Hi guys, trying to read this seal, to try to know who's the maker, anyone there that can shine a light?

So, there's a minor meme called "Be the American Japan believes you are!" Since memes are meant to spread, I'm stealing it and mutating it.   But it got me to thinking, what does this mean , exactly?   The Japan meme is just a bunch of funny photos of  a broad-chested, necktied politician called "Armstrong" who, true to his name, has strong arms and does a lot of strong man things and shouts a lot.  I mean, I'm an American, I've certainly heard my share of this, but I find myself at a loss here. I find myself doing something I don't do much of, getting philosophical. After all, I am an adult man who has pretty much decided that China is my life. It's replaced much of my personality such that I feel like a bore when talking with folks from back home because every topic just becomes "but in China blah blah blah" and I'm sure probably nobody cares.   But later this year I'm applying for my permanent residency and if I get that then it's on.   I'm not the kind of laowai who longs to be Chinese or says cringe stuff like 我是新中国人. I had already accepted that I'll never be Chinese and probably shouldn't want to be, either.  I had hit on the idea of "be the est   laowai you can  be" already.   And this is no joke. I am talking about a slogan and a thesis statement for life.  Well, my life, anyway.  I am a Texan, and one of the reasons I got into barbecue cooking was to be as stereotypical as possible, in the most positive way possible.  I mean, who doesn't like showing up to a backyard barbecue with mouthwatering meats cooked to perfection?  Well, besides the local laowai, who mostly no-showed after promising to attend over and over, which is one of the reasons I quit  doing them a while back.  It was just discouraging to go to all this work only to have people treat it like an unwanted chore they had to complete that day.   Chinese people liked it, sometimes.  And I liked doing it, it gave me a great way of paying people back for all the wonderful hospitality Chinese are famous for without it being overly familiar indoor cooking they might have been to shy to attend. And let's be honest, it's a roll of the dice to attend any random foreigner's home-cooked meal. I've had some food that I was promised was the best in the world only to find out that it was...well, edible.  But barbecue, everyone knows what that is.  And I got to be pretty danged good at it. Let's face it, meat and flame aren't really that hard to get right. Add a few techniques like brining or smoking and you've got a winner. But back to the point, what does "be the American China thinks you are" actually mean?  Or, perhaps a better question  would be "what would it mean to live your life in a way that fulfills (in a non-ridiculous, welcome way, positive Chinese stereotypes about Americans? I don't mean wear a cowboy hat every day and import a block-long Cadillac like Otto in " Fish Called  Wanda".  (although I did once know a Chinese man who did that).   Now that I think of it, Kevin Kline provides a good negative example of what I'm talking about. He was specifically cast in the movie to be an ass and an unsympathetic buttmonkey that the audience gets to feel superior to. Jamie Lee Curtis' lecture to him about the central message of Buddhism not being "every man for himself and the London Underground  not being a revolutionary movement resonated so well with Hollywood that Kevin Kline won a rare Best Supporting Actor Oscar for a comedic role.   I'm talking about the polar opposite of that.   And a follow-up question would be, what would I have to do to achieve these dual goals?   Be the best laowai I can be and be the American China expects me to be? 1. Get a lot better at Chinese, of course.  2. Study more about China, I do that too.   4. Shout a lot. Pass. 3. Be a big strong man. Well, all of us can use more physical fitness but if I was going to be a muscle man I could have been that by now, so I think we can strike this one off the list. Maybe I really should split this into two threads but I've talked enough already.   And for any of you who are wondering about what a weird question this is and if I have recently suffered a head injury?  Yes, you are right.  I recently had a concussion (I received prompt medical treatment and have mostly recovered, thank you!) and have been rather off lately.  But whatever, I am embracing the madness.   it's true, it really is liberating.  I can see why the Joker likes it so much. So if anyone has any good answers I would really appreciate them. Especially from this crowd, this site has got some of the best, most veteran posters of any discussion board of any kind I use.    

I'm making good progress on vocabulary learning and am now looking for Chinese internet slang. Anyone know where I can get a list of actually used colloquial or internet slang? I'm looking for commonly used slang for colloquial spoken Chinese (while trying to avoid slang like in English that is extremely outdated, regional, or just not actually used). 

Hey everyone,   I am a college student in the US planning to study abroad in China (maybe Taiwan) this summer. Due to scholarship and school restrictions I am really hoping to have program that runs sometime from Early June to late December (even early January). Being above 25 weeks long is important for scholarship reasons. I also need it to be an established program with a transcript and clear schedule with hours/week (no private tutors). Does anyone have recommendations of schools or programs. I really value good community and teachers who care their students. Last summer, I was at the international Chinese language program (ICLP). I really enjoyed my time there, but the price was a little bit high and I would like to try something new this summer (like a new country). I also want more of a work life balance this time. For this reason, I am pretty sure I don’t want to go to tsinghua or the IUP. The mandarin training center MTC at 师大seems like a good option, but I would still prefer to go to China. I also think a lot of places like silk Mandarin or LTL language school are way too expensive for me. I would prefer being in a somewhat urban environment so any tier 1 or tier 2 city would work. I am really big on speaking and engaging in class. I am currently looking at many of the universities in China like Peking university, Shanghai Jiaotong, Fudan university, and more. The issue is, I don’t think they have any summer programs though, or if they do, they are only 4 weeks long. I am looking for something like a summer and winter quarter back to back. I appreciate any and all suggestions! My DM‘s are also open if you have any personal experience that you want to share.

Hello friends of Chinese culture,   I dont know, if this is the right place for showing of my calligraphy, but i didnt find any real calligraphy forum in the english internet. It seems retarded for a Westerner to try calligraphy in a language you dont write and speak, but i decided a year ago to give it a try, because i´m very fascinated by Chinese culture, paintings and history. A year ago, i wanted to buy a calligraphy, but then i thought in my childish mind to do it myself saving money, because it must be kind of easy. Very bad mistake, but i´m still there practising!   But sadly no feedback given by any experts, because i´m from Germany and i dont know anyone who does Chinese calligraphy.   If anyone would kindly but honestly say something about the calligraphy i did recently, it would be very pleasant for me. Thank you.   Kind regards!   shak  

Perhaps a bit of an inverse to the questions typically asked here, but does anyone know what language learning apps are popular in China (for learning non-Chinese languages).   Context: Mother-in-law wants to pick up some basic Norwegian ("bokmål"). Need an app with a Chinese interface (doesn't speak English). Traditional and simplified characters are both fine, so is paid and free alternatives, Android and Apple.   Glossika could almost work (offers Traditional characters as interface language), but they unfortunately only offer "nynorsk" Norwegian.

Hello hello. I’m unsure if this would be an appropriate forum to ask for holiday related advice. My family and I are heading towards Zhangjiajie and I’m the only one who has debilitating fear of heights so I wonder if there are other activities in the area that are a bit more on flat lands and relaxing while my family visits the popular attractions? Thank you in advance and apologies if this is way off topic. 

Hi, I am a student at the University of the Arts London. I am doing research for my project. Rooted in hieroglyphics and a rich cultural history, Chinese characters present unique challenges to learners. While simplified characters are easier to write, they sometimes lose the hieroglyphic elements that help convey their original meaning. Traditional characters, on the other hand, retain more visual elements that help to understand the structure and meaning of the characters. The challenge in teaching Chinese is to find a balance between simplified and traditional characters to help learners better master both forms. I would like to ask for some of your thoughts on traditional Chinese characters and your cognitive understanding of the hieroglyphics in them, and I hope I can discuss them with you.

It's in the middle of a youtube videoe, The vloger walks by a russian street in china and a guy plays the song on harmonica, Here's a link : https://filebin.net/xbqj2wjmvoerzfti OR a link to the video it self https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ytKlz7hX-8 (Starts at 6:44)

I am building a website of Chinese Australian history and have a number of Chinese texts - newspapers, letters and temple boards - written in Classical and sometime various Pearl River Delta languages - Cantonese, Taishan, Long Du. Would anyone be interested in assisting helping to translates these? Please write to me at: Michael.Williams@westernsydney.edu.au  happy to discuss, Cheers, Michael