Popup Chinese
Encyclopedia
Popup Chinese is a platform for Chinese language
study. Founded in 2008, the site provides Chinese podcasts, lessons, and HSK
study tools and resources from a studio in downtown Beijing
. It is considered a prominent Chinese language program and producer of a large open source Chinese-English dictionary. Beyond its podcasts and audio lessons, the site is known for its mouseover
annotation
s of the Four Great Classical Novels
of Chinese literature including the Dream of the Red Chamber
.
, the highest-circulation English-language magazine in China. Sinica has been called a "must listen" by The China Beat, a prominent online community for American Sinologists.
Popup Chinese has tens of thousands of active listeners and is the highest-rated Chinese-teaching podcast in the iTunes podcast directory. The site has had shows mentioned repeatedly in Forbes Magazine's China coverage and throughout the blogosphere. The brainchild of Kaiser Kuo
, Director of Investor Relations at Baidu and former China bureau chief for Red Herring magazine, Sinica frequently invites prominent China journalists and China-watchers to participate in uncensored discussions with Kaiser on Chinese political and economic affairs. Guests have included Gady Epstein, Mary Kay Magistad
of Public Radio International
, Tania Branigan of The Guardian
, Evan Osnos
of The New Yorker
, Arthur Kroeber of Dragonomics and Jonathan Watts
. Recurring guests involved in entrepreneurship in China include Jeremy Goldkorn of Danwei and Bill Bishop, founder of CBS MarketWatch.
Language Systems, the parent company of Popup Chinese, operates two other language sites, one focusing on the Cantonese language and the other on teaching Chinese to native Spanish speakers. The company was recently funded by the Chilean government to expand its Spanish efforts through the Start-Up Chile program. It has stated its plans to expand into additional languages.
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
study. Founded in 2008, the site provides Chinese podcasts, lessons, and HSK
Hànyu Shuipíng Kaoshì
The Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, , abbreviated as HSK, is the People's Republic of China's only standardized test of Standard Chinese language proficiency for non-native speakers, namely foreign students, overseas Chinese, and members of ethnic minority groups in China...
study tools and resources from a studio in downtown Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. It is considered a prominent Chinese language program and producer of a large open source Chinese-English dictionary. Beyond its podcasts and audio lessons, the site is known for its mouseover
Mouseover
In computing a mouseover, mouse hover or hover box refers to a GUI event that is raised when the user moves or "hovers" the cursor over a particular area of the GUI. The technique is particularly common in web browsers where the URL of a hyperlink can be viewed in the status bar...
annotation
Annotation
An annotation is a note that is made while reading any form of text. This may be as simple as underlining or highlighting passages.Annotated bibliographies give descriptions about how each source is useful to an author in constructing a paper or argument...
s of the Four Great Classical Novels
Four Great Classical Novels
The Four Great Classical Novels, or the Four Major Classical Novels of Chinese literature, are the four novels commonly regarded by scholars to be the greatest and most influential of pre-modern Chinese fiction. Dating from the Ming and Qing dynasties, they are well known to most Chinese readers...
of Chinese literature including the Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber , composed by Cao Xueqin, is one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. It was composed in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty. It is considered to be a masterpiece of Chinese vernacular literature and is generally acknowledged to be a pinnacle of...
.
Content
, Popup Chinese was hosting over 900 podcasts, HSK tests and other lessons. In addition to these shows, Popup Chinese also produces a range of other China-related shows, including the Sinica show, recently ranked the best China podcast by City WeekendCity Weekend
City Weekend is a free, bi-weekly entertainment event and venue listing magazine based out of China.. Its on-line edition is both autonomous and complimentary to the print magazine - City Weekend is "reader-powered" and sources most of its information directly from the expat community.City Weekend...
, the highest-circulation English-language magazine in China. Sinica has been called a "must listen" by The China Beat, a prominent online community for American Sinologists.
Popup Chinese has tens of thousands of active listeners and is the highest-rated Chinese-teaching podcast in the iTunes podcast directory. The site has had shows mentioned repeatedly in Forbes Magazine's China coverage and throughout the blogosphere. The brainchild of Kaiser Kuo
Kaiser Kuo
Kaiser Kuo is a Chinese American freelance writer and rock musician living in Beijing. He is a former member of the rock band Tang Dynasty and has further enlivened contemporary Chinese music culture with the formation of another ethnically-oriented heavy metal rock group, Spring and Autumn...
, Director of Investor Relations at Baidu and former China bureau chief for Red Herring magazine, Sinica frequently invites prominent China journalists and China-watchers to participate in uncensored discussions with Kaiser on Chinese political and economic affairs. Guests have included Gady Epstein, Mary Kay Magistad
Mary Kay Magistad
Mary Kay Magistad is an award-winning American journalist and correspondent.Magistad has covered Northeast Asia for the Public Radio International program, PRI's The World, a co-production between the BBC World Service, PRI, and WGBH Radio Boston since 1996...
of Public Radio International
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
, Tania Branigan of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Evan Osnos
Evan Osnos
Evan Osnos is an American reporter for The New Yorker, based in Beijing.Previously, he was an international correspondent for The Chicago Tribune in Beijing...
of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, Arthur Kroeber of Dragonomics and Jonathan Watts
Jonathan Watts
Jonathan Watts is an award-winning journalist and the author of . He served as president of the from 2008-2009 and as vice president of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan from 2001-2003...
. Recurring guests involved in entrepreneurship in China include Jeremy Goldkorn of Danwei and Bill Bishop, founder of CBS MarketWatch.
Language Systems, the parent company of Popup Chinese, operates two other language sites, one focusing on the Cantonese language and the other on teaching Chinese to native Spanish speakers. The company was recently funded by the Chilean government to expand its Spanish efforts through the Start-Up Chile program. It has stated its plans to expand into additional languages.
External links
- Popup Chinese Official Website
- Chinese Language Teachers Association review of Popup Chinese in the CLTA May 2009 newsletter
- CNet article on Adso, the open source Chinese-English annotation engine hosted by Popup Chinese
- Best China Podcasts by City Weekend, Beijing.
- East Asia Student comprehensive review of Popup Chinese.
- Learn Cantonese with Popup Cantonese (sister site)
- Aprender Chino con Chino Ahora (sister site)