I am hosting another Chinese Corner this year on 28 July 2009 (Tuesday) at my place, because Scott is flying to Shandong at the end of this month. We would like to take this opportunity to wish Scott a good journey, and to welcome Dan back to Leamington Spa – after travelling in China for a month, I am sure he has some interesting stories to tell us.
Three months after I handed in the final draft, the book is finally published today. I hope somebody sends me a copy soon!
After 3 months and approximately 700 hours of obsessive working, I have finally finished my first book translation. Martha Quest by Doris Lessing will soon be available in Chinese, scheduled to be published in September 2008 by Nanjing University Press.
Today I have accepted a second project from the same publisher, and will soon start working on Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks.
(from Shanghai Daily)
ONE of the intangible artifacts of old Shanghai is very much alive. It’s yangjingbang English, the city’s first, snappy business lingo. You could use it to wrap up a deal, talk to the ayi or ask for a kai si – kiss, writes Pan Xiaoyi.
Ha pi” is a popular word among young people today. Pronounced in Shanghai dialect, it sounds like “happy” – it also means happy – and is a common example of fashionable pidgin English. It’s called yangjingbang English.
Yangjingbang English originated in the Yangjingbang area of old Shanghai, now Yan’an Road E. very close to the Bund. As a small tributary of the Huangpu River, Yangjingbang was insignificant. However, once it became the boundary between the bustling French Concession and British Concession in 1848, it became a household word.
That’s because of the mixture of English and Chinese for fast, snappy, short-hand communication that became known as yangjingbang English. Some was imported from Canton, with Indian and Portuguese influences. Shanghainese absorbed it and developed their own language.
Today yangjingbang – the city’s original business English – still turns up in daily life. The term can also refer to popular new words.
Terms include pai si (pass), ba shi (bus), shui men ting (cement), and re shui ting (steam).
Huang Aiguo, born in the 1950s, grew up near Yangjingbang area and recalls his father speaking yangjingbang English in Shanghai dialect. “He would say someone has a beautiful fan si (face) or she is such a mo deng (modern) lady.”
Yangjingbang flowed west from the Bund toward Zhoujin (now Xizang Road S.). It was called Yangjingbang because it flowed past the Yangjing Harbor. Many cargo ships and ferries from the suburbs anchored at Sanyangjing Bridge. Ships docked with cargoes from India, Japan, Europe and the United States; the freight was carried inland. Freight from south of the Yangtze River was shipped outward.
Business boomed. Foreign companies poured in: banks, bourses, trading companies, insurance companies, retailers of all kinds. Chinese companies prospered as well.
Chinese middlemen hustled along the riverbank and made business possible between Chinese and Westerners who spoke no Chinese. Compradors were the Chinese managers of big mercantile establishments.
Office clerks in foreign companies often talked a lot with brokers and suppliers in pidgin English. It combined English and Chinese elements to communicate between English and Chinese speakers.
Huang reminisces about his father who worked for Sincere & Co Ltd, one of the four famous department stores at that time.
“When my father played with us, he would say, ‘qing nong chi lan hu mian.’ Lan hu mian literally means over-cooked noodles. Pronounced in Shanghainese, it sounds like ‘love me.’ So qing nong chi lan hu mian means ‘Please love me.’
“Sometimes neighbors might say ‘I saw them da kai si (kiss)’ when gossiping about lovers,” he continues.
Pidgin English originated in Guangzhou (then Canton), the first Treaty Port and major trading center. At first foreign business men showed little interest in learning Chinese, and the Chinese government punished those who taught Chinese to foreigners.
Thus pidgin (the Cantonese pronunciation of “business”) came into being, effective business English that didn’t sweat the grammar or pronunciation.
After Shanghai was opened as one of five “Treaty Ports,” foreign businessmen swarmed in. Pidgin English developed into yangjingbang English, the coin of the commercial realm.
English speakers also used yangjingbang English with servants at home, waiters in hotels and restaurants, coolies (also yangjingbang English, from Chinese ku li meaning laborer) pulling rickshaws, and others. Children were cared for by Chinese amahs (ayi).
Local famed author Chen Danyan writes of yangjingbang English in her latest book (in Chinese), “Images and Legends of the Shanghai Bund.”
There was a joke that a chef told his mistress in yangjingbang English, “Twenty dollar one month, eat you, sleep you.” Actually he meant his employer should pay him US$20 a month and provide food and lodging.
Other interesting examples:
An expat returned home one day to find broken drinking glasses and asked his servant. “Inside zhi-zhi-zhi, outside miao-miao-miao, glass guang-lang-dang,” the man said. It turned out that the cat tried to catch the darting mouse and crashed into the glassware.
One day, the boss of a foreign firm asked his driver to buy a film ticket. The man returned empty-handed, saying: “People mountain people sea, today no see, tomorrow see, tomorrow see, same see.” It actually meant there was a huge crowd of people and tickets were sold out until the next day.
One foreigner took silk to a tailor and “localized” his English: “My have got one piece plenty handsome silk; my want you make one nice evening dress.” (Simply: “I have a very nice piece of silk and want you to make a nice evening dress.”)
Yangjingbang English is evolving as white collars are keen to coin their own words. For example, jia bei qing nong (deep feelings) refers to cappucino. If pronounced in Shanghai dialect, it sounds like “cappucino.”
Similarly, ai shi jia bei qing nong (love signifies deep feelings), means iced cappucino. Some are both humorous and vivid such as huo shi bi dao (bad things happen), for hospital in Shanghai dialect.
Chinglish translated directly from Shanghai dialect is also very popular among young people. For instance, “old three and old four” (lao san lao si), meaning being arrogant and “no three no four” (bu san bu si), meaning nonsense.
Though some terms are still widely used, not many people know the origins of yangjingbang English. The river itself has disappeared. When the river became too polluted, authorities in the French and British concessions decided to fill it in and pave over the waterway.
In 1915, the new road was named Avenue Eduard VII after the British monarch. Big buildings went up. In swarmed more business. Now, Yan’an Road is still the main downtown east-west road.
“I can still hear white collars walking out of their offices on Yan’an Road speaking yangjingbang English and mixing Chinese with English,” Huang says.
The old lingo lingers
Ang san (on sale)
Originally out-dated or low-quality goods, which deceived customers and led them to buy “bargains” that were “on sale.” It came to mean an outwardly good person who actually is mean-spirited.
Sometimes it refers to a difficult situation in which one tells lies to make it more acceptable to others.
Hun qiang shi (take a chance)
It is sometimes said that someone takes a chance, or is a risk-taker in doing careless work or being lazy and relying on others to do the job.
Sha gen (shocking)
Similar to “extremely.” Describes something that is very good, so good that it is startling.
Describing price, it indicates something extremely low.
Luo song tang (Russian soup, borscht)
Old Shanghainese called Russians luo song. After the October Revolution in 1917, many Russians fled to Shanghai.
They brought many products including luosong tang, luosong mianbao (Russian bread), luosong mao (Russian hat), among others.
The 12 Zodiac animal signs (生肖 shēng xiāo) are, in order, the rat 鼠, ox 牛, tiger 虎, rabbit 兔, dragon 龙, snake 蛇, horse 马, sheep (ram or goat) 羊, monkey 猴, rooster 鸡, dog 狗, and pig 猪. There are many legends to explain the beginning of the zodiac (see Origins of the Chinese Zodiac). One of the most popular reads, in summarized form, as follows:
The rat was given the task of inviting the animals to report to the Jade Emperor for a banquet to be selected for the zodiac signs. The cat was a good friend of the rat, but the rat tricked him into believing that the banquet was the next day. The cat slept through the banquet, thinking that it was the next day. When he found out, the cat vowed to be the rat’s natural enemy for ages to come. Interestingly, the cat does make it into the Vietnamese Zodiac, in place of the rabbit (see below).
Another popular legend has it that a race was used to decide the animals to report to the Jade Emperor.
The cat and the rat were the worst swimmers in the animal kingdom. Although bad swimmers, they were both intelligent. They decided that the best and fastest way to cross the river was to hop on the back of the ox. The ox, being a naïve and good-natured animal, agreed to carry them across. However, overcome with a fierce competitiveness, the rat decided that in order to win, it must do something and promptly pushed the cat into the river. Because of this, the cat has never forgiven the rat, and hates the water as well. After the ox had crossed the river, the rat jumped ahead and reached the shore first, and it claimed first place in the competition.
Following closely behind was the strong ox, and it was named the 2nd animal in the zodiac. After the ox, came the tiger, panting, while explaining to the Emperor just how difficult it was to cross the river with the heavy currents pushing it downstream all the time. But with powerful strength, it made to shore and was named the 3rd animal in the cycle.
Suddenly, from a distance came a thumping sound, and the rabbit arrived. It explained how it crossed the river: by jumping from one stone to another in a nimble fashion. Halfway through, it almost lost the race but the rabbit was lucky enough to grab hold of a floating log that later washed him to shore. For that, it became the 4th animal in the zodiac cycle. Coming in 5th place was the dragon, flying and belching fire into the air. Of course, the Emperor was deeply curious as to why a strong and flying creature such as the dragon should fail to reach first. The mighty dragon explained that he had to stop and make rain to help all the people and creatures of the earth, and therefore he was held back a little. Then, on his way to the finish line, he saw a little helpless rabbit clinging on to a log so he did a good deed and gave a puff of breath to the poor creature so that it could land on the shore. The Emperor was very pleased with the actions of the dragon, and he was added into the zodiac cycle. As soon as he had done so, a galloping sound was heard, and the horse appeared. Hidden on the horse’s hoof is the snake, whose sudden appearance gave the horse a fright, thus making it fall back and gave the snake 6th spot while the horse took the 7th.
Not long after that, a little distance away, the ram, monkey and rooster came to the shore. These three creatures helped each other to get to where they are. The rooster spotted a raft, and took the other two animals with it. Together, the ram and the monkey cleared the weeds, tugged and pulled and finally got the raft to the shore. Because of their combined efforts, the Emperor was very pleased and promptly named the ram as the 8th creature, the monkey as the 9th, and the rooster the 10th.
The 11th animal is the dog. His explanation for being late—although he was supposed to be the best swimmer amongst the rest—was that he needed a good bath after a long spell, and the fresh water from the river was too big a temptation. For that, he almost didn’t make it to finish line. Just as the Emperor was about to call it a day, an oink and squeal was heard from a little pig. The pig got hungry during the race, promptly stopped for a feast and then fell asleep. After the nap, the pig continued the race and was named the 12th and last animal of the zodiac cycle. The cat finished too late (thirteenth) to win any place in the calendar, and vowed to be the enemy of the rat forevermore.
PS: If you know the order of the zodiac animals, and if you are curious about someone’s age, the easiest question is: 你属什么？nǐ shǔ shénme? Because no one can resist a discussion about Chinese animals.
The Chinese in ancient times found out that the Winter Solstice was the shortest day in a year, after which the sun begins its slow return to the North. The lunar Chinese new year will only be one month and a half away from the Winter Solstice.
There may be two reasons why the Chinese hold celebrations on this day. One, is that after a hard working year, farmers always take a rest to enjoy their bountiful harvest. The second reason has to do with the theory of Yin and Yang. In Chinese philosophy, Yin symbolizes the feminine and negative qualities of the universe while Yang the masculine and positive. It is dialectical and dynamic in a sense. When something has reached one extreme, it will turn to the oposite. On the day of the Winter Solstice, the Yin is at its peak with the longest night. From then on, it will give way to the light and warmth of Yang. And the Chinese consider it a right time for optimism and joy.
It used to be a grandiose ceremony for rulers in ancient history. The emperor would worship heaven and ancestors with the court officials’ companion and troops stationed around. Colorful flags would flap stiffly in the north wind. The sound of pipes and drums would echo in the brightly decorated streets.
To the common people, the Winter Solstice meant a happy get-together. They would put on their best clothes, visit friends and celebrate it late into the longest night. Food plays an important part in the festivities. But the custom varies from place to place. In the chilly northen part, people eat mutton and dog meat, which are able to bring warmth to the body and dispel the cold. Noodles are popular in the inland areas, while Tangyuan, a kind of stuffed dumpling made of glutinous rice and served in soup, is widely liked in the southen part.
Since the pace of living has become faster and people are now busier, some customs have fallen into oblivion. But quite a few have been handed down also, such as the old ‘cold dispelling’ song. Before the translation is presented, something has to be made clear. From the Winter Solstice to the spring are a total of 81 days, which are divided into nine nine-day periods. And the day of the Winter Solstice marks the beginning of the first period. Here is the ‘cold dispelling’ song.
The first and second ‘nine days’ are so cold
That we dare not hold out our hands,
Stray cats and dogs freeze to death
During the third and fourth ‘nine days,’
The fifth and sixth ‘nine days’ see a thin veil of green
On the far bank of the river,
The rivers thaw during the seventh ‘nine days,’
The eighth ‘nine days’ welcome the wild geese back,
Winter finally draws to an end in the last ‘nine days,’
When bright blossoms and flowers smile in warm spring.
Since people have to stay indoors in the freezing cold weather, many kinds of entertainment have been invented to help pass the time. One is painting to welcome spring. On the Winter Solstice, people hang an unfinished painting on the wall, which contains a plum tree and 81 uncolored flowers. Everyday a flower is painted red and when the whole work is done, the bright blossoms indoors will meet the early bursting buds outside the window. Another activity is calligraphy which offers the same result. People write a line of an old poem on a vertically hung scroll, which means the weeping willow in the courtyard treasures the valuable spring time the most. In Chinese, it contains nine characters and each with nine strokes. The elderly will tell the children to write one stroke everyday. It has proven effective to teach them words and to train their patience at the same time.
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa122200a.htm
by Hao Zhuo
… And what is this line from an old poem? It’s 亭前垂柳珍重待春风 and it only works with traditional characters, so the last character 风 should be written as 風.
中国人说：冬至大如年。所以在这里送上冬天的问候。
A chat with my Cantonese-speaking friend Tina yesterday reminded me of a tongue twister that I learnt as a child. It goes like this: 红凤凰, 粉凤凰, 粉红凤凰, 黄凤凰, which literally means “red phoenix, pink phoenix, pink red phoenix, yellow phoenix”.
It is especially hard for southerners who can’t differentiate the “f/h” or “en/eng” sounds, and the tones pose a problem for English speakers too.
Fancy a challenge? Try the version with pinyin below:
hóng fèng huáng, fěn fèng huáng, fěn hóng fèng huáng, huáng fèng huáng
红 凤 凰， 粉 凤 凰， 粉 红 凤 凰， 黄 凤 凰。
静夜思
床前明月光，
疑是地上霜。
举头望明月，
低头思故乡。
静夜思 by the Tang poet, 李白 (Li Bai) is probably the first poem every Chinese learns. Last week, I saw it again in Peter’s textbook, and decided to check up its English translation. Surprisingly, I found nine versions:
I. In the Still of the Night
I descry bright moonlight in front of my bed.
I suspect it to be hoary frost on the floor.
I watch the bright moon, as I tilt back my head.
I yearn, while stooping, for my homeland more.
(Translated by 徐忠杰)
II. A Tranquil Night
A bed, I see a silver light,
I wonder if it’s frost aground.
Looking up, I find the moon bright;
Bowing, in homesickness I’m drowned.
(Translated by 许渊冲译)
III. In the Quiet Night
So bright a gleam on the foot of my bed—
Could there have been a frost already?
Lifting my head to look, I found that it was moonlight.
Sinking back again, I thought suddenly of home.
(Translated by Witter Bynner)
IV. Night Thoughts
I wake, and moonbeams play around my bed,
Glittering like hoar-frost to my wandering eyes;
Up towards the glorious moon I raise my head,
Then lay me down – and thoughts of home arise.
( Translated by Herbert A. Giles)
V. On a Quiet Night
I saw the moonlight before my couch,
And wondered if it were not the frost on the ground.
I raised my head and looked out on the mountain moon,
I bowed my head and thought of my far-off home.
(Translated by S. Obata)
VI. The Moon Shines Everywhere
Seeing the moon before my couch so bright
I thought hoar frost had fallen from the night.
On her clear face I gaze with lifted eyes:
Then hide them full of Youth’s sweet memories.
(Translated by W.J.B. Fletcher)
VII. Night Thoughts
In front of my bed the moonlight is very bright.
I wonder if that can be frost on the floor?
I lift up my head and look at the full moon, the dazzling moon.
I drop my head, and think of the home of old days.
(Translated by Amy Lowell)
VIII. Thoughts on a Tranquil Night
Athwart the bed
I watch the moonbeams cast a trail
So bright, so cold, so frail,
That for a space it gleams
Like hoarfrost on the margin of my dreams.
The splendid moon I see:
Then droop my head,
And sink to dreams of thee -
My father land , of thee!
(Translated by L.Cranmer-Byng)
IX. Nostalgia
A splash of white on my bedroom floor. Hoarfrost?
I raise my eyes to the moon, the same noon.
As scenes long past come to mind, my eyes fall again on the splash of white, and my heart aches for home.
(Translated by 翁显良译)
I like 许渊冲’s version the most, especially the last sentence “Bowing, in homesickness I’m drowned”. Which one is your favourite?
As I looked for the English translation for 象形字 (Pictograph), 会意字 (Sense Conjunction) and 形声字 (Signific-phonetic Compound), I came across an interesting article about “人” published on “The World of Chinese” website, and would like to share with all of you: http://www.cp.com.cn/emd/26/newsdetail.cfm?iCntno=3875
It is interesting to find out that signific-phonetic compound characters count for over 90% of all characters. As a 形声字 often has a radical that indicates its meaning and a component that indicates its pronunciation, the Chinese often say: 中国字念半边，不会错上天 (if you pronounce half of a Chinese character, it can’t be ridiculously wrong). However, don’t overdo it, as there are too many exceptions. If you pronounce “创” as “仓”, or “绽” as “定”, I am sure people will start laughing and call you a “白字先生” (Mr. Illiterate).