Podcast: Crisis of Cantonese 03

Oriana Chan was born in New York but speaks Cantonese because her parents were originally from Macau, a small island colonized by Portugal for more than 400 years and was handed over to China in 1999. Comparing to the other two guests we had before, she's more like an outsider and holds a more objective view on the Crisis of Cantonese. On the one hand, she admited the importance of internet in free flowing information in China. On the other hand, she was cautious about the provocative nature of the medium at the same time.

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Welcom to Candice's Sampan

What is Sampan Congee? It is easy to tell that it is a kind of congees. But what is sampan? What does it have to do with congee? What are the ingredients for this typical Cantonese congee? How does it taste? Last but not least, what does it represent? Why am I naming my first English blog after it? According to Wikipedia, “a sampan is a relatively flat bottomed Chinese wooden boat from 3.5 to 4.5 m (11.5 to 14.8 ft) long.” It is called shān bǎn in Chinese and written as 舢舨 . “The word comes from the original Cantonese term for boats, literally meaning “three planks”.” However, the characters have been changed as modern Chinese language evolved. Sampans are generally used for fishing or transportation, in coastal areas or rivers. Some of them include a small shelter on board and can be used as a permanent habitation on inland waters. Now you might be able to reason what Sampan Congee means. Yes, it is a kind of congee cook on a sampan. It is also known as its Cantonese pronunci...

Guangzhou: A Proud But Tolerant City

Located at the south coast of China, Guangzhou has enjoyed the reputation of the Southern Gate of China for two thousand years. Beginning from the 3 rd century, Guangzhou has been known as one of the main harbors for the famous Maritime Silk Rout. During the years in Qing Dynasty when the government extensively restricted trading with the outside world, Guangzhou was one of the very few cities granted the privilege of trading by sea. The famous Thirteen Hong shouldered most of Chinese merchandize exchange with the western countries. The little harbor welcomed the prosperity of trading, but sadly, failed to refuse the vicious export of opium from the UK. In virtue of its location, Guangzhou has been used as a gateway for the Chinese Communist Government to establish a closer connection between Hong Kong and the inland country. It only takes two-hour train ride from Guangzhou to Hong Kong and people in both places speak Cantonese which is an unbreakable bond that relates the colonized ...

Podcast: Crisis of Cantonese 01

In this Episode, Xiaoyi Fan, as a native Cantonese speaker talked about her reaction to the proposal. She loves the dialect and pointed out the value of keeping Cantonese broadcasting. By citing Hong Kong as an example, Xiaoyi believes that standardizing a language is apparently unnecessary. If Hong Kong can establish its international profile with Cantonese, so can Guanghzou. She wishes to protect the language so as to protect the local culture.

Sampan Congee

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