你会说中文吗?

The language and ancient culture of China includes not just the world's most enormous country but spreads across various countries of Asia - and increasingly, well beyond. Here we explore all aspects of that culture.

Here, too, is your spot for asking questions, finding resources, and/or just hanging out & chatting in Chinese (mostly Mandarin, but Cantonese and others welcome, too!).

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Chinese Opera: Compelling, Fascinating - but Definitely an Acquired Taste

Hung Chung Chih When I first witnessed a performance of Peking opera (the best-known form of Chinese opera, with Peking by the way being the traditional English spelling of Beijing) years ago in Beijing’s ornate, early-19th-century Huguang Guild Hall, I admit I was mesmerized by the gestalt of this elaborate art form. Unlike Western opera, it’s even more stylized, with exaggerated gestures, vocalisations, and heavily symbolic costume and makeup (and in some cases obviously extremely fakey…

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Using Chinese astrology for travel guidance

  RootOfAllLight Lunar New Year 2024 has just ended, landing us in the year of the Dragon, and it got me to thinking: there´s quite a bit out there on where/how to travel according to Western star signs, aligning destinations with your astrological characteristics, but you don´t hear much of anything on the subject when it comes to Chinese astrology. As someone who´s studied Chinese and Sinic culture, I looked into it a bit, and here´s what I came up with, with a couple of destination…

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How they celebrate New Year's in China

  You might wonder why this is even a question. But in fact, the Chinese-speaking world has its own big Lunar New Year celebration (in 2021, it's 12 February), and so while much of the rest of the planet makes a big deal out of New Year's Eve tonight, for many of the nearly 1½ billion inhabitants of this vast country, it simply isn't all that much of a thing. There are of course exceptions, and that's what I'm here to talk about. read post

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  • Actually, to play up the word play on "time in English", mimicking--though not entirely replicating--the word play on 天in Chinese, I'd probably change "yesterday, today and tomorrow" to "the past, the present and the future." What do you think?
    José: Is there a way for users to edit their previous comments?
  • So here's a stab at it, using time﹔
    我對佛說...

    我對佛說:讓我所有朋友永遠健康快樂~!
    佛說:只能四天~!
    我說:好,春天、夏天、秋天、冬天。
    佛說:三天。
    我說:好,昨天、今天、明天。
    佛說:不行,兩天。!
    我說:好,白天、黑天。
    佛說:不行,就一天~!
    我說:好~!

    佛茫然問到:哪一天?
    我說:在我所有朋友活著的每一天 ~! ?

    佛....笑了.

    To Buddha, I said…

    To Buddha, I said, “Let all of my friends be healthy and happy forever!”
    Buddha said, “They can only have four times!”
    I said, “All right. Springtime, summertime, autumn time, and wintertime.”
    Buddha said, “Three times.”
    I said, “OK. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”
    Buddha said, “No. Two times.”
    I said, “Fine. Daytime and nighttime.”
    Buddha said, “No. Just one time!”
    I said, “All right!
    Puzzled, Buddha said, “Which time?”

    I said, “All of the time that my friends are alive!”

    Buddha…laughed.
  • Maybe just to interpretate the sublety, and recreate an English versions - Buddha said 7 days, Little Monk says: Sunday..Monday, Tuesday... Saturday..

    If you guys can come up more... Wow, you 2 really love Chinese :) Have fun!
  • Very tricky. I thought of that, too, but it still seems problematic to me."Springtime," summertime" and "wintertime" are all fine, but is "autumn time"? "Fall time"? And how about "yesterday time," "today time" and "tomorrow time"? "Daytime" and "nighttime" are okay, but in the final sentence, "every time" doesn't work, so it would have to be "all the time." Overall, though the gist of the story could be preserved, the playfulness of the word play would be lost if you wanted the piece to read naturally in English.
  • Like a Zen riddle, perhaps...
  • I think it's very smart suggestion. The last question for 1 day will be a bit challenging.. but I think you guys will find a solution! :)
  • Would it work if, when the Buddha speaks, you translated 天 as "times," e.g., 三天 = "three times," etc.?
  • Michelle--Very difficult, if not impossible, to convey the subtlety of the message, because of the play on various usages of the word 天 in Chinese. But I admire the sentiment behind it!
  • Hi Michelle,
    Nice little gem! Translating and keeping subtlety and beauty alive is truly a conundrum, especially in this kind of context. The first problem with translating this particular piece, as I see it, is the fact that it involves a play on the different meanings of 天: as seasons, days, times of the day.... in Chinese, it works because it's always the same word; but in English, you'd have to say "seasons," "days," etc., and then it might not make sense.

    Am I making sense? Bernie? Am I totally off base?
  • Benard and Jose,
    Help with translation... It's truly lovely in Chinese, but I don't know how to work it into English without losing the subtlety..

    我對佛說...

    我對佛說:讓我所有朋友永遠健康快樂~!
    佛說:只能四天~!
    我說:好,春天、夏天、秋天、冬天。
    佛說:三天。
    我說:好,昨天、今天、明天。
    佛說:不行,兩天。!
    我說:好,白天、黑天。
    佛說:不行,就一天~!
    我說:好~!

    佛茫然問到:哪一天?
    我說:在我所有朋友活著的每一天 ~! ?

    佛....笑了.
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