Not only is China full of opportunities in business and politics, but Chinese culture, such as movies and literature, are also making their way into the western world. And with Chinese as the second most widely- spoken foreign language in America, more and more Americans are exposed to its language and culture. This revised edition of "Chinese for Dummies" shows you the basics of Mandarin Chinese and culture points that will make great impressions while communicating.Many Americans are taking time to learn Chinese, especially since it is becoming one of the most widely used languages in the world. Currently, there are: Over 1 billion people speak some form of ChineseMore Chinese speakers in the United States than French or German speakers102.6 million internet users who obtain access using ChineseAt least 25 million people worldwide who are learning Chinese"Chinese For Dummies" will show you how to communicate effectively in Chinese as well as inform you on Chinese culture. Some of the topics this book covers include: Basic vocabularyEveryday conversations, including phone dialogue and small talkSpeaking in perfect pitch and toneEasy-to-understand grammar rulesGetting around in a Chinese-speaking countryCultural references like maintaining face, dining etiquette, and social moresAlso included is an audio CD that features actual Chinese conversations by native Chinese speakers, which allows you to hear how Chinese is really spoken. Written by a leading Chinese language teacher in the United States, "Chinese for Dummies" will introduce an often daunting language to you in a fun-and-easy "For Dummies" manner.

    No prior knowledge of grammatical terminology is assumed and a glossary of grammatical terms is provided. Featuring related exercises and activities, this Grammar is accompanied by the Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar Workbook.

    TheCult of the Luxury Brand illuminates the mysterious inner workings of Asia’s love affair with luxury for business professionals and intrigued consumers alike.

    At seventeen, she’s on the run, accused of murdering her family to escape an arranged marriage. Driven by a single-minded pursuit, she must use her skills to unmask the real killer…and clear her name.But when Huang Zixia seeks the help of Li Shubai, the Prince of Kui, her life and freedom are bargained: agree to go undercover as his eunuch to stop a serial killer and to undo a curse that threatens to destroy the Prince’s life.Huang Zixia’s skills are soon tested when Li Shubai’s betrothed vanishes. With a distinctively exquisite golden hairpin as her only clue, Huang Zixia investigates—and discovers that she isn’t the only one in the guarded kingdom with a dangerous secret.

    Tina yearns for this new setting to bring her the zen-like inner peace she's always heard about on infomercials. Instead, she becomes a totally exasperated fish out of water, doing wacky things like stealing the shoes of a shifty delivery man, spraying local women with a bidet hose, and contemplating the murder of her new pet cricket.It takes the friendship of an elderly tai chi instructor, a hot Mandarin tutor, and several mah-jongg-tile-slinging expats to bring Tina closer to a culture she doesn't understand, the dream job she never knew existed, and the self she has always sought. Fish Heads and Duck Skin will resonate with anyone who has ever wondered who they are, why they were put here, and how they ever lived before eating pan-fried pork buns.

    It consists of seventy lessons in s'ix volumes, covering beginning to intermediate levels, for three years of instruction. It has been compiled under the guidance of the new NOTCFL Syllabus and in consultation with the HSK Guicleline. The objective of this series is to develop the student's ability to communicate using Chinese through the study of language structure, language function, and related cultural knowledge along with the training of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. In order to make the study of Chinese easier and more interesting, this textbook has the following features: ?The student will be in the cultural setting of Chinese society with several international students, Ding Libo, Lin Na and Ma Dawei. Through many interesting experiences, the student will not only learn authentic Chinese but also understand Chinese society and culture. ?The instruction of functional items is emphasized. The student will learn to use Chinese from the very beginning of the learning process. ?Attention is paid to the instruction of pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and discourse and a gradual increase in difficulty, orderly advances and multiple repeats are stessed along with the usage of four large cycles to help students understand the language structure of Chinese. ?A new method of teaching Chinese characters is utilized to help students read and write intriguing characters. ?Combined instruction of the four basic skills, listening, speaking, reading and writing, is emphasized. ?Offering tremendous flexibility, the instructional materials are suitable for users at different starting points and with different goals. ?Abundant practice materials are supplied for the student to use inside and outside the classroom. ?Each volume comes with a student's Workbook and an Instructor's Manual along with audio cassette and CD-ROM.

    In the end, he was back-stabbed by his dearest shidi and killed by powerful clans that combined to overpower him. He incarnates into the body of a lunatic who was abandoned by his clan and is later, unwillingly, taken away by a famous cultivator among the sects—Lan WangJi, his archenemy.This marks the start of a thrilling yet hilarious journey of attacking monsters, solving mysteries, and raising children. From the mutual flirtation along the way, Wei WuXian slowly realizes that Lan WangJi, a seemingly haughty and indifferent poker-face, holds more feelings for Wei WuXian than he is letting on...

    Home to the city's drifters, misfits and the odd bohemian, it was a place of opium dens, divebars, brothels, flophouses and cabarets, and was infamous for its ability to satisfy every human desire from the exotically entertaining to the criminally depraved.These vignettes of eight non-Chinese residents of the precinct – White Russians, Americans and Europeans – bring the Badlands vividly back to life, providing a short but potent account of a place and a way of life until now largely forgotten, but here rendered unforgettable.

    Jing of the north, and Wei of the south.One was the Prince of the grass plains who had no worries nor sorrow. One was a lawful Princess who received exclusive favour of the Emperor.A war turned the Prince of the grass plains into an orphan, she who had laid dormant for ten years had originally planned to become a sycophantic official, to manipulate the enemy kingdom into chaos, but was appointed as Fuma at the Chionglin banquet.Wait and see, how this debt of grudge from a fallen kingdom and devastated home will be settled.

    Ming was an only child born to loving parents during the ‘one child per family’ regime ,known as the “one child policy”,. She was lucky enough to be an only child but many in her village were not! Second-born children were hidden by their families from the authorities – kept up at night and hidden asleep under their houses during the day. “Children of the Night” fascinated Ming and she sneaked out to join them. She began staying up at night and playing with her friends until she too, started sleeping during the day. One night, the authorities raided her village, and brutally removed all the ‘identity less’ children who were playing outside at night, including Ming, despite her mother’s screams that she is an only child. The militia took them to a remote children’s house for re-education. Under harsh conditions of cold, hunger and physical abuse, Ming spends her adolescence there, even though she has an identity and belongs with her family. Her deep longing for her parents and home, instill in her a strong desire to escape. Will she succeed?

    Unsurprisingly, he ascended to the Heavens at a very young age. Now, eight hundred years later, Xie Lian ascends to the Heavens for the third time as the laughing stock of all three realms. On his first task as a god, he meets a mysterious demon who rules the ghosts and terrifies the Heavens……yet unbeknownst to Xie Lian, this demon king has been paying attention to him for a very, very long time.

    Funny and touching, these monologues from original live broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion focus on the winter season.Includes: "Guys on Ice," "The Christmas Story Re-told," and "Storm Home."

    The five sequential stories in the book are well constructed in terms of theme and character development and, as such, can be read as a novel.The stories differ greatly from many other books on life in China, whether they are about the olden times or the present day, in that they do not dwell on politics, nor do they try to make any statements regarding set beliefs of any kind. The stories are simple and direct. Through the eyes and innocent mind of the child, we are let into her world and her feeling and cannot but be moved.The author is well known for her perception and humor, and both these qualities inform her stories. The sense of loss and bewilderment which arouses the child's awareness of the uncertainties of human relationships, even of life itself, and which finally catapults the child away from childhood joys into the sorrows of the adult world is handled with great sensitivity and lyricism.

    Trapped between two cultures, the hero embarks on a journey in search of self-realization.

     And guarding a secret isn't, either. But losing your heart to a girl who's clueless she owns it? Yeah. That's damn near unbearable. This is my story. The one told by a guy who doesn't get the girl. *To be read after you've experienced Liv.