Lesson on Chinese Culture - Ren Ri (人日), Seven Jewel Soup (七宝羹) and Yu Sang (鱼生)

Posted to Facebook - Sin Fong Chan - The Teacher on 28/1/2012 at 11:44 AM
Title: Lesson on Chinese Culture - Ren Ri (人日), Seven Jewel Soup (七宝羹) and Yu Sang (鱼生)

According to Chinese mythology, Nuwa (女娲) was the goddess of creation who created all the living things in seven days. The major creations include the roaster, dog, goat, pig, ox, horse and human beings.

She created the Roaster on day one, and therefore, the first day of the year is known as the Roaster day. The second day is the Dog day, third the Goat day, fourth the Pig day, fifth the Ox day, sixth the Horse day, and last but not least, she created human beings on the seventh day. This special day is called the People day or Ren Ri (人日).

Nuwa used earth to create the human beings to her own image. She did not expect her creation to live forever, so she decided to create separate batches of men and women. She established the institution of marriage; young women and men mated with each other, produced offspring to populate the planet. Nuwa is also known as the Goddess of Marriage.

Ren Ri is commonly refer to as the "birthday of all people" by Guangzhou people (Cantonese). On this day, a special thick soup known as the Seven Jewel Soup (七宝羹) consisting of seven vegetables is consumed. The types of vegetables may vary from region to region; however, the choice of vegetables is important so that the names of the vegetables are contextually auspicious. Typical vegetables are celery (芹菜Kan Choy) a symbol of hardworking, mustard green (芥菜Kai Choy) a symbol of longevity, leek spinach (韭菜Gau Choy) a symbol of vitality, spinach (菠菜Bo Choy) a symbol of robustness, spring onion (葱Choong) a symbol of intelligence, garlic (蒜Shun) a symbol of being good in mathematics and Chinese parsley (more for flavour). Consuming this soup could help dispel evils and cure all sorts of diseases.

The tradition of eating Yu Sang 鱼生or raw sliced fish dates back to Qin Dynasty. The practice reached its peak during Tang Dynasty. Yu Sang is a dish consists of raw fish slices, complemented with julienne vegetables of a various colours – green vegetables, orange carrot, yellow ginger, and white Chinese carrot. When mixed with sesame oil, flavoursome sauces, crushed peanuts, the dish has a colour combination resembles that of a rainbow (七彩鱼生) and the taste is divine.

In Malaysia and Singapore, Ren Ri is celebrated with the tradition of Lo Yu Sang (撈鱼生). The Yu Sang base ingredients are arranged separately in a large circular plate, and sauces held in separate bowls. During the process of Lo Yu Sang, diners are in a standing position, mix the Yi Sang ingredients thoroughly with their chopsticks and lift them as high as possible in the air. It is important to ensure that fish slices are mixed well with the rest of the ingredients. The diners will yell out loud simultaneously, “Lo Hay, Lo Hay, Fatt Ah, Fatt Ah”. Lo Hay撈起is synonymous to job promotion, and Fatt 发means prosperity.

Eating Yu Sang has now replaced the consumption of Seven Jewel Soup in Malaysia and Singapore.

Lesson on Chinese New Year and the year of Dragon

Posted to Facebook - Sin Fong Chan - The Teacher on 22/1/2012 at 1:34 AM
Title: Lesson on Chinese New Year and the year of Dragon

Most people know that 2012 is the year of the Dragon, and the first day of the Chinese (lunar) year begins on 23rd January 2012. However, almost all do not know that the Dragon does not arrive on that day; it will arrive on 4th February 2012, according to the Astrological calendar.

The Chinese calendar is based on five elements, namely Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth and 12 Earthly Branches represented by 12 animals, namely, the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. The total number of combinations using an element and an animal is sixty; which means one’s life cycle is repeated after sixty years.

The Dragon for 2012 is a Water Dragon, and water is represented by black colour. In short, 2012 is a black dragon or black water dragon.

A Chinese dragon is a divine creature, and has the anatomical features of nine Earthly animals. Its mouth resembles that of a horse, its eyes and antennae those of a prawn, its beard that of a goat, its antelopes those of a deer, ears those of an ox, mane that of a lion, scales those of a carp, body that of a snake and claws those of an eagle. There are other variant lists of nine animal resemblances.

In contrast to European dragons, which are considered evil, Chinese dragons traditionally symbolize power, strenth, and good luck. With that, the dragon was the symbol of the Emperor of China. The 5-clawed dragon was assigned to represent the Emperor while the 4-clawed and 3-clawed dragons were assigned to the commoners.

3000 more uni places

Posted to The Age (17/1/2012) on 17/1/2012 at 12:17 PM
Commenting on "3000 more uni places"
http://www.theage.com.au/national/tertiary-places/3000-more-uni-places-20120116-1q3a5.html

Having a degree from a university or college that offers higher qualification does not guarantee that graduate actually earns his/her mark.

Many universities of today are no better than a college with a facelift. TAFE and private colleges that offer Advanced Diploma as the highest qualification can no longer survive. Some have transformed into high-ed institutions offering degree courses, even though they are NOT universities.

The numbers game does not necessarily produce academics or achievers, but on the contrary it makes top students average, and unjustifiably lifts the non-deserving ones at par with the top graduates.

It is disgraceful that university standards have been lowered to improve pass rate. Plagiarism is so prevalent and close to epidemic proportion. Students pay professionals or past year’s students to complete their assignments. Hardworking and top performing students are frustrated by lazy and good for nothing team members in team project work; and unfortunately the genuine students’ outcome is affected negatively.

Australia needs more tradies, NOT university graduates who cannot fix plumbing, electrical works, or build houses. There are not enough upcoming tradies to replace the retiring ones. Whether it is about fixing a leaking toilet cistern, building a house, laying out NBN cable, etc, tradies’ charges will continue to soar unless more qualified tradies enter the workforce.

We MUST lift the educational standards from primary level onwards. A smart nation needs smart people. Unfortunately with our country is run by not so smart politicians, things will never work out!

Am I cynical? Yes I am.

Differences between women and men

Men behave and work in different ways. Women keep putting men down by criticising how lazy they are or how sloppy they do the housework, not just in private, but also at parties in the presence of other people's wives and husbands. If men were to criticise the women or just say a wrong word about their women in the public, all hell breaks loose.

It is not that men don't want to help in laundry - women want the clothing sorted before they are put in the washing machine, but men do it after; women want dishes washed immediately after a dinner, men want to finish off the current affairs program on the television before they get off their bums.

Men don't just wash dishes; they shine the kitchen and the range hood. Men don't just wash toilet bowls; they sanitise the complete bathroom and toilet, lock stock and barrel.

Women throw away the men's precious "junks" without giving any respect and consideration to the men's feeling. If the men were to do likewise, the women will be the only item put out in the street during the next garbage collection!

Most men can do very complex science experiments during their school or university days with great precision; it is naive to think that men cannot cook a dinner. If men can be responsible at the office, some even deal with million-dollar budgets, how can men change their spots at home and become irresponsible beings?

Men tend to be more compromising and forgiving, because they tend to forget the past bad experience and try not to hold grudges indefinitely. Just imagine those suffering from dementia who cannot remember the present but able to recall the long term past memory - those poor souls who can’t let go those grudges will go to the graves full of sadness and hatred.

Many men have high pain tolerance, and when they complain about pain not just in the arse, they really mean pain. Women think that the men behave like pussies and seek attention; they'll regret if they find out that their men may be suffering from some form of terminal illness when they actually reveal their pain openly!

Do men know how to care or love their women? Yes they do, but sometimes not in the same wavelengths expected by the women. Women want to be spoilt, so do men. Women like to be praised, so do men.

Behind a successful man, it is not just a woman. It is a supportive woman who provides encouragement instead of constant nagging!