Talking Psychedelics in Mandarin ft. Zhifei Zhang: What ABCs Actually Need to Know | Real You Mandarin Podcast EP16

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When Zhifei Zhang and I sat down to talk about psychedelics and self-growth, we both knew this was going to be one of those conversations most people have never had in Chinese. Not just because it's taboo in conservative Eastern culture, but also because most of us simply don't have the vocabulary for it. So we went there.

Why This Conversation Matters

This episode is a great example of why Real You Mandarin exists. As American-Born Chinese (ABCs) and American-Born Taiwanese (ABTs), so many of us have had profound personal experiences that have shaped who we are as adults. Self-growth, therapy, spirituality, psychedelics. These are topics we can talk about in English with nuance and depth. But in Mandarin, we don't even know where to start. This episode gives you a window into what it sounds like when a heritage speaker tries to have a deep, honest conversation about this stuff in Chinese.

Zhifei is a Chinese teacher and the creator of Xiaogua Chinese, a YouTube channel that features tons of amazing Chinese listening content for intermediate and advanced learners. She's also someone who's genuinely passionate about 自我成長 / 自我成长 / zì wǒ chéng zhǎng / self-growth and 靈修 / 灵修 / líng xiū / spirituality, which made this conversation feel less like a podcast recording and more like two friends sharing about themselves over tea.

From Self-Growth to Psychedelics

The episode starts with the broader topic of self-growth and what led each of us down that path. For Zhifei, it was her boyfriend who introduced her to self-growth workshops and events. She admits she initially found his relentless optimism annoying, but over time, she started attending Tony Robbins events with him and gradually got drawn into self-growth and spirituality. For me, the trigger point was more direct. My first experience with MDMA in a therapeutic setting, guided by a therapist who was also a shaman, completely shifted how I understood myself and my relationships.

What I appreciated about this conversation was how honest we both were. Zhifei shared an incredibly personal story about taking a larger dose of psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and having an experience where she felt her late grandfather's spirit enter her body. For about two hours, she spoke in third person as her grandfather, delivering messages to herself and her boyfriend about taking care of her mother. She said that experience fundamentally changed her relationship with her mom. She went from seeing herself as the daughter to feeling like the parent, carrying her grandfather's love forward.

The Cultural Gap Around This Topic

One thing we noticed during the conversation is how uncommon it is to use a neutral Chinese word for psychedelics in everyday life. In Chinese, the default term is 毒品 / dú pǐn, which just means "drugs," with all the negative connotation that carries. This cultural and linguistic gap is part of what makes having this conversation in Mandarin so challenging, and so important. The more specific term is 迷幻劑 / 迷幻剂 / mí huàn jì / psychedelics, but even Zhifei, a native speaker, had to look it up. That tells you something about how rarely this topic gets discussed in Chinese.

Shoutout to Zhifei Zhang, check out her channel Xiaogua Chinese on YouTube for Chinese listening content at different levels.

Key Vocab From This Episode

自我成長 / 自我成长 | zì wǒ chéng zhǎng (self-growth)

靈修 / 灵修 | líng xiū (spirituality / spiritual practice)

心理諮商 / 心理咨询 | xīn lǐ zī shāng (therapy / counseling)

創傷 / 创伤 | chuàng shāng (TW) / chuāng shāng (CH) (trauma)

治癒 / 治愈 | zhì yù (to heal)

啟發 / 启发 | qǐ fā (insight / enlightenment / to inspire)

靈魂 / 灵魂 | líng hún (soul / spirit)

觸發點 / 触发点 | chù fā diǎn (trigger point)

迷幻劑 / 迷幻剂 / mí huàn jì (psychedelics)

These are all words from the actual episode, not textbook vocabulary, but the kind of words that come up when you're talking about real life in Mandarin.

Ready to Go Deeper?

If this episode resonated with you and you want to go deeper, this is exactly the kind of content we cover in our course Real You Mandarin: Self-Expression. It's 5 modules, 43 video lessons, and 1300+ flashcards covering everything from expressing your emotions and navigating interpersonal relationships to parenting, aging parents, and self-growth. Basically, all the conversations that actually matter in your life.

Not sure if it's for you yet? Try a free lesson first. No commitment, just a taste of what learning Mandarin can feel like when the content is actually relevant to your life.

Get the Full Transcript

Want the full transcript of this episode in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Pinyin, and English with key vocab highlighted? Check out our Podcast Transcript Membership. Or download the free EP1 transcript to see what it's like.

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