Mandarin Course

Farewell Party – China

Chinese Presentation. I believe she was making a speech, using a Japanese Kanji Dictionary. So like, reading the characters on a Japanese dictionary, but reading them using the Chinese readings. I think. It was pretty awesome. Enjoy!

The Wandering Songstress – Huang Xiao Jun

天涯歌女is a classic and an evergreen. It was first performed in 1937 by tragic songstress Zhou Xuan (周旋)who passed away at 39 in an asylum. Numerous big names have covered it including Yamaguchi Yoshiko known as Shirley Yamaguchi in Hollywood productions and Li Xiang Lan （李香兰）in Chinese movies. In the several decades that followed, almost every singer who sings in Chinese has either recorded or performed it in concerts, most notable of all, Teresa Teng. This version is by Huang Xiao Jun, 黄晓君，a Chinese Malaysian singer who, as a high school student, won the hearts of many and was promoted by her record company as 歌坛才女- Prodigy of the Recording Industry. She was studious and she always made sure she pronuounced all her lyricss in perfect Mandarin, bringing a Chinese Dictionary with her to the Recording studios all the time. In the 70′s, she topped the local charts easily with each release.