This is the kickstart of a project that I have been planning since the first time I joined blockchain-based social media!
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What is it all about?
I'm going to start a Chinese course for English Speakers leveraged on the Steem and Whaleshares Blockchain. It will not be just another tutorial, I'm going to turn it in a contest for participants to earn rewards while at the same time learning one of the most interesting languages imho.
Why Chinese? Well, first because it's the language with the higher number of native speakers on the planet. Second, China is the country with the biggest projection on the decades to come. And third, why not? It is a completely different language from what we western are used to...
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Enough of general descriptions, let's go into the details. I'll plan to gamify this experience the best I can, the early stages will be designed in a way that the best participants will be rewarded with SBI shares every two weeks. The best participant will receive 3 SBI, the second will get 2 SBI and the third participant will get 1 SBI.
If you don't know what are SBI shares please visit this post
This is just the beginning if things go smoothly more rewards will come. Of course, we have to give back a little to the community that makes all this possible. Thus, each participant will be asked to post on Twitter or on Instagram about his/her thoughts about Steemit (I'm not asking for participants to advertise this course, I just want participants to spread the word about Steemit to have more people aware of Steemit and the Steem Blockchain)
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How the course material will be like?
I have already posted some material for Spanish speakers folks. This was the last one. (Feel free to scroll down to the bottom of the post if you are just interested in a brief preview)
Introduction
In the series of reading practices we will briefly work on the vocabulary of emblematic texts of Chinese culture, articles wrote by native speakers of China, transcriptions of discourses, or any other resource that allows us to get closer and closer to this fascinating country.
Initially we will work with a classic, the book entitled "The Art of War" by Sunzi, series of posts with the text of the book in Chinese characters and in Pīnyīn will be presented. The text will not be translated immediately to give the opportunity for people interested in the challenge activities for this lesson (which involve trying to give meaning to the characters from the context of the sentence) to be carried out. However, a table with the meaning of each word is presented in the vocabulary section. After a week, I will post the text in English in a comment of this post
孙子 兵法
Sūnzǐ bīngfǎ始 计
shǐ jì课文 一
kèwén yī孙子 曰
Sūnzǐ yuē：兵 者， 国之 大事
bīng zhě, guózhī dàshì
死生 之 地，
sǐshēng zhī dì
存亡 之 道，
cúnwáng zhī dào
不可 不 察 也。
bùkě bù chá yě
新词汇 / Xīn cíhuì (New Vocabulary)
Below the vocabulary of the text is presented with a brief translation appropriate to the context of the words in each sentence.
孙子 (Sūnzǐ): Proper name. |
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兵法 (Bīngfǎ): Military strategy. |
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始 (Shǐ) To start. |
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计 (Jì): Calculate, plan, measure. |
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课文 (Kèwén): Text. |
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一 (Yī): Number one (1). |
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曰 (Yuē): Say, talk.
|
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兵 (Bīng): Soldier, troop, army, weapons. |
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者 (Zhě): :Involved in. Particle usedto indicate explanations (argue ideas). |
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国 (Guó): Nation, country, State. |
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之 (Zhī): Possessive particle. |
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大事(Dàshì): Great social
, political or military event. |
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死生 (Sǐshēng): Critical event, life or death. |
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地(Dì): Soil, land, ground. |
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存亡 (Cúnwáng): Live or die. |
|
道(Dào): CWay, route,
beginning, truth. |
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不可 (Bùkě): It can not be. |
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不(Bù): Denial (not). |
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察 (Chá): Examine, observe. |
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也(Yě): Also, final particle
used to express affirmation. |
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练习 (Liànxí / Activities)
In the reading lessons, the understanding of the characters is worked, not as isolated units but as entities that make up a meaning according to the context of the phrase. Based on the definitions given in the vocabulary, construct the text in English according to what is inferred from the sentence from the meaning of the words that comprise it. This will serve to internalize the meaning of each word and its specific function within the context.
Within 7 days I will post the text in English in a comment. Do not succumb to the temptation to translate it :)
After 7 days a published the translation.
孙子 兵法 / Sūnzǐ bīngfǎ
Sunzi, the art of war (Sunzi law of the soldier -law in the context of principle or foundation)
始 计 / shǐ jì
Laying plans (initiating plans)
课文 一 / kèwén yī
first text (text one)
孙子 曰 / Sūnzǐ yuē:
Sunzi said (Sunzi speech)
兵 者, 国 之 大事 / bīng zhě, guózhī dàshì
The art of war is a very important issue for the State (What involves the soldiers, it is a great event for the State)
死 生 之 地, / sǐshēng zhī dì
It is a matter of life or death (terrain/area of life or death)
存亡 之 道, / cúnwáng zhī dào
It is the path of salvation or ruin (the path of existence or destruction)
不可 不 察 也 ./ bùkě bù chá yě
Hence it is a subject of inquiry which cannot be taken lightly. (Consequently it is not possible not to investigate)
I am taking on the challenge of creating a contest where people will be interested on learning stuff. Chinese language will be just the starting point and I am betting on learning to be profitable and funny for all.
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Write a comment below if you would like this proposal and are willing to participate!
Greetings
☯ ☯ ☯ ☯ ☯
Yeah I'm in.... although I already know a bit of Chinese, but wanting to immerse myself in it as much as possible for speaking, but also to improve my translation skill.
Starting off with Sun Zi for beginners, though..... bold move!
So cool you already have some knowledge! You are the third one on the waitlist.
P.S. The reading lessons were not intended for beginners but for people who could already read a little Chinese.
Best regards.
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Great post!
Thanks for tasting the eden!
Wow great article! Thanks for the info.
You're welcome :)
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Refreshing finally chinese while earning SBI?
Count me in! 😎
Awesome, you are first on the waitlist.
Would love to participate
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Great! You are the second on the waitlist :)
I hate to be picky in one of my 1st posts here; but surely the language is Mandarin. I'd like to learn it but would be put off from subscribing by that error, and I think others will be too.
Thanks for your comment. I edited the title to specify that it is indeed Mandarin dialect. Chinese has many hundreds of different dialects and it is indeed a bit vague if I don't state which one I am addressing.
Your feedback is most welcomed... so should I count you in?
interesante
Gracias.
Me parece una buena idea, la promoción de este curso. Realmente por el momento no lo puedo hacer, porque estoy terminando otros cursos... Cuando me desocupe si esta a la mano de nuevo... Voy a tomar ese curso.
Seguro! Cuandola idea es probar un tiempo y si tiene exito vendran nuevas inscripciones.
Saludos.
Hi! It's interesting idea to start this project! I wish you good luck! And I think it has chanse for success!
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Thank you :)
Awesome idea! What kind of level will it be aimed at? I’ve been living in China for over 5 years now.
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So cool! I intend to teach lessons so participants will be able to at least approve HSK3. But it is intended for beginners. As time passes more advanced courses will be created as the amount of people capable of taking those course should rise as well.
Sounds like an awesome project, I’ll be keeping an eye on this 😀😀😀
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This is a great idea for people to learn Chinese while earning. Thank you for proposing a brilliant idea like this. I am a huge fan of the Three Kingdoms drama of 2010 and am struck by the beauty of the language. Upvoted!
That's great! I really like that you have that enthusiasm. You are the fourth on the Waitlist.
I am interested to participate in learning Chinese, and I have just started following you. Thanks.
Awesome! You are fifth on the waitlist.
i heard it's a difficult language to learn that not all Chinese know how to speak it.. hope it's not true.. want to learn it, too. thanks for this. =)
It is indeed a challenge, but I think that if you focus on the funny part of learning something new and at the same time you get to earn some crypto...well why not?
You are sixth on the waitlist.
Great initiative! I began learning mandarin chinese this summer, so this will be an efficient and profitable way to practice.
Glad to have you onboard! So cool you are already studying Chinese! You are seventh on the waitlist.
Eager to begin! I hope we are many so we can practice with each other.
I expected around five participants. So far, ten steemians have already commented to enroll themselves. It is twice what I expected and probably more will come. At this post-payout, we'll know how many will be joining us.
I would enjoy this challenge!
My only other comment is that I do not have an Instagram or Twitter account and would not be planning to create them. Do you have another suggestion? If the challenge includes Steemit posts, I would also be sharing those on Whaleshares, WeKu and Minds, so they won't just be staying here. Maybe that would suffice for the "share" option.
Actually, a couple of years ago, I learned a bit about the "order of strokes" for the Mandarin writing. It's stayed with me.
Oh, a question. Will you be posting pronunciation guides to go with the lessons? I'd sure like to make sure I'm pronouncing it correctly.
I am glad to have you joining this project :)
You're eighth on the waitlist.
The core idea between the sharing is to help the Steemit community as a whole, we need steemians to spread the word of this platform. Thus if you post in on Weku, Whaleshares or Minds you will spread the word of our particular activity (which I really appreciate) but it will not help the objective of driving more people to the Steemit platform...
Nevertheless, I totally respect you for not wanting to have an account on Twitter or Instagram (and on Facebook perhaps?). It is up to me the task to design startegies through which we can colaborate with the growth of the platform that will benefit us all. Thus it will not be a limiting condition if you don't post on those platforms. I'll came up with something to fulfill that part, you don't have to worry about it :)
Both writing and phonetics will be part of the course material, the timing will not be that of a regular course because the aproach of this project is about learning from all participants, having fun, engaging, and earning some steem while doing so.
Best regards.
Nice to see there are Steemians would like to learn Chinese! I am working on a project on Steem about Chinese poem called, @ccp-hk, feel free to visit or leaving comments or suggestions too :)
Awesome! I will check it out.
we'd better to use 'loong' instead of 'dragon' from now。They're quite different in each cultrue.
There are indeed quite different concepts, dragon on eastern cultures represent the holiness and pureness that unicorns represent for westerns. Thank you for your feedback :)
Great !Chinese childs start by Learning some single characters,in which most are pictograph and easy to learn,then they learn some complex ones which are created under 6 principles of creation.
The first characters that we will be learning are indeed pictograms and ideograms. Are you willing to participate?
Of course。
Awesome, you are ninth on the waitlist!
Congratulations @joelsegovia!
Your post was mentioned in the Steemit Hit Parade in the following category:
Interesting, I would very much enjoy learning Mandarin, will this be doable for absolute beginners?
The idea is to start from scratch :)
Are you in?
Yes, I would love to!
Ok, you are eleventh on the waitlist.
Greetings from CN community. Very good idea to spread Chinese and our chinese culture as well, Bravo! If I can do something for this project, please let me know.
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Greetings! I actually wanted you to help me with something. Please reach me on Discord I would love to chat a bit with you (My Discord: joelsegovia#9444)
I took one quarter of Chinese in college decades ago. Really struggled with it but no time like the present to give it another shot. 😂
Will you have sound files? The differences between í, ì, ī, and the fourth way of doing i (how to get that character on a computer?) always drove me crazy.
Welcome aboard!! I have some great surprises for all participants (Not giving any spoilers yet for discreteness sake 😂)
I can say thou that we will cover every aspect of the Mandarin Chinese language and culture. This will be a long run project, I expect it to be a fun one. It is scheduled twice a month so participants who enroll don't feel it like more burden on their individual agenda.
That being said, I am really glad to have you in. You are tenth on the waitlist.
Well, you got my support. Maybe introduce other languages down the line?
Glad you liked the project. As time passes we will add more stuff.
So, should I assume that you are willing to participate?
Truthfully, I'd rather learn Japanese. But reading pinyin again is kinda fun. I'll check it out, but probably won't put too much into it.
Nice job man! The art of war, wow! This is a difficult start!
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Fear not, that was just a sample for people to know what kind of post I tend to make. Beginner levels will be addressed properly. Are you in?
謝謝你推廣中文, 如果是推廣繁體的話就更好了.
Thank you for your teaching in Chinese, it would be great to see if this is in Traditional one :)
It would be awesome to learn traditional characters. But, since they are more elaborated I think it will scare some of the absolute beginner xD
As time passes I'll see when to introduce them. If things go well the higher chance is to use both traditional and simplified.
This event is also intended for Chinese Steeminans, so keep an eye for further announcements.
You can reach me on Discord (joelsegovia#9444) if you are interested.
Best regards.
So great!I come from China，and i built a Chinese community（cnstm.org）。Need any help, please say anytime。
It will be awesome to have you collaborating with some English speaker Steemians. As soon as the course starts I'll write to you to get some feedback about what I intend to do.
Best regards.
Ok I am looking forward you message
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