Greatest Chinese contribution(s) to the world ?

[Glenn]

中文會寫?？中� 的停留怎麼樣？
中文会写?？中国的停留怎??？

Well, I figured I'd try, anyway. I'd do it in German, too, if I knew any.

[bossel]

中文會寫?？中� 的停留怎麼樣？
中文会写?？中国的停留怎??？

Well, I figured I'd try, anyway. I'd do it in German, too, if I knew any.

German would be a good idea! Because I can't understand. Thought it was my crappy Mandarin (which is BTW much, much crappier than expected), but my girlfriend can't understand either.


What I just noticed: Confucianism, Taoism & Feng Shui are put together as one. I don't know if that is justified.

[Maciamo]

What I just noticed: Confucianism, Taoism & Feng Shui are put together as one. I don't know if that is justified.

Because they are all some kind of (mystical or social) philosophies that influence the typical Chinese/East Asian way of thinking, and many Chinese (or Japanese) cannot always clearly distinguish what comes from each of them. For example, ancestor worship is Taoist, but often mixed with the Confucian idea of seniority and respect for the elder, and Feng Shui may have a role in organising houses in relation to cemeteries, temples, or spiritual currents.

[bossel]

Because they are all some kind of (mystical or social) philosophies that influence the typical Chinese/East Asian way of thinking, and many Chinese (or Japanese) cannot always clearly distinguish what comes from each of them. For example, ancestor worship is Taoist, but often mixed with the Confucian idea of seniority and respect for the elder, and Feng Shui may have a role in organising houses in relation to cemeteries, temples, or spiritual currents.

True, of course. But while Taoism & Feng Shui are closely related, the connection to Confucianism is somewhat ambiguous (not to say antithetic, at least in theory). Hence I would have preferred either a bigger category "philosophy" or one category for each. That's just IMO, your reasoning does just as well, & since it is your poll...

I was trying to ask how your stay in China is going.[/OFF-TOPIC]

Thanks, but at that particular time not very well (for having a cold). Now I'm back in Germany. The stay in China was definitely too short, yet too long to disrupt this thread with my experience. When I find the time (my life is utter chaos at the moment - I NEVER should have tried to organise a trip to China & a move at the same time) I'll write a response in Rock's (?) China thread.

[Glenn]

German would be a good idea! Because I can't understand. Thought it was my crappy Mandarin (which is BTW much, much crappier than expected), but my girlfriend can't understand either.

Heh, I just noticed that I used the wrong verb in the first sentence for one. Well, I guess my Mandarin's crappier than I thought. Maybe working on that generative grammar would be a good idea....

If I had done it in German it probably would have been the same result anyway. I was trying to ask how your stay in China is going.[/OFF-TOPIC]

[Edit] By the way I realized my mistakes, especially after talking to my Mandarin-speaking roommate. I was using Japanese grammar.

Should have been more like this:
?會讀中文?？?在中� 過得怎麼樣？
?会?中文?？?在中国過得怎??？