East Asia Blog Round-Up : 7/10/2012

• A Man With Tea - Toranosuke shares his thoughts on the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands debate.
• Borrowed Culture - Fabrizio goes for a walk in the Beijing hutongs.
• Carl Gene - Carl lists 25 common Chinese abbreviations.
• ChineseQuest - The author updates his language learning goals for the next few months.
• Confused Laowai - Niel compiles a list of 9 essential digital tools for Chinese learners.
• Conquering Japan & Beyond - Justin talks about his Wakayama weekend adventure.
• Dale’s Korean Temple Adventures - Dale visits the picturesque Gyeseungsa Temple in Goseong.
• FluentFlix - Ben interviews Chinese learner Phil Beckwith.
• Hermit Hideaways - Gregory goes for a hike in Naejangsan National Park.
• How to Japan - Dan puts together a definitive guide to reading and learning real Japanese using manga.
• Korean Modern Literature in Translation - Charles reviews the short story anthology, Early Spring, Mid-Summer.
• Laowai Chinese - Albert lists the top 10 Chinese characters and words you need to know for shopping in China.
• Life Behind the Wall - The author talks about her recent bout of food poisoning and experiences at her local Chinese hospital.
  
• Life on Nanchang Lu - Fiona visits the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe.
• Lingualift - Greg explains the use of slippers in Japan.
• Living a Dream in China - Sara shares her first impressions of her autumn semester courses at Sun Yat-Sen University.
• Maggie Moo Does Korea - Maggie battles the crowds to see Psy live in Seoul.
• More Things Japanese - Benjamin joins in the fun at the 2012 Kitadaito Festival.
• Rurousha - The author writes about higanbana, a Japanese flower associated with loss and longing.
• Selly’s Little World - Selly celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival with some KTV and a lush Chinese banquet.
• Seoul Sub-Urban - The authors explore the area around Seoul’s Yeonsinnae Station.
• Sophie’s Japan Blog - Sophie interviews Renae Lucas-Hall, author of the romance novel Tokyo Hearts.
• Surviving in Japan - Ashley writes a short guide explaining where you can see and enjoy Japan’s autumn foliage.
• The View From Over Here - The author takes part in some of the Chuseok events held at Namsangol Hanok Village.
• Tofugu - Hashi takes a look at Japan’s unusual themed cafés.
• Webs of Significance - YTSL visits Meiji Shrine in Tokyo.
• YoWangdu - Lobsang writes about sand mandalas and their significance in Tibetan Buddhism.

Namsangol Traditional Korean Village in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

That’s all for this week’s edition of the Eye on East Asia Blog Round-Up. The next edition will be posted on Sunday 14th October 2012.

♦ You can follow Eye on East Asia on Facebook or Twitter ♦ 

Thinking Chinese

If you’re looking for a way to improve your Mandarin skills and learn more about Chinese culture and society at the same time, Thinking Chinese may be the website for you. It’s updated regularly, comprehensive, relevant and, best of all, it’s free!

According to the site’s authors, Thinking Chinese is “a place where modern China is exposed to the foreign reader in an innovative and revealing manner”. Visitors to the website will find a wide range of language learning resources at their disposal, such as bilingual articles on a variety of topics, a thematic dictionary of Chinese idioms, a section devoted to modern Chinese slang, and some fun puzzles that will help you get to grips with Chinese radicals, characters and vocabulary. Furthermore, there are dozens of articles on popular culture, contemporary Chinese society,  online trends, and business culture which will give readers an insight into the Chinese mind.

There are no audio or video resources on this site and the thematic dictionary would be far more effective if the authors had included some example sentences to demonstrate how the idioms and slang are used, but, all in all, Thinking Chinese is an excellent resource for anyone who wishes to boost their reading skills and learn more about China and its people. Add it to your bookmarks today!

Thinking Chinese can also be found on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.

♦ You can follow Eye on East Asia on Facebook or Twitter ♦ 

East Asia Blog Round-Up : 19/9/2012

• American in North Korea - Joseph shares his photos of his visit to the Dongbong Co-operative Farm.
• Chengdu Living - Sascha explains why we shouldn’t believe the hype surrounding the anti-Japanese protests in China.
  
• Country Fried Egg Roll - The author lists some of the places in Shenyang that sell American and other imported groceries.
• Dale’s Korean Temple Adventures - Dale visits the colourful Eungseoksa Temple in Jinju.
• Dru’s Misadventures - Dru returns to Hiroshima.
• Fili’s World - Fili talks about the little-known Museum of Drinking Water in Taipei’s Water Park.
• Fluent Flix - Ben interviews Greg Bell, Chinese learner and author of the blog En Route to Fluency.
• Hacking Chinese - Olle lists 12 songs that are excellent for learning Chinese and expanding your horizons.
• Into the Middle Kingdom - Matthew writes about his visit to the Chiu Gompa Monastery in Western Tibet last May.
• Journey to Hong Kong - Anna revisits the charming fishing village of Tai O on Lantau Island.
• Life & Times in China - JZ talks about the highs and lows of his first week as a student in China.
• More Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan - The author seeks out onigawara “demon tiles” in Shikoku.
• My Kafkaesque Life - The author compiles a list of parks in Taipei.
• Oh Happy Dae - Janelle explores the Hongdae Free Market.
• Rurousha - The author talks about Japanese “fox weddings” (狐の嫁入り).
• Shu Flies - Catherine celebrates the 5th anniversary of her move to Taiwan and writes about the 10 things she’s learnt in that time.
• Sinoglot - Randy writes about Zhu Haijuan, a native Mongolian speaker, and what it’s like to grow up as a Mongolian speaker in Jilin Province.
• Tales From Hebei - Kelly finds that she’s increasingly unsurprised by all the ridiculous things that go on around her.
• Tea Leaf Nation - Eddie shares 15 feel-good internet stories from China.
• The Wild East - Steven lists 5 of Taiwan’s top tourist attractions.
• Tofugu - John writes about dragons in traditional Japanese culture.
• Unbrave Girl - Sally talks about the 5 things she kind of liked about Macau.
• Webs of Significance - YTSL shares some beautiful photos taken of Hakone’s Lake Ashi.
• Zooming Japan - Jasmine visits Japan’s “Cat Island”, Tashirojima (田代島).

Torii of the shrine in Hakone, at Lake Ashi
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

♦ You can follow Eye on East Asia on Facebook or Twitter ♦ 

East Asia Blog Round-Up : 12/9/2012

Some of you may have already heard about it via Twitter or Facebook but for those of you who haven’t: Eye on East Asia is back from its long hiatus! And what better way to celebrate its return than with one of the blog’s key features, the weekly blog round-up?

So without further ado, here is this week’s Eye on East Asia Blog Round-up!

• A Man With Tea - Toranosuke explains why he thinks China’s Grand Canal deserves to be named a World Heritage Site.
• Chinesense - The authors interview the farmer-turned-artist Mr Jin Xueshi.
• Contemporary Japanese Literature - Kathryn reviews Frederik L. Schodt’s book Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga.
• Dale’s Korean Temple Adventures - Dale visits the centuries-old Dasolsa Temple in Sacheon.
• Hacking Chinese - Olle explains how you can improve your Chinese while playing the video game StarCraft 2.
• Hunli-ing - Alexandra shares some examples of her wedding planning company’s work.
• Life & Times in China - JZ talks about dorm life in China.
• Life Behind the Wall - Jo writes about fake designer clothes and fashion accessories in China.
• Life on Nanchang Lu - Fiona explores the Mogao Caves and the singing sand dunes of Dunhuang by camel.
• Locksleynet - Locksley shares his thoughts on Tianjin.
• Mutantfrog Travelogue - Adamu draws the reader’s attention to an awesome manga blog, My Chinese Bride (中国嫁日記).
• My Kafkaesque Life - The author explores the historic Bopiliao Street in Taipei’s old Wanhua District.
• Nankai Rob - Rob explains his love/hate relationship with Tianjin.
• Ogijima - David talks about his family day out at the Hyōge Matsuri in Takamatsu’s Asano District.
• Seoul Sub-urban - The authors explore the area around the Ewha Womans University station.
• Sophie’s Japan Blog - Sophie interviews Japan blogger Benjamin Martin.
• Tales From Hebei - Kelly talks about an unusual present she received.
• The Only Blonde in Osaka - The author reviews fellow New Zealander Hamish Beaton’s book Under the Osakan Sun.
• The Taiwan Adventure Blog - Chris visits the Ju Ming Museum in Taipei.
• This Japanese Life - Eryk considers how autumn is depicted in Japanese culture and poetry.
• Tofugu - Hashi talks about the pitfalls of kanji tattoos.
• TsukuBlog - Avi enjoys some fiery fun at the Tabanka Festival in Shimotsuma.
• Unbrave Girl - Sally lists five things she doesn’t miss about China.
• Webs of Significance - YTSL visits the Hakone Open-Air Museum.
• Writer. Traveller. Tea Drinker - Becky reviews the FluentFlix Chinese learning company’s website.

View of the Mogao Grottoes from outside
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Note: Blog round-ups will now be posted on the blog on Wednesdays due to a scheduling conflict with my other blog, The Amateur Archaeologist. The Tasty Links feature will be back as from Monday 17th September.

♦ You can follow Eye on East Asia on Facebook or Twitter ♦ 

East Asia Blog Round-Up : 18/12/2011

Here is this week’s Eye on East Asia Blog Round-up :

• Aeri’s Kitchen - Aeri shares her recipe for making salted shrimp (새우젓) for use in homemade kimchi.
• Dale’s Korean Temple Adventures - Dale writes about the popular Korean deity San Shin (산신), the Mountain God.
• Fili’s World - Fili visits the Kimchi Field Museum (김치박물관) in Seoul’s Gangnam district.
• Fluent Flix - Get in the festive spirit with this list of Christmas vocabulary.
• Fuchsia Dunlop - Fuchsia shares her thoughts on her meal at the Manchurian Legends restaurant in London’s Chinatown.
• I’ll Make it Myself - Leah shares her recipe for spiced persimmon cake.
• Just Another Day in Japan - Blue Shoe talks about Japanese New Year greetings cards (年賀状).
• Korean Graduate Studies Prep - Matthew reviews Barbara Demick’s book “Nothing to Envy : Ordinary Lives in North Korea“.
• Life on Nanchang Lu – Fiona writes about the twelve steps of making traditional fermented soy sauce.
• Lingomi - An interview with Steven (aka SYZ), author of the Sinoglot and Beijing Sounds blogs.
• Out to Lunch - Carolyn shares her recipe for Tianjin-style garlicky fish (蒜瓣兒魚).
• Patrick Cowsill - Patrick visits the newly-opened National Museum of Taiwanese History (國立台灣歷史博物館) in Tainan.
• Sinoglot - Kellen and SYZ discuss the issue of “Second Round Simplification” as seen across Asia today.
• Taiwan Duck - The author posts a recipe video for making Taiwanese-style stuffed pork rolls (黑胡椒豬肉卷).
• The Blacksmith Books Blog - Pete reviews Cindy Miller Stephens’ new guidebook “Hong Kong for Kids : A Parent’s Guide“.
• Tofugu - John writes about the dying art of Japanese sword-making.
• Wandering Taiwan - Micki and Kristen learn how to pick spring onions and make spring onion pancakes (蔥油餅) in Yilan’s Sanxing Township.

That’s all for this week and this year. I’ll be taking a short break from blogging over the Christmas and New Year holidays so have a great Christmas (if you celebrate it) and I wish you all the very best for 2012!

The Eye on East Asia Blog Round-up will return on Sunday 8th January 2012.

East Asia Blog Round-Up : 11/12/2011

Here is this week’s Eye on East Asia Blog Round-up :

• Borrowed Culture - Fabrizio explores the Cangshan (苍山) mountain range in China’s Yunnan Province.
• Finding Fukuoka - Patrick gives a brief introduction to some of Fukuoka’s famous dishes.
• Fluent Flix – Alan talks about the benefits of using “sentence mining” as a language learning technique.
• Korean Graduate Studies Prep - Matthew reviews Donald Southerton’s book Intrepid Americans : Bold Koreans.
• Out to Lunch – Carolyn shares her recipe for Sichuanese fried sesame rolls (麻饼).
• Pinyin News - Mark lists some great Christmas gift ideas for Mandarin learners.
• Shizuoka Gourmet - Dragonlife posts a step-by-step guide for making dango (団子) at home.
• Sinoglot - Kellen talks about the Gan language (赣语) of China’s Jiangxi Province.
• Surviving in Japan - Ashley interviews Laura Pepper Wu, author of the e-book The Stress-Free Guide to Leaving Japan.
• Taiwan Duck - The author shares a recipe for Taiwanese-style braised tofu (台灣紅燒豆腐).
• Xweing away… in Korea – Xweing visits the Eulsukdo (을숙도) Migratory Bird Park.

That’s all for this week. The last Eye on East Asia Blog Round-up of 2011 will be posted on Sunday 18th December 2011 as I will be taking a break from blogging during the Christmas holidays.

East Asia Blog Round-Up : 5/12/2011

Here is this week’s edition of the Eye on East Asia Blog Round-Up :

• Acquiring Korean - The author lists 10 great ideas that can be used when writing a foreign language diary.
• Aeri’s Kitchen - Aeri shares her recipe for tofu jeon (두부 전).
• Carl Gene - Carl posts a list of 221 diseases, disabilities and disorders in Chinese and English.
• Chris in South Korea - Chris debunks some of the myths of life in South Korea.
• Fluent Flix - Alan gives readers 5 good reasons for using videos in your language learning.
• Fuchsia Dunlop - Fuchsia enjoys a Sino-Moroccan feast in London.
• Japan Navigator - Ad reviews Ozu Yasujiro’s 1929 film “Days of Youth”.
• Japan Pulse – Sandra posts a list of Japan’s top 10 buzzwords of 2011.
• Korean Graduate Studies Prep - Matthew reviews Kyung-sook Shin’s novel “Please Look After Mom” (엄마를 부탁해).
• Life on Nanchang Lu - Fiona learns how home-made soy milk (豆浆) is prepared.
• Lingomi - The author interviews Albert Wolfe of Laowai Chinese.
• Living a Dream in China - Sara shares her thoughts on the HSK Level 5 exam.
• Maangchi - Maangchi posts a tasty recipe for spicy whelks with noodles (골뱅이무침).
• Mountain Phoenix Over Tibet - The author takes a journey through modern-day Konkaling in Muli County.
• Rory in Beijing - Rory visits the charming city of Tianjin (I used to live there!).
• Shizuoka Gourmet - Learn how to make traditional Japanese sakura mochi (桜餅) sweets at home.
• Shu Flies - Catherine visits the Story of Dolls (娃娃的故事) exhibition at the Taipei Story House (台北故事館).
• Speaking of China - Jocelyn answers a reader’s question about asking out a Chinese guy via text message.
• Surviving Japan - Ashley posts some tips on how to find Christmas illumination displays in Japan.
• Tsukublog - Avi talks about Japan’s annual end-of-year tradition, the company bonenkai (忘年会) party.
• Wandering Taiwan - Micki and Kristen stay at the Lao Wu Bed & Breakfast (老五民宿) in Nantou County.
• Webs of Significance - YTSL reviews the new Hong Kong drama film “A Simple Life” (桃姐).

That’s all for this week! The next Eye on East Asia Blog Round-up will be posted on Sunday 11th December 2011.

East Asian Language Resources on Twitter

I’ve compiled a list of language learning resources on Twitter for those of you who are studying or thinking of learning an East Asian language. The majority of the accounts listed below offer “words of the day”, grammar tips and/or links to videos and podcasts and were all active at the time of writing this post.

Chinese – Mandarin:

http://twitter.com/#!/chineselanguage

http://twitter.com/#!/CSLPod

http://twitter.com/#!/chinesesentence

http://twitter.com/#!/ChinesePod

http://twitter.com/#!/chineseclass101

http://twitter.com/#!/ejmix_cn

http://twitter.com/#!/nciku

http://twitter.com/#!/IUChinese

http://twitter.com/#!/MandarinPoster

http://twitter.com/#!/carlfordham

http://twitter.com/#!/LL_Chinese

http://twitter.com/#!/Gurulu_Chinese

http://twitter.com/#!/ProofReadChina

http://twitter.com/#!/ECLSchool

http://twitter.com/#!/chineseaday

http://twitter.com/#!/niuword

http://twitter.com/#!/mandarinpinyin

http://twitter.com/#!/dailyzhongwen

http://twitter.com/#!/HackingChinese

Chinese – Cantonese & Other Dialects :

http://twitter.com/#!/ejmix_cantonese

http://twitter.com/#!/cantoneseclass

http://twitter.com/#!/ShanghaineseDay

Japanese :

http://twitter.com/#!/japanlanguage

http://twitter.com/#!/JVocab

http://twitter.com/#!/japanesepod101

http://twitter.com/#!/learnkanji

http://twitter.com/#!/tjlpodcast

http://twitter.com/#!/wa_k

http://twitter.com/#!/NihongoRyo

http://twitter.com/#!/HiraganaTimes

http://twitter.com/#!/japxlate

http://twitter.com/#!/ispeakjapanese

http://twitter.com/#!/MaggieSensei

http://twitter.com/#!/mlcjapanese

http://twitter.com/#!/akane_sensei

http://twitter.com/#!/nihongoichiban

http://twitter.com/#!/In_Japanese

http://twitter.com/#!/Random_Nihongo

http://twitter.com/#!/funfunconv

http://twitter.com/#!/funfunreibun

http://twitter.com/#!/funfuntango

Korean :

http://twitter.com/#!/KoreanClass101

http://twitter.com/#!/koreanlanguage

http://twitter.com/#!/zKorean

http://twitter.com/#!/koreanwords

http://twitter.com/#!/ttmik

http://twitter.com/#!/KoreanEveryDay

http://twitter.com/#!/EasyKorean

http://twitter.com/#!/ejmix_kr

http://twitter.com/#!/weeklykorean

If you spot any dead links or have any accounts that you would like to see added to this list, feel free to let me know.

East Asia Blog Round-Up : 24/10/2010

Here is this week’s edition of the Eye on East Asia Blog Round-Up :

• Aeri’s Kitchen - Aeri shares her recipe for a Korean spicy squid and watercress side dish (오징어 미나리 초무침).
• Carl Gene - Carl talks about Mandarin body language terms and expressions.
• Just Bento - Maki shares her recipe for okara and crab salad.
• The Blog Side of Life – The author lists her favourite places to visit in the Kansai region (関西地方).
• The China Beat - Ken reviews Jia Zhangke’s new documentary film I Wish I Knew.
• The View from Over Here - The author samples some Jeonju-style makkoli (막걸리) and local street food in Sincheon.
• Webs of Significance - The author talks about a recent visit to Macau.

That’s all for this edition of the East Asia Blog Round-Up. The next edition will be posted on Wednesday 27 October 2010.

中国网络电视台

Keith of Keith’s Voice on Extreme Language Learning posted a link to a fantastic website earlier today :
http://dianshiju.cntv.cn/

The website hosts hundreds of Chinese TV drama series which can be viewed for free. One of the genres which may be useful for Chinese language learners is the so-called “city drama” (these are listed under 城市), which is remarkably similar to the English soap opera. Most, if not all, of the series have Chinese subtitles and the videos can be paused, so language learners can use this to their advantage and make notes of useful phrases and words or take a moment to look up an unknown term in the dictionary.

Please note that the website is entirely in Chinese. If you click on the “English” link at the top of the page, you will be taken to the English-language version of the CNTV site.