Blow the bull (Animal)

The other night my coworker Mary came into the office and told me with a stunned look that some male student told her five days after seeing each other was “too long” for them to have sex with their girlfriends. We chatted a little and our conversation ended with her self-mocking of how old-fashioned and “incapable” she was in terms of relationship.

Surrounded by the teenage night school students, many of whom have started working during the days, we always know they are more open than their peers in other high school in terms of sex. Since it is an industrial vocational high school, over 95 % of the students are male. We’re used to this kind of “men’s talk.”

But I know a lot of the talk is just bragging, 吹牛(chui niu2), literally meaning to “blow the bull.” To prove my guess, I discussed this with two of my students in one of the talks with them, which is an assignment from a class in my grad school. Their talk proved my theory. A lot of those talks about their sexual experiences are just bluff or brags, 吹牛.

Why do we say that to mean bragging?

There are several theories about the origin of this slang. One of them is that in the northwestern China, such as ShangXi or Inner Mongolia, people used to cross the river on rafts that were made of bull or goat hide. Like balloons, you had to expand the rafts by blowing air into them and tie them together. Such an act of blowing air was called吹牛.

It took not only skills but stamina to expand the whole raft, which usually was done by several men taking turns. As a result, if someone claims that he can do this all by himself, it would be吹牛, bragging. Or sometimes we add the word皮(pi2), hide, as吹牛皮(chui niu2 pi).

People who love to吹牛might end up with embarrassment when the facts are disclosed, like a balloon popping. We call this situation 牛皮吹破了(niu2 pi chui po4 le), bull hide exploded. Sometimes the brags are too far-fetched to believe, we’ll say the bragger is “bragging without a draft.”

吹牛不打草稿(chui niu2 bu4 da3 cao3 gao3)

I read online that in some dialects such as 蘇州(su zho) or 貴州(gui4 zho),吹牛also means shooting the breeze.

吹牛is also a poker game, where players have to try to disclose the other players’ lies about the cards they keep. Too bad that’s the only thing I can tell you about the game, which I don’t know how to play.

According to my observations, men seem to be more likely to吹牛. Why’s that? Could it be that they are generally demanded with higher standards, such as stronger, smarter, or more capable?

蘇州=苏州

貴州=贵州

靈魂的觸鬚 (music)

In one of my grad school’s courses, I learned about Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy, a spiritual philosophy growing out of Europe transcendentalism, where Steiner attempted to find a synthesis between science and mysticism.

And thus I’ve been reading some Steiner’s speeches and works of Brian’s L. Weiss M.D., a psychotherapist who uses past-life therapy to treat his patients. I’ve been encountering the word “soul,” 靈魂(ling2 hun2), a lot these days.

You may not be sure about the existence of soul or the conception of reincarnation. But the term is used in our daily language, be it English or Chinese. For example, we use靈魂之窗(ling2 hun2 zhi chang), windows of the soul, to refer to the eyes. You ask someone to have eye contact with you when you think he’s lying to you. We believe that eyes disclose a man.

Sometimes we say 眸子(mou2 zi) instead of 眼睛(yan3 jing) in poetry or literary works. Poet余光中(yu2 guang zhong) has a poem where he describes lover’s eyes as 靈魂的觸鬚(ling2 hun2 de chu4 xu), the antennae of the soul, from which you can tell lover’s heart. Musician Li Tai-Xiang wrote a tune for the poem. It is short and simple and good. You might learn some Chinese from it as well.

當你愛我時                  作詞：余光中　作曲：李泰祥

When you love me             lyrics: Yu Guang-Zhong

                                            composer: Li Tai-Xiang

當你愛我時，你的眼睛，便時時來尋找我的；

When you love me, your eyes keep searching for mine.

當你恨我時，你的眼睛，便留心的將我的躲避。

When you hate me, your eyes deliberately avoid mine.

這一對淡褐的敏感的眸子，原是你靈魂的觸鬚。

The sensitive pair of light-brown eyes is the antennae of your soul.

從他們的方向，我可以探知，

From their direction I can detect

你靈魂每刻的消息。

The momentary message of your soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR5aUJXUF5s

SIMPLFIED

当你爱我时，你的眼睛，便时时来寻找我的；

当你恨我时，你的眼睛，便留心的将我的躲避。

这一对淡褐的敏感的眸子，原是你灵魂的触须。

从他们的方向，我可以探知，

你灵魂每刻的消息。

炒來炒去 (slang)

It’s not uncommon to see a cook stir-frying炒菜(chao3 cai4)at a Chinese restaurant. You see the cook turning his shovel with the burning flames and the steaming smoke. You hear the jingling noise from the frying pan and turning shovel.

You’re wrong if you think the only thing we stir-fry is food.

When someone makes a fortune by speculating in real estate, we’ll say he made a fortune by炒地皮(chao3 di4 pi2) or 炒房產(chao3 fang2 chan3), literally meaning “stir-frying” land or real estate. People in Hong Kong might say 炒樓(chao3 lou2).

It’s been a heated topic these days in Taiwan as DDP’s vice presidential candidate Su Jia-chyuan’s spotlighted “luxurious farm house” has raised a lot of controversy. With the disclosure of Su’s several illegal property, people suspect that he and his wife had abused his power as Pingtung county magistrate or president of Council of Agriculture and involved in 炒地皮.

Not only can you炒地皮, you can also炒股(chao3 gu3), speculate in the stock market, 股票市場(gu3 piao4 shi4 chang3). Since stocks are called 股票, the act of speculators’ frequent trading, or the pump and dump in the stock market thus is compared to that of the cooks stir-frying in the pan.

With the approach of the presidential election, tons of political hypes are going on with the media. Politicians are not alone in doing this. Entertainers striving for publicity sometimes promote themselves doing the same, such as getting reported for being involved with some celebrities. Such an act is called 炒新聞(chao3 xin wen2), “stir-frying news.”

 

炒魷魚(chao3 you2 yu2), “stir-frying squid” is certainly not a good piece of news for an employee, because it means getting fired by your boss. I’m not sure the origin of this saying.

A theory about this is that in Hong Kong or Kuangdong, there used to be a lot of immigrating laborers who came along with only a sack or bamboo mat to sleep on, which is also called 舖蓋(pu4 gai4). When an employee was fired, he had to roll up his sack and leave; thus comes the term捲舖蓋走路(jian3 pu4 gai4 zou3 lu4), roll up the sack and leave, to mean getting fired. The rolled up sack resembles the curled stir-fried squid in shape as you see in the picture below. This is said to be the origin of the term炒魷魚to mean getting fired.

 炒鱿鱼_互动百科 300 x 256 |19k hudong.com

Last but not least. Though I mentioned it in my previous writing about euphemism, I think as I’m talking about the 炒-related terms, I’d better not miss this one—炒飯(chao3 fen4), which in Taiwan is sometimes used not to refer to stir-fried rice as its original meaning, but an euphemism for having sex.

炒房產=炒房产

炒樓=炒楼

股票市場=股票市场

炒新聞=炒新闻

炒魷魚=炒鱿鱼

捲舖蓋走路=卷铺盖走路

炒飯=炒饭

泡湯 (slang)

According to recent news reports, over 200 people have died in flooding in Thailand since mid-July. 58 of its 77 provinces were badly hit. Huge tracts of farmland are submerged, threatening this year's rice crop. This is certainly one of the worst floods ever. Watching people moving around the street on rafts, a Chinese term flashed into my mind--泡湯(pao4 tang).

Literally the term means “soaking in soup.” It is used to describe a ruined plan or smashed hope. For example, when your picnic plan is ruined by a typhoon, you can say “This typhoon has made my picnic plan泡湯.” 「這個颱風害我的野餐計畫泡湯了」(zhe4 ge tai2 feng hai4 wo3 de yie3 can pao4 tang le)。 Or when the biggest-ever first prize of the lottery is announced, you’re not the winner. You probably will say “My hope has been smashed.” 「我的希望泡湯了」(wo3 de xi wong4 pao4 tang le)。

These days in Taiwan泡湯is also used to refer to going to a hot spring. In some Chinese dialects, 湯 means “hot spring.” Such a usage spread to Japan and is used in Japanese meaning the same. But in Japanese as I know there’s no such a term as 泡湯. A reasonable guess is that some people combine the word湯 with 泡, which means to soak or bathe as a term meaning going to a hot spring and having a bath there.

When describing a firm and flawless defense, we sometimes say固若金湯(gu4 ruo4 jin tang), which means as firm as金湯. 金means gold, referring to city gate made of metal, while 湯means boiling water, referring to a moat with boiling water. This term is not limited to depicting national defense. It is also used in sports games.

The second story of 二十四孝(er4 shi2 si4 xiao4), The Twenty-four Filial Examples is親嚐湯藥(qin chang2 tang yao4), Her Son Tasted Soups and Medicine, which is about how Emperor Wen of Han had taken care of his illed mother by making her herbal medicine and tasted it in person before serving it to his mother to see if it was too hot or bitter. At ancient times before the emergence of chemical medicine, people put various herbals together, simmered it and took the soup-like medicine to cure diseases. That’s why medicine was called 湯藥.

Sometimes people expect an innovation of a certain policy or system, only to find out a change in form but not in content, they’ll say it’s only換湯不換藥(huan4 tang bu2 huan4 yao4), which literally means a change of the soup but not of the medicine. With the approach of the presidential election, you’ll find a lot of “political language” which is only a play of words instead of any substantial changes.

I hope God will see Thailand through the flood.  

泡湯=泡汤

這個颱風害我的野餐計畫泡湯了=这个台风害我的野餐计划泡汤了

固若金湯=固若金汤

親嚐湯藥=亲尝汤药

換湯不換藥=换汤不换药

孝女白琴 (Custom)

If you ask me, what troubles me most living in Taiwan, I’ll say it bugs me most when someone in my neighborhood passes away and the family has a funeral with a孝女白琴(xiao4 nu3 bai2 chin2).

General speaking, living in Taiwan is pleasant. You enjoy the peace and freedom people in some other countries don’t have. But sometimes the tranquility is ruined when you hear a disturbing loud noise from the microphone with a woman crying and chanting in South Min dialect. You know that someone has died in your neighborhood. And you know you’re gonna put up with the noise for a while.

Funeral has been considered a big deal in our convention. People judge from the way a family has the funeral to see if they show 孝順(xiao4 nu3), filial piety, for their parents. To accuse someone of 不孝(bu2 xiao4) or 不肖(bu2 xiao4), neglect of filial piety, is a very serious one, which in the past might cost a man his post in the government. A government official had to retire from his work for three years if one of his parents or grandparents died, which was called 丁憂(ding you), unless the emperor ordered to discharge such a practice.

In many novels I read scenes like this: In a 靈堂(ling2 tang2), a mourning hall, where people place the deceased for people to mourn before the funeral, female family members stop whatever they are doing to howl and cry when having visitors to mourn. Or a woman comes to a靈堂, howling and yelling dramatically even though the deceased is a neighbor who she hardly cares about.

Women of the old times were in some way good actresses. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that everything you see in funerals was fake.

In short, funerals are supposed to be full of crying and mourning of the family members to show the offspring’s sorrow. But, what if someone dies with few family members or even without any offspring?

Thus comes an occupation—“professional mourners” who do the crying and howling for you. Usually it is women who do the work and we call them 孝女白琴.

It is said the name 白琴derives from a female character of a 布袋戲(bu4 dai4 xi4), Taiwanese hand puppet show 雲州大儒俠(yun2 zho da4 ru2 xia2), a hit some four decades ago. The character named白瓊(bai2 qong2) somehow was changed into白琴. She appeared in the show in a mourning dress howling for her deceased mother. The related workers thus named this occupation after her.

What bothers me is the noise they make. In a densely-populated city it’s really a pain in the neck to hear the piercing howling from a microphone, let alone the hypocrisy-tinged part.

I used to think this is an exclusive custom that is only practiced in Taiwan until I read online that in medieval Spain they have similar custom. Frankly speaking, I’m not very proud of this and I tend to be impatient when I hear such a ritual going on nearby, which rarely happens these days, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o32fBTHXeNM&feature=related

孝順=孝顺

丁憂=丁忧

靈堂=灵堂

布袋戲=布袋戏

雲州大儒俠=云州大儒侠

白瓊=白琼

When the middle class gets angry (Chop Suey)

I read on the paper that the NY police had arrested over 700 protestors participating in the “occupy Wall Street” demonstration for illegally marching on the Brooklyn Bridge. Similar protests against social economic inequality and corporate greed had started in big cities all over the US such as Washington, LA, Chicago and so on.

In August, 2006, Taiwan had a demonstration called “Million Voices Against Corruption, President Chen Must Go,” 百萬人民反貪腐倒扁運動(bai3 wan4 ren2 min2 fan3 tan fu3 dao3 bian3 yun4 dong4). Called by 施明德(shi ming2 de2), the 25-year-and-a half-year political prisoner under Chang Kai-Shek regime and former leader of DPP, 1.3 million people donated 100 NT dollars (somewhere around 3.5 US dollars) in ten days to support this demonstration requesting President Chen Shui-Bian, who is now in custody for his corruption and money laundry cases, to step down from his post.

In 2000, Chen beat the other two major pan-blue opponents and was elected President of the ROC with 39.3% of votes, ending the KMT regime since 1949 when Chang Kai-Shek retreated to Taiwan and completing so-called the first party alternation 政黨輪替(zheng4 dang3 lun2 ti4) in Taiwan. People were thrilled and considered the regime a big white hope for Taiwan’s democracy and politics.

However, people in Taiwan were disappointed not only with the retrogression of economics and diplomacy, but the numerous corruption cases related to the first family, especially the first lady Wu. In the wake of the controversial 3-19 shooting incident, Chen went on to his second term of presidency in 2004.

After writing to President Chen to ask him to resign and getting no response, Shi announced to start the demonstration on Aug, 12, 2006. From Sep, 9^th, some ninety thousand people (based on the statistics of the Taipei City Police) started a 24/7 sit in on   紅杉軍(hong2 shan jun), the red shirt protesters.  

Ketagalan Boulevard

, the plaza in front of the Presidential Building. The demonstrators all dressed themselves in red and called themselves

     (big5.china.com.cn)

The sit-in continued for over two months until the headquarters announced to “retreat” to the red shirt protester office on Nov, 29, 2006. Three big marches surrounding the Presidential Building with hundreds of thousands of participants had taken place during the period. (For the one on 9-15, there were over 360 thousand participants according to Wikipedia.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WupA97XjONE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxuBTVyGaCs&feature=related

Seeing from the purpose, you can’t call this demonstration a success because Chen stayed in his post until he finished his second term. Ironically this demonstration ended in inner frictions of the core leaders and doubts for the unclear details of the accounts.

But there’s more than one angle to see this movement. Personally I won’t call it a failure. Unlike the previous riots we see in history that were started by hungry farmers or angry mobs, this biggest-ever demonstration was triggered mostly by the middle class of the society. With such a huge crowd of people on the street for so long, it had been proceeded in order and peace without any lives claimed. The society as a whole has shown to the successors their impatience and intolerance towards corruption.

And later I read on the paper that during the demonstration, concerned with the turmoil, the first lady Wu decided to transfer a huge amount of money to a secret account at a bank in Swiss, which caused the attention of the authority concerned and lead to the investigation of the money laundry and the series of corruption cases, and hence the indictment and custody of Chen. You can never tell the potential “butterfly effects” of a demonstration.

A few weeks ago I watched a documentary on HBO concerning how the high ranking administrators of the banks had taken the bail-out money they got from the Obama government as their bonus; how some representatives of people had cashed in by abusing their power. It’s really hard not to get angry when you see how taxpayers’ money has been wasted like that, and how some people just can’t feed themselves even when they’ve been trying very hard.

When the middle class gets angry, they might be able to do a lot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0XRgy42Gk

百萬人民反貪腐倒扁運動=百万人民反贪腐倒扁运动

政黨輪替=政党轮替

紅杉軍=红杉军

見山是山 (West & East)

There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,

The earth, and every common sight,

To me did seem

Apparelled in celestial light,

The glory and the freshness of dream

It is not now as it hath been of yore;--

Turn wheresoe’er I may

By night or day

The things which I have seen I now can see no more.

--ODE: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY

 by William Wordsworth

Here the poet describes how he experienced a surge of joy as a child when he was granted an access to the world of innocence and instinct. This access to the world of innocence and instinct, however, has lost as the poet grows up. Later in the poem, he says that though he has lost some part of the glory of nature and of experience, he will take delight in “primal sympathy,” and in the fact that the years bring a mature consciousness—“a philosophic mind.” In the final stanza, the poet says that this mind—as opposed to the child’s feeling of immortality—enables him to love nature and natural beauty all the mre, for each of nature’s objects can stir him to though

This poem reminds me of a well-known 公案(gong an4), records of 禪(chan2) Zen masters' words or behavior, which goes as 見山是山(jian4 shan shi4 shan),見山不是山(jian4 shan bu2 shi4 shan)，見山又是山(jian4 shan you4 shi4 shan). Though different in meaning, they both refers to a transformation of mind we could experience as human beings.

The公案is recorded in the book 指月錄(zhi3 yue4 lu4), where a Zen master states three phases of his life as a reflection of the process before or after he started to 參禪(can chan2), trying to reach the understanding of dhyana. 

The first stage is見山是山，見水是水(jian4 shui3 shi4 shui3)which is ordinary people’s state of mind. They see the mountains and waters as what they are. They take the material world as a real, substantial one and are often obsessive with this world. They can’t tell which part of it is real or fake. Their mind are influenced or controlled by the outer world. For example, a man at this stage might be carried away by a beautiful woman.

After he started to learn Buddhism and參禪, he began to見山不是山，見水不是水(jian4 shui3 bu2 shi4 shui3).To him, a mountain isn’t a mountain while a water isn’t a water any longer, because he begins to realize that what he sees is only an unreal illusion. He separates his heart from the physical world to avoid its impact. Take the example above, he is no longer puzzled or stirred by a beautiful woman.

The final stage is見山又是山，見水又是水(jian4 shui3 you4 shi4 shui3). A mountain appears to be a mountain, and a water, a water again. He gets the illumination that his heart IS the Buddha’s heart. Everything he sees is the reflection of his heart. Dhyana exists nowhere else but in his heart. He can “kill” the outer world with his heart, which has “settled down.” A pretty woman still appears to be a pretty woman. But his heart isn’t “moved” as we say 動心(dong4 xin).

 

Chinese are not necessarily Buddhists or into Zen. But this statement of heart is often referred in daily conversation as to describe the speaker’s state of mind. Very often we have doubts in terms of our work, family life or the world. Through the ongoing experiences or our meditations, our lives show different façades to us, no matter how different they are from Wordsworth’s or Zen masters’.

禪=禅

指月錄=指月录

動心=动心d