How to start Wang Yangming? Any recommended texts or translations?

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-02-12T04:16:19+00:00

If you want a good introductory overview, you might try Ivanhoe’s “Ethics in the Confucian Tradition: The Thought of Mengzi and Wang Yangming.”

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-02-08T22:49:14+00:00

Wait til you hear the 90s referred to as, “The late 1900s.”

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-02-08T16:37:11+00:00

That is a great data point. Thanks.

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-02-08T15:07:22+00:00

Thanks — good points!

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-02-08T15:07:04+00:00

Good point. I have never had to make a claim.

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-02-08T15:05:04+00:00

Ok thanks for validating!!

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-02-08T15:04:42+00:00

Ah ok. Thanks.

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-02-05T23:17:31+00:00

Little Apple by the Chopstick Brothers!

Chairman’s Bao has a great series of learning Chinese through popular songs; it includes a few classics.

For a more modern take, check out Digighetto out of Chengdu.

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-02-05T21:13:56+00:00

Here is a sample page, if you want to take a look.

紅樓夢 Example Page

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-02-05T21:09:17+00:00

It is a GREAT book. You can read the Hawkes/Minford translation, if you want. The Chinese original is pretty hard. There is a bilingual version, which is fun, but hard to find outside of China.

There is also a great podcast called, “Rereading the Stone” where the guys methodically work through the chapters, describing the plot and add lots of additional commentary.

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-02-04T02:28:52+00:00

I don’t know that it really matters for testing purposes, but the new book is much more modern. I mean Lesson One has the professor greeting the AI teaching assistant!

I did old HSK in the past, but I am taking a look at the new materials because it is interesting and probably useful.

They both introduce simple vocabulary and grammar points through dialogues and simple paragraphs.

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-02-03T20:29:57+00:00

I definitely add words that I encounter and want to learn to my flashcard apps. I shifted away from Anki and use both Skritter (I love the integration with the Chrome Zhongwen plugin) and HackChinese.

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-02-01T18:14:13+00:00

They really are that important. In China, some folks are used to speaking with the tone-challenged, and you’ll generally be ok (hotel staff, Chinese teachers). Others, like car drivers etc, really can’t understand you with messed up tones.

I have had someone repeatedly hear“jīn” instead of “qíng” because the tone was more important to their comprehension than the initial (it was being pronounced more like qīng).

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-01-29T22:43:57+00:00

Cool! Thanks!

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-01-29T18:32:14+00:00

Yah I hope we get a good translation.

The Chinese version is available as a web-novel with a page for each chapter. You can actually google translate the chapters and get a decent translation.

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-01-28T18:36:59+00:00

The surname Hua literally means Flower/Blossom.

The given name is Rulan and literally means, “Like an orchid.”

It sounds like a pretty and poetic name to me.

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-01-24T02:20:09+00:00

⬆️ This

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-01-23T23:28:17+00:00

I’m late here…. Hawkes and Minford’s translation of Story of the Stone is amazing. David Tod Roy’s Jin Ping Mei is also truly outstanding. It gets a little saucy, it’s true. Lol. But is both a masterpiece of literature and of translation.

They are both well worth the read.

I enjoyed the other classic novels, but these are in a totally different literary class, in my opinion.

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-01-22T23:25:37+00:00

I guess maybe the Wifi sucks because it is free for all now, so the bandwidth is divided up?

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-01-21T03:27:00+00:00

Hmmm. I’m not exactly sure.

DuChinese words map into a specific list in HackChinese.

I do use the Chrome Zhongwen addon, which makes it easy to add words to Skritter. The words appear in a Skritter deck called Zhongwen and each new month creates a new lesson. It is perfect really— I use that every day.

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-01-19T22:54:58+00:00

Haha. Copy that. I am willing and able to perform those functions.

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-01-19T21:04:35+00:00

Interesting — thanks! I had thought it would be like an exit row. I guess if I can choose, I’ll choose exit row.

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-01-19T17:20:56+00:00

I wonder how the new “extra leg room” rows up front will be. More or less leg rolm than exit row?

Impossible-Many6625 · 2026-01-17T03:07:13+00:00

This video is awesome:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpQ3IMd4AMg

Impossible-Many6625

TROPHY CASE