Lost in Chinese / Found in Translation.

Chinese Myth – Nuwa Created Human.女娲造人

2010-10-09T23:47:00.000-07:00

In every culture there is one Goddess that stands out among all else and in the Chinese culture it is Nuwa 女娲 Nǚwā . The Earth created by Pangu 盘古 Pángǔ (see post: Pangu Created the Universe. ) was a lonely and uninhabited place. Nuwa came down to live in it but was lonely as she was the only goddess on earth.

One day, she came across a crystal clear pond. When she saw her own reflection in the water, it occurred to her to make a figure of herself from the clay by the pond. When it was placed on the ground, she was delighted when it came to life and jumped around her. Whereupon, she continued to make many more figures and they all danced round her and called her “mother”. They then dispersed to populate the land.

But the earth is vast and boundless, and she tires of sculpting them by hand. So she grabbed a vine, dipped it into the mud and flicked drops of mud into the ground. These too came to life and became human. This way, she was able to make countless human who scattered to all parts of the earth and she was no longer lonely. As human is mortal, she taught them matrimonial relationship so they could bear children and continued the propagation of the human race. This is the reason why the Chinese will tell you that it is Nuwa who created human 女娲造人 Nǚwā zàorén . And why in the second month of every lunar year, thousands of Chinese will pray to her for love and fertility.

The Cruelty of the Nine-Tailed Fox Daji - 妲己

2010-10-03T01:46:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post (千字文 – Line 13), it was mentioned that it was the beautiful concubine Daji 妲己 who caused the downfall of the Shang dynasty. King Zhou conquered the state of Yousu 有蘇 yǒusū and took Daji as his prize (be careful of what you win). He became extremely besotted with her beauty and lost all interest in state affairs but instead caters to her every whims and extreme cruelty to amuse her.

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She is said to derive great joy at hearing people cry in physical torment. She ordered a farmer’s feet to be cut off so she can study why he can withstand crossing icy water. And a pregnant women’s belly to be cut open to see if her guess of the sex of the baby is correct. To verify an ancient saying that "a good man's heart has seven apertures", she even had the heart of the minister Bi Gan (King Zhou's uncle) dug out.

She is claimed to have invented many instruments of torture, the most famous of which is the bronze toaster or Paoluo 炮烙 páoluò. The poor victim is tied to this twenty feed tall charcoal heated cylinder and fried alive. Another of her invention is the snake pit where victims are thrown into a pit of venomous snakes and spiders. His own people disgusted with these acts of cruelty, revolted against King Zhou’s tyranny and supported King Wu of Zhou when he attacked. Daji was executed on the order of King Wu on the advice of Jiang Ziya (see last post).

In the novel Fengshen Yanyi 封神演义 fēngshényǎnyì translated as “The Investiture of the Gods” or “The Creation of the Gods”, Daji was a nine-tailed fox spirit Huli jing 狐狸精 . In it, King Zhou visited an ancient temple of the Goddess Nuwa 女娲; nǚwā, he insulted the Goddess when he expressed his lust for her. Nuwa sent Daji, the ten thousand year vixen, a nine-headed pheasant spirit and jade pipa spirit to bewitch the king and hasten his downfall. There were many other interesting tales in this novel. In the end, Daji was condemned by Nuwa herself because of her extreme cruelty. This is the most famous Chinese classic tale of how a beauty caused the downfall of an empire and you can have either the historical or fairy tale version.

Fishing Without Hook. 太公钓鱼

2010-09-30T08:14:00.000-07:00

In the last post we mentioned the capable Zhou minister Jiang Ziya 姜子牙 Jiāng Zǐyá who is more popularly known as Tai Gong Wang 太公望 Tàigōng Wàng because of the proverb 太公钓鱼 Tàigōng diàoyú , 愿者上钩 yuànzhě shànggōu。It means: "When Taigong fishes, the fish willingly take the bait."

Tai Gong once served the King of Shang but came to hate him for his tyrannical ways. He hoped that one day, someone would call upon his service to overthrow the king. Meanwhile, he waited patiently until he was 80 years old fishing in a tributary of the Wei River with a line but no hook and the line above the water. He waited until King Wen of Zhou came to seek his service and appointed him as the prime minister. He gave him the title of Jiang Taigongwang or “The Gread Duke’s Hope”. His faith was rewarded when Taigong helped his son to defeat the Shang emperor (see last post).

He was also created with writing the first military strategy book - The Six Secret Strategic Teachings (六韬 liùtāo ). It is considered as one of ancient China's Seven Military Classics.

Console The People By Punishing The Wicked. Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Line 13.

2010-09-26T01:13:00.000-07:00

吊民伐罪, 周发殷汤。
Diàomín fázuì, zhōufā yīntāng。

吊 (console) 民 (people) 伐 (attack) 罪 (crime)

Oops, I did it again. This is the correct line 13 while the last post was actually line 14. Sorry ya. This phrase means consoling the people by punishing the wicked. Evelyn Lip said this is recorded in the Book of Mencius (BC 372-289) 孟子 Mèngzǐ . Mencius was a philosopher and Confucian scholar. Mencius felt that the Emperor should relieved the people’s hardship by eliminating corrupt and oppressive officials.

周 (circumference) 发 (emit) 殷 (rich) 汤 (soup)

Although I have put the individual meanings for the 4 characters above, they actually referred to names of supposedly good rulers who overthrew tyrants. King Wu of Zhou (1046-1043 BC) 周武王 zhōu wŭ wáng also known as 周发 Zhōufā defeated the last Shang king Di Xin 帝辛 in the “Battle of Wild Herds” 牧野之戰 mùyězhīzhàn where the tyrant’s own soldiers and slaves changed sides to fought against him. King Wu was assisted by his able prime minister and strategist Jiang Ziya 姜子牙 Jiāng Zǐyá.

It was said that King Di Xin was a good king until he became besotted with his cruel and evil concubine Daji 妲己 Dájǐ. This became the most famous Chinese tale of how a beauty caused the downfall of an empire. I will write more about this bewitching beauty in the near future.

Yin Tang (1675 BC-1646 BC) 殷汤 yīntāng refers to King Cheng Tang of Shang dynasty who became the first emperor of the Shang dynasty when he defeated King Jie 桀 Jié, the last ruler of the Xia dynasty 夏朝 Xià Cháo. According to one story, King Jie was corrupted by his infatuation with his concubine Mo Xi (妺喜; mòxǐ), another cruel beauty. She got the king to make a lake of wine and commanded 3,000 men to drink it dry and laughed when they all drowned. Both kingdoms brought down by a beautiful woman and it is ironic that the Shang dynasty rose and fell because of a beautiful woman.

The Way of the Emperor. Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Line 13.

2010-09-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

坐朝问道, 垂拱平章。
zuò cháo wèn dào, chuí gǒng píng zhāng。

坐 (sit) 朝 (imperial court) 问 (ask) 道 (way),

This phrase implied the emperor sitting down, presiding over the imperial court and asked his ministers for feedback on the governing of the country. Evelyn Lip suggest that this may refer to the administrative style of King Wen of Zhou Dynasty who based his rule on the feedback of his feudal lords but there is no concrete evidence to support that.

垂 (droop) 拱 (clasping hands) 平 (just) 章 (regulations)。

The country thus run will be ruled in peace due to the just rules that took into consideration the benefits of the people. The drooping clothes of ancient Chinese ministers and the clasping hands is a symbolism for peace and thus signifies easy reign for the emperor.

Chinese Myth - Pangu Created the Universe. 盘古开天辟地

2010-09-18T07:27:00.000-07:00

The proverb 开天辟地 kāitiān-pìdì means the creation of the world. It also means “since the beginning of time”. Chinese legend told a tale of how the universe was created. In the beginning, the universe was a formless chaos which coalesced into a cosmic egg. Pangu 盘古 Pángǔ , (see post: Dragon Master, Fire King, Bird Officials & The Yellow Emperor) the ancestor of mankind was conceived inside this “egg” for 18,000 years.

One day, he woke up and was enraged that he could see nothing in the darkness. He created a giant axe from his breathe and broke the egg. Thereupon, all light and clear things floated up to form the sky while heavy and turbid things sank and coagulated into the earth. Afraid that the sky and earth may joined back, he stood up and propped them apart. Each day, the sky rose by a “zhang” 一丈 yīzhàng (3 1/3m) while the earth grew thicker by 一丈.

“After another 18,000 years, Pangu has grown to a height of 90,000 li 里 lǐ (45,000 km). With the structure of the universe now consolidated, Pangu toppled down and died. Just before his death, Pangu turned the air that he breathed out into wind and cloud. His voice, lfet eye and right eye were changed into lightning, the sun and the moon respectively. The twinkling stars in the sky were originally Pangu’s hair and beard. “

“Pangu’s 4 limbs and gigantic body became the earth’s Four Poles and Five Mountains. His blood was transformed into rivers and his muscles, farmland. Even the fine hair on his body also became grass and wood, giving the earth a green covering”. Thus, this was how Earth was born.

(Extracted from – A General History of China published by Canfonian Pte Ltd)

The Stolen Beast Heads of the Haiyangtang Zodiac Fountain. 圆明园十二生肖兽首.

2010-09-16T07:12:00.000-07:00

The Haiyantang 海晏堂 hǎiyàntáng was a water clock fountain that have 12 figures of the 12 animals that corresponds to the Twelve Terrestrial Branches and is commonly known as the Chinese Zodiac signs or 十二生肖 shí'èr shēngxiào in Chinese. The main bodies were carved of stone and the heads cast from bronze. The animals spouted water to tell the time in a fountain created for the Qianlong emperor 乾隆帝 Qiánlóngdì and was situated in the Garden of Eternal Spring 长春园 Chángchūn Yuán. The design of the figures is attributed to the Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione.

The animal heads were stolen during the looting and destruction of the Old Summer Palace 圆明园 (see last post) by removing it from its stone bodies and sent out of China. To date only 5 of the 12 heads are back in China. The Poly Museum managed to secure the tiger, monkey and ox heads in 2000. Macau gambling magnate Stanley Ho purchased the pig head in 2003 and the horse head in 2007 for USD8.9 millions. He donated both of these back to China. The rabbit and rat heads were auctioned by Christie in 2009 despite China’s attempt to block it. A Chinese collector Cai Mingchao who won the bid USD40 millions refused to pay to pay for it out of protests.

China signed the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and the 1995 Unidroit Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects. Then, why are these not returned to China? These are the words of Jean Couteau – “ Because the Hague Conventions, this “civilizing” of war, were never meant to be retroactive. Since it was implemented, in 1910, it may indeed have compelled, upon Germany and Russia in particular, the restitution of artworks seized during the Second World War, but it does not compel any restitution of the works seized during Western colonial expansion. It is no surprise, therefore, that the Hague Conventions and other similar later ones, viewed by the West as progress toward a true international law and genuine “universalism”, are perceived by the Chinese and other formerly colonized people as yet another one-sided imperialistic diktat. “

The bronze animal heads have come to represent the returning of stolen national treasures to China and in a larger perspective its relationship with the world. Will the so-called civilized nations adopt one standard for themselves and another for the rest of the world?

The Destruction of the Summer Palace – Yuan Ming Yuan. 圆明园的焚毁.

2010-09-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

This morning I was watching a documentary on the sacking of China’s Old Summer Palace known as the Gardens of Perfect Brightness 圆明园 Yuánmíng Yuán and was upset at the wanton destruction by British and French troops in 1860 during the Second Opium war 鸦片战争 Yāpiàn Zhànzhēng. Yuang Ming Yuan 圆明园 was built in the 18th and early 19th century and was known for its extensive collection of gardens and building architectures and other works of Arts.

The gardens covered an area of 3.5 square kilometres (860 acres) and were almost 5 times the size of the Forbidden City, and 8 times the size of the Vatican City. Thousands of masterpieces of Chinese art and antiquities were stored in the halls, making the Imperial Gardens one of the largest collections in the world and this includes unique copies of literary work and compilations. Most of these were destroyed or stolen during the looting and subsequent deliberate torching of the entire gardens that burned for 3 days. It took 3,500 British troops to set the entire place ablaze.

On October 18, 1860, the British High Commissioner to China Lord Elgin, ordered the destruction of the palace in retaliation for the torture and execution of about 20 European and Indian prisoners. More than 300 eunuchs, maids, and workers in the palace were unable to escape and were burned to death. And yet, once the Summer Palace was reduced to ruins a sign was raised with an inscription in Chinese stating "This is the reward for perfidy and cruelty". This coming from the ‘civilized’ nations who subjected millions to untold miseries, and took a country to war because they were banned from trading their poison (opium) freely. Is it any wonder that the destruction of Yuan Ming Yuan is still a sensitive issue in China even today?

Victor Hugo, the then contemporary author of Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame in his "Expédition de Chine" described thus - "'Two robbers breaking into a museum, devastating, looting and burning, leaving laughing hand-in-hand with their bags full of treasures; one of the robbers is called France and the other Britain.”

Tang Yao and Yu Shun Abdicating in Favor of Others. Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Line 12.

2010-09-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

推位让国, 有虞陶唐。
(tuī wèi ràng guó), (yǒu yú táo táng)。

推 (deciline) 位 (position) 让 (let) 国 (country),

Declining position for the sake of the country. There are many noble and unselfish men who declined or abdicated their positions in favour of others who can better lead the country. Sadly, this is a rare virtue indeed.

有 (there is) 虞 (Yu) 陶 (Tao) 唐 (Tang)。

There is Tang Yao 唐堯 Táng Yáo also known as Taotang 陶唐 Táotáng who is said to have invented the game of 围棋 wéiqí or “Go”. He is often extolled as the morally perfect sage-king whose benevolence and diligence served as a model to future Chinese monarchs and emperors. He passed his throne to Yu Shun 虞舜 Yú Shùn to whome he gave his two daughters in marriage instead of his slow-witted son Danzhu 丹朱 Dān Zhū.

Yu Shun 虞舜 was reputed to be a very noble character who treated his stepmother and stepbrother well even though they badly mistreated him to the extent of trying to murder him. He is also remembered for being the orignator of the the music called Dashao 大韶 dàsháo which is composed of a symphony of nine Chinese music instruments. He relinquished his power to Yu the Great 大禹 Dà-Yǔ, the founder of the Xia Dynasty. His ministers however favored passing the throne to Yu's son, Qi 啟 qǐ thereby instituting the beginning of hereditary monarchy.

The Bamboo Annals 竹書紀年; Zhúshū Jìnián, a chronicle of ancient China however painted a less romantic picture. It recorded that Yu Shun rebelled and imprisoned Tang Yao leaving him to die in prison. Yao’s son Danzhu was exilled and later defeated by Shun. Yu the Great also rebelled and banished Shun.

Cangjie Invented the Chinese Characters and Leizu, Silk. Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Line 11.

2010-09-05T03:13:00.000-07:00

始制文字, 乃服衣裳。
shǐ zhì wén zì, nǎi fú yī shāng。

始 (begin) 制 (create) 文字 (Chinese characters),

The first part means the beginning of Chinese characters which led to a written language. Legend has it that it was Cangjie 仓颉 cāngjié, the official historian of the Yellow Emperor who invented the Chinese characters. It is said that deities and ghosts cried and the sky rained millet on the day he invented the characters.

Instructed by the Yellow Emperor, Cangjie settled by a river bank but could not create anything. One day, a phoenix flying overhead dropped an object from its beak and where it dropped Canjie saw an impression of a hoof-print. He asked a local hunter who said that it is without doubt that of a PiXiu 貔貅 (a mystical winged lion). Drawing inspiration from this, he realized that he can create a character by capturing the unique characteristics of all things. From that day, he paid close attention to all things to try to capture their essence and meaning in a character and thus the Chinese characters were born.

乃 (then) 服 (wear) 衣裳 (clothing)

Then, man begins to wear clothes. Legend has it that it was the Leizu 嫘祖 Léi Zǔ, wife of the Yellow Emperor who discovered silkworms in 3000BC and invented the silk reel and the silk loom. It was said that one day she found silkworms eating the mulberry leaves. She collected some cocoons and accidentally dropped one of them into her hot cup of tea. She found a fine thread started to separate from the cocoon and that she could unwind this soft thread around her finger. She invented the silk reel which joins the filaments into a thread strong enough for weaving.

Dragon Master, Fire King, Bird Officials and The Yellow Emperor. Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Line 10.

2010-09-02T08:09:00.000-07:00

龙师火帝, 鸟官人皇。
lóngshī huǒdì, niǎoguān rénhuáng。

龙 (dragon) 师 (teacher) 火 (fire) 帝 (king),

龙师 lóngshī 火帝 huǒdì 鸟官 niǎoguān 人皇 rénhuáng are four titles of China’s earliest rulers and ministers and the legends varies according to different sources. 伏羲; fúxī mid 2800s BCE, was the first of the Three Sovereigns (三皇 sānhuáng) of ancient China. He is reputed to be the inventor of writing, fishing and trapping.

In Chinese mythology, FuXi the “Dragon Master” is often depicted with a snake body and human face and is the brother and also husband of Nuwa 女娲; nǚwā a goddess best known for creating mankind and repairing the wall of heaven. Fu Xi is considered as the originator of “I Ching” and said to found the arrangement of the trigrams (八卦 bāgùa) of the I Ching on the back of a mythical giant turtle.

火帝 huǒdì is better known as 神农; Shénnóng literally translated as "Divine Farmer". He is also known as the Emperor of the Five Grains (五谷先帝 Wǔgǔ xiāndì) and is considered as the father of Chinese agriculture, Shennong taught his people how to cultivate grain as food.

鸟 (birds) 官 (officials) 人 (man) 皇 (emperor)

Shaohao (少昊), was a Chinese emperor in 2600 BC. According to some traditions (for example the Classic of History), he was one of the Five Emperors. From Wikipedia – “The myth says that Shaohao created a kingdom in the five mountains of the Eastern Paradise that was inhabited by different types of birds. As the ruler of this bureaucratic land, he captured the identity of a vulture. Other birds worked below him, such as a phoenix as his Lord Chancellor, a hawk that delegated the law, and a pigeon that was in charge of education. He chose the four seasons of the year to watch over the remaining birds.”

Human Sovereign (人皇, Rénhuáng) was the third Chinese legendary king after Pangu's 盘古: Pángǔ, the creator of the universe) era. Before him was the Heavenly Sovereign (天皇), and Earthly Sovereign (地皇). The early Chinese history is very confusing steeped in different legends from many different sources. According to some sources, the third sovereign is Huang-di 黃帝 or the Yellow Emperor who is regarded as the founder of the Chinese civilization.
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The Fishes in the Sea and the Birds in the Sky: Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Line 9.

2010-08-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

海咸河淡, 鳞潜羽翔。
hǎi xián hé dàn, lín qián yǔ xiáng

海 (sea) 咸 (salty) 河 (river) 淡 (fresh),

The sea water is salty while the river is fresh. 淡 dàn by itself also means dilute, weak or thin and in this case refers to the fresh water.

鳞 (fish scale) 潜 (submerge) 羽 (feather) 翔 (soar)

The fish swim in the sea and birds fly in the sky. 潜 qián also means latent, to hide. Nathan considered this to be the end of the first chapter which begins with the heavens and earth and conclude with common knowledge about nature. However, other researchers separate the 125 lines of 千字文 by other forms.

(I'll be going to the Bridge over River Kwai early tomorrow for a week, see you when I get back).

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Plums & Crab Apples, Mustard Greens & Gingers: Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Line 8.

2010-08-22T02:13:00.000-07:00

果珍李柰, 菜重芥姜。
guǒ zhēn lǐ nài, cài zhòng jiè jiāng

果 (fruit) 珍 (precious) 李 (plum) 柰 (crab- apple),

The most precious of the fruits are the plums or peaches and apples. I do not know why crab apples are so important to the Chinese except they can be used as sour condiment, can anyone enlighten me?

菜 (vegetables) 重 (important) 芥 (mustard) 姜 (ginger)

The most valuable of the vegetables are the mustard greens and gingers. They are not only valued as food but also for their medicinal values. The mustard is believed to be good for the eyes and the ginger reduces the gas in the body system.

老张和小黄 Of Communist Chang & Pregnant Yellow – Part II

2010-08-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

At about the same time I made the boo boo on the color yellow 黄 (see earlier post by same title), I made another one regarding my own name! That was during my first trip to China many years ago. During that period it was fashionable to address someone by 老 lǎo or 小 xiǎo for e.g. 小黄 or 老张 according to whether she is younger or older than you. It is also fashionable to call someone by their profession such as General Manager (总经理 zǒngjīnglǐ) Wang or 王总 wángzǒng. But it sure sounds odd to me when an engineer (工程师 gōngchéngshī) I knew with a surname of 朱 zhū is addressed as 朱工 zhūgōng. For it sounds exactly like 猪公 zhūgōng which means male pig.

This was what threw me off. I was often asked "how should I address you?" when they are asking for my surname. And I of course reply "我姓张" or my name is Zhang or Chang as it was written prior to 拼音 pīnyīn. Their response at that time puzzled me for they would say what sounds to me like 共产张 gòngchǎnzhāng or Communist Chang! I was wondering why the hell would they call me Communist Chang when I'm a 华侨 Huáqiáo or overseas Chinese but I never questioned them. It was later when my mandarin was better before I realized that they were actually refering to the components of my surname 张. For you see, 张 is made up of 弓 (gōng) 'bow' and 长 (cháng) 'long'. But to my untrained ears then, it sounded like 共产 which I recognized. No wonder they said a little knowledge is dangerous!

“Legendary Sword & Luminous Pearl”. - Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Line 7.

2010-08-15T06:38:00.000-07:00

剑号巨阙, 珠称夜光。
jiànhào jù què, zhū chēng yè guāng.

剑 (sword) 号 (named) 巨阙 (JuQue),

Of all the swords, the most famous was named 巨阙 jùquè (巨 is huge 阙 no meaning as a single syllable word). It was one of 5 swords that King Goujian of Yue 越王勾踐 yuè wáng Gōu Jiàn (reigned 496 BC - 465 BC) presented to the King of Wu after his defeat but he was insulted and humiliated during his imprisonment. Later after his release, he used this sword 巨阙 jùquè to defeat the King of Wu and exacted his revenge. This happened during the end of the Spring and Autumn Period 春秋时代 hūnqiū shídài. I will be telling this tale in greater details in a later post.

This sword was buried for more than 2000 years and when it was found there was no rust at all! It is a delicately made bronze sword measuring 55.6 cm in total length (slightly less than 2 feet). There are eight Chinese characters on the sword “越王鸠潜，自乍用剑" (yuè wáng jiū qián, zìzhà yòng jiàn), which means that this sword is belong to King Goujian of Yue.

珠 (pearl) 称 (called) 夜光 (YeQuang)。

The most famous pearls are known as 夜光 yè guāng or “Gleam of the Night”. (夜 is night 光 is bright). Nathan Sturman wrote that the “Gleam of the Night” was a legendary pearl which was once the eye of a whale and also referred to as 明月珠 míngyuèzhū “Bright Moon-Pearl”.

"Gold in River Li, Jade in Kunlun Hill" - Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Line 6

2010-08-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

金生丽水, 玉出崑冈。
jīn shēng lì shuǐ, yù chū kūn gāng。

http://www.internationalrivers.org/china/jinsha-river

金 (Gold) 生 (exist) 丽水 (River Li),

Gold was found in 丽水 lì shuǐ, the ancient name for Lijiang 丽江 lìjiāng prefecture in Yunnan province, China. It more specifically refer to Jingsha River 金沙江 jīnshājiāng or River of Golden Sand. The existence of gold was important as it was used as a basic commodity for trading in ancient China.

http://kunlunacupuncture.com/kunlun.aspx

玉 (jade) 出 (appear) 崑 (Kunlun) 冈 (ridge)。

Jade was found in the Kunlun mountain 昆仑山 Kūnlún Shān which is on the southern border of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Kunlun mountain was famous for their high quality jade. Jade is considered to be even more valuable that gold as an ancient Chinese proverb said "You can put a price on gold, but jade is priceless.".

According to legend, jade is said to be created during a storm hence it is also called "Stone of Heaven". Jade symbolize virtue and Confucius was reputed to have said "Men of olden days regarded it as a symbol of the virtues. Its gentle, smooth, glossy appearance suggests charity of heart; its fine close texture and hardness suggests wisdom; it is firm and yet does not wound, suggesting duty to one's neighbor; it hangs down as though sinking, suggesting ceremony; struck, it gives a clear note, long drawn out, dying gradually away and suggesting music; its flaws do not hide its excellences, nor do its excellences hide its flaws, suggesting loyalty; it gains our confidence, suggesting truth; its spirituality is like the bright rainbow, suggesting the heavens above; its energy is manifested in hill and stream, suggesting the earth below; as articles of regalia it suggests the exemplification of that than which there is nothing in the world of equal value, and thereby is Tao itself."

老张和小黄 Of Communist Chang & Pregnant Yellow – Part I

2010-08-07T18:07:00.000-07:00

In March this year, I was one of the guests of honor in a company annual dinner. After we were seated as is the Chinese dining culture, the toasting begun. I had a headache after lecturing the whole day and was trying to politely fend off all the toasts when an elegant lady came to make me one I could not refuse.

“Do you remember me?” she asked. I did not, cursing my poor recognition of faces.

“You once asked me what was my name and when I told you it was huáng ...”

This brought back memories of one of my most embarrassing mistake in learning the language. It was a terrible faux pas on my part. For when she told me her name was 黄 huáng, I innocently added “Oh, is it 黄色 huángsè 的黄?” She shyly corrected me “Oh, you should not say that! It is 大肚 dàdù (meaning big stomach or pregnant woman) 黄.” {The shape of the 黄 character has a big center looking like a big stomach. As the same pronunciation can stand for different Chinese characters, the Chinese devised creative ways to describe characters to clarify which they meant}.

This of course left me all confused as I did not know then why it was wrong to describe 黄 with黄色. What is wrong with yellow color? It was only later that I found out that 黄色 also means decadent, obscene and pornographic. It is the oriental equivalent of blue as in “blue film”. It is interesting to note that the Chinese word 色情 sèqíng for pornography is made up of the characters 色 [sè] meaning color and 情 [qíng] meaning feeling or emotion. Specifically yellow or 黄 was the color chosen to represent the decadent. So I found out the hard way that a gentleman never uses yellow to describe a lady.

(Check out Part II for another similar mistake involving my own surname 张)

"From Clouds to Rain, from Dew to Frost" - Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Line 5

2010-08-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

云腾致雨, 露结为霜。
yún téng zhì yǔ, lù jié wèi shuāng。

云 (clouds) 腾 (rise) 致 (cause) 雨 (rain),

When clouds rise and meet the colder atmosphere, condensation will take place and this will result in rain. This is a succinct and very clear explanation of how rain is formed considering this is written in only the 5th century.

露 (dew) 结 (form) 为 (become) 霜 (frost)。

Dew drops crystallize to become frost. Evelyn Lip added that ‘When water crystallizes in an area and appears as frost in the late autumn morning, it is called 早霜 zǎoshuāng (early frost). But if it appears in spring, it is called 晚霜 wǎnshuāng (late frost).'

"From Hot to Cold, From Harvest to Store" - Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Line 3

2010-07-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

(oops. I mix up the lines - line 4 is in the earlier post)

寒来暑往, 秋收冬藏。
hánlái-shǔwǎng, qiūshōu dōng cáng。

寒 (cold) 来 (come) 暑 (heat) 往 (go)

This refers to the four seasons of the year (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter - 春夏秋冬 chūnxiàqiūdōng). The cold refers to the cold of winter and the word 暑 shǔ refers specifically to the heat of summer. This refers to the cyclical state of the season with one season following another. 寒来暑往 hánlái-shǔwǎng is also a phrase meaning “as time passes”.

秋 (autumn) 收 (harvest) 冬 (winter) 藏 (store)

This phrase further emphasizes the seasonal and climatic changes. Autumn follows winter. It also suggests that what is harvested in autumn should be stored for winter consumption. The seasons have a much greater influence on the lives of early dwellers whose farming activities revolve round the seasons. Thus, it is no surprise that the lunar calendar they used to time their activities is also called 农历 (nónglì) or farmers’ calendar.

"The Rhythm of the Bamboo Pipe adjusts the Years" - Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Line 4

2010-07-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

闰余成岁, 律吕调阳。
rùn yú chéng suì, lǜ Lǚ tiáo yáng。

闰 (intercalary) 余 (extra) 成 (turn into) 岁 (year)

Intercalary means inserting days or months into a calendar to make it correspond with a solar year. Ancient writings such as the 史记 Shǐ Jì (“Historical Records”) by 司马迁 Sīmǎ Qiān (c. 163-85 B.C.) have records showing how the lunar calendar was formed based on the cycle of the moon which consists of 355 ¼ days. This was shorter than the 365 ¼ days of the solar calendar. Thus intercalary days and months were introduced to adjust the lunar calendar to correspond with that of the solar calendar. The Chinese usually add an intercalary month to one out of three years to balance. This is what is meant by the above phrase.

律吕 (bamboo pitch-pipe) 调 (adjust) 阳 (Yang)

律吕 lǜlǚ is a musical instrument made from bamboo that has 12 pitch pipes of different lengths. Peng Fasheng in his notes state that “Ranging from low to high, the odd pitch pipes are called 律 lǜ and believed to represent Yang force, the even ones called 吕 Lǚ and believed to reflect Yin energy. They correspond to the twelve months of the year.” Thus, the phrase means the bamboo pitch-pipe is used to adjust or harmonize Yin and Yang. Evelyn Lip suggest that “all principles be they laws of justice or the laws of nature, are regulated in both negative and positive rhythms to achieve harmony, just like musical notes and rhythms.”

"The Wax & Wane of Stars" - Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Line 2

2010-07-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

日月盈昃, 辰宿列张。
rìyuè yíng zè, chén xiù liè zhāng。

日 (sun) 月 (moon) 盈 (wax) 昃 (set)

This refers to the cycle of the universe as in the waxing and waning of the moon, and the rising and setting of the sun. 日月 itself also means life and livelihood and thus this also refers to the cycle of Life itself.

辰 (stars) 宿 (constellations) 列 (arrange) 张 (spread)

辰 means celestial bodies and also time, period. It is the fifth of the 12 Earthly branches which represents a 2 hours period. 宿 is commonly pronounced as sù in modern Chinese but in this context it is xiù as used in ancient time. It is the character for the Chinese constellations, 28 of them in ancient Chinese astronomy. This implies that time and the universe is constantly changing.

(To elaborate on the Chinese marking of the hours of the day, I quoted the following from Wikipedia – “Under the traditional system of hour-marking, each day is divided into 12 units (時辰). Each of these units is equivalent to two hours of international time. Each is named after one of the twelve Earthly Branches. The first unit, Hour of Zi (子時), begins at 11 p.m. of the previous day and ends at 1 a.m. Traditionally, executions of condemned prisoners occur at the midpoint of Hour of Wu (正午時), i.e., noon.”)

(For the meaning of Earthly Branches, I quoted another section from Wikipedia - The Earthly Branches (Chinese: 地支; pinyin: dìzhī; or Chinese: 十二支; pinyin: shíèrzhī; literally "twelve branches") provide one Chinese system for reckoning time.

This system was built from observations of the orbit of Jupiter. Chinese astronomers divided the celestial circle into 12 sections to follow the orbit of 歳星 Suìxīng (Jupiter, the Year Star). Astronomers rounded the orbit of Suixing to 12 years (from 11.86). Suixing was associated with 攝提 Shètí (ɳ Boötes) and sometimes called Sheti.

In correlative thinking, the twelve years of the Jupiter cycle also identify the twelve months of the year, twelve animals (mnemonics for the system), directions, seasons, months, and Chinese hour in the form of double-hours. When a Branch is used for a double hour, the listed periods are meant. When used for an exact time of a day, it is the center of the period. For instance, 午 (the Horse) means noon or a period from 11am to 1pm.)

"The Sky is black, the Earth is Yellow & the Universe is Vast" - Thousand Character Classic 千字文 – Line 1

2010-07-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

天地玄黄, 宇宙洪荒。
tiāndì xuánhuáng, yǔzhòu hónghuāng。

天 (sky) 地 (earth) 玄 (black) 黄 (yellow)

This has been interpreted as the sky is black and the earth yellow. It is interesting to note that 天地 also means heaven and earth and that 玄黄 can also mean the same thing. 玄黄 can also mean dark yellow. 天地玄黄 was changed to 天地远黄 in the Qing dynasty when 玄 was changed to 远 yuǎn out of respect to the Qing emperor 玄桦 Xuánhuà.

宇宙 (universe) 洪 (vast) 荒 (desolate)

Evelyn Lip said that in ancient writings such as the Huai Nan zi 淮南子, “宇 refers to everything around, above and below while 宙 represents both the past and present. In other words, the universe encompasses everything, ever-changing and fluctuating”. 洪荒 together also means primordial time. Thus, in the beginning the universe was created out of a vast, chaotic state.

1000 Character Classic 千字文 – Introduction.

2010-07-17T22:34:00.000-07:00

The Thousand Character Classic (千字文) was composed by 周兴嗣 Zhōu Xìngsì in the Liang Dynasty (梁朝; Liáng cháo) (502-557). He was ordered by Emperor Liang Wu 梁武帝 Liáng Wǔdì to copy a thousand unique characters* from the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi 王羲之, (303–361) who is referred to as the Sage of Calligraphy 书圣 shūshèng for the purpose of educating his son.

Zhou shuffled 1000 characters from Wang’s work into 4 characters rhymed text composing 8 characters in a line. The character used are never repeated in this poem or essay. It is said that Zhou did the exacting task in only one night and the supreme effort turned his hair white the next morning. Thus, it became China’s earliest and most widely used basic literary text.

In accordance my effort to study Mandarin, I’ll be analyzing the Thousand Character Classic (千字文) by going through these 1000 characters according to their 8 x 125 lines. In this, I will draw from these sources –

Essay of One Thousand Characters (book) – translation by Peng Fasheng.
1000 Character Classic (book) – translation by Evelyn Lip.
The Thousand Character Essay (online article) – translation by Nathan Sturman.

Information from Wikipedia.

Different researches break down the 1000 characters into different sections. Peng Fasheng for example breaks them down into 4 parts. Part I (line 1 – 18) “outlines cosmological process and cultural revolution”. Part II (line 19-51) “dwells upon personal upbringing and moral virtues”. Part III (line 52 – 82) “surveys the administrative affairs of the noble classes and the vast territory of the empire.” Part IV (line 83 – 99)” narrates the pastoral life of tcommon people and technical prowess of craftsmen.” He singled out the last line as without substantial meaning. Nathan on the other hand just breaks them down into 7 separate chapters without an explanation. He just mentioned that – “The seven chapters deals with aspects of the world, nature, history, geography, society, and individual conduct while presenting, for practice, a basic set of characters at the core of the moral and intellectual world view of traditional China.”

It is generally quoted that one needs to memorize 3000 characters to have a reasonable grasp of Mandarin. As I always like to make my learning an experience and journey instead of a just mechanical act of repetition, I choose to learn 1000 of these characters through the Thousand Character Classic (千字文). As they said, the start of a long journey begins with the first character but it doesn’t have to start with 一 (yí).

(*In classic Chinese, the characters were not repeated. However, in conversion to simplified Chinese a few characters were duplicated but the meanings are different.)

The Art and Wit of Ding Cong. 丁聪和他的漫画.

2010-07-11T05:51:00.000-07:00

I was reading a book “Wit and Humour from Ancient China” 古趣集 gǔqù jí depicting 100 cartons of the famous Chinese artist Ding Cong 丁聪 Dīng Cōng who signed his works as 小丁 Xiǎo Dīng. In fifty years of his career, Mr. Ding had drawn and illustrated a very wide range of subjects including illustrating for many famous writers such as Lu Xun (especially for his brilliant illustrations of Lu Xun’s masterpiece “The True Story of Ah Q”) and many other modern Chinese writers.

Story 42 is titled “A Difference of Words” and we will see what a small difference can make. On assuming a new office, a self-proclaimed honest official put up a notice in his hall. It consisted of three “don’t wants”- 三不要 sānbùyào. It said he –

不要钱 bùyào qián – Don’t want money.
不要官 bùyào guān – Don’t want post.
不要命 bùyào mìng – Don’t want Life (meaning not afraid to die).

A few days later, someone made a few small additions at the bottom of the words.

不要钱嫌少 bùyào qián xiánshǎo – Don’t want money, if it is too little.
不要官嫌小 bùyào guān xiánxiǎo – Don’t want post, if it is lower.
不要命嫌老 bùyào mìng xiánlǎo – Don’t want Life, if it is too short.

So beware of the person who said he “don’t want” when he means “too little”. A common trait of the corrupt, something 丁聪 understood.

Ode To Red Cliff 念奴嬌赤壁懷古

2010-07-04T01:29:00.000-07:00

In that car journey from Dongguan (see last post), my friend narrated his last meeting with his friend who questioned the life he had been living. What has it all being for? For money? Security? Status? The good things in Life? Are they worth the sacrifices? Isn’t it in the end, no matter what one achieved; they are just like 浪淘沙 (làngtáoshā), sands that are washed away by the relentless tides of time.

Or is Life just an illusion as suggested by 苏轼 Sū Shì’s Ode to Red Cliff 念奴娇 - 赤壁怀古 (niàn nú jiāo - Chìbì huáigǔ). Even if one is as kingly as Li Yu 李煜 lǐyù or as heroic as Zhou Yu 周瑜 Zhōu Yú, in the end we will still be swept away by the Great River to the East. Maybe he sensed his end was near. He was not feeling well and intended to visit the hospital for a thorough check-up. He did not do so immediately because he was busy and needed to go for another outstation trip. He never made it back.

Ode to Red Cliff was the second poem he quoted in this reminiscence just before his demise. I did not know this friend of his but I was sad when I heard his story.

念奴娇 - 赤壁怀古 niàn nú jiāo - Chìbì huáigǔ

苏轼 Sū Shì

大江东去, 浪淘尽、千古风流人物。
故垒西边, 人道是、三国周郎赤壁。
乱石崩云, 惊涛裂岸, 卷起千堆雪。
江山如画, 一时多少豪杰!

遥想公瑾当年, 小乔初嫁了, 雄姿英发。
羽扇纶巾, 谈笑间、樯橹灰飞烟灭。
故国神游, 多情应笑我, 早生华发。
人生如梦, 一樽还酹江月。

dàjiāng dōngqù, làngtáojìn, qiāngǔ fēngliú rénwù.
gùlěi xībian, réndào shì, Sānguó Zhōuláng Chìbì.
luànshí bēngyún, jīngtāo liè àn, juǎnqǐ qiān duīxuě,
jiāngshān-rúhuà, yīshí duōshao háojié!

yáoxiǎng gōngjǐn dāngnián, xiǎoqiáo chūjià le, xióngzī yīngfā.
yǔshàn-guānjīn, tánxiào jiān, qiánglǔ huīfēi yānmiè.
gùguó shényóu, duōqíng yīngxiào wǒ, zǎoshēng huáfà.
rénshēng rúmèng, yīzūn huánlèi jiāngyuè.

Nian Nu Jiao (Graceful Nian Nu) - Ode To Red Cliff

The Great River flows east, its waves sweeping away, all distinguished figures.
The fortress in the west of Red Cliff, it is said, stood Zhou Yu of the Three Kingdoms.
Scraggy rocks piercing clouds, sudden waves smashing the shores, into a thousand snow flakes.
The scene is like a painting, for a while, full of heroes!

Recalled Zhou Yu in his prime, Xiao Qiao by his side, in full majestic splendour.
The composed master strategist; talked and laughed, while the enemy's ships went up in flames.
A romantic journey to the past, I laughed at the sentimental me, prematurely turning gray.
Life is like a passing dream, a toast to the moon's reflection.

Waves Washing Sand 浪淘沙

2010-06-26T06:07:00.000-07:00

We were cruising along the highway from Dongguan to Shenzhen, China to attend an Annual Dinner. I have not met this friend of mine for many years and have much to talk about. We first met eighteen years ago when Shekou, 蛇口 Shékǒu (the port servicing Shenzhen 深圳 Shēnzhèn) was still a sleepy fishing village. Then, paddy fields and duck farms flanked the road throughout the one hour journey from Shekou to Shenzhen. Today, it is high rise buildings all the way.

Like old friends, we talked about the past and the individual path we each took. We talked about choices and wondered if we made the correct one. We talked about responsibility and ambition. We talked about the purpose and meaning of Life. Along the way, our conversation led us to 浪淘沙 làngtáoshā for we wondered if our lives are like the waves washing the sand, erasing all our footsteps.

This poem was by Li Yu 李煜 lǐyù, who was the last ruler of the Southern Tang Kingdom 南唐 Nán Táng from 961 to 975 during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. The kingdom fell to the Song Dynasty 宋朝 Sòng Cháo in 975 and Li Yu and his family were held captives in the Song capital at present-day Kaifeng 开封 Kāifēng. His best poems were written during this period as he lamented the lost of his kingdom and the pleasures it brought him. He was poisoned by the Song emperor after he wrote a poem lamenting his lost.

Once he was a king, now he is a prisoner. Time washes us all, over…

浪淘沙 làngtáoshā

帘外雨潺潺, liánwàiyǔchánchán,
春意阑珊。 chūnyì lánshān.
罗衾不耐五更寒。 luóqīnbùnài wǔgènghán.
梦里不知身是客, mènglǐ bùzhī shēn shìkè,
一晌贪欢。 yīshǎng tān huān.

独自莫凭栏, dúzì mò pínglán,
无限江山, wúxiàn jiāngshān
别时容易见时难。 biéshí róngyì jiàn shínán.
流水落花春去也, liúshuǐ luòhuā chūn qùyě,
天上人间。 tiānshàng-rénjiān.

Outside the curtain, the rain murmurs,
Spring draws to an end.
The quilt cannot resist the fifth watch cold.
I did not realize I was a guest in my dream,
Coveting pleasure.

I should not be alone leaning on these railings,
While spread before me the limitless country,
It is easy to part but difficult to again meet.
Like fallen flowers on flowing water, spring is gone,
So is my paradise.

My friend told me that this was one of the two poems a closed friend of his quoted recently just before his sudden death questioning whether all we strived for were in vain…

(The other poem is 念奴娇 or Ode to Red Cliff which I'll translate for the next post)

From Seas To Mulberry Fields 沧海桑田

2010-06-24T04:17:00.000-07:00

Wanderlust asked what has the content of the poem Picking Mulberries 采桑子 cǎisāngzǐ got to do with the title. (see last post). I believed it is because of the analogy of mulberry 桑 sāng which is probably derived from the proverbs 桑田沧海 sāngtián-cānghǎi and 沧海桑田 cānghǎi-sāngtián, both of which meant the same thing. Seas were being converted into mulberry fields and mulberry fields into seas; meaning time brings great changes. This proverb originated from a classic piece in the Jin (晋 jìn) dynasty in which was written "已见东海三为桑田” meaning the Eastern Seas had already been transformed into mulberry fields three times.

The analogy was further strengthened by 饱经沧桑 bǎojīng-cāngsāng which means having experienced many vicissitudes of life. As if this was not good enough, it is further enriched by 桑榆暮景 sāngyú-mùjǐng which means the closing years of one's life. 桑榆 sāngyú by itself means sunset or old age while 暮景 mùjǐng means scene at dusk or situation at old age.

It is amazing how much a simple word like 桑 sāng can convey. It is as if the whole content of the poem can be condensed into that single word making one wonder whether the poet used the word to create the poem…

A Melancholy Night Picking Mulberries. 采桑子

2010-06-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight (written last night) I was kind of melancholy so I searched for a poem to reflect my gloom. With my limited command of the language, I will have to be very lucky to find something that can paint my mood. But what do you know? Luck favours the one who try.

I am happy to find this simple yet beautiful poem by 辛弃疾 xīnqìjí. As I translated the poem, I transferred my feelings to the words so I’ll be picking mulberries before I go to sleep tonight.

采桑子 cǎisāngzǐ
Picking Mulberries

少年不知愁滋味,爱上层楼。
爱上层楼,为赋新诗强说愁。
shàonián bùzhī chóu zīwèi, ài shàngcéng lóu.
ài shàngcéng, wèi fù xīnshī qiáng shuō chóu.

When young I know not melancholy's flavor, but love to go upstairs.
Love to go upstairs, to write of imagined sorrow.

而今识尽愁滋味,欲说还休。
欲说还休,却道天凉好个秋!
érjīn shí jìn chóu zīwèi, yù shuō hái xiū.
yù shuō hái xiū, què dào tiān liáng hǎo gè qiū.

But now that I have tasted its bitterness, I hesitated to speak.
Hesitated to speak, except to sigh "what a cold autumn!"

.

A Hill Too Far 遥远的山

2010-06-16T07:56:00.000-07:00

Last week I was having breakfast with three new friends in Beirut 贝鲁 bèilǔ . We were among sixteen strangers from diverse backgrounds but there in Lebanon 黎巴嫩 Líbānèn for the same reason. One of the girls was wearing a Mount Kinabalu T-shirt. She confirmed that she had climbed that hill leading me to lament that it was “A Hill Too Far” 遥远的山 yáoyuǎn deshān for me because it reminded me of the epic World War II film “A Bridge Too Far” 遥远的桥 yáoyuǎn deqiáo. where the Allied forces failed in an attempt to break through the German line by capturing a bridge too far.

There had been several occasions when I planned to climb Mt. Kinabalu but each time, something came up to disrupt my plan. They said I could still climb it but somehow I felt that I’m not fated (没有缘 méiyǒuyuán) to do so.

So I’ll climb other hills and give this a miss for the time being for as the song sings “Que Sera Sera, whatever will be will be. The future is not ours to see, what will be, will be”. Whatever is yours will be yours eventually.

命里有时终须有 mìnglǐ yǒushí zhōng xūyǒu
命里无时莫强求 mìnglǐ wúshí mò qiǎngqiú

It is not that this hill is unreachable 遥不可及 yáobùkějí. I just do not want to feel that I’m compelled to climb it which is what it will feel like if I force myself. Maybe one fine day, I’ll feel like it is the right time to climb that hill and I will. Meanwhile, I will live with the romance of a distant unattainable hill.

Staring Into The Mouth of Mt. Bromo. 婆罗摩火山

2010-06-05T05:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I was standing at the edge of the crater (火山口 huǒshānkǒu) staring into the mouth of the majestic Mt. Bromo (婆罗摩火山 póluómó huǒshān); the most famous volcano in Indonesia (印尼 yìnní) that you can still visit after Krakatoa (喀拉喀托 kālākātuō) sank into the sea in 1883 after a disastrous volcanic eruption 火山爆发 huǒshān bàofā. Mt. Bromo is about 200km from the city of Surabaya 泗水 sìshuǐ. I wonder why Surabaya was not translated by sound but instead acquire this rather unflattering name which in Chinese means mucous water.

White plumes of cloud continuously poured forth from the fissures in the center. As I stood at the edge of the barren volcano, I recalled a French proverb that said “grass will not grow on a volcano” but could not think of a Chinese proverb or found one later. Maybe the Chinese are not that acquainted with a volcano? But they have plenty of proverbs for fire such as this one - 真金不怕火炼 zhēnjīn bù pà huǒ liàn which said “true gold is not afraid of fire” and means that a person of character can withstand severe trials.

We have to cross a sea of sand in 4 wheel drives to reach Mt. Bromo and the inactive Mt. Batok nearby where grass does grow on it. Sometimes, one thinks grass is smarter than man. There is a Hindu temple at the base. You can reach it and the 240 steps that will take you up Mt. Bromo by foot or on horseback. They still make sacrifices to the Volcano God but flood and fire has no mercy 水火无情 shuǐhuǒ-wúqíng. The last time Mt. Bromo was dangerous enough to evacuate the people living nearby was only in 2004 while Mt. Semeru erupts every 20 minutes.

Mt. Bromo and Mt. Batok are actually within the massive collapsed crater Tengger caldera (diameter approximately 10 km!). And the the Laut Pasir (Sea of Sand) are fine volcanic sand (火山灰 huǒshānhuī). As I reluctantly leave this place, I was reminded of another French proverb “don’t dance on a volcano” but still cannot find anything witty in Chinese. But there are no volcanoes in France, are there? Languages are sometimes as strange as volcanoes.

(Incidentally, one of my traveling companion is French. Tomorrow, I’ll be going to Lebanon 黎巴嫩 Líbānèn – see you when I get back).

The Ways of A Chinese Gentleman. 礼仪廉耻

2010-06-01T05:58:00.000-07:00

If you watched Malaysian TV during this period, you may come across a man and a woman who kept repeating these four Chinese words 礼仪廉耻 lǐ yí lián chǐ and a phrase explaining each of these words. It is not an advertisement and I could only conclude that it is a message for these four words form part of the core of Chinese thinking of what a gentleman is. At least, that is how 孔子 Kǒngzǐ or Confucius saw it.

礼(lǐ) 规规矩矩的态度 well-behaved manner
guīgui-jūjū de tàidu

By itself 礼(lǐ) means courtesy. The additional phrase emphasized this meaning using more words and rhyme serving as a form of Chinese mnemonic. 规矩 guīju found within this group of words mean “rule and custom”. It also means “well-behaved” and 态度 tàidu manner or attitude. Thus, one can say the same thing in one word or seven but the longer phrase sure sounds better especially when spoken together with the other.

仪(yí) 正正当当的行为 proper behavior
zhèngzhèngdāngdāng de xíngwéi

仪(yí) by itself means appearance, bearing or etiquette. 正当 zhèngdàng means proper while 行为 xíngwéi means behaviour. The repetition of words emphasized the rhyme. The above is an excellent example of the economy, grace and power of the Chinese language for when you combined 礼(lǐ) with 仪(yí), you get 礼仪 lǐyí which means etiquette, rite or protocol which is a combination in meaning of these two words.

廉(lián) 清清白白的辨别 unbiased view
qīngqīngbáibái de biànbié

廉 lián means honest and upright. 清白 qīngbái means pure and 辨别 biànbié to differentiate. Thus, 廉(lián) is explained as being pure in making differentiation or having an unbiased view.

耻(chǐ) 确确实实的觉悟 true realization
quèquèshíshí de juéwù

耻(chǐ) is interesting for it actually means shame or humiliation while the explanation given is having true realization. For 确实 quèshí means true while 觉悟 juéwù means awareness. In this case, the character 耻(chǐ) is not to be taken in isolation but as a combination with 廉(lián) for 廉耻 liánchǐ means sense of honor/shame. Only if one has a sense of honor/shame, can one differentiate between right and wrong and possess a conscience.

This is an excellent example to showcase the beauty of the Chinese language. I liked it so much that I am going to put them together so you can read it and take delight in the sound and meaning.

礼(lǐ) 规规矩矩的态度

仪(yí) 正正当当的行为
廉(lián) 清清白白的辨别
耻(chǐ) 确确实实的觉悟

The Sister-in-law’s Vinegar Fish. 西湖醋鱼

2010-05-22T02:05:00.000-07:00

During the Southern Song dynasty, there lived two Song brothers who were intellects. However, they did not want to work for the government choosing to live the simple life of fishermen. An evil local officer who coverted the elder Song brother's beautiful wife, schemed to have him poisoned. When the younger brother went to the government office 衙门 yámen to lodge a complaint, it was not only disregared but he was also beaten up.

He had no choice but to flee Hangzhou for his own safety. Just before he left, his sister-in-law used sugar and vinegar to cook him a parting meal with a fish saying “这菜有酸有甜,望你有出头之日,勿忘今日辛酸” This dish is both sweet and sour. I hope that should you later succeed in Life, that you do not forget the bitterness of this day."

The younger brother later became renowned for helping his country to fight against invaders and was rewarded with a high status. He returned to his hometown to punish the evil doers. However he could not find any traces of his sister-in-law. One day while attending a banquet he tasted the familiar fish dish and discovered his sister-in-law living in incognito 隐姓埋名 yǐnxìng-máimíng and they were reunited.

Henceforth, this dish was known as 西湖醋鱼 Xī Hú cùyú (West Lake Vinegar Fish). It was also sometimes called Sister-in-law's Treasures “叔嫂传珍” shūsǎo chuánzhēn and was passed down as another of Hangzhou's famous dishes.

I dug into the tender meat of the succulent fish without hesitation and liked the mild taste of vinegar rounded off by the sweetness of sugar. There is just a tinge of sourness, enough to touch the soft spot of my heart at the plight of the sister-in-law but not sharp enough to bring out any tears…

A Dish Named After A Poet. 东坡肉

2010-05-16T05:16:00.000-07:00

The first night in Hángzhōu 杭州, we went to its most famous restaurant serving not only authentic Hangzhou dishes but also cooked in the 正宗 zhèngzōng orthodox way. 楼外楼 lóu wài lóu is a 150 plus years old establisment sited in an grand mansion refurbished into a beautifully decorated restaurant. Many felt that it fully deserved its reputation of being the best restaurant south of the Yangtse “江南第一楼” Jiāngnán dì-yī lóu. It was unfortunate that the rooms facing West Lake 西湖 Xī Hú were under renovation or we could be having dinner taking in the lovely lake scene. Still, I was glad to be there that night and was treated to many famous Hangzhou dishes. As promised, below is the most famous dish of them all.

During the reign of the Song 宋 Sòng dynasty 苏东坡 Sū Dōngpō became the regional official of 杭州 Hángzhōu (capital of 浙江 Zhèjiāng province). He organized the people to dredge the West Lake 西湖 Xī Hú and to build dykes to irrigate the field. In the spring of that year, some of the citizens knowing how Sū Dōngpō loved meat, sent him pork and wine. Receiving so much, he felt that he should share it and instructed his household to cook the meat for the labourer working on the dyke.

By accident, his servants added the wine to the meat while they were cooking it resulting in the pork having a most fragrant and appetizing taste. The people copied this distinctive method of cooking and named it after him. Hence, this dish became known as “东坡肉” dōngpōròu and Hangzhou's most famous traditional dish.

I stared at the thick slice of pork, two third of which is fat and hesitated to take a bite though it looked and smell so appetizing. It has a rich reddish brown lustre and an aromatic wine fragrance. My dining companion said that “this is a most sinful dish” and I have to agree. But one bite and I’m in gastronomic heaven. The rich full meaty taste was greatly enhanced by the fragrant wine and yes, the tender succulent fat. To say it was lovely was an understatement… It was more like love…

Going to Hangzhou’s West Lake 苏东坡的西湖

2010-05-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

I’ll be going to Hangzhou 杭州 Hángzhōu tonight and spent a couple of days there before going to Suzhou and Shanghai. It is on company business, unfortunately. But I never fail to pause and smell the flowers along any path I travel. And I’m sure there will be stories to share when I get back.

I’ll of course find my way to the famed West Lake, where the weeping willows framed its bank. It was said that it was governor and poet Sū Dōngpō 苏东坡 who introduced these graceful weeping willows that really bring out its character. And he wrote a famous poem that compared West Lake 西湖 Xī Hú to 西施 Xishi, one of the four most beautiful woman in historical China.

West Lake in Sunshine and Rain.

饮湖上初晴后雨
yǐn hú shàng chū qíng hòu yǔ

水光潋滟晴方好,
shuǐ guāng liànyàn qíng fāng hǎo
山色空蒙雨亦奇。
shānsè kōng méng yǔ yì qí
欲把西湖比西子,
yù bǎ Xī Hú bǐ Xishi
淡妆浓抹总相宜。
dàn zhuāng mā zǒng xiāngyí

Shimmering water on a bright sunny day. or the
marvellous sight of distant rain veiled hills
West Lake is as Xishi, beautiful -
whether plainly dressed or richly adorned.

I will be writing more about Sū Dōngpō 苏东坡 when I get back. Not only is he a good 官 guān official and calligrapher but he also has a famous dish 东坡肉 dōngpōròu named after him. How many poets do you know who can lay claim to that?

Invitation to Wine - Part II. 将进酒

2010-05-05T03:39:00.000-07:00

I am not much of a drinker and my capacity for liquor 酒量 jiǔliàng is not good. I do not enjoy getting drunk because I do not believe one can drown one’s worries in drink 借酒浇愁 jièjiǔ-jiāochóu or forget oneself in one’s cups 酒后失态 jiǔhòushītài.

I do enjoy a drink or two in quiet setting and good conversation. So I do not really “share” the joy of drinking 酒兴 jiǔxìng as brought up in this and other drinking poems. But I can appreciate the beauty and romanticism of release and abandonment from mundane existence and “endless worries” through wine especially in the age of the gentlemen scholar.

Having paused before the wonderful calligraphy, the strong drinkers turned to head towards the bar to continue their 进酒 jìnjiǔ toasts. While we, the group of weaker drinkers already over our head in wine headed the other directions to the safety of our beds and our drunken dreams. I wondered if I will enjoy drinking more if I can hold my liquor better? To be honest, probably. But I being what I am, can only enjoy the poems on drinking more than the drinks itself; maybe more than some famous drinkers...

与君歌一曲, 请君为我侧耳听。
yǔ jūn gē yī qū, qǐng jūn wèi wǒ cè'ěr tīng 。
钟鼓馔玉不足贵, 但愿长醉不愿醒。
zhōng gǔ zhuàn yù bùzú guì, dànyuàn cháng zuì bù yuàn xǐng 。
古来圣贤皆寂寞, 惟有饮者留其名。
gǔlái shèngxián jiē jìmò, wéiyǒu yǐn zhě liú qí míng 。
陈王昔时宴平乐, 斗酒十千恣欢谑。
chén wáng xī shí yàn pínglè, dòu jiǔ shí qiān zì huān xuè 。
主人何为言少钱, 径须沽取对君酌。
zhǔrén hé wèi yán shǎo qián, jìng xū gū qǔ duì jūn zhuó 。
五花马,千金裘, 呼儿将出换美酒,
wǔ huā mǎ, qiān jīn qiú, hū ér jiāng chū huàn měijiǔ,
与尔同销万古愁。
yǔ ěr tóng xiāo wàngǔ chóu。

For you I will sing a tune,
Please do hear me sing.
Bells and drums, delicacies and jades are not that precious,
I only wish I could stay drunk and not wake.
The ancient sages were all lonely,
Only the drinkers leave their names.
King Chen threw a feast in Ping Le,
Ten thousand rounds of toasts and happy banters.
My host, why complain lack of money?
Just buy more drinks for your guests
With my rare horse and expensive fur,
In exchange for more fragrant wine,
To melt away our endless worries.

Invitation to Wine - Part I 将进酒

2010-05-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

It has been some time since I was entertained to a formal dinner in China and things have changed. That night in Dongguan we were seated lucky eighteen to a large table, in one of many round tables. Even before the food arrived, the toasting began. And they were doing it with red wine in elegant wine glasses now.

There were one to one toast, many to one toast and all round toast. In the all round toast where the dinner guests were seated too far apart to clink glasses, we just clink the base of the glass to the large glass Lazy Susan in the centre of the table.

It was a good thing that only a little wine was poured each time but the rounds were endless. Waves and waves of toasting for every conceivable reasons. And it is considered good form to empty your cups. 感情深，一口闷; 感情浅，舔一舔 gǎnqíngshēn, yīkǒumēn; gǎnqíngqiǎn, tiǎnyītiǎn. “If our friendship is deep, drink to the bottom, if shallow, drink a little.” So it is difficult to turn down drinks when they were showing you their empty glasses.

As we unsteadily filed out from the restaurant after the bout to the lobby, there was a huge painting on the wall. It was a poem by the famous poet 李白 lǐbái. My boss paused before it and praised the poem drawing nods from all the ‘famous’ drinkers. This is the first part of the poem - 将进酒 jiāngjìnjiǔ and my translation (I’ll be happy to receive any comments including brickbats).

君不见黄河之水天上来, 奔流到海不复回。
jūn bùjiàn HuángHé zhī shuǐ tiānshàng lái, bēnliú dào hǎi bùfù huí。
君不见高堂明镜悲白发, 朝如青丝暮成雪。
jūn bùjiàn gāotáng míngjìng bēi báifà, zhāo rú qīngsī mù chéng xuě。
人生得意须尽欢, 莫使金樽空对月。
rénshēng déyì xū jìn huān, mò shǐ jīn zūn kōng duì yuè 。
天生我材必有用, 千金散尽还复来。
tiānshēng wǒ cái bì yǒuyòng, qiānjīn sàn jìn hái fù lái
烹羊宰牛且为乐, 会须一饮三百杯。
pēng yáng zǎi niú qiě wèi lè, huì xū yī yǐn sān bǎi bēi。
岑夫子,丹丘生, 将进酒,君莫停。
cén fūzǐ, dānqiū shēng, jiāngjìnjiǔ, jūn mò tíng。

Do you not see the yellow river descending from Heaven,
Rushing out to sea, never to return?
Do you not see in the hall’s mirror your sad white hair,
Silken black in the morning, snow white by night?
Life is to be enjoyed while it is good,
Tip not an empty cup to the moon.
The talent Heaven gifted should be used,
For what gold spent to return.
Cook a goat, slaughter a cow for a feast,
And drink up three hundred cups!
Master Cen, young Danqiu,
Bring in the wine, let it never stop.

(The second part of this poem will continue in the next post…)

A Ninja is A Patient Man. 忍者

2010-04-29T06:55:00.000-07:00

In the past, when I saw someone wearing a T-shirt with a large 忍 in the middle of it, I used to think that he is a man who values patience due to my ignorance. But he is more likely to be a martial art fan for 忍 rěn is short for 忍者 rěnzhě or ninja. 忍 is “endure” and 者 zhě is “person who...” but though 忍者 literally means “one who endures”, it is not the intended meaning in Japanese.

Ninja is the reading of two kanji 忍者 but written as shinobi-no-mono (忍の者), which is the native Japanese word for people who practice ninjutsu 忍术 rěnshù .

In feudal Japan, ninja are often employed as spy 间谍 jiàndié and assassin 刺客 cìkè. 刺客 is an interesting word composing of 刺 cì “stab” and 客 kè “guest, visitor or traveler”. Thus, an assassin could be a guest who stabs you in the dark if you are not careful!

It is not easy to be a ninja. Not only do you have to master Ninja Juhakkie the 18 skills of Ninja 忍身十八形 rěnshēnshíbāxíng but also Bugei Juhappan the 18 martial arts of the samurai 武芸十八般 wǔyúnshíbābān. I think it ironical that the first skill listed under the skills of Ninja is Seishinteki Kyoyo (精神的教养 jīngshén de jiàoyǎng spiritual refinement) while that of the samurai is Jujutsu / Kenpo (柔术 / 拳法 róushù / quánfǎ unarmed techniques), don’t you?

A Knife Over the Heart 忍耐

2010-04-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

What my taxi driver said (refer to previous post) made me recalled the Chinese word 忍耐 rěnnài which means “to exercise patience” or “to show restraint”. Taken individually both the characters 忍 rěn and 耐 nài means the same – “endure, tolerate”. This is a very important word in Chinese moral teaching and is stressed by the following emphasis by which all Chinese youngsters are taught.

忍 [rěn] 心上一把刀 xīnshàngyíbǎdāo
A blade over the heart
耐 [nài] 面子少三寸 miànzishǎosāncùn
Face less three inches

The character 忍 rěn is composed of 刃 rèn ('blade') phonetic over 心 (xīn) 'heart'. It is not easy to tolerate sometimes “like a blade over the heart”. That is why it is even more virtuous to be able to show restraint in the face of such aggravation.

Sometimes, we cannot endure further because of our pride, of what we deemed as a slap to our face. Please note that the character 耐 nài is made up of 而 ér (this serves as the phonetic but is pronounced differently in ancient time - *nzi) and 寸 (cùn) 'inch'. 而 is very close in writing to 面 [miàn] “face” but less 3 strokes (or 3 inches) in total. Thus, if we are not so particular about our “face” and are willing to concede 3 inches; we will find the situation much easier to tolerate. From these examples, you can appreciate the beauty of the Chinese written language. Below are some Chinese compound words and proverbs that further stressed tolerance. The reasons why those characters are combined to give the meanings are pretty obvious.

忍 rěn + 心 xīn 'heart' = 忍心 rěnxīn have the heart to
忍 rěn + 受 shòu ‘receive’ = 忍受 rěnshòu v. endure; bear
忍 rěn + 残 cán ‘savage’ = 残忍 cánrěn adj. cruel; ruthless (can endure savagery)
忍 rěn + 坚 jiān ‘solid; firm’ = 坚忍 jiānrěn adj. steadfast and persevering (firm in enduring)
忍 rěn + 让 ràng ‘let, allow’ = 忍让 rěnràng v. be conciliatory
忍诟偷生 rěngòu-tōushēng vp. (“endure shame, drag out an ignoble existence”) = endure disgrace in order to stay alive
忍气吞声 rěnqì-tūnshēng vp. (“endure anger swallow sound”) = swallow anger

耐 nài + 心 xīn 'heart' = 耐心 nàixīn adj. patient
耐 nài + 烦 fán ‘be vexed’ = 耐烦 nàifán adj. patient (able to tolerate being vexed)
耐 nài + 性 xìng ‘nature’ = 耐性 nàixìng n. patience; endurance
耐 nài + 劳 láo ‘labor’ = 耐劳 nàiláo adj. diligent; able to stand hard work
吃苦耐劳 chīkǔ-nàiláo vo. (“eat bitter endure labour”) = endure hardships

These examples should give a good idea of how a lot of Chinese words are constructed, putting two or more similar or contrasting characters to form a word with the same or totally new meaning. The above are examples with logical explanation but there are vexing examples where one will be hard pressed to find logic. That is why Mandarin is so difficult to learn but then Chinese speakers said the same thing of English! Isn’t this food for thought? 耐人寻味 nàirénxúnwèi?

What My Taxi Driver Taught Me. 忍无可忍

2010-04-22T21:19:00.000-07:00

20 April, 7.30 a.m.: Ben, my regular taxi driver was ferrying me to KLIA to catch a flight to attend the Food Hotel Asia Trade Show in Singapore. As we backed up in heavy traffic, we talked about how too many cars in densely populated neighborhood often led to parking disputes. I had borne the brunt of such distaste.

Our conversation led us to a recent incident reported in the newspaper where one man bashed the head of another in with a large rock due a minor accident. And for what? He will be jailed a long time for that moment of outburst if found guilty. It was then, Ben spouted out “退一步, 海阔天空” tuìyībù, hǎikuò-tiānkōng loosely translated as “taking a step back, the situation is as boundless as the sea and sky”. I was both amused and impressed. I reached for my notebook and asked him to repeat that.

He obliged. Then with a smile, he added “忍一时, 风平浪静” rěnyīshí, fēngpíng-làngjìng “tolerate for a while, both the wind and waves calm down”, to further drive in his point.

But he told me there are times when one is really at the end of his tolerance 忍无可忍 rěnwúkěrěn. His neighbor will steal anything he can reach from his side of the fence – pails, brushes, car shampoo, etc. At times like this he reminded himself of his neighbor’s elderly parent who are such nice and polite people, and that 10 brushes only costs RM12.00. So he concluded with a sigh – still I find the reasons to tolerate 还是要忍 háishiyàorěn.

As we approached the airport building, this thought crossed my mind before I alighted from the car - 三人行必有我师 sānrénxíng bìyǒuwǒshī, “there is a teacher among every three persons I meet”…

Learning Chinese – Part I. 另一种语言

2010-04-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

It is not easy learning another language. Especially Chinese which is universally acknowledge as one of the most difficult in the world. But I had to do it. Why? Being of Chinese descent is a good reason. But more so because I once read that –

If you know only one language, you're a prisoner, stuck in the tyranny of that one language.
-Andrew Cohen, professor of linguistics (1944- )
如果你只会一种语言,你就是它的暴政囚犯.

rúguǒ nǐ zhǐhuì yīzhǒng yǔyán, nǐ jiùshì nà yǔyán de bàozhèng qiúfàn

And you never know how true that is until you start to learn another language. You thought the language you mastered contained all you need and you took pride in the beauty of your language until you took up another and see a whole new world. It will not in any way diminish the appreciation of your own language, but enhance it by broadening your views. Federico Fellini puts it better –

A different language is a different vision of life.
另一种语言是生活的另一种眼光.
lìngyīzhǒng yǔyán shì lìngyīzhǒng yǎnguāng

Learning another language is like stepping through the door to another dimension. You can only go to that dimension if you have that magic key, and that magic key is its language. The greater your command of that language, the richer is the unfolding scenery. I am determined that it is worth the sacrifice for the Czech 捷克人 jiékèrén said it is living a new life.

Kolik jazyků znáš, tolikrát jsi člověkem.
You live a new life for every new language you speak.
If you know only one language, you live only once.
(Czech proverb)

If you followed this blog, you will already know how much I gained by travelling down this unfamiliar road. The experience I had, the people I met, the knowledge I gained; I will never have enjoyed that had I not made those “desperate” attempts to bridge the gap. It was not all fun. I found myself in some rather uncomfortable situations when my attempt to communicate fell flat. I found people at the other end of the divide who could not warm up to me because I could not effectively communicate (being a rather reserved person did not help either). I was not “one of them” because I could not speak their lingo. The problem is not with them. The problem is with of my command of the language. And only I can do something about it. For the Russian 苏联人 Sūliánrén said –

Language is not honey but it can bind everything (person).

语言不是蜜，却可粘住一切东西。
yǔyán bùshì mì, quèkě zhānzhù yīqiè dōngxi.

I am under no illusion how difficult this will be. But I know how much I stand to gain. I can only hope it will get easier as it goes along for everything is more difficult at the start. 凡是总是由难而易 fánshì zǒngshì yóunán éryì. After all Chinese has an old saying that said “Bitter first, sweet later” 先苦后甜 xiānkǔhòutián…

“Reborn at the End of the Road” 绝处逢生

2010-04-14T23:23:00.000-07:00

I waited in a long queue to have the book I bought signed. When it was my turn, I told Dr. Hsu that of the 19 books he wrote this was the only one I could read. It was translated into English. He looked up, gave me that boyish smile of his and said that more are being translated. The book I gave him to sign is “Reborn at the End of the Road” or 绝处逢生 juéchù-féngshēng. The Chinese title is a proverb meaning “being unexpectedly rescued from a hopeless situation”.

And that is what Dr. Hsu preached in that book. That cancer is not the end a road but the beginning of a new one. He boldly declared that 癌症不是 - 症! Áizhèng bù shì zhèng! meaning that cancer is not a disease of the body. He said that cancer is a distortion of our emotion that over time expresses itself as a disease. That modern medical treatment only emphasizes on the treatment of the body hence only the symptoms. In that, it is only attending to the trifles while neglecting the essentials, 舍本逐末 shěběn-zhúmò. He believed treatment should be from a holistic approach, from body, mind and spirit 身心灵 shēnxīnlíng. If we only rely on what medical science or alternative medicine can provide, it will never be enough for we did not treat the root cause; for cancer is just a reflection of our life’s condition through our body. Thus, we can only cure cancer through our heart「心」xīn.

If we believe Dr. Hsu, we will believe that cancer is a turning point in our life. It forces us to re-examine our life and ask “what do we live for?” If we are honest with ourselves and boldly live the life we wanted, we will be liberated and find the reason and will to live. I cannot do justice to this wonderful book with this brief description and can only recommend that you read it yourself even if you are healthy. For the lesson within applies to everyone whether healthy or sick…

(p.s. This is probably one of the best books to give to a patient. I once gave “Searching for Shangrila” to a friend who had a heart attack. (如果你用心寻找, 香格里拉可能就在一杯热腾腾的酥油茶中… If you search with your heart, Shangri-la may even be found in a steaming cup of yak butter tea…). When I told him I was deliberating between giving him that book and “Reading Lolita in Teheran”, he cracked up until tears rolled down his eyes and said “you’re killing me!” Well, I did not. And laughing in the face of death may have opened up a few stitches but did his heart a world of good.)

Trying Hard to Chew 贪多嚼不烂

2010-04-11T01:59:00.000-07:00

Sitting in the large hall with a few hundred other participants, the thought I must have bitten off more than I could chew 贪多嚼不烂 tānduō jiáobulàn crossed my mind. Here I was attending a seminar given totally in Mandarin on emotion 情绪 qíng xù when I did not even know what this word was before I signed up. When I started this blog, I intended to immerse myself into the Chinese speaking world to see what rubs off besides the language. Anyway, I believed that to really learn something, one has to leave familiar ground and extend beyond our comfort zone.

So there I sat, stretching my ears to pick up unfamiliar sounds, words and phrases from 1 p.m. in the afternoon to 9 p.m. at night. At the end, my ears were exhausted and my head was swimming but I was still thinking in English. I could comprehend maybe 80% to 90% of what was conveyed in general (and much less word for word) and which was not good enough for I would not want the doctor who is deciding whether I am sane or not to only understand 90% of what I was saying and guessing the rest!

This team of experts from Taiwan was led by Dr. Xu TianSheng 许添盛 (also Hsu Tien-Sheng due to the way Chinese is pronounced in English). They asked a provocative question – did you invite your depression 忧郁症 yōuyùzhèng, chronic diseases 慢性病 mànxìngbìng and cancer 癌症 áizhèng to be your spokesman? All 5 talks were preceded by a short sketch that impressed upon the audience how little control we have on our emotions. How we let powerful emotions such as panic 恐慌 kǒnghuāng, anxiety 焦虑 jiāolǜ, anger 愤怒 fènnù, self-reproach 自责 zìzé and jealousy 妒忌 dùjì rule us. I was swarmed not only by feelings but also words of feelings! Now I was beginning to feel a little inadequate, 不自量力 bùzìliànglì, of trying to run before I could walk. “没关系” méi guānxi (never mind), I tried to console myself. A missed word or two here and there was not going to trip me.

The speakers told us how we recognize these emotions as negative so we strived to restrain and suppress them. But this misunderstanding slowly and gradually leads to a distortion of our energy that affected both our physical and mental health. And as a result, we became afflicted with diseases. It also resulted in wasting a precious opportunity to reflect on what our body and emotion is trying to tell us. I was beginning to understand what 普悦 pǔyuè meant (see April 5 post on Emotional Utopia) when she told us that she listened to what her cancer was saying to her…

(to be continued…)

A Man in “Jiang Hu”. 人在江湖

2010-04-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

There were 3 main elements in the Butterfly & Sword. 流星•蝴蝶•剑 Wuxia story 武侠小说 (see earlier post – 29 Mar). The shooting star 流星 liúxīng represents brilliance, glory but also brevity. The butterfly 蝴蝶 húdié represents beauty, fragility, and romance. The sword 剑 jiàn represents fame, ruthlessness and ambition. Which of the three is temporal? Which of the three is eternal? Maybe, we should instead ask what is beauty? What is brilliance? What is eternity? Is brilliance and eternity the fluttering of the butterfly’s wings? Or the rule of the blood soaked sword?

The comment by reader Choo below explored these themes. The beautiful words are from her, the poor translations are all mine and I took artistic liberty to interpret them the way it appealed to me. Please let us have your comments if you disagree.

江湖恩怨, jiānghú ēnyuàn
政坛风云, zhèngtán fēngyún
The gratitude and enmity of “Jiang Hu”,
Or the turbulence of politics.

是敌或友, shìdí huòyǒu
谁是谁非, shuíshì shuífēi
Whether friends or foes,
Whether right or wrong;

扑朔迷离, pūshuò-mílí
像雾里看花, xiàng wùlǐ kànhuā
难分虚实. nánfēn xūshí
Are all complicated and confusing,
Like looking at flowers through the fog,
Impossible to distinguish with certainty.

剑虽无情, jiànsuī wúqíng
却光芒永恒. què guāngmáng yǒnghéng
Though the sword is heartless,
Is the glory forever?

但江湖儿女私情, dànjiānghú ér-nǚ sīqíng
更为万人所道, gèngwéi wànrén suǒdào
Or will it be the romance
That will be recalled

叫人回肠荡气. jiàorén huícháng dàngqì
And which touches the soul?

Whether in the world of Jiang Hu or in this very real world we lived in, very often we are not in control of the situation we found ourselves in. (Hence, the proverb 人在江湖, 身不由己rénzàijiānghú, shēnbùyóujǐ which was a title of another of 古龙 Gulong’s martial arts novel). But it is how we response to the world we lived in that determines who we are. What will be that wish we will make at the sighting of the falling star?

Emotional Utopia 寻找情绪的桃花源

2010-04-05T07:18:00.000-07:00

I was intrigued by the newspaper article about 5 speakers from Taiwan coming to give a talk on the subject of emotion 情绪 qíng xù. Their title was 寻找情绪的桃花源 xúnzhǎo qíngxù de táohuāyuán loosely translated as “Seeking our emotional paradise” So I gathered it is about how to control our emotions to create the harmony found in 桃花源 the land of the Peach Blossom (see last post). So on the 8 March, we went for the free introduction to the seminar.

I was surprised that the talk was held in a beautiful old bungalow at a secluded corner of an older section of PJ. We sat on the wooden floor facing a large bowl of pink frangipani freshly plucked from the large tree in the garden. We waited in anticipation, in a tastefully decorated, brightly lighted and well equipped hall.

A cheerful, “short, well-rounded” (in her own words) middle-age lady took the mike and soon arrested the attention of the fifty or so of us seated on the wooden floor. Her name is 普悦 pǔyuè, the founder of Reset Garden 綠色生活 lǜsè shēnghuó (literal: Green Living), She spoke of how emotion can be a wild tornado that swept everything off its path or the calm in the storm lashing all round us. Her enthusiasm and booming laughter were infectious as she made jokes on herself. Then her voice cracked as she spoke of personal feelings, how she was a tempestuous mother and driven wife. All because she let 情绪 emotion ruled her. Do we want to tame the beast? She asked. The crowd was convinced.

Then, she dropped a bomb shell that she has 癌症 áizhèng (cancer). It was deeply shocking for the woman in front of me is so full of life. What this amazing woman said next stayed with me – “I started to really live only when I found I’ve cancer. It taught me to step back, reflect, and value life. It asked me if the life I was living was really the life I wanted. I’m grateful for what it taught me”.

Thankful for having cancer? On my long drive back, my mind were digesting her words mixed with this thought – 江山易改, 本性难移, jiāngshānyìgǎi, běnxìngnányí (it is easy to change rivers and hills but not man’s character). Still, if there is a compelling reason, man can have a paradigm shift. I signed up for the seminar 寻找情绪的桃花源 and hope it can teach me how to make emotion 情绪 an ally in life…

Heaven on Earth 桃花源

2010-04-01T06:18:00.000-07:00

Let us leave the Three Kingdoms to go to a land of eternal happiness – Peach Blossom Spring 桃花源 táo huā yuán. During the reign of Emperor XiaoWu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (376－396), a fisherman following a stream suddenly came across a grove full of blossoming peach trees with lovely petals sweeping down, carpeting the ground. At the stream’s source through an opening in the hill, he came across a fertile plain with mulberry trees, serene ponds and swaying bamboos gracing the land.

There were well kept houses and men and women working in the field. Everyone whether young or old all seemed to be contented and happy. They were amazed to see the fisherman and treated him well. After several days of great hospitality, the fisherman bade them farewell and they told him “it is not worth telling people on the outside about us.” As he retraced his route, he left markers to find his way back. But he and others could never find that place again.

Shangri-la 香格里拉 xiāng gé lǐ lā is the Western equivalent of 桃花源. Both these names have become synonymous with our search for our 人间乐园 rénjiān lèyuán, our paradise on Earth. But where should we begin to start searching…? Or is it like the Tibetan said, “Happiness can be found in a cup of yak butter tea”. In the next post, I will tell you where my search led me…

(Meanwhile, this weekend I’m going to a retreat to do “unconscious dancing” 无意识舞蹈 wúyìshí wǔdǎo, for a few days. Stayed tune if you want to know more about it.)

Butterfly & Sword. 流星•蝴蝶•剑

2010-03-29T07:54:00.000-07:00

Something happened yesterday (Sunday) that made me wrote this instead of what I had intended. It had to do with the messy election of the Malaysian Chinese political party where the choices should have been who you wanted to vote out rather than in. The politicians involved were like the characters portrayed in 流星•蝴蝶•剑 liúxīng húdié jiàn (Shooting Star, Butterfly and Sword), a 1973 武侠小说 wǔxiá xiǎoshuō Wuxia or martial arts novel by Gu Long 古龙 gǔlóng, one of the two arguably most influential Wuxia novelists. Even the intrigues and betrayals of this complicated story pales in comparison with the actual events. What made it even more interesting was that after being betrayed by his trusted man and long-time friend (as also happened in the story), the politician affected quoted this very book.

This novel was made into a movie in 1976 with the unfortunate English title of “The Killer Clans”. It started my love for the world of Jianghu 江湖 jiānghú. (An imaginary Chinese martial arts world that intersects the real one. Literally, the term means rivers and lakes; real yet not solid like the ground you stood on. And on a misty morning, you are never really sure that the waters are real or just a figment of your imagination even though you have sailed it the night before.) It was remade in 1993 as “Butterfly & Sword” starring Michelle Yeoh but that adaptation was rubbish.

In the original movie, the leader of the 龙门 lóngmén Dragon Gate Society was forced to trust the assassin who was sent to kill him and when he was asked why, he gave this poignant reply “You are the only one whom I can trust for I know your true intention. You were sent to kill me.” Incidentaly, the politician concerned did not survive the election (but his ex-man did) but if I could vote, he would the last I voted out for he at least (too late) has the wisdom to see that the sword has no feeling.

This is the introduction to the tale of 流星•蝴蝶•剑 (truncated with apology).

流星的光芒虽短促,但天上还有什么星能比它更灿烂,辉煌
蝴蝶的生命比鲜艳的花还脆弱。它的生命虽短促却芬芳。

只有剑,才比较接近永恒。
一个剑客的光芒与生命,往往就在他手里握着的剑上,
但剑若也有情,它的光芒是否也就会变得和流星一样短促。

"The shooting star is brilliant although short-lived, but which star in the sky is more glorious.
The butterfly is more fragile than even the colorful flowers. Its life is short but beautiful.

Only the sword is more enduring.
The life and brilliance of the swordsman is that sword he held in his hand.
But should the sword have feeling, will its brilliance be as short as the shooting star?"

It is a pity that the characters in the tale and the politicians never realize that even if their swords are heartless, their glory will still be as brief as that flash of light, and less bright.

For Five Bushels of Grain 为五斗米折腰

2010-03-27T06:04:00.000-07:00

“For five bushels of grain 为五斗米折腰 wèi wǔ dǒu mǐ zhéyāo, I bow like a servant.” This was the lament of Tao Qian (365 or 372-427) 陶潜 táo qián also known as Tao Yuanming 陶渊明 táo yuān míng, one of the most influential pre-Tang poets. 五斗米 refers to the miserly salary of a low ranking officer. Today, the proverb is taken to mean "swallowing one's pride in exchange for a meager existence".

Weary of the formal and corrupted life in court, he retired at the young age of 40 and celebrated his freedom with the poem “Returning to My Garden” 归园田居 guī yuán tián jū. The last two lines of that poem was –

久在樊笼里 jiǔ zài fánlóng lǐ
复得返自然 fù de fǎn zìrán
Long have I been in a cage
I return to my natural self.

He lived out the remaining 22 years of his life in peaceful retirement despite many attempts to lure him back. He devoted himself to be a gentleman farmer and a poet of nature. His poetry only came to be appreciated for its simple beauty during the Tang and Song Dynasties. He is a man worthy of respect. Wish I could emulate him.

Even Du Fu 杜甫 dùfǔ had this to say of him:

Only by wine one's heart is lit,
Only a poem calms a soul that's torn.
You'd understand me, Tao Qian.
I wish a little sooner I was born!

He is also the author depicting the mysterious and intriguing world in Peach Blossom Spring 桃花源 táo huā yuán to be found in the next post...

Three Smelly Tanners 三个臭皮匠

2010-03-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

The other famous saying from the Three Kingdoms should of course belong to none other than Zhuge Liang (please refer to earlier post). But somehow I never quite like this proverb because of my high regards for Zhuge Liang and because I do not think the analogy is that good.

三个臭皮匠, 胜过一个诸葛亮 sāngè chòu píjiang, shèngguo yīgè Zhūgě Liàng –“ three smelly tanners, surpass one Zhuge Liang”. 皮匠 píjiang is both interpreted as cobbler or tanner. My personal take on this is tanner because of the word 臭 chòu (smelly). Tanners definitely smell worse than cobblers. And I am not joking about this either. The profession of tanner is also held in lower regards being involved in a dirty, smelly job involving carcasses.

The reason I do not like this proverb is that while three tanners may overpower Zhuge Liang by brute force, a thousand tanners will not match him in wit. Anyway the usage has evolved to mean “two heads are better than one”. It is also use to mean that the wisdom of the masses exceeds that of the wisest individual. In the time of dynasties, nobody really cares for the masses so I wonder when this meaning crept in. It did remind me of a recent book “The wisdom of crowds: why the many are smarter than the few and how ... By James Surowiecki” Maybe, he knows this Chinese proverb…

Speaking of the Devil 说曹操曹操就到

2010-03-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

Cao Cao 曹操 Cáo Cāo (155-220), the chancellor of Eastern Han is another central figure in the story of the Three Kingdom. He was often portrayed as deceitful and ruthless. A critic by the name of XuShao 许劭 [xǔ shào] living during that period was famed for his ability to assess a person’s potential and talents. Cao Cao visited him but XuShao initially refused to say anything because he despised Cao Cao. However upon persistent questioning he said 治世能臣, 乱世奸雄 [zhì shì néng chén, luàn shì jiān xióng ]; “in time of peace a capable minister, in troubled time an ambitious scoundrel”. Cao Cao laughed and as was his nature, took it as a compliment.

Because 奸 [jiān] means treacherous and evil while 雄 [xióng] means powerful and associated with hero as in 英雄 yīngxióng (hero), there are several interpretations to 奸雄 jiān xióng. XuShao's choice of words may also be deliberate, Cao Cao was too powerful to offend yet he did not want to tell a lie, hence the ambiguity. A hero or a scoundrel? That is up to you. The partly fictional Romance of the Three Kingdom tends to portray him as the villain but historical facts tends to view him more kindly.

说曹操曹操就到 [shuō Cáo Cāo Cáo Cāo jiù dào] – “Speak of Cao Cao and he appears” is probably the most famous phrase to come out from the Romance of the Three Kingdom. The English equivalent is “Speak of the devil”. This phrase is still in common usage today.

When Emperor Han Xian 汉献帝 (Hàn Xiàndì) was attacked, someone recommended that he sought Cao Cao’s help. He agreed and ordered a message to be sent. But before it was delivered, Cao Cao arrived to save the king. Henceforth, the proverb became widespread.

Did you know that this ruthless general is also an accomplished poet? In future posts, I will share with you some of his poems…

Smelling with the Ear. 闻

2010-03-22T07:02:00.000-07:00

Wanderlust in her comment said that another Chinese character for smell is 闻 'wen' which consist of an 耳 (ěr) 'ear' inside a door 门 mén. How confusing she said, do the Chinese smell with their ear?

Ah, but she forgets that another meaning of 闻 'wen' is hear as in 新闻 (xīnwén) which is a combination of two characters 新 xīn (new) + 闻 wén hear = “new things you hear” hence “news”. This is a compound word and the majority of Chinese vocabulary are made up of them. So 闻 wén is an 耳 (ěr) 'ear' listening at the door 门 mén (which also serves as the phonetic) making it a logical explanation for hear. But I am sorry I do not have an explanation as to why it is also used to mean smell as well. Looks like the Chinese can both smell and hear with the same word.

As in English, not everything about the language is logical. There are many instances which defy logic and make learning frustrating. You will just have to use your imagination. Or some logic may have just being lost through time. But this is not a scientific language so we should not expect everything to be in perfect order. I’ll leave you with this idiom about hearing - 百闻不如一见 bǎiwén bùrú yījiàn A hundred hearings are inferior to one look.

Zhu-ge Liang’s Advice Fell on Deaf Ears. 出师表

2010-03-20T23:26:00.000-07:00

As we flew over the South China Sea, we talked about the famous strategist of the “Romance of the Three Kingdom” 三国演义 [Sānguó yǎnyì] fame – Zhuge Liang 诸葛亮 [Zhūgě Liàng], the chancellor of the state of Shu 蜀 [shǔ]. Before he left for the Northern expedition in 227 against the state of Wei 魏 [Wèi], he wrote a famous memorial advising his emperor, the incompetent Liu Shan 刘禅 [Liúshàn] (207 – 271) of the art of proper governance. The state of 吴 [Wú] makes up the three kingdoms.

He advised his emperor not to lose himself in the pursuit of mean things, to enforce a just law that rewards the good and punish the evil; and to avoid sycophants. This advice is still valid almost two thousand years later for every power on Earth. He gave his reason for his military expedition which is why it is called 出师表 [chūshībiǎo] “Memorial on the eve of Departure”. I like this translation better as it is more poetic than the more accurate “Military Expedition Memorial” for 出师 means sending out an army. 师 by itself is more commonly used to mean teacher or master.

He exhorted his emperor to continue the unfinished work of his late father Liu Bei 刘备[Liú Bèi] (161-223 A.D.) to further the glory of the Kingdom of Shu. He should have saved his breath for his good advice fell on deaf ear. Zhuge Liang died of illness seven years later in 234 after the series of indecisive Northern campaigns. The state of Shu fell to Wei just two years later in 236 after his death.

As wise as Zhuge Liang was, he let emotion (loyalty) interfered with his judgment. For he himself did not heed Liu Bei’s words at his deathbed – “If he (Liu Shan) does not have the necessary qualities to be an emperor, you mustn’t make him the emperor of Shu in Chengdu.” It is for this reason that the childhood name of Liu Shan, "A Dou" (阿斗) is taken to mean an incompetent weakling.

In the next posts, I’ll share two of the most popular sayings to come out from the story of the three kingdom…

Warning the Crocodile. 祭鳄鱼文

2010-03-20T08:12:00.000-07:00

My boss continued with the story of how Hán Yù 韩愈 (768-824) n. a leading Tang statesman, philosopher and poet warned the crocodile in a declaration named 祭鳄鱼文 [jì è yú wén] literally translated as “Sacrifice the Crocodile” when he became the governor of ChaoZhou. At that time, crocodiles were infesting the water of the Han river and were responsible for the deaths of many domesticated animals and even human.

That is intolerable, Han Yu decided. But before he attempted to get rid of them, he first sacrificed a goat and a pig to the crocodiles and wrote an essay to them. It went something like this – “This river belongs to my emperor and you are trespassing. I’m giving you 3 days to move out peacefully. If 3 days is not enough, I’ll make it 5. But if you are still not out by 7, I will take it you have no intention of leaving so I will declare war on you! And I will shoot with poisoned arrows till all of you perish. Now, don’t you regret then!” Not only are the Chinese language crazy, but they are too! Imagine making a formal declaration of war on crocodiles. No Pearl harbour here, you’ve been warned! But you can’t help admiring them for being so civilized. According to the legend, believe it or not; it was effective for not long after, all the crocodile were gone from Han river.

Before this declaration, Han river was known as "鳄溪" or "恶溪" both pronounced as [èliú]. 鳄 = crocodile and 恶= evil; and both of them are pronounced as è. Same sound for two different meanings but this case the two meanings mean the same for the crocodiles are evil, at least from the inhabitants standpoint. The Chinese are very creative with this type of word play…

Nose is Me. 自是我.

2010-03-18T06:07:00.000-07:00

2.30 am this morning (Monday 3 Mar), cruising at 36,000 feet, halfway through my return from Shenzhen to KL, my boss seated next to me said “nose is me”.

“Is it?” I asked. “That is interesting!”

He was referring to the ancient time when the Chinese would point to his nose indicating “this is me.” Thus the Chinese character 自 [zì] is actually a picture of a nose. Since a nose breathe, it also mean” breath” when combined with other character components such as –

自 (zì) 'nose' over 心 (xīn) 'heart' = 息 [xī] breath, or
自 (zì) 'nose' over 犬 (quǎn) 'dog' = 臭 [chòu] stinking.

I don’t think I need to describe to you how a wet dog smells, do I?

But it is not that simple, for it never was. For 臭 can be read as [chòu] bad smell or [xiù] sniff, smell. If "xiu", we can used our nose to smell both the wet dog or the sweet fragrance of the wild rose. Did I lose you there? No surprise. Welcome to a language devised by the devil to torment us, English speakers. I could ignore it if only it were not so beautiful...