一無所有 (song)

During the Chinese New Year, I finished the book “The Sound of Resistance: from Bob Dylan to U2,” reviewing a convention of protest singers of the past century passed along from Joe Hill, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger to Bono.

As someone born in the 60s, growing in the 70s and 80s ‘s Taiwan, it’s almost impossible for me not to have heard of songs such as “We Shall Overcome,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” “Blowing in the Wind,” and “One.” Likewise it’s impossible for us not to have seen such a familiar scene of protest from the 70s, 80s in Taiwan.

In June of 1989, we shed tears in front of TV displaying what was happening in Tiananmen Square. We saw a man stood tall in front of a tank and later as a flat piece on the ground, which you thought could only be seen in cartoon. That year we heard the song一無所有(yi4 wu2 suo3 you3) "Nothing to My Name" by 崔健(cui jian4) as an anthem to student protestors in Tiananmen Square.

Cui is often labeled as “The Father of Chinese Rock.” His hoarse voice reminds me of Bruce Springsteen. When hundreds of thousands of people shouted and sang that they got “nothing to their name,” the song had its moment in the history.

Earlier this month, a Chinese woman had a clash with a Hong Kong resident, who tried to stop her kid from eating noodles on the subway train. The clash was such that the train had stopped for a while.

To this event a professor from Beijing University 孔慶東(Kong3 qing4 dong) remarked on a show that Hong Kong residents are “dogs,” and only with people of “lower-class” is law necessary. Calling someone a dog is very insulting in the Chinese language for it’s degrading someone as 畜生(chu4 sheng), a beast.

After that controversial remark, he criticized Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 14 this year as a “fake democracy.”

I don’t know why, but I just feel at this moment, some two decades away from the protest students singing the song “Nothing to My Name” in Tiananmen Square, when China has risen as an economic strength, this Cui Jian’s song still sounds great.

As the singer sings in the song, for a man who has “nothing to his name,” it’s next to impossible that any girl would go with him. No wonder the numbers of people in Hong Kong or in Taiwan who consider themselves 中國人(zhong guo2 ren2) are both falling abruptly.
 

      一無所有(yi4 wu2 suo3 you3) Nothing to My Name

我曾經問個不休　妳何時跟我走

(wo3 ceng2 jing wen4 ge bu4 xiu/ ni3 he2 shi2 gen wo3 zou3)

I’ve kept asking when you will go with me.
可妳卻總是笑我　一無所有

(ke3 ni3 que4 zong3 shi4 xiao4 wo3/ yi4 wu2 suo3 you3)

You’re always laughing at me, saying I have nothing to my name.
我要給妳我的追求　還有我的自由

(wo3 yao4 gei3 ni3 wo3 de zhui qiu3/ hei2 you3 wo3 de zi4 you2)
I wanna give you my quest and freedom.

可妳總是笑我　一無所有
(ke3 ni3 zong3 shi4 xiao4 wo3/ yi4 wu2 suo3 you3)

You’re always laughing at me, saying I have nothing to my name.
喔　妳何時跟我走　喔　妳何時跟我走

(Ou ni3 he2 shi2 gen wo3 zhou3/ Ou ni3 he2 shi2 gen wo3 zhou3)

Oh, When will you go with me, go with me.

腳下這地在走　身邊那水在流

(jiao3 xia4 zhe4 di4 zhai4 zhou3/ shen bian na4 shui3 zhai4 liu2)

The land under my feet is moving. The water by my side is flowing.
可妳卻總是笑我　一無所有

(ke3 ni3 zong3 shi4 xiao4 wo3/ yi4 wu2 suo3 you3)
You’re always laughing at me, saying I have nothing to my name.

為何妳總笑個沒夠　為何我總要追求

(wui4 he2 ni3 zhong xiao4 ge mei2 gou4/ wui4 he wo3 zhong3 yao4 zhui qiu2)

Why do you keep laughing? Why do I keep questing?
難道在妳面前我永遠　是一無所有

(nan2 dao4 zhai4 ni3 mian4 qian2 wo3 yong yuan3/ shi4 yi4 wu2 suo3 you3)
Do I always have nothing in front of you?
喔　妳何時跟我走　喔　妳何時跟我走

(Ou ni3 he2 shi2 gen wo3 zhou3/ Ou ni3 he2 shi2 gen wo3 zhou3)

Oh, . . When will you go with me, go with me.
(腳下這地在走　身邊那水在流　腳下這地在走　身邊那水在流)

告訴妳我等了很久　告訴妳我最後的要求

(gao4 su4 ni3 wo3 deng3 le hen3 jiu3/ gao4 su4 ni3 wo3 zhui4 hou4 de yao qiu2)

I’ve been waiting for long. I’ll tell you my final request.
我要抓起妳的雙手　妳這就跟我走

(wo3 yao4 zhua qu3 ni3 de shuang shou3/ ni3 zhe4 jiu4 gen wo3 zhou3)

I wanna hold your hands, asking you to come with me.
這時妳的手在顫抖　這時妳的淚在流

(zhe4 shi2 ni3 de shou43 zai4 zhan4 dou3/ zhe4 shi2 ni3 de lei4 zai4 liu2)

Your hands are shaking; your tears shedding.
莫非妳是正在告訴我　妳愛我一無所有

(mo4 fei ni3 shi zhong4 zai4 gao4 su4 wo3/ ni3 ai4 wo3 yi4 wu2 suo3 you3)

Are you telling me you love me even though I have nothing?
喔　妳這就跟我走　喔　妳這就跟我走
(腳下這地在走　身邊那水在流　腳下這地在走　身邊那水在流)

喔　妳這就跟我走　喔　妳這就跟我走
喔　妳這就跟我走　喔　妳這就跟我走
喔　妳這就跟我走　喔　妳這就跟我走

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy-ez-6GB_w&feature=related

一無所有=一无所有

孔慶東=孔庆东

中國人=中国人

我曾经问个不休　妳何时跟我走

可妳却总是笑我　一无所有

我要给妳我的追求　还有我的自由

可妳总是笑我　一无所有

喔　妳何时跟我走　喔　妳何时跟我走

脚下这地在走　身边那水在流
可妳却总是笑我　一无所有
为何妳总笑个没够　为何我总要追求
难道在妳面前我永远　是一无所有
喔　妳何时跟我走　喔　妳何时跟我走
(脚下这地在走　身边那水在流　脚下这地在走　身边那水在流)
告诉妳我等了很久　告诉妳我最后的要求
我要抓起妳的双手　妳这就跟我走
这时妳的手在颤抖　这时妳的泪在流
莫非妳是正在告诉我　妳爱我一无所有
喔　妳这就跟我走　喔　妳这就跟我走
(脚下这地在走　身边那水在流　脚下这地在走　身边那水在流)
喔　妳这就跟我走　喔　妳这就跟我走
喔　妳这就跟我走　喔　妳这就跟我走
喔　妳这就跟我走　喔　妳这就跟我走

Why eat bullshit? (joke)

In my previous writing 字感(zi4 gan3), I talked about how Chinese characters can be put vertically or horizontally. As a result, misunderstanding arises.

For example, one day a foreigner came to a diner in Taiwan and got terribly confused. “Why eat 牛大便(niu2 da4 bian4), bull’s dropping?” asked him on reading the menu on the wall.

In Taiwan’s diners the main courses are often shown on color strips of paper on the wall. This one goes as:

牛 大 便

肉 滷 當

麵 麵

The foreigner just read the menu from left to right as reading English, when it is actually arranged downward. If you start from left, the menu goes as 牛肉麵(niu2 rou4 mian4)，beef noodles, 大滷麵(da4 lu3 mian4)，dalu noodles, and便當(bian4 dang), bento, or a boxed meal.

Another characteristic of the Chinese characters is that some characters consist of more than one unit, which is a character itself. Misunderstanding might happen with loose scribbles that do not arrange the units properly. For example, a first grader with the name 朱月坡(zhu yue4 puo) is often mistaken as 朱肚皮(zhu du4 pi2) since he puts the parts of his last word 坡 too separately with the left part 土(tu3) combined with the middle word 月, which turns to 肚. As a result, his name sounds like “pig’s belly.”

Tons of such examples can be given. 關金鵲(guan jin que4), a name after some bird, turns to be 關錯鳥(guan cuo4 niao3), literally meaning shutting in the wrong bird. It sounds funnier if you know that “bird” 鳥is also a euphemism for man’s genital.

Probably this is why we always have squares for the beginners to practice writing the characters. Take a look at those beginners’ writing without any lines or squares to confine the characters, you might be amused.

牛肉麵=牛肉面

大滷麵=大卤面

便當=便当

關金鵲=关金鹊

關錯鳥=关错鸟

祿山之爪 vs. 鹹豬手 (slang)

I read on the paper that a man on the bus had reached out his hand to a girl sexually harassing her. The girl yelled at him so that the bus driver drove the bus directly to a police station and had the man arrested. I applauded for the girl and the bus driver.

If such a thing happened one or two decades ago, I believe the reporter would describe the incident as “無聊男子亂伸祿山之爪(lu4 shan zhi zhua3.” But these days the reporter would more likely choose the term鹹豬手(xian2 zhu shou3), which is not so classical but a more modern usage.

To realize the term祿山之爪, you got to start from one of the four most famed beauties in the Chinese history, 楊貴妃(yang2 gui4 fei), which I had introduced in my previous writing “Angelina Jolie would be ugly.” It is said that Yang, though being the beloved consort of Emperor Xuangzong, had an affair with 安祿山(an lu4 shan), An Lushan, a general of Sogdian and Tujue origin who later rebelled against the Tang Dynasty. Once her breasts were bruised by An’s hands that she had to put on a piece of cloth to cover them, which is said to be the origin of 肚兜(du4 dou), bellyband, or ancient version of bra.  

Thus came the term祿山之爪. 爪usually refers to animal’s claws. Here it refers to a man’s hands that reach out to a woman’s breasts.

But these days the term has been replaced more and more often by鹹豬手, which literally means “salty pig’s hand.” The usage of “pig” is understandable since it’s always been a metaphor for lecherous perverts in the Chinese language if you have some knowledge about the classical novel 西遊記, Journey to the West, which I’ve talked a little about before.

As to the word salty, a theory is that it comes from Cantonese. I remember writing about calling a porn 鹹濕片(xian2 shi pian4) showing the implicative meaning of the word 鹹, salty. Some people say in Cantonese a pervert can be called鹹濕佬(xian2 shi lao3), which is probably why 祿山之爪is also called鹹豬手today.

A student of mine shouted and called for her boss at a Internet café, where she works during the days when a 鹹濕佬sexually harassed her for the second time the other day. They called the police and the pervert never dares to show up again. I applaud for her too.

鹹豬手=咸猪手

楊貴妃=杨贵妃

The rise and fall of a God (chop suey)

Last month we heard of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s death and saw the whole nation’s wailing for the loss of their leader, or, to be more exact, their all knowing and all powerful God.  

Seeing the painful people wailing for their leader, the only term came to my mind was 如喪考妣 (ru2 sang4 kao3 bi3), as sad as one has been bereaved of his own father or mother. 如means like; 喪bereaved; 考deceased father; 妣deceased mother.

Such a scene may seem absurd from a democratic society’s, such as Taiwan’s point of view. However, I myself have seen this happening around me in person, along with millions of Taiwanese.

When former President Chiang Kai-shek 蔣介石died in 1975, I was 10. He had been five-term president ever since he retreated to Taiwan. (5/20/1948-1/21/1949, 3/1/1950-4/5/1974 his death), “elected” by the National Assembly of the R.O.C., with a formal democracy, though. I was brought up under his regime.

When he died, our TV shows turned to black and white and no entertainment shows were allowed. All you heard was his memorial song. And you saw what you’re seeing today in the North Korea. Hundred of thousands of people were wailing on the sides of the streets on their knees during his funeral. Such a memory I’ve carried since ten is still fresh and vivid, though I did not understand what that meant as a ten year old.

When watching the follow-up news on Kim Jong Il’s death the other day, I told my 15-year-old daughter that I’d seen such a scene before. Then she told me as a joke what she had heard from her teacher, two “anecdotes” of Chiang Kai-shek, which were put in the textbook of our generation to build a just image of his, a move of 造神(zao4 shen2), creation of “God.”

To be honest, I’m so glad that such a scene is no longer seen in my society. There’s no denying that ever since Taiwan’s 38-year-long martial law, the longest in the world, was lifted in 1987, (the year I graduated from college) we’ve seen drastic changes and progress of democracy in Taiwan, though complaints do exist.  

Seeing the starving people mourning for their leader, I’m wondering how long it will take for this god (now played by his son) to fall to the ground? How long will it take for the high walls that have separated the people from outside to collapse? When will things happening these two years in the Middle East happen in this isolated peninsula?

如喪考妣=如丧考妣

蔣介石=蒋介石