User Comments - pearltowerpete

Posted on: Dubai

Hi mattahmet and aryeh,

We've just examined the files again and there does not appear to be a problem. Could you please refresh your cache and try again? It seems you are probably viewing and listening to the original files, which were in fact out of synch.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you.

Posted on: Delivery Problems

In my own experience, 快递 can save you a lot of time and energy. I've never actually had a conversation like this, but they definitely do happen.

Some 快递 work in pairs on the metro. One guy goes around the city on the metro, carrying a big load of packages. At the appropriate stop, there will be someone waiting for him to hand off the package and deliver it. That way, the guy inside doesn't have to keep leaving and buying metro tickets.

There is a guy like that, equipped with 蓝牙 Bluetooth, waiting at the turnstile of my metro station every morning.

Posted on: Getting Internet at your Apartment

Hi dapork

The formal word for modem is 调制解调器, but in fact it can be called a 猫. This is a nice counterpart to the computer mouse 鼠标.

Posted on: Saying Good-bye at a Tavern in Nanjing -- 金陵酒肆留别

Hi user11443

Thank you very much for the moving comment. A bit of review does everyone good.

As for future shows, we're weighing the options ;-)

Posted on: Saying Good-bye at a Tavern in Nanjing -- 金陵酒肆留别

Hi rj

Thanks for posting that. Very handy.

This is a good place to emphasize that most of the poems in the series, except for the 李清照 piece, were all from the Tang dynasty. But there are loads of excellent works from the Song and even earlier. Don't limit yourself ；-）

Posted on: Student or Teacher?

Hi changye,

Thanks for the proverb and the background on 同学.

Mainland adults will use this to address school-age people, even strangers who are clearly not their classmates.

When I lived at the student dorm at Fudan University, I got very used to hearing the 老胖子 at the entrance bellowing out 同学，门卡！("classmate, show me your room card!")

Posted on: Student or Teacher?

活到老，学到老

还有三分学不到

huódàolǎo xuédàolǎo

háiyǒusānfēn xuébúdào

Even if you keep studying as you grow older,

There will still be 30% that you never learn.

Posted on: Student or Teacher?

Hi matt_c,

Yes, this is probably due to the better preservation of traditional Chinese culture in Taiwan. In fact, some truly old-school men will refer to their wife as 内人-- “inside person." The times, they are a-changin'.

Posted on: Saying Good-bye at a Tavern in Nanjing -- 金陵酒肆留别

Hi Raygo,

I got a big kick out of that poem. We all feel "that urge toward more life." Expressing it isn't easy.

Hi su_san,

谢谢您到我们这边来留言。欢迎再来。

Hi divi0013

Probably the most widely used and loved book is Chinese Poetry, by Wai Lim-Yip. It uses an interesting system of presenting the characters, rough meanings for each word, and detailed explanations. University libraries will definitely have it.

There are lots of works in translation. A few recent and well-received books are reviewed here.

I don't have my Chinese edition of the 300 Tang poems handy, but I will post the pub data when I get home. A good edition should have extensive footnotes, as even modern Chinese readers can't get the meaning of the poems by simply looking up the characters in a dictionary.

And in your studies, please feel free to come back to these boards and post questions about specific poems, etc. I will continue to keep an eye on these discussions.

Posted on: Student or Teacher?

Some more traditional women will refer to their husband as 先生.

先 literally means "first," and 生 means "to be born." Someone born before you is traditionally assumed to be wiser, and deserving of respect.