四世同堂 / Si Shi Tong Tang

四世同堂 / Si Shi Tong Tang -- Four Generations Under One Roof by Lao She 1957; Four Generations of Americans Study Mandarin in Panda Land by Judy Wang Bedell 2009.

On a rare sunny day this month, I walked into downtown Salem, where I saw the owner of the Lotus Gift shop setting up her shopping cart with traditional Chinese children’s outfits. She is a well known and respected Chinese lady in Salem. I said hello to her and told her about my new endeavor of teaching Mandarin Chinese. She was very interested and asked who was learning Chinese from me. I told her that this summer I started to teach a girl age 3, a gentleman age 77, and others of many ages in between. She exclaimed with a big smile: “Oh, you teach 4 generations!” I felt so delighted and took that as the best compliment. Only a Chinese would praise my teaching in this way since a family of 4 generations would be considered a very happy, prosperous family.

The phrase of “Si Shi Tong Tang” echoed in my head. Si Shi Tong Tang was a novel by a famous Chinese writer, Lao She, describing the life of the Chinese during the Japanese Occupation. I am tempted to adopt this phrase to describe my students in Panda Land (Panda Land’s Chinese name is 熊猫学堂/Xiong Mao Xue Tang) as四世同堂 / Si Shi Tong Tang--four generations of Americans study in Panda Land.

Panda Land Children Love to Draw and Write

In the spring, nine young children studied Chinese with joy. They love to draw and write. They love to sing and play. They have learned the basic greetings and simple dialogs. They have also learned to count to one hundred and to one thousand. Some of the older ones have learned to recite the times table in Chinese. I am so proud of them!

Happy Achievers

I remember back when I was in school, feeling a sense of great achievement after the intense period of final exams, walking with delighted footsteps and enjoying the beautiful trees and flowers of spring. This week, I shared a similar sense of happy achievement with the children in Panda Land.

This week nine children, boys and girls, received their certificates for completing Level 1 of Panda Land Chinese. With one class, we had a lunch party. Children enjoyed authentic Chinese food and wonderful American delights while watching a Chinese “Monkey King” movie and playing Chinese checkers. In another class with girls from China, we had ice cream sundaes and a certificate presentation with the parents to celebrate the children’s achievement.

Congratulations to the lovely children. Thanks to everyone who has supported Panda Land!