Hey Google! Make Pinyin and Wade-Giles the Same
/I've been trying to figure out how to increase my Google page ranking. I believe I have more explanatory articles on Internal Martial Arts then any other site. (Some people may dispute my authority on the subject or the quality of my writing, but the content is there.) I've written a lot on Chinese Martial Arts, certainly Chinese Martial Arts History, and I know I'm the top site for the connection between Daoism and Martial Arts.
Yahoo and MSN put me near the top but nobody uses them. The newest search engines like Bing and Spezify aren't any better than Google.
So I watched a video recently on my Wordpress Dashboard RSS. It was a guy from Google talking about how to increase your page rank using Wordpress, which I use. Please, if you have a blog or a website that relates to this blog, link to me, I will return the favor. I think a lack of high use links is a big factor in my low page ranking but there is a bigger one and it's Google's fault, not ours.
Still it's my problem.
When I first started writing this blog I played around with different spellings and transliteration of words. But I quickly made the decision to use Pinyin almost exclusively. Why? Because nearly all scholarly works use it. Mainland Chinese use it. And because the Library of Congress uses it. I just figured the search engines would eventually figure out what Librarians figured out how to do with a CARD CATALOG centuries ago. Also, Pinyin is more common among people who have had at least an introductory course in Chinese language.
Here are the Pinyin transliterations for the terms I regularly use on my blog:
Jing, Qi, Gongfu, Baguazhang, Taijiquan, Daoism, Xingyiquan, Qigong, Tuishou, Jindan, Zuowang, Daodejing, Zhuangzi, Laozi, Yijing, Zhengyi, Liuhe, Beijing
Here are the Wade-Giles transliterations:
Ching, Chi, Kung Fu, Pa Kua Ch'ang, T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Taoism, H'sing-i, Chi Kung, Twai Shou, Chin Tan, T'so Wang, Tao Te Ching, Chuang Tsu`, Lao Tsu`, I-Ching, Cheng-i, Luo He?, Pei King
I guess the Pinyin just looks better to me.
Those two word lists mean exactly the same thing and should turn up exactly the same search results. But they don't.
So many other people have hated the Wade-Giles system that they have just made up some word poop:
Lao-tse, Ba Qua Chang, Tai Chi, Chi Gung.
I honestly don't give a lizards tit about transliteration, "Tai Chi" is fine with me. But it is annoying to have to use different transliterations systems for each word in a single essay, it is even more annoying to have to do what that stupid Google video suggested:
Or I can do this:
Alternately I can go back over all 530 posts of my blog and add tons of keywords and tags.
And just to add to the silliness, my Wordpress editor is still telling me Daoism is not a word!
If I was a programmer maybe I could write the code to fix this myself.
Full Disclosure: I own a hunk of Google stock, I would be really happy if they took their head out of their arse (ass, azz, but, butt, buttocks, booty, bootie, bum, backside, bottom, behind).
UPDATE: I have now added an explanation of the problem to my sidebar. Google, if you are reading this, please consider having me teach Tai Chi at your home office. Thanks.
Yahoo and MSN put me near the top but nobody uses them. The newest search engines like Bing and Spezify aren't any better than Google.
So I watched a video recently on my Wordpress Dashboard RSS. It was a guy from Google talking about how to increase your page rank using Wordpress, which I use. Please, if you have a blog or a website that relates to this blog, link to me, I will return the favor. I think a lack of high use links is a big factor in my low page ranking but there is a bigger one and it's Google's fault, not ours.
Still it's my problem.
When I first started writing this blog I played around with different spellings and transliteration of words. But I quickly made the decision to use Pinyin almost exclusively. Why? Because nearly all scholarly works use it. Mainland Chinese use it. And because the Library of Congress uses it. I just figured the search engines would eventually figure out what Librarians figured out how to do with a CARD CATALOG centuries ago. Also, Pinyin is more common among people who have had at least an introductory course in Chinese language.
Here are the Pinyin transliterations for the terms I regularly use on my blog:
Jing, Qi, Gongfu, Baguazhang, Taijiquan, Daoism, Xingyiquan, Qigong, Tuishou, Jindan, Zuowang, Daodejing, Zhuangzi, Laozi, Yijing, Zhengyi, Liuhe, Beijing
Here are the Wade-Giles transliterations:
Ching, Chi, Kung Fu, Pa Kua Ch'ang, T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Taoism, H'sing-i, Chi Kung, Twai Shou, Chin Tan, T'so Wang, Tao Te Ching, Chuang Tsu`, Lao Tsu`, I-Ching, Cheng-i, Luo He?, Pei King
I guess the Pinyin just looks better to me.
Those two word lists mean exactly the same thing and should turn up exactly the same search results. But they don't.
So many other people have hated the Wade-Giles system that they have just made up some word poop:
Lao-tse, Ba Qua Chang, Tai Chi, Chi Gung.
I honestly don't give a lizards tit about transliteration, "Tai Chi" is fine with me. But it is annoying to have to use different transliterations systems for each word in a single essay, it is even more annoying to have to do what that stupid Google video suggested:
I love Tai Chi. I practice this internal art form everyday. Taijiquan is a good way to stay healthy. When you are old and talk like a frog, you can still practice T'ai Chi, because Tai Qi is so good for you. Tai Chi Chuan is also a martial art that is good for self-defense. T'ai Chi Ch'uan contains many secret powerful fighting techniques!
Or I can do this:
I love Taijiquan (also called T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Tai Chi, T'ai Qi, Tai Chi Chuan, Taichi-quan).
Alternately I can go back over all 530 posts of my blog and add tons of keywords and tags.
And just to add to the silliness, my Wordpress editor is still telling me Daoism is not a word!
If I was a programmer maybe I could write the code to fix this myself.
Full Disclosure: I own a hunk of Google stock, I would be really happy if they took their head out of their arse (ass, azz, but, butt, buttocks, booty, bootie, bum, backside, bottom, behind).
UPDATE: I have now added an explanation of the problem to my sidebar. Google, if you are reading this, please consider having me teach Tai Chi at your home office. Thanks.
