HanRead @hanreadapp

Deep Reading of Chinese texts and ideas. Culture • Language • Philosophy • History apps.apple.com/app/id67580793… Joined May 2026

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HanRead @hanreadapp

a week ago

@DullClayCutter Another approach might be to translate the moral idea rather than the wording itself: 何为求仁？终必死。何不求仁？终亦必死。

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@FrDylanSchrader Many may simply remain unread outside their language communities. China alone has countless classical works containing centuries of history, philosophy, and human insight. Yet because of language barriers, even many Chinese people who want to read them struggle to do so.

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HanRead @hanreadapp

4 weeks ago

@macha3142 The main issue is 从. 从 usually introduces a place (北京, 日本, etc.), not an activity like 旅行. Also, native speakers are more likely to say: 他(从曼谷)旅游回来了，rather than: 他从旅行回来了。旅游 sounds more natural here, while 旅行 is often a bit more formal or literary.

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HanRead @hanreadapp

4 weeks ago

@CheshireOcelot Once you're comfortable with the Four Books, you might enjoy trying some historical prose as well. The Zuo Zhuan is one of the great Chinese classics. It is filled with memorable characters, diplomatic maneuvering, political intrigue, and vivid historical episodes.

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HanRead @hanreadapp

4 weeks ago

@fncischen Difficult, but rewarding.

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HanRead @hanreadapp

4 weeks ago

@SzpTKbpPk75827 I would suggest memorizing a few famous poems and classical texts. Even 10–50 would be enough initially. Most Chinese children do exactly this long before they fully understand the words. Years later, those same lines often take on entirely new meanings.

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HanRead @hanreadapp

4 weeks ago

@CiaoCiaota Congratulations! The Gongyang Zhuan is a fascinating topic. I'd love to read your dissertation if it becomes available.

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HanRead @hanreadapp

a month ago

@macha3142 Hope this helps.

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HanRead @hanreadapp

a month ago

@JakabfiK Wow, it's rare to see someone mention the Zuo Zhuan here. I love the Zuo Zhuan and Classical Chinese as well. I actually just wrote a short piece on one of its passages and have been building an app to make selected Zuo Zhuan texts easier to read and explore.

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HanRead @hanreadapp

a month ago

@thecyrusjanssen You're being more Chinese than me — I've never been there, and I'm Chinese 😅

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HanRead @hanreadapp

a month ago

@Indie5051 Cool. I'd love to have a coffee there someday.

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HanRead @hanreadapp

a month ago

One of my favorite passages in the Zuo Zhuan consists of only four Chinese characters: 周郑交质 A political earthquake. A hidden judgment. History transformed into literature. How can four characters contain so much? Read more: hanreadapp.substack.com/p/how-four-cla…

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HanRead @hanreadapp

a month ago

@macha3142 I’m not sure there is a common Chinese equivalent. If anything, people often joke that they’re completely full, yet somehow still have room for soup or fruit. 😄

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HanRead @hanreadapp

a month ago

@RnaudBertrand @ZhaiXiang5 What's fascinating is that it almost feels like a civilization that appeared out of nowhere. The greatest mystery is that it achieved such a sophisticated level of craftsmanship, yet left behind not a single written word.

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HanRead @hanreadapp

a month ago

@Noctisvelt Guanyin appears in many different forms and postures, each carrying a different symbolic meaning. The relaxed “royal ease” pose seen here is often associated with Water-Moon Guanyin, emphasizing contemplation, compassion, and spiritual tranquility rather than divine authority.

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HanRead @hanreadapp

a month ago

@Ausproperty95 Haha, you got it. Sometimes I stay home for days without cooking or even going outside and still live comfortably. What feels surreal to me is hearing “China is 20 years ahead.” When I was a child, I always read or heard that developed countries were 20–50 years ahead of China.

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HanRead @hanreadapp

a month ago

@DanangAW1996 @escapefrommelos In ancient China, jade was never just decoration or wealth. It became associated with virtue, ritual order, and spirituality. People also believed jade could preserve the body and connect the human world with something beyond death.

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HanRead @hanreadapp

a month ago

@thecyrusjanssen Gosh, this somehow brings back a deep sense of nostalgia for my childhood. It feels like stepping back into rural China in the 1980s — a slower world that’s gradually disappearing.

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HanRead @hanreadapp

a month ago

@TristanGBrown Born as emperor, grew lonely, lost an empire, became a puppet ruler, a prisoner, and finally an ordinary citizen — what a surreal life. After such rises and collapses, the fact that the last emperor still landed relatively peacefully almost feels like a kind of wisdom in itself.

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HanRead @hanreadapp

a month ago

Ancient Chinese often compresses enormous meaning into very few characters. 《左传》 writes: “周郑交质” At first glance, it simply means: “Zhou and Zheng exchanged hostages.” But something much deeper is hidden inside the wording...