节礼物 / Father’s Day Gift

正文：论语：“温故而知新，可以为师矣”

题词: 爸爸庚子郑月父亲节快乐 

我爸爸好几个年是数学老师，所以我选了写这篇论语诗歌送给他；很合适他的职业，还适合数学和历史的爱。用隶书写爸爸的礼物的原意是它有几何结构，使爸爸感觉愉快的。我爸爸挂了作品在墙上。

Main Text: From The Analects- “To review the old and learn the new is to learn the past and understand the future”

Inscription: “Father (who it is for), 2020, Zheng Yue, Happy Father’s Day.”

My dad has been a math teacher for many years, so I chose this father’s day gift and analects quote because it fits his profession and love for math and history very well. The reason I chose clerical script to write my dad’s gift was because it has a geometric structure and would make my dad feel content. He hung this composition on his wall.

Another Analects quote written by Laura Wagner on yellow paper with gold flecks, using seal script and the inscription is to the left. There are two hand drawn seal stamps, one by the inscription and one in the upper right corner.

第一部作品 / My 1st Calligraphy Work

正文：论语-”学而不思则罔, 思而不学则殆“

题词: 郑月庚子年（2020）春北林海。

2020年我第一次写很大的书法作品。我妈妈挂了作品在墙上。这是篆书。你们看到我还没有图章。邢老师授奖书法优异奖给我，使我那么骄傲！我享受看这篇作品，让我记得很多中文专业课程其中最喜欢的中文课（书法课）之一。而且，提醒我自己进步那么大。

From the Analects: ”Learning without thought is labor lost, thought without learning is dangerous.“ Inscription: Zheng Yue, 2020, spring, Bellingham

My first time writing a large calligraphy piece in 2020. My mom hung it on the wall at her house. This is seal script. You can see I didn’t have a seal stamp yet. It won a calligraphy award from Janet Xing! I was very proud. I really enjoy looking at this piece. It makes me remember one of my favorite classes among all the Chinese major courses (calligraphy). Furthermore, it reminds me how far I have come.

Laura Wagner

Laura is a 5th year 2023 graduating double major of Environmental Science and Chinese Language and Culture. She is also the 2023 Outstanding Graduating Senior in Chinese Language and Culture. On the one hand, Laura really enjoys the WWU community and student opportunities, so she doesn’t want to go. But on the other, she is excited yet nervous to start post-grad life. Some of her passions include Chinese calligraphy, cooking, outdoor recreating, swimming, learning about equity and justice issues, and dressing up (in the author picture, she wears a vintage Western (cowboy) inspired outfit for graduation pictures).
As a story editor, she hopes you enjoy Mirror Magazine and regards it as her final undergrad “passion project”.

學習語言的路 | The Language Learning Road

Laura Wagner on

教學的教訓

去台灣當外師之前，我從來沒有做過正式教書的工作，算是有類似的經驗，但話説完全沒有教室的經驗。所以，在我公立國小教書 一開始的阶段， 我真的很緊張，你們有聽過 “imposter sydrome” 嗎？這麽新的環境，校長和主任那麽大的期待，我當然會感受到這種 （imposter 假裝）感覺。如果你沒聼説過這個詞的話，這個詞的意思就像是你對自己說： “我有什麽資格來這所學校教學？”

好消息！因爲我知道一開始我無法完美的上課，最重要只是試試看，所以透過看別的老師上課方式和我自己的想法我有慢慢培養我自己教學能力。而且我有變成了教育局很受歡迎的其中一個外師。

這兩年年的經驗變成了我人生中最快成長的時段。我不但爲自己驕傲，而且知道以後可以把這個經驗當成自己的動力繼續去學習成長。無論如何，在這條學習的路上， 我都會犯錯誤， 這是不可避免的事。不過，因爲這兩年在台灣教書的經驗，我現在不會那麽怕犯錯誤。反而，我更愿意去試試看沒做過的事情。

怎麽適應？

在學習語言的方面，我飛到桃園飛機場就馬上開始發現中國大陸跟台灣説法差別是什麽。在找taxi時候 一直找不到正確的牌子, 然後就馬上發現了 台灣有另外一個 taxi 的説法 “計程車”。在我看来，模仿當地人口音和説法 是最尊重他們的。而且，也最能夠讓你快速適應適你住的地方。 一段時間過了后，有一次我在計程車裏面 司機看後面 被嚇到了因爲他以爲我是台灣人， 雖然我只是住6個月左右，他還以爲我的口音跟台灣人一模一樣。

後來，我已經在台灣9個月多了，在買早餐時候突然發現了台灣的 potato （土豆）確實是馬鈴薯，笑死了，還是要記得呢，不要以爲你什麽已經都知道的。還是會有空間學習新的。Fun Fact：在世界上不同的地方同一個語言都會有差別，甚至英語也有… 我現在在新西蘭正在越來越來了解這點。什麽是 rubbish(废话）? 不是 trash 或 garbage 呢？跟台灣對“ 垃圾”這個詞的説法 一模一樣！ （知道嗎？在台灣 “垃圾“ 的發音是 lèsè）

記得要講話！

我住在台灣的兩年期間，在語言方面有進步了，但是在另一方面也有學到了很多生活的知識。你應該很好奇我最大的教訓是什麽？就是要願意體驗。簡單地說，我覺得當你不知道什麼的時候，你應該學會不要氣餒。當然，還是要記得自己去復習生活中學到的詞，或許可以先預習！重點是沒有真正日常生活的鏈接就很容易忘記了新知識的用法。多多勇敢地跟真正的人試試看聯係講新的單字。在我經驗裏，台灣人特別願意耐心地聼和看。

其實，我這兩年自己也沒有很認真一直去讀書。反而，我有把重心放在改善我的講話能力的上面。因爲我每天强迫自己在外面講話，所以一段時間過了以後，我的自信和溝通能力越來越進步了。 進步到我家人來台灣找我，我當他們的翻譯的時候的，我常常搞混了“什麽什麽的”英文怎麽説。甚至，當下我自己忘了到底在講什麽語言。超好笑的…

相信自己的能力

綜上所述, 這是一個簡單的事實，即你做的越多，事情就越容易。因此，請相信，經驗會讓你在生活、職業、和語言方面學到很多。最後，要記得你生活中遇到的人 比如朋友，同事等等，是因爲他們，你才有學習的機會。

Madsen attending a hot air balloon festival
2022年台灣國際熱氣球嘉年華
2022 Taiwan International Hot Air Balloon Festival
Roaming in a tea field
游在茶叶田里
Roaming in a tea field
polaroid of friends
朋友的眼睛是最好的鏡子
The best mirror is a friend’s eyes
Madsen teaching a class of young students
“馬老師”用英文教學，告訴她的學生她夏天做了什麼
“Teacher Madsen” teaches in English, telling her students what she did over the Summer

Translation

Lessons from Teaching

Before I went to Taiwan to teach, I had actually never done any formal teaching work! I had similar experiences, but I had no classroom experience at all. I was really nervous at first to teach in a public elementary school. Have you ever heard of “imposter syndrome”? In such a new environment, with grand expectations from the principal and the director, of course I felt like an imposter. If you have never heard of imposter syndrome, it makes you think like this: “What qualifications do I really have to teach at this school?”

However, the good news is that because I knew that I couldn’t teach perfectly at the beginning, I realized the most important thing was to just try. By watching other teachers’ methods and through my own ideas, I gradually cultivated my own teaching ability. In fact, I even became a popular foreign teacher within the Education Bureau. These two years turned out to be the biggest period of growth in my life. I am not only extremely proud of myself, but I also know that I can use this experience as motivation to continue to learn and grow in the future. No matter what, I know it is inevitable to make mistakes along this journey. However, because of my teaching experience in Taiwan, I am no longer as afraid of making mistakes as I was before. Instead, I am even more willing to try things I haven’t done before.

How to Adapt?

When I flew to Taoyuan Airport, I immediately discovered that when it comes to learning a language, there are many regional differences. For example, when I was looking for a taxi, I couldn’t find the correct sign, and quickly realized that there is another word for taxi in Taiwan. In my opinion, it is most respectful to emulate the local accent and expressions where you live. It also helps you adapt as quickly as possible. Once when I was in a taxi, the driver looked back and was surprised to see a foreigner. Though I had only lived there for about 6 months, due to my accent, he mistakenly thought I was a local.

Even after being in Taiwan for more than 9 months, I continued to learn dialectical differences. When I was buying breakfast, I suddenly discovered that the Taiwanese word for potatoes is also different. I nearly laughed myself to death, but you have to remember: you don’t know everything! There will always be room to learn new things. Fun fact: even among speakers of the same language, there are regional dialectical differences. I’m learning more and more about this now living in New Zealand. There are so many English words and phrases that seem odd to me. I once asked myself “What is ‘rubbish’? Can I not say ‘trash” or ‘garbage’?” I found that the word “rubbish” is similar to Taiwan’s way of saying “garbage”! (Did you know? The pronunciation of “garbage” in Taiwan is lèsè, and not lājī, though the characters are the same.)

Remember to Speak!

When I lived in Taiwan for two years, not only did I make progress with the language, but I also learned a lot of life lessons. You might be wondering what my biggest lesson was? It’s that you need to be willing to experience things. Put simply, I think you should learn not to be discouraged when you don’t know something. Of course, you still have to remember the vocabulary you have learned, or maybe even preview vocab first! The important point is that it is easy to forget how to use new knowledge without connecting it in real, everyday life application. Do the brave thing and try to connect with real people to try to use these new words. In my experience, Taiwanese people are especially patient and willing to listen.

Actually, I have not been seriously studying these past two years. Instead, I have focused on improving my speaking ability. Because I forced myself to go outside and speak with real people every day, the result was that my self confidence and communication skills improved greatly over time. After speaking mainly Chinese for so long and having improved so much, my family came to visit me in Taiwan and I “played translator” for them. Suddenly I was challenged when I needed to quickly translate at a high level from Chinese to English. I even, at some moments, forgot what language I was speaking. This certainly caused many amusing moments!

Believe in Your Ability

Finally, it’s a simple fact that the more you do something the easier it gets. So trust that the experience will teach you a lesson, whether that be in life, career, or language. Remember that it’s the people you meet along the way that make up that experience. It’s only because of them that you have this opportunity to learn.

Emma Madsen

Emma is a 2020 graduate of Western Washington University’s Chinese Program, former International and Study Abroad program participant, and former Chinese Conversation Club leader. Since her graduation, she has taught English in Taiwan for about two years, explored the country and the culture in her free time, and made many friends. Her time teaching English very recently concluded and she is now travelling the world, visiting places like New Zealand, Nepal, and Malaysia.

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