If, like many others, you have wanted to learn a language which is both unique, and not many people are familiar with, then why not consider learning Chinese? Below we provide you with some easy tips which can help you to learn a language, which is becoming increasingly essential in modern life.

First, you need to look at the best way you learn any subject. Are you someone who learns a language best when they rewrite phrases that they have heard? Or are you someone who finds it much easier to learn a language by rereading things over and over again?

Today, the most standard form of Chinese that is spoken is known as Standard Mandarin, which is based on a dialect spoken in Beijing. It is also the official language now used by the people of China, as well as those in Taiwan, and one of 4 official languages spoken by those people from Singapore.

Also, you will find that this language has now become one of the six official languages used by the United Nations.

Another standard language that is spoken by Hong Kong and Macau, which are also part of China, is Standard Cantonese.

Most of the dialects now spoken by the Chinese people will often consist of words spoken by their ancestors, back when China was made up of various different ethnic groups.

by Eirik Granqvist, a Finnish professor working in Shanghai who visited Tibet in 2006

Chinese New Year 4705 or 2008 in the Western calendar is the Year of the Brown Earth Rat. This year of the rat begins a new 12 year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.

Like the houses of the zodiac, the animals of Chinese astrology are said to influence your luck during the year. Your horoscope for 2008, the year of the rat, depends on which animal signifies the year you were born.

Rats are water signs and it is said that they make a very good match for monkeys and dragons, but do not get along well with rabbits, horses and roosters. The brown earth influences of this year also make oxen a favored friend of the persevering rat but add conflict to the year as the elements of earth and water seek a balance - especially during the early part of the year.

Year 2008 is a Chinese Brown Earth (Soil) Rat Year. Why did the Chinese name the year 2008 as the Brown Earth Rat Year? Chinese calendar used the Stem-Branch system to count the days, months and years. There are 10 Stems and 12 Branches in this system. Stems are named by the Yin-Yang and Five Elements (Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth). The Stem sequence order is Yin-Yang Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, Yang Earth, Yin Earth, Yang Metal, Yin Metal, Yang Water and Yin Water. Branches use the animal names.

The Chinese New Year day is on February 7th, 2008. This day is a new moon day, it is the first day of the first Chinese lunar month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar system. The exact new moon time is at 11:44 on 07-Feb-08 in China time zone.

If we apply Chinese lunar calendar system on the USA time zones, we find something interesting here. In the US Pacific Standard Time (PST), the new moon time is at 19:44 of 2-06-08. In the US Eastern Standard Time (EST), the new moon time is at 21:44 of 2-06-08. Therefore, the Chinese New Year day for USA time zones is on February 6th, 2008.

The new moon time is at 03:44 on 2-07-08 of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and at 04:44 on 2-07-08 of Time Zone GMT+1. That means Chinese New Year day is on February 7th, 2008 for European countries.

Traditional Chinese New Year Food is a symbol of prosperity, good luck, health and long life for everyone at the table. Each and every food, either by its appearance or the pronunciation of its name, symbolizes age old Chinese beliefs. Traditional Chinese New Year Food like dumplings, spring Rolls, chicken or may be a whole fish wishes good things for the coming year.

Chinese Dumplings (jiaozi) Recipe
For the dough

* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/4 cup ice cold water (as needed)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

For the Filling

* 1 cup ground pork or beef
* 1 tablespoon soy sauce
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

Only 4,100 of the 24,000 family names used throughout China's 5,000 years of history are still in use today.

The findings were the result of a two-year research project by Yuan Yida, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who supervised a survey of 300 million people across the country.

The reductions in China's name base were caused by several factors, Yuan found. Many minorities switched to Han surnames when they came under the influence of the country's dominant culture, he said.

This was especially true in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), when a large number of ethnic minorities melded into Han communities.

The other reason for the loss was that some names simply died out because they were not shared by many people, the researcher said.

Surnames are not evenly distributed throughout China's geography. In northern China, Wang is the most common surname, being shared by 9.9% of the population. Next are Li, Zhang and Liu). In the south, Chen is the most common, being shared by 10.6% of the population. Next are Li, Huang, Lin) and Zhang. Around the major crossing points of the Yangtze River, the most common surname is Li , taking up 7.7%, followed by Wang, Zhang , Chen and Liu.