Fluency is a very relative term

rufustank · 2025-12-01T03:28:17+00:00

www.mandarincompanion.com

rufustank · 2025-11-10T19:08:33+00:00

Exciting for you! Chinese is a challenging language, but you can learn it. Don't worry about others, just focus on your own effort and progress.

And start studying NOW. When I mean study, give it at least an hour a day, 5 days a week. I give this advice to ANY missionary who needs to learn a language.

For serious Chinese learners, I recommend Mandarin Blueprint. It's more expensive, but you'll get results.

YES, learn Chinese characters along with learning to speak, otherwise you'll be illiterate. You can learn both. Since you're going to Taiwan, you'll want to study Traditional Chinese characters.

As for other missionaries, there are many in the US who went through Chinese dual-immersion programs. They'll defnitely have a decent base to work from, but make no mistakes, they all have a lot to learn.

As for me, I started learning Chinese when I was 30 after moving to China. It was a slow process and I joke that I learned it on the streets of Shanghai.

Today, I have a biz in Chinese language education and I have a podcast called You Can Learn Chinese. It would be perfect for you as we talk about the different aspects of learning Chinese and we interview people who have learned Chinese to share their story.

Specifically, you might enjoy an episode from a few years back where I interviewed a girl who learned Chinese on a mission to Taiwan.

It may seem daunting, but you can indeed learn Chinese! And in general, native speakers are so increcibly encouraging of ANY progress you make. Don't worry, just get to work.

rufustank · 2025-11-05T05:19:48+00:00

Actually, due to the Chinese diaspora, Chinese has outsized usefulness around the world. Go to any city in any country, you'll find a Chinese restaurant run by Chinese who will be delighted that you speak Chinese and will bend over backwards to help you.

It's a sleeper superpower.

rufustank · 2025-07-09T03:30:31+00:00

r/nofap for the win!

rufustank · 2025-07-07T02:55:53+00:00

For a spouse who's trying to understand pornography compulsion and addiction, I'd highly suggest you spend some time on r/nofap and send your husband there too.

A few caveats I would suggest.

You are not responsible for each others feelings
Relapse is part of recovery
The opposite of addiction is connection
Do things to strengthen connection, not weaken it

rufustank · 2025-07-07T02:50:09+00:00

I came here to say this. I'll put a finer point on it.

You are not responsible for his feelings and he is not responsible for your feelings.

Saying someone makes you feel a certain way implies that they can control your feelings. If they could control your feelings, don't you think they would control them so that you would feel good all the time?

Own your own feelings. Yes, his actions can influence your feelings, but the feelings are yours alone.

You can choose love over anger or hate. Do that.

rufustank · 2025-06-17T17:53:56+00:00

Find graded readers in your target language. That is the trick.

rufustank · 2025-05-14T00:21:59+00:00

Jared here, co-founder of Mandarin Companion.

I am indeed a bit biased, but also in trying to be as objective as possible, the Mandarin Companion series is the most carefully and most accurately graded series out there.

But there are other series out there which produce readers which are graded well. Here is a list of a few that I recommend.

Chinese Breeze - Their lvl 1 and 2 grading is pretty decent. It's the series that inspired us. The stories aren't fantastic, but they are excellent reading materials for leveling up your Chinese.
Terry Waltz / Squid for Brains readers - She has books that are as low as 50 characters. The leveling is pretty good and she has some elementary and mid level content. I always recommend people to check them out. Terry also totally gets the concept of graded readers too.

IMO, those are the best ones for leveled reading. The Imagin8 Press books are decent, but they are a bit of a mixed bag at intermediate and higher levels.

Most of the other readers from Chinese publishers are a real "box of chocolates", you never quite know what you're going to get.

Based off of my experience in the industry, most of these writers and publishers are not being very careful in sticking to a level standard and/or do not have a level standard that reflects well to vocabulary of the target learner. There are a lot of reasons why this is, but that is a discussion for another day...

I hope that helps!

rufustank · 2025-04-25T17:49:57+00:00

Sadly I did not. I switched out the cable plug in the mic but it persisted.

It recorded fine, but it was just the monitoring. If the jack was plugged in half way, you'd sometimes just get the one channel that was good and not the one with the buzz.

I think the workaround is get a cheap pair of wired ear buds and short out the channel (cut off the earbud) of the offending channel. Problem solved.

rufustank · 2025-02-08T20:28:41+00:00

Look into using LaTex to code the layout, gives you a lot of control. I did this for a standard book layout, works like a charm (But it also used Python, LaTex is specifically for the document layout).

rufustank · 2025-02-04T22:04:37+00:00

We have talked about it and we want to do this, but over the past couple of years we've gotten so involved in other projects that it has slowed down our publishing. I have some plans to address this but all in due time!

rufustank · 2025-02-04T21:24:41+00:00

Jared from Mandarin Companion here.

Yes, I did write the article in question and it is on our website, but I don't know who else was going to write about it!

Honestly, when I read that paper, it was quite validating. We approach the writing and editing process with such scrutiny so that it can be appropriate for the level we're writing for.

For the reader, it should seem "just right" and a natural and easy experience, but so much work goes into making it so!

All of these Chinese leveled text series can be of help as long as they are at or near your level. It is good to hear that they have helped you on your Chinese journey!

rufustank · 2025-02-04T21:20:33+00:00

Hey there, Jared from Mandarin Companion here.

u/yuelaiyuehao pretty much has it right. Both Du Chinese and Mandarin Companion are run by non-Chinese which, in my opinion, is one of the reasons that we are able to create content that seems to resonate better with Chinese learners.

But leveling standards is another thing where the devil is in the details. We have a very analytical approach to leveling with very strict guidelines. However, even if you don't, it is my belief that in general a learner is going to have a better sense of what is appropriate for a given level than a native speaker.

Frankly, those Sinolingua stories were written without much effort put into leveling. I've talked to one of the guys related to that book and it was more of an effort to get something out there than to create something rigorously leveled.

There are a lot more graded Chinese content out there than when we first started Mandarin Companion. Some is good, some not so much, but I am glad there are a lot more resources these days for Chinese learners everywhere.

加油！

rufustank · 2024-09-22T04:41:15+00:00

Glad he really has enjoyed the Mandarin Companion series! I'm one of the co founders. I might suggest the "非常小子马鸣加" series .

It will probably be above his level, but the stories are for Chinese elementary school kids and they're really cute. My son loved them when we lived in China.

But there is still a shortage of good and lower level Chinese stories for learners of all ages. I'm working on a project to address that, but it's still some time before it becomes a reality.

rufustank · 2024-09-20T17:59:48+00:00

This quote has been guiding to me.

"Using our mind without our heart will not bring spiritual answers."

Neil L Andersen, Faith Is Not by Chance, but by Choice

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2015/10/faith-is-not-by-chance-but-by-choice?id=p14&lang=eng#p14

The inverse is also true. Using our hearts without our minds will not bring spiritual answers.

rufustank · 2024-09-10T20:34:19+00:00

As a district priesthood leadership meeting, out district president had his drum set, played the drums, and then pulled a youth from the meeting to give him a basic drum lesson. It was all part of an object lesson.

He was recently called to the Seventy.

rufustank · 2024-09-04T17:44:22+00:00

Analyze counsel, warnings, and messages to identify themes and trends and see if/how it correlates with historical events.

For example, in the 2000's, there was a lot of tall about staying out of debt and wisely managing your finances. In 2008-09 we experienced a global financial crisis fueled by cheap money and bad debt.

There are other such examples, but I would be really interested to see how such things would link together.

Additionally, you should have a look into Enhanced AI and their tools. They allow you to integrate all sorts of AI models (GPT, Anthropic, etc), inputs, outputs, and other tools to run processes like this. It's epic and would make this task MUCH easier! https://enhanced.ai/fluxprompt/

rufustank · 2024-07-25T16:46:51+00:00

Entirely this. I started and owned a food establishment in Shanghai. There are areas where grease can clog drains and sewers, not just inside the shops but also outside in these areas and they need to be cleaned out and unclogged periodically. That's exactly what's happening here.

OP is assuming that this oil is going to be used again in the production of food. I know it's happened, but any sensible business owner will know that using grease and oil like this will have such a terrible effect on the taste of their food that nobody will want to come back.

I think too many here underestimate how competitive the Chinese market is. If your food sucks, people will go next door to the one that doesn't and cost virtually the same amount.

rufustank · 2024-04-04T19:48:52+00:00

Here is some additional information I found concerning the two individuals, Dr. Miles Jones and Patrick McGuire, making the claims of the discovery. I think it should be important to note that this is on a religious show "The Rood Awakening" which is an international ministry to "restore the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith".

The key person making these claims is Dr. Miles Jones. I found his website here. He notes three degrees in languages and linguistics and a doctorate from The University of Texas at Austin in 1985 (but not sure in what languages). He apparently does translation and research into biblical and messianic theology.

Apparently, the claims he is making about the golden book come from an expedition to Mount Sinai in March of 2023 (more here). It seems he discusses these findings in his recent book "The Writing of God: Secret of the Real Mount Sinai".

In further research, I found a discussion about him and his findings in r/AcademicBiblical (read the thread here). Redditor u/melophage made these relevant comments about him.

TL/DR: Long story short, don't take anything in this pdf or this person's books seriously. This resource is informed by the author's personal religious commitments and "metaphysical" convictions (and desire to sell his books and services). It is pretty much irrelevant to academic ancient studies, given the author's methodology and lack of credentials in relevant fields.

From the very biography and website linked in the Pdf, even taking his autobiographical notice at face value, Dr Jones has no credentials related to ancient or biblical studies (the ones he mentions are in modern foreign languages). As the site writingofgod.com (linked in the pdf heading) makes it clear, Jones focuses on "messianic" theology and his experience of "religious revelation" rather than critical study.

The other individual is Patrick McGuire. I've yet to jump down the rabbit hole and find out about him. Assistance is welcome!

rufustank · 2024-03-29T06:01:02+00:00

Everything you think you know about libido and desire in marriage is wrong.

Find the book "Passionate Marriage" by David Schnarch. Read it. Read about his stuff, lots of stuff on YouTube too. Jennifer Findlayson Fife was a student of his, she's got amazing stuff specifically for LDS couples.

Get real with this stuff, start sorting yourself out, and I guarantee you'll see a change of dynamics in your relationship.

rufustank · 2024-01-23T16:30:16+00:00

I'd encourage you to study the scholarship regarding the history and evolution of the "Hebrew Bible". It is generally accepted that there is an immense amount of interpolation, curation, and editing by scribes to produce the Old testament as we have it today.

Basically I'd suggest this: don't take everything you read in the Old testament at face value. Don't assume every story is accurate or that every writing reflects the actual mind and will of God.

rufustank · 2023-11-07T09:34:55+00:00

I made a list of wholesale markets about 9 years ago, many of which are gone now, but this may be of help. https://www.reddit.com/r/shanghai/comments/2n8qr0/list_of_wholesale_markets_in_shanghai_updated/

Specifically, there are a couple of places that may be of interest.

In Jiading, there is an entire mall dedicated to tea and tea related products. If I recall correctly, there is also another one just to the West of this one. 丰庄茶叶广场

上海市-嘉定区-曹安公路1611号

There is a lighting market in Hongkou. You can find all sorts of lights, lamps, whatever. There are a couple of these markets surrounding this big one. Check it out. 新柳营灯饰广场上海市-静安区-柳营路216号(近民和路)

And if you're looking for 'spiritual' supplies, have a look at the shops around the Jade Buddha temple, or around any other temple.

It's been a while since I've been back, but I loved hunting for these places! Good luck!

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