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MandarinClips Authentic Chinese Cinema Corpus

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Search 180,000+ authentic Chinese cinema clips, HSK grammar, and expressions for TCSL educators.

Source code Website Documentation

Install

Add this to your client's MCP configuration (Claude Desktop: claude_desktop_config.json; Cursor: .cursor/mcp.json; VS Code and others use the same "mcpServers" shape).

Remote (sse)
Claude Code 
claude mcp add --transport sse mandarinclips-authentic-chinese-cinema-c 'https://www.mandarinclips.com/mcp'
JSON configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code) 
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "mandarinclips-authentic-chinese-cinema-c": {
            "type": "sse",
            "url": "https://www.mandarinclips.com/mcp"
        }
    }
}
NPM package mandarinclips-mcp
Claude Code 
claude mcp add mandarinclips-authentic-chinese-cinema-c -e 'MANDARINCLIPS_API_KEY=<your mandarinclips_api_key>' -- npx -y mandarinclips-mcp@1.1.0
JSON configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code) 
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "mandarinclips-authentic-chinese-cinema-c": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "mandarinclips-mcp@1.1.0"
            ],
            "env": {
                "MANDARINCLIPS_API_KEY": "<your mandarinclips_api_key>"
            }
        }
    }
}

Environment variables

  • MANDARINCLIPS_API_KEY secret Optional API Key for elevated quota. Get your free key at https://www.mandarinclips.com/account

Documentation

From the project's README on GitHub, refreshed weekly. Links open on GitHub.

Contents
  1. MandarinClips MCP Server 🎬
  2. 🌟 Why MandarinClips MCP?
  3. 🚀 Quickstart: Setup with Claude Desktop
  4. 🧰 Available Tools
  5. 🎯 Example Prompts to Try in Claude
  6. 🔑 Tiered Daily Quotas
  7. 🏛️ Ecosystem & Links
  8. 📄 License

MandarinClips MCP Server 🎬

Official Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for MandarinClips — the linguistic cinema corpus designed for Chinese language educators (TCSL) and advanced learners.

Seamlessly connect Claude Desktop, Cursor, and AI agents directly to a database of 180,000+ authentic Chinese movie and television dialogue snippets, complete with native audio citations, HSK 3.0 grammar formulas, and real-world pragmatic subtexts.

🌟 Why MandarinClips MCP?

Traditional textbooks teach sterile Chinese dialogues. Real native speech is packed with subtle cultural subtext, conversational hedging, and colloquial idioms.

This MCP server empowers LLMs to design authentic, cinema-backed Chinese lesson plans, exercises, and vocabulary guides:

  • Authentic Cinema Context: Real video turn sequences (previous, target, and succeeding lines) instead of robotic machine-generated sentences.
  • Pedagogical Indexing: Search by HSK 3.0 level (1 to 7-9), syntactic grammar patterns, or pragmatic social scenarios (e.g., polite refusals, workplace disputes).
  • Direct Markdown Citations: Every retrieved example automatically embeds an authentic scene link pointing directly to MandarinClips.

🚀 Quickstart: Setup with Claude Desktop

Add this configuration to your Claude Desktop config file:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
1. Anonymous / Free Tier (Default)

Run directly via npx with zero installation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mandarinclips": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mandarinclips-mcp"]
    }
  }
}
2. With API Key (Elevated Quota)

To get 8 free queries per day or unlimited Pro access, obtain your API key from your MandarinClips Account Dashboard:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mandarinclips": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mandarinclips-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "MANDARINCLIPS_API_KEY": "mc_live_your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop, and you will see the MandarinClips tools ready in the toolbar!

🧰 Available Tools

Tool NameDescriptionParameters
search_cinema_clipsSearch 180,000+ real movie dialogues by Chinese characters, Pinyin, or English topics.query (str), hsk_level (opt int 1-7), limit (opt int 1-20)
get_grammar_guideRetrieve structural sentence formulas and real dialogue examples for a grammar pattern.slug (e.g., 'hai-shi-ba', 'lian-dou')
get_expression_guideLook up colloquial idioms, slang, and cultural nuances in cinematic contexts.slug (e.g., 'hai-shi-suan-le-ba', 'bu-de-bu')
get_hsk_vocabularyRetrieve official HSK 3.0 vocabulary lists with definitions and linked video counts.level (int 1-7), page (opt int), limit (opt int)
get_word_detailDetailed dictionary profile of a Chinese character/word, showing linked cinema clips.slug (e.g., 'ai-6', 'zuo-tian')

🎯 Example Prompts to Try in Claude

  • "Design a 45-minute lesson plan for HSK 3 students on the '还是…吧' structure. Use MandarinClips to find 3 real movie dialogue examples."
  • "Give me 5 authentic video examples showing how native Chinese speakers politely refuse an invitation in daily life."
  • "Extract Level 2 HSK words related to food, provide pinyin, definitions, and link their video citations."

🔑 Tiered Daily Quotas

MandarinClips enforces fair-use daily quotas:

  • Anonymous (No API Key): 3 queries / day (per IP address).
  • Free Account: 8 queries / day. Get your free API key.
  • Pro Subscribers: Unlimited queries & high-speed exports via Patreon.
  • Educators & Professors: Apply for a complimentary 3-month Pro license via the Academic Access Program.

📄 License

MIT License © 2026 MandarinClips Team.

Frequently asked questions

What is MandarinClips Authentic Chinese Cinema Corpus?

Search 180,000+ authentic Chinese cinema clips, HSK grammar, and expressions for TCSL educators.

How do I install MandarinClips Authentic Chinese Cinema Corpus?

It runs as a remote server. In Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport sse mandarinclips-authentic-chinese-cinema-c 'https://www.mandarinclips.com/mcp'. For other clients, paste the JSON configuration from this page into their MCP settings.

Does MandarinClips Authentic Chinese Cinema Corpus need an API key?

Yes. It expects MANDARINCLIPS_API_KEY, which you set in its configuration.

Is MandarinClips Authentic Chinese Cinema Corpus open source?

Yes. Its code is on GitHub under the MIT license.

Who maintains MandarinClips Authentic Chinese Cinema Corpus?

It is published by IndexFlowing. AI.tn lists it but does not maintain or endorse it.

From the official MCP Registry. Listing is not an endorsement: review a server's code and permissions before giving it access to your data.