Hello guys
It's gonna be Chinese New Year soon
Now I've bought some red paper for writing "Dui Lian" (spring couplet: decoration that expresses hopeful thoughts for the new year )
My father will write on it, and we put it up on the doorway
Because this is our new house, we decided not to buy "Dui Lian" from vendors. Instead, we will write them ourselves
We've got a bit more paper for practicing
Go on, you write it
What's the first line?
Innumerable colourful flowers...
Huh?
"Wan Zi Qian Hong" (lit. Innumerable flowers of red and purple)
"Chun Se Man Yuan" (lit. The garden is full of spring landscape)
Why does it seem a bit glossy?
Aiya, it's not working
The paper is too glossy
It's fine now. We use a different mixture of ink
Let's start again
This time you may need to slow down your writing a little
It won't do if you write it too fast
Ohhh, it works! Dip your brush in
Not bad!
What does this character read?
It's "Wan" (lit. ten thousand)
I cannot tell
Pull the stroke slowly
Don't be too hasty...Ok dip the brush in
Take it easy
Oh, it's like...each circle for one character
Oh, the position is fixed
Take it easy
I can't help laughing
It seems not right
How many characters are there?
"Wan Zi Qian Hong"
"Wan", "Zi", "Qian", "Hong", "Chun"
"Man"
Is it "Yu"?
Your memory is so bad that you even forget what character to write
Take your time
The ink isn't fast enough
Take it easy
Probably the tip of brush is lacking ink
You might have pressed the brush too hard
Hmm, not bad
Let's have a look
Watch out! (The ink) is dripping!
Wait a moment. Let it dry up
Place it on the ground and let it dry up
At the sight of this I immediately thought of
"Tian Xia Wu Gong, Wei Kuai Bu Po" (lit. Speed is the only key to crack Kung Fu)
You...
Cool
What is this character?
Which one?
What does this scroll read?
"Wu Jiang Zi Mei Zhan Xin Yan" (lit. Cultivated in good manners, displaying a new prospect)
What is that?
5 stresses (decorum, manners, hygiene, discipline, morals), 4 beauties (mind, language, behavior, environment)
This latter scroll looks apparently better than the first one
Probably I'm a bit nervous. It's been quite a while since last time I wrote a pair of "Dui Lian"
Okay, now we're gonna write "Heng Pi" (lit. the horizonal banner)
"Gong He Xin Xi" (lit. Happy New Year)
"Zhang Deng Jie Cai Ying Xin Chun" (lit. Embracing the new spring with lanterns and colourful decoration)
Good. What's the next line then?
This way, uncle put it here
Okay, now our "Heng Pi" is finished
Turn it around and see
It's missing a stroke here
Have a look
The "Xi" character is not right
"Xi Ying Xin Chun" (Another expression for "Happy New Year")
New Year, truly, this new year is coming
Wait a moment. When the writing is dried, I'll put up "Dui Lian"
And it's all done
Because this is the first Chinese New Year we spend in the new house
We write our own "Dui Lian"
Waiting until it dries up
No worries, I will write again
It's not perfect
My father is a bit strict with himself
He's gonna write it once again
The bristles are somewhat split
Not a good brush?
Um, good. Another one is done
"Xi Ying Xin Chun" (Another expression for "Happy New Year")
Are you satisfied this time?
No?
Why? I think it looks nice
Aren't they, uncle?
Have a look, uncle. How do you feel about it?
It's fine
Not bad
Let me still try to write one
Have a try!
I need to copy these
Forget about it. People would laugh at me
I haven't read much books
You can ask me to take up this stir-fry spoon and cook
If you ask me to pick up brush and do calligraphy
It wouldn't turn out well
"Gao" (lit. skillful)
"Chu" (lit. chef)
"Gao Chu"
Come here and have a look at this first line
"Gao Chu Qiao Zuo San Xian Mei" (lit. Skillful chef turns three delicacies into tasty dishes)
This is a classic line for chefs
Okay, the first character of the second line is also "Chu"
Good. The second scroll is finished
Take a look
"Chu Nei Jing Xin Tiao Wu Wei" (lit. Handling five flavours with skills and care)
"Chu Nei Jing Xin Tiao Wu Wei"
These lines make it evident that they are to be posted on the kitchen doorway
Okay, let it dry up
We should use the ink made by ourselves
"Se Wei Ju Jia" (lit. excellent in both color and flavour)
It's almost done
Let's put it up after it's dried
It's not bad
At least I cannot write as good
Uncle, what are we gonna use to stick the scrolls on the wall
Just take some rice
Leftover?
Yeah, we ain't got no glue here
So I should press the rice onto the scroll
Put it right in the middle!
Are you alright
Shouldn't be a big problem
Use your fist to press it
Move it a little higher
Here?
Oh right
Good. So be it
It needs to align with the door frame
It's basically matched
It should form a symmetry with the other side
Do you wanna write a few characters on the door?
One "Fu" character for each door? ("Fu": fortune, blessing, happiness)
Good. Take up your firecrackers and prepare for New Year celebration!
喜迎新春 "Xi Ying Xin Chun" ("Happy New Year")
"Wan Zi Qian Hong Chun Man Yuan" ("Thousands of red and purple flowers filling the garden with spring landscape")
"Wu Jiang Zi Mei Zhan Xin Yan" ("Cultivated in good manners, displaying a new prospect")
It looks much better with "Dui Lian"
Okay. Our "Dui Lian" is almost finished
Chinese New Year is coming in a few days
Here in advance, we wish you a happy new year
This is all for today's video
Bye Bye!