A quick introduction to basketball star Yao Ming, with language tailored for beginner readers.
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Think Earth’s resources will last forever? Think again! China just announced a major initiative to mine the moon and asteroids for rare metals and helium-3. This article explores how space mining might become humanity’s next frontier – and why it could be easier than digging really, really deep into our own planet.
A quick history of the Silk Road.
Two ants tackle the same problem, but one does it recklessly, while the other exercises patience. Who do you think succeeds?
Xiaomei and Daming make friends in the library. Learn how to ask if you can connect with someone on WeChat, China’s most popular social messaging platform.
A little girl wants to surprise her dad with a birthday treat, but her cooking skills might need some work. Will dad still be happy with her special gift?
Written by Zhang Muye, this ultra-famous fantasy series is about a team of cursed tomb raiders. The novel reads like a mix between Indiana Jones and ancient Chinese ghost stories.
Sometimes takes a stranger to remind you of what you’ve been taking for granted all along. This short story follows a teenage girl who storms out after a fight at home and learns, through an unexpected encounter, to appreciate the people who love her the most.
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Dialogue: 买水果 – Buying Fruit
In this short dialogue, Xiaohua navigates the process of buying, and paying for, apples and bananas.
Ain’t no such thing as free lunch! This well-known Chinese fable is a sharp warning against laziness and wishful thinking. This story is the source of the chengyu 守株待兔, and it’s often used to criticize people who sit around expecting success to find them, instead of earning it.
In this short fable, we find out that the biggest is not always the strongest.
The moral of this short story, of course, is that faith burns more brightly the more people share it with each other.
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Essay: 《不死鸟》The Immortal Bird by Sanmao
In this tear-jerker essay, famous Taiwanese authoress Sanmao ponders on the value of her own life. It was written as she grieved the drowning of her beloved Spanish husband in 1979, and is all the more tragic in light of her suicide 12 years later.
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Fable: 洗衣服 – Washing clothes
In this quick lesson about judging others, we learn that those who live in dirty glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. HSK 2-3.
This dialogue between a man and a sailor drives home a quick life lesson: there’s risk in anything you do, so there’s no point in trying to avoid danger entirely. HSK 2-3.
Hey crew – we’ve had some pretty nasty technical difficulties over here at CRP when moving a server. I’m working to get all these stories back online. Data was corrupted in the middle of a server switch, and the posts are a bit of a mess. Hoping to have it fixed by the end of the week. Sorry for the wait!
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Fable:《和尚背女人》Monks carrying a woman
An elder monk gives a younger monk a quick lesson in following the spirit of the law, rather than the letter of the law. HSK 4-5.
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Children’s Story:《两条彩虹》Two rainbows
In this cutsey-face story intended for kindergarteners, Grandma Bear (熊奶奶 – xióng nǎi nai) comes down with an illness that can only be cured by seeing a rainbow (彩虹 -cǎi hóng), and Uncle Frog (青蛙大叔 – qīng wā dà shū) jumps in to make it happen. HSK 2-3.
Binge drinking, breakups and air travel don’t mix, people. HSK 6 and up.
A not-too-bright fellow heads to the market to buy a pair of shoes. Includes a beginner’s introduction to classical Chinese. HSK 3.