I had my first Chinese lesson today. Well. It wasn't really a lesson. Mostly, it was just a meeting to set things up for future lessons. I bought a textbook and a dictionary for the future lessons. I also bought a book of quotes from Laozi for some light reading. I've always found books of ancient philosophy to be very interesting.
I'll be meeting my teacher Nessy on Sunday to have my first real lesson. Today consisted mostly of me meeting my teacher, buying books and eating some cheap, but delicious, noodles.
The biggest thing that happened was Daphney and Nessy gave me a Chinese name. Sòng Yuān Bó (宋 渊博). I haven't started on grammar, so there's a good chance that I butchered where the spaces should (if at all) be. From what I was told, and with a bit of help from Google Translate, Sòng (宋) is a family name from the ruling dynasty some 800 years ago. Yuān (渊) means deep, or profound. Daphney had a bit of trouble explaining Bó (博), but Google translate had the fitting definition of "broadly knowledgeable; erudite". They didn't tell me till the end of the day, but said that my name was very fitting when I was buying the book of Laozi quotes. I love the name. I really do. I'm going to spend quite a bit of time memorizing how to write the (what I consider) very complex characters.
Tomorrow I'm thinking of going back to the bookstore and finding a simpler book to start off on. The one they recommended I buy has barely any English in it and I find it rather intimidating. Saffron says hers has a lot less. Since she has also started lessons, I can look at her book a bit too and we can practice with each other.
3 comments:
congratulation！
Wish you have a nice study!
btw, that is a great name,here are the detailed explaination from Xinhua dictionary
渊
拼音： yuān
部首： 氵
笔划： 11
基本解释:
深：渊博。渊源。渊浩。渊玄。渊邈。渊儒。渊识（精深的见识）。
deep;profound;source;origin;erudite
http://xh.5156edu.com/show.php?id=8617&f_key=%D4%A8%B2%A9
----------------
博
拼音： bó
部首： 十
笔划： 12
五笔输入法： fgef
基本解释：
多，广，大：广博。渊博。博学（学问广博）。博览。博爱。博物。
知道得多：博古。
extensive;abundant;plentiful;rich;profound
http://xh.5156edu.com/html3/3374.html
That is very Chinese! :)
Laozi? You really start with the very ancient times!
Mark- Thanks. I like it a lot too. I'll tell Daphney and Nancy that you like their choice. Also glad to see you updating your blog. Keep it up.
Babu- I wanted to start with a name I recognized. The book is interesting because it has the quote in Chinese with the English right next to it. It won't be for a a while, but I can't wait till I can read something without needing an English copy.
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