As I'm getting more classes to manage starting this year, I decided to move to Google Sites, mostly because of its powerful searching function, although it's not as appealing as this one. Hit the big picture down below or the link at the bottom to visit.
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Can you figure out what Chinese characters are used in these celebrities Chinese nicknames? Find answers here. (CNN)During the Super Bowl halftime show, Chinese Internet users were abuzz about a woman called "Fruit Sister." Sounds mysterious, but you already know who she is. "Fruit Sister," or "shui guo jie," is what people in China call Katy Perry -- referring to her tendency to wear fruit costumes and bring giant fruit with her on stage. In the past, the pop star has performed in sparkly watermelon-cup bras, sung while holding a large inflatable strawberry and even burst out of a giant banana. She's also talked about growing and eating her own fruit, so it's a pretty fair nickname. But "Fruit Sister" isn't the only Western celeb to get an interesting Chinese alias. Here are a few others and the stories behind them: Lord of Butt A popular nickname for Jennifer Lopez in Hong Kong and China is "luo ba," which translates to "Lord of Butt." It's actually a bit of a pun. "Luo ba" sounds similar to how Chinese people transliterate J-Lo's last name, "Luo pei zi." Either way, it's a fitting moniker for the superstar who revealed her bare behind in the music video for her song "Booty." Curly Blessing Benedict Cumberbatch is known as "Curly Blessing," or "juan fu." In Mandarin, "juan" means curly, referring to Cumberbatch's curly hairstyle in his role as Sherlock Holmes. "Fu" means happiness, fortune, or blessing -- and it's the first part of the Chinese name for Sherlock Holmes. Put those two together, and you get something like "Curly Sherlock" or, more poetically, "Curly Blessing." Numbing-Spicy Chicken Many Chinese dishes aren't just spicy. Thanks to a special peppercorn, Sichuan cuisine carries an extra kick and will actually numb your tongue. That's why Chinese fans have nicknamed Nicki Minaj "Numbing-Spicy Chicken," or "ma la ji": She's spicy hot; she'll stun your senses and leave you wanting more.Flirty Adam Adam Levine and Keira Knightley in the 2013 film Begin Again. Americans aren't the only ones who swoon over Adam Levine; Chinese people call him "Flirty Adam," or "sao dang." "His voice is very 'unique' and kind of arousing, and his fans always refer to his numerous half naked photo shoots, which gives him the name," explains CNN's Beijing intern Sherry Ju. But sao, the Chinese word for "flirty," can also mean frivolous, silly or shallow. Cow Sister Mariah Carey's popular Chinese nickname is "Cow Sister," or "niu jie." Here's why: There's a crude but popular Chinese slang phrase, "cow's vagina" or "niubi," that means "f***ing awesome." So "Cow sister," despite the sound of it, is really a compliment, a nod to Carey's incredible singing talent. Another explanation is that it refers to a 1992 episode of "Sesame Street" that featured a singing cow named Mariah Cowey. Little Cow Chinese people call Ariana Grande "little cow" or "xiao niu" because her voice reminds them of Mariah Carey's (Cow Sister). As one Chinese Internet user says, watch Grande's cover of Mariah Carey's "Emotions," and you'll be tempted to agree. Cousin To get why Jennifer Lawrence is nicknamed "Cousin," or "biao jie," you'll have to get Chinese humor. In the run-up to the 2011 Oscars, hundreds of Chinese Internet users made joke announcements about the results, all claiming they heard them from a "cousin in the Academy." It was a playful dig at how some Chinese people are desperate to show they have powerful family members. But one Chinese Internet user upped the ante, boldly declaring that Lawrence was his cousin and that she had won the Best Actress award. Well, she didn't, but the nickname stuck. The "Boss." It's an awed reference to the entertainer's investments: From clothing companies to tech startups to golf courses to record labels, the Boss owns it all. Pikachu The joke took off in 2011 after a Taiwanese news anchor struggled with DiCaprio's name, calling him "Leonardo Pikachu" on TV. Even today, tongue-in-cheek Taiwanese media and their counterparts in Hong Kong still refer to the actor's Pokemon-inspired nickname. CNN interns Harvard Zihao Zhang, Sherry Ju, CNN's Maggie Wong and Yuli Yang contributed to this report. Click here for the original story. Here is the original story on CNN: http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/08/technology/beijing-mobile-payments-no-wallet/index.html And a video of one of my favorite Chinese street snacks. Here is the music video of the theme song from Kung Fu Panda 3. The music was written by 16-year-old Patrick Brasca (派伟俊) and it was sung by him and his teacher Jay Chou (周杰伦). January 13 is the 111st birthday of Mr. Zhou Youguang (周有光,Zhōuyǒuguāng), known as the "father of Pinyin", China's official romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. 祝周先生生日快乐! The Following article was translated by eChinacities.com
While many articles have been written about cross-cultural misunderstandings and miscommunications betweenforeigners and Chinese, often times, these articles are written from the perspective of the expat. The following article, which recently appeared onwenxuecity.com, follows similar ground but from a Chinese perspective, and for a Chinese audience (hence all of references to “foreigners” which in this case, generally means “Westerners”). While we may think that some of the explanations are a bit odd, it is nonetheless an interesting piece of cultural anthropology. With no further ado, here are the top ten misunderstands according to Chinese. 1 Praise (赞美) Foreigners take delight in praising others, and are also happy to receive praise, but Chinese will often refuse another person’s praise in order to demonstrate their modesty. This refusal will likely baffle foreigners, as it seems to them that you don’t accept their sentiment. Meanwhile, Chinese will often say kind words to another person with whom they are trying to curry favour. One way we ingratiate ourselves is by telling guests things like: “You must be tired? You should go and have a good rest” (您应该很累吧?好好休息一下). However foreigners will misunderstand this common greeting, and instead think that you are commenting on the state of their physical appearance. Foreigners really like it when others exaggerate their youthfulness or strength, and if you question their physical heath (as in the above example), they may get upset. 2 Saying “Thank you” (致谢) Chinese believe that you needn’t say “thank you” to family members or good friends after they help you, and that saying such a thing actually implies an unfriendly or estranged relationship. But foreigners are accustomed to saying “thank you” when a family member or good friend helps them, and they are taught to use polite language such as “thanks” and “please”. So, when you’re hanging out with foreigners, you definitely don’t want to be ungenerous with your “thank yous”. Not saying “thanks” will cause foreigners to assume that you are shy or impolite. 3 Traveling with a friend (出游) When Chinese travel with friends, if someone wants to buy some souvenir, they will generally first calculate how many people are in the group, and then purchase accordingly. Even if someone politely declined, Chinese will still buy one for him or her. But when travelling with a foreigner, if you decline a souvenir, don’t expect to get one anyway. Foreigners believe that they are respecting your decision by not buying you something after you’ve declined it. So, if you really want something, you should directly say so. And afterwards, be sure to sincerely thank them (see #2); in their eyes, that’s the polite way of doing it. 4 Addressing (称呼) When foreigners hear Chinese referring to them as laowai (老外), they’re unhappy, because they don’t think of themselves as being old, but as young and healthy. It’s only after they hear Chinese call a small child laowai that they realise that it has nothing to do with age, that it’s just a respectful form of address for foreigners. 5 Seeing somebody off (送别) The manner in which Chinese express emotions is relatively restrained. When seeing somebody off, choking back your tears, being stingy in your embrace and other “indifferent” displays of affection will deeply shock foreigners. So, if you’re saying goodbye to a foreigner, your manner should be a bit more unrestrained, lest they think of you as cold-hearted. 6 Give yourself a round of applause (鼓掌) During Chinese public speeches, if others start applauding something the speaker has said, to express his or her gratitude, the speaker will generally pause the speech and start clapping along with the audience. Foreigners don’t understand why you’d want to applaud yourself, which they see as very immodest. So, if your giving a speech in front of a bunch of foreigners, it’d be better to bow or wave instead of applause. Of course, just smiling and standing there is an option as well. 7 Eye contact (眼神) For many Chinese, when talking with others or giving a public speech, we shy away from making eye contact with the audience, as it’s considered quite rude. But when foreigners give public speeches, they are sure to keep near-constant eye contact with the audience, and it’s unlikely that you’ll see a public speaker who buries their head in their manuscript while talking. If you don’t have the courage to keep eye contact with your audience during your public speech, then don’t expect the audience to interact or fully engage in what you’re saying. 8 Gift giving (送礼) Chinese like to give gifts in pairs, such as two bottles of wine, two cigarettes etc. This is done both to show that we are not stingy, and because two is a culturally auspicious number. Also, when visiting a friend or a relative’s house, it’s very common for us to bring them some fruit. But in the West, when someone gives someone else a bottle of wine as a gift, it is always a single bottle. Perhaps this is because it is custom to drink the bottle of wine that the guest brings with the meal, and if the guest brings two bottles of wine, it would seem as if they are a bit of an alcoholic. It’s also uncommon for foreigners to bring fruit to a friend or relative’s house – fruit is generally the kind of gift that you’d bring someone staying in a hospital. Also, when Chinese receive gifts from others, it’s custom to take the gift and quietly set it aside and wait to open the gift until after the guests have left (lest they come off as greedy). Conversely, foreigners hope that you’ll open the gift in front of them, and then thank you for the gift afterward. 9 Being a guest in someone’s house (做客) When Chinese visit someone’s house, they like to roam about and peek around at everything. But how will foreigners look upon these acts? Although it’s hospitable to make a guest feel at home, for foreigners, it’s still taboo for guests to meander around their house nonchalantly invading their privacy. Similarly, we should refrain from asking them about private matters such as their salary, age etc. 10 Eating (吃饭) Many misunderstandings with foreigners take place at the dinner table. When Chinese invite foreigners to eat at their house, they will likely prepare 8-10 dishes. It’s best to mentally prepare the foreigners for the size of the meal to come, otherwise they will probably not have any room left by the time the final dishes come out. If you go to a foreigner’s house for a meal, there may only be one or two dishes on the table. Also, the way foreigners will comment on the meal (“These dishes are all so tasty”) are completely different from the way Chinese people comment on the meal (“this dish is too [X]…I’ll make do with it and eat a little bit.”). Chinese express their interest in others by giving them bits of food to eat, which foreigners never do – they’re most happy to let people pick and choose what they want to eat by themselves. Also, when dining with a foreigner, don’t act humble or subtle about what you want to eat – most foreigners are very direct, and if they ask you if you like eating something and you politely decline, they’ll respect your decision and won’t try to give it to you again. So, when dining with foreigners, if you’re hungry, let them know! In short, foreigners’ expressions and methods of dealing with people are very direct, and Chinese are more tactful. May the Force be with you! 愿原力与你同在 Yuàn yuánlì yú nǐ tóngzài! Phrase spoken mostly by Jedi Knights 绝地武士 (juédì wǔshì) in Star Wars (星球大战) (xīngqiú dàzhàn)
Christians in China might use the formulation ‘与……同在 ‘ to say things like ‘God is with us’ 神与我们同在 (Shén yú wǒmen tóngzài) The word 愿 yuàn is used to say ‘may…’ at the start of sentences. (from Mandarinsanity.com) |
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九月 2016
About MeI currently teach Mandarin Chinese at Avon Public Schools, Connecticut. I am also Associate Professor of English in the School of Foreign Languages at Shandong Normal University. Categories
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