Here beginneth the English lesson

[Sammy Lee]

Anybody can learn to speak Chinese, if he or she has a will to try. Even a dummy can succeed. I have prepared a course for dummies and used it at the Bribie Island U3A(University of the Third Age) quite successfully. As you know, the members of U3A are mostly over fifties.

For your name for instance, I wrote: "Tunk I May" behind Tang Ai Mei. So for the words "Xiexie ni" which means thank you: is written : 谢谢你! but pronounced as if it is written in English: Share-share knee!

You did quite well. Keep trying. I have a student on Bribie Island who daringly went exploring the interior of China after only studying for 6 months , two hours each week. He was an ex Australian Navy sailor. When he returned I asked him: Did you face any problem, Bill?

He replied: "Not at all, mate! They might have problems, but not me! They did laugh at me in several occasion, but I would rather they do that than cried at me!"

So cheer up! Your are on the right track!

[Amelia]

Arg, I knew the spelling was wrong but couldnt get my brain to work it out. And here I was so sure the pronounciation was "she-she". Thank you Sammy for the correction.

[Sammy Lee]

Bukeqi (不客气/simplified:不客气), Tang Ai Mei

Bukeqi[pronounced: "Boo Curr Cheer"=Don't mention it/You're welcome/That's allright! An answer to "Xiexie ni!"(Share-share knee!)

Additional benefit of studying Chinese Character: It strengthen your faith in the Bible as the Word of God.

Since 2205 BC, the ancestors of the Chinese people have worshipped the Creator God, The King of Kings or the Supreme Ruler of Heaven. In the most ancient inscriptions found so far, known as the Jia Gu Wen 甲骨文 (Oracle Bones/Bones Inscriptions)the character for "Shangdi"上帝(God/Supreme King of Heaven), the character "di"(帝=emperor/king)is pictured as three triangles mounted on a pole, as three triangular leaves on a branch, with its end have three prongs just like the roots of a tree. A triangle, square/rectangle, circle or semicircle in the Chinese characters means "mouth/person". That means the ancient Chinese believed in the Trinity! If anybody is in doubt about this, and think it is just coincidental, look at the word "ling"(spirit): 靈, which comprises of "rain"雨 + 口口口"3 mouths/persons" + "magician/witch/wizard"巫. Isn't that what the Bible described God: He is a Spirit, which is pictured as "rain", the early and later rain, God is three persons in one, He uses His "mouth" to create everything (Psalm 33:6,9), and works as a magician/wizard in creating everything, that is: He just spoke them into existence!

Impossible? No, it is logical when you realized that the Chinese people are the descendants of one of the three sons of Noah, and according to their recorded history, the starting of their kingdom or nation is the year 2205 BC, which is 40 years after the building of the tower of Babel and the confusion of languages, and just 140 years after the flood. So Noah and his family were still alive and must have told everything they know to their grand-children and so on down the line. Remember that Noah lived another 369 years after the flood.

According to Chinese history the first Dynasty, Xia Dynasty, ruled from 2205 BC - 1776 BC. They also recorded that it was during the second dynasty: "The Shang Dynasty"

1776-1066 BC, that a great famine which lasted 5 years happened in China! The only problem is, they backslided later and became idol worshippers, so God chose the descendants of Abraham, the Hebrews as the Chosen Nation!

[Amelia]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

In the most ancient inscriptions found so far, known as the Jia Gu Wen &#30002;&#39592;&#25991; (Oracle Bones/Bones Inscriptions)the character for "Shangdi"&#19978;&#24093;(God/Supreme King of Heaven), the character "di"(&#24093;=emperor/king)is pictured as three triangles mounted on a pole, as three triangular leaves on a branch, with its end have three prongs just like the roots of a tree. A triangle, square/rectangle, circle or semicircle in the Chinese characters means "mouth/person".

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Sammy, does "Shang" &#19978;, mean "God/Supreme"? And what words make up the character &#19978; ?

Is this []http://www.okdaily.com/m24/b244.gif[/] Leiao or what? Ming tian jian

[Sammy Lee]

Dear Amelia,

"Shang"上 = "above", look at the line, which indicates the horizon or ground, on which stands a pole with something like a flag, so it tells us that the flag is above the ground. The opposite is "xia" 下, "below", the flag is below the horizontal line, and pointing downward. "Di" 帝 means "King or Emperor", so "Shang Di" means The King Above all kings, the Supreme Ruler, The King of Heaven!

If you go to Beijing and visit the Temple of Heaven, in the middle structure, a round building with blue cone-shaped roof called "the Emperor's Vault", you will find on the wall a blue coloured plaque with this inscription written with gold paint: 皇天上帝(Huang Tian Shang Di) which means: The Ruler of Heaven The Supreme Emperor, or The King Above All Kings The Sovereign of Heaven. The Chinese also use the word "Tian"(heaven) to refer to their God, very much like modern people who sometimes use "Washington" to refer to the President or the government of the USA.

A to this character 凉 (liang, pronounced as "lee-young" but pronounced as one syllable), it means cool or chilly.

Ming tian jian!(See you tomorrow!)