黄
6 days ago
This is a saying used to depict corruption. It is a metaphor for officials and criminals (bandits) that are colluding and working together.
貓鼠同眠
māo shǔ tóng mián
The cat and the rat are asleep together
This proverb, relates to things that are ruined because of always adding too much. I am always itching to change things on my blog, but a little scared to change things in case you visitors don't come back, or if you do come back that you won't recognise the site.
Don't overdo things, and the Chinese have the perfect proverb here:
画蛇添足
huà shé tiān zú
Draw a snake with legs
huà shé tiān zú
Draw a snake with legs
Meaning: To ruin the effect by adding too much.
or
To overdo it
This Chinese proverb is used when talking about someone who is insincere. The English equivilant in the situation described in the Chinese version would be 'Crocodile tears'. This means to shed fake tears, when you are not really upset.
貓哭老鼠
māo kū lǎoshǔ
the cat weeps for the dead mouse
māo kū lǎoshǔ
the cat weeps for the dead mouse
Variation: 'Crocodile Tears'
You may recognise the first half of this proverb, as an English saying. I really like the addition that the Chinese have made to this common proverb. It really makes the meaning much more clear. There is much more to a person than you can possibly measure by their appearance.
人不可貌相,海水不可斗量
rén bù kě mào xiāng ,hǎishuǐ bù kě dǒu liàng
You can't judge a person by appearance, just as you can't measure the sea with a pint pot.
rén bù kě mào xiāng ,hǎishuǐ bù kě dǒu liàng
You can't judge a person by appearance, just as you can't measure the sea with a pint pot.
Variation: You can't judge a book by its cover
Also see Confucius' proverb about beauty
乐队(band): 伍佰 Wǔ Bǎi Wu Bai
国家(country): Taiwan
Wu Bai is a Taiwanese rock singer and songwriter. He formed the band Wu Bai & China Blue. Wu Bai has also appeared in films such as 'The Personals' (徵婚啟事), 'A Beautiful New World' (美麗新世界) and 'Time and Tide' (順流逆流) Making him a huge, huge star. Despite being one of the biggest rockstars in East and Southeast Asia this song is probably the cheesy equivalent of our Macarena. This song is horribly catchy, and I desperatley want to dislike the song, but am drawn to it like a moth to a lightbulb. The ensuing dance and catchy melody will stick in your head. I stop short of learning the dance though, I don’t think it would go down well at my local night club.
伍佰 - 你是我的花朵
Wu Bai - You are my flower
So that seems to be, a one of cheesy infectious dance hit, that has become a symbol of Taiwan. Now to give you a real show of what Wu Bai’s rock band sounds like. He grew up listening to the likes of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and other classic rock bands. This quite clearly shows in how different this song is to the one above. It is astonishing to me that a rockstar can indulge in cheesy pop. In the West there is a problem with the integrity and authenticity of an artist should they indulge in such activities. He seems to have reinvented himself any times, at times looking as wild s David Bowie in the glam rock era.
伍佰 - 挪威的森林
Wu Bai - My Lonely Life
Let me know what you think of Wu Bai below in the comments.The people over at NiHao Hello posted this Chinese proverb yesterday and I thought I would re-post it as I really liked it. It is somewhat similiar to one I posted recently, 'The mightiest Oaks....'
I like this proverb to remind me that all of our plans, especially the biggest take a long time. They don't happen straight away. I must keep on reminding myself this, becuase it is often easy to be upset you haven't achieved goals that you have set yourself now. The journey to achieving your aspirations, dreams and goals is in taking the first steps with no fear.
Take a moment and think about what you want to achieve. Then take the plunge, take that first step the journey to your dreams.
千里之行，始于足下
qiānlǐ zhīháng, shǐyúzú xià
A thousand-mile journey begins with the first step
qiānlǐ zhīháng, shǐyúzú xià
A thousand-mile journey begins with the first step
Variant: Even the longest journey must starts with a small step.
Photo Source:
Flickr
This proverb is great for the new school year. In English, this proverb would more commonly be: To turn over a new leaf. To start afresh, to wipe the slate clean.
In other words this proverb is all about clearing your reputation and starting again. With only your actions from now counting towards your new book, (leaf originally meaning page of a book as opposed to a plant).
For me today, this is about trying to really hit my personaly goals and targets. Organise my time a little better and probably try and be a better boyfriend to my other half, who often gets less attention given to her because of this blog.
Sorry Jen. I will try to change the way I have been acting, and be a bit more organised.
改过自新
gǎiguòzìxīn
To Change Oneself Anew
Photo Source:Flickr
The original meaning and use of this Chinese Proverb was probably more like 'a good time to go to war'.
天时地利人和
tiān shí dìlì rén hé
The time is right
(geographical and social conditions are favorable)
tiān shí dìlì rén hé
The time is right
(geographical and social conditions are favorable)
First found by the wonderful guys over at NEOCha. Beijing based Ray Lei (雷磊) animted this lovely and peculiar short. In a wonderful world, where everyone has rubiks cubes as heads, this animated short is fun.
Whilst you won't learn any Chinese through this video, it is a bit of fun, and has a great soundtrack written by by Li Xingyu (李星宇), a mix of 8 bit computer sounds and any of you familiar with Pink Floyd are in for a treat too.
I present to you Magic Cube & Ping Pong:
Magic cube and Ping-Pong from RAY on Vimeo.
Border Project is another animation by Ray Lei which hosts a rather interesting take on urbanisation, I'll let you make up your own minds about it. Whilst quite a different style to Magic cubes above. It is interesting to see the animation that is coming out of the youth of China.
Concept: 欧宁 Ōu Nìng
Animation: 雷磊 Ray Lei
Music: 金星李 Jīnxīng Lǐ (Stars Lee)
Border Project from RAY on Vimeo.
This saying is one that I think is used as we might use "take only what you need." If you have a better description of how it may be used, please feel free to add it to the comments below.
各取所需
gèqǔsuǒxū
Each takes what he needs
gèqǔsuǒxū
Each takes what he needs
In English there are set ways that you can say things in pairs, that usually wouldn't necassarily come in twos. For example: two Jeans is wrong, yet a pair of Jeans is correct. Two glasses is wrong, but a pair of glasses is correct. Two shoes is ok, but a pair of shoes is better. The list could go on; headphones, shoelaces, scissors, shorts, gloves... etc.
In Mandarin I got very confused because the classifier for veichles is very similiar to the word for a pair. So when I learnt bicycle I had assumed I was hearing a pair of wheels or similiar because of our sometimes odd rules about pairs.
两
liǎng
Pair / Two / Both
辆
liàng
Classifier for veichles (辆自行车 liàng zì xíng chē)
liǎng
Pair / Two / Both
辆
liàng
Classifier for veichles (辆自行车 liàng zì xíng chē)
What I was really hearing is the above sentence telling me it is a bike that you can travel on, maybe an excercise bike would have a different classifier?? (Can anyone confirm that?)
Anyway, so When I was learning the numbers in Mandarin I learnt that 2 is 二 èr.
The Chinese tend to use 两 liǎng in a sentence instead of 二 èr (unless counting or reciting a number). Thanks for everyones helpful replies on twitter when I got confused earlier on. But this was put best by my new friend @megoizzy who lives in China.
"We use 二 èr in numeric counting sequence, use 两 liǎng with measure words. We would never say 'èr ge'. but we would use 'èr' in telling our phone number to someone."
两 liǎng is used before classifers (measuring words) such as 天，个，辆. Otherwise 二 èr would be used.
So I think I am right in saying then a pair of bicycles in Mandarin would actually be said:
两辆自行车
liǎng liàng zì xíng chē.
liǎng liàng zì xíng chē.
However if you are spelling out a number, like a telephone number, you would say 二 èr not 两 liǎng (Although I wonder if you might use 两 liǎng for double numbers...)
edit: To spell out numbers, you can say 两个二=two 2s
And maybe when replying to "how many sweets have you got left?"
You might reply "Two" 二 èr, so long as you weren't going on to say "I have two sweets left..."
edit: 2 (sweets) = 两颗糖
I wonder if in Chinese then a pair of scissors would mean one or two pairs of scissors when translated back into English as they don't seem to have the same problems with a pair of trousers, shorts etc.
edit: a pair of scissors=一把剪刀，it's the measure unit that changes!
So what I have learnt from this is that the Chinese doesn't have a silly pair rule about bicycles at all. In fact it is the English which makes this harder to grasp. Mandarin speakers just use 两 liǎng as their word for a couple, a pair or both items.
This was an interesting point as I was learning this morning and got a little stuck, but think now in general I am a bit clearer on the matter. Though there are some points I have highlighted that if you can clarify would be most useful.
Charlie
Photo Source
Flickr
This proverb could be used to express the idea of somone with 'more words than action'. Which is to say that someone says they will do something and then not deliver upon their word.
雷声大，雨点小
Léi shēng dà, yǔ diǎn xiǎo.
Thunder is louder than the little rain warrants.
Léi shēng dà, yǔ diǎn xiǎo.
Thunder is louder than the little rain warrants.
Photo Source:
Flickr
This proverb is used when things get too much, or no matter what is tried, new problems keep surfacing.
按下葫芦起了瓢。
àn xia húlu qǐ le piáo.
One gourd is pushed under the water, but another floats up.
àn xia húlu qǐ le piáo.
One gourd is pushed under the water, but another floats up.
乐队(band): 李玟 Lǐ Wén Coco Lee
专辑(album): 东西 dōngxī East to West
国家(country): China
发行时间(release date): August 2009
专辑(album): 东西 dōngxī East to West
国家(country): China
发行时间(release date): August 2009
Coco Lee is probably the Chinese equivalent to our Madonnas or Beyonces. Coco is a singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. Coco Lee sang the song "A Love Before Time" for the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. For that performance, she received huge worldwide exposure when she sang the song live at the 73rd Academy Awards ceremony.
Warner Music present her new album 'East to West' which includes songs that have a strong RnB and soul feel to them. They have strong melodies and driving rhythms. A couple of videos for the songs are below as is a link to download the album.
Party Time: Despite reminding me a little of Daniel Beddingfield's "Gotta get through this" Party time is a great pop song with a solid grove.
流轉
liú zhuǎn
Flow / Turn
In addition to her status in the Mandarin music market, Lee's English-language performance has also received recognition. Her love song "Before I Fall In Love" was included in the soundtrack of the movie Runaway Bride. And "Do You Want my Love?" has also been released making headway in American and the UK Music market.
Do You Want My Love?
Album: East to West
Release Date: 18th August 2009
Tracklist:
01 美麗的主題曲 (Beautiful Theme Song)
02 Party Time
03 流轉 (Circulation)
04 愛要現在 (Love Right Now)
05 BYOB
06 影子 (Shadow)
07 Ready Or Not
08 我愛看電影 (I Love Going To The Movies)
09 三角心 (Three Hearts)
10 既然愛了 (Already Loved)
11 東西 (East And West)
Download East to West free
(as always if you are the content owner email me and I will remove this link)
This proverb suits my past week, it is often used to describe someone who has worked extremely hard. Recently I have taken on more projects than my watch can handle, (at least whilst keeping up with my unpaid jollys) and if I could stop time to finish and spend all the time I want to on each thing, I would love to.
做牛做马
zuòniúzuòmǎ
lit. to work like an ox, to work like a horse
zuòniúzuòmǎ
lit. to work like an ox, to work like a horse
Vocab:
牛 niú Ox
Sodagreen have got a new song: 狂熱 (fever?) It is ridiculously catchy. It is not as calm and relaxed as the songs I posted last week.
Sodagreen have a new album due out soon, and a world tour upcoming.
Ashes of Time Redux [1994 / 2008]
'Ashes of Time Redux' is a good film, dreamlike, disjointed, and possessed a stunningly complex narrative poetry. Often hard to follow and the colouring of the desert scenes is at times rather overexposed and abstract. Though the front cover quite clearly has a swords man this film is more about self-meditation and thoughts of the protagonist than out and out action.
The action scenes that are included are blurry and snarly, not cut together particularly well. However, the purpose of these scenes is to illustrate the tale, and provides this purpose well. The early storyline(s) are tough to follow, but are explained as you go. It had me and my housemate staring at each other in confusion early on.
Ashes of Time Redux (東邪西毒：終極版 : literally meaning "The Heretic East and the Venomous West": The Ultimate Edition) is set in five parts, five seasons that are part of the Chinese almanac. The story takes place in the jianghu, the world of the martial arts. Ouyang Feng the main character is a hard man to figure out, and at the end still leaves you pondering whether he is wise, or an idiot.
Ashes of Time Redux (東邪西毒：終極版 : literally meaning "The Heretic East and the Venomous West": The Ultimate Edition) is set in five parts, five seasons that are part of the Chinese almanac. The story takes place in the jianghu, the world of the martial arts. Ouyang Feng the main character is a hard man to figure out, and at the end still leaves you pondering whether he is wise, or an idiot.
Ashes of Time Redux is inspired by characters from Louis Cha’s martial arts novel ‘The Eagle-Shooting Heroes’. It centers on a man named Ouyang Feng. He left his home in White Camel Mountain when the woman he loved chose to marry his elder brother rather than him. Instead of seeking glory, he ends up as an agent hiring skilled swordsmen to carry out contract killings. His wounded heart has made him pitiless and cynical, but his encounters with friends, clients and future enemies make him conscious of his solitude...
The novels the film is based around actually have the lords of the east and west as much older men and arch nemeses. I would be very interested to read the books at a later date. All in all a good film; if you have the patience to navigate the honestly, mind boggling first half, of a somewhat abstract poetic film.
The novels the film is based around actually have the lords of the east and west as much older men and arch nemeses. I would be very interested to read the books at a later date. All in all a good film; if you have the patience to navigate the honestly, mind boggling first half, of a somewhat abstract poetic film.
Ashes of Time Redux [1994 / 2008]
Wong Kar-Wai: Director
Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Tony Leung Kar Fai
Mandarin w/English Subtitles
Although this is an English proverb translated into Mandarin, (sorry). I wanted to publish this one as I think it is a great use of proverbs. I like to use this phrase when thinking in terms of my goals, ambitions and dreams. They might be big dreams and ambitions, but it is the small tiny steps that I take now that put them into motion.
I think it is worth remembering, the biggest things start with the smallest steps. Put them into motion now.
I think it is worth remembering, the biggest things start with the smallest steps. Put them into motion now.
即使再伟岸的大树，也是由小种子成长而来的。
jíshǐ zài wěi àn de dà shù, yě shì yóu xiǎo zhǒngzi chéngzhǎng ér lái de.
The mightiest Oaks [trees] grow form small acorns [seeds].
Photo Source:
Flickr
As I have been wasting time in between being insanely busy, I came across this great animation. I first want to Introduce you to the kickass Super Baozi.
Here is the first great Video of him beating up Sushi Man.
Super Baozi vs Sushi man from sun haipeng on Vimeo.
I initially didn't like this Jay Chou song (Dragon Fist), however after watching this great animated Super Baozi video, I changed my mind. Sadly Super Baozi doesn't beat up Jay Chou. ;) However the animated video is the best I have seen from a Chinese animator so far. Kept me laughing for quite a while
Dragon Fist from sun haipeng on Vimeo.
I couldn't find a good quality video of Dragon Fist by Jay Chou, Nethertheless here is the best I could find. (will update if anyone can find a better version.)
This is a proverb that is in use in many cultures. It is often used in circumstances where things are in short supply, such as limited edition things in shops. It also means that there is no preferential treatment or reservations for people that may have a better relationship.
先搶先贏
xiān qiǎng xiān yíng
First come first served
xiān qiǎng xiān yíng
First come first served
