In this episode, I talk about “Baidu”, the Chinese equivalent of “Google”. You may or may not know, the name “Baidu” was actually inspired by a Chinese poem from the 12th century. Which poem? Let’s have a look!

To see the transcript, visit: https://chinesecolloquialised.com

In this episode, I explore four of Chongqing’s most popular, most iconic dishes.

To see the transcript, visit: https://chinesecolloquialised.com

In this episode, I talk about what’s known as an “education factory” in China. This “education factory” is held in a rural area in the Anhui province and holds roughly 20,000 students, which is 4 times the reported local population. Why is it called an “education factory”? Let’s find out! 

To see the transcript, visit: https://chinesecolloquialised.com

In this episode, I talk about a Chinese reality TV show that’s taken China by storm. I explore the theme of the TV show and pick apart the title to bring out some cultural differences between China and the West. 

To see the transcript, visit: https://chinesecolloquialised.com

In this episode, I talk about the many and various types of hotpot and how hotpot from other countries may differ to China’s hotpot.

To see the transcript, visit: https://chinesecolloquialised.com

This is the second and last episode relating to the LGBTQ+ community in honour of pride month. In this episode, I read through the coming out stories of a gay man in China.

To see the transcript, visit: https://chinesecolloquialised.com

We've all seen the 'crispy Peking duck' on a Chinese restaurant menu but do we understand the history, culture and art behind how it's made? Let's find out. In this episode, I talk about how the roast duck dish came about, the two main ways of how it's cooked, the three ways of how it's eaten and the restaurants you should go to in Beijing if you want to taste the true beauty of this dish.

To see the transcript, visit: https://chinesecolloquialised.com

In honour of pride month, in this episode I briefly talk about what life is like for someone in the LGBTQ+ community in China. Lots of people automatically think it's illegal to be part of the LGBTQ+ community in China. It's not. There are LGBTQ+ friendly bars, clubs, dating apps, etc. Is life harder for a LGBTQ+ person? Yes, although to different degrees depending on each individual's circumstance.

To see the transcript, visit: https://chinesecolloquialised.com

Original post mentioned in the podcast: https://www.douban.com/group/topic/68869105/

In light of the George Floyd incident, in this episode I talk about race and racism, which includes the reading of a Chinese translation version of Reni Eddo-Lodge’s 2014 article named “Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race”. 

As I was researching, what surprised me was that whilst Reni’s work is praised and celebrated in the West and is widely circulated by western media, there is hardly any mention of her work in Chinese media. So I took the liberty of translating Reni’s 2014 article into Chinese to help expand the conversation about race so that it's available to a wider audience. 

Reni Eddo-Lodge's 2014 article: http://renieddolodge.co.uk/why-im-no-longer-talking-to-white-people-about-race/

 

To see the transcript, visit: https://chinesecolloquialised.com

In past episodes, we have spoken about the two opium wars, the Sikkim expedition and the end of the Qing dynasty. In this episode, I read an excerpt from a book that illustrates very well what China was like during that period of time and how hard China had to fight to become today’s China. Today’s China should not be taken for granted. 

The book is called 《为什么是毛泽东》(“Why Was It Mao Zedong”). As the title suggests, that period of time played an important role in how Chairman Mao came to power.

To see the transcript, visit: https://chinesecolloquialised.com