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Post by chefying on Mar 31, 2016 16:14:18 GMT
Another interesting tale that has simple words and is an idiom/a common phrase is 此地无银三百两
I am going for my Qing Ming prayers this few days, so it may be a while before I respond.
Any one is welcomed to tell this tale if (s)he has the time.
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Post by siuyiu on Apr 1, 2016 0:18:39 GMT
Well, if I'm not mistaken, the two first characters mean 50 ; the following one means " step ", the fourth one means "smile" and the last three ones mean " one hundred steps"... But I don't see the meaning of the proverb...50 steps to a smile allows a hundred steps ? A hundred steps are needed to get 50 smiles ? Ah, I had better put you out of your misery then.
五十步笑一百步 wushi bu xiao yibai bu 五十 fifty 步 steps 笑 laugh/smile 一百 one hundred 步 steps This proverb points to someone who is a hypocrite. Similar to "pot calling the kettle black" Once there were two soldiers, L and C, in a troop. One day, these two soldiers were resting and had their weapons placed aside, as soldiers at that time do. Tired as they were, soldiers L and C were in a stupor when they suddenly heard the sound of metals clashing, as though they were in the midst of battle.
Frightened awake, C jumped on his feet and ran 100 steps away from the sound of the battle. The other soldier, L, was similarly frightened awake, and ran 50 steps away. Having ran 50 steps, L turned towards the clashing sound, only to find no battle at all. Their weapons had fallen into a heap, thus causing that clashing sound.
With this knowledge, L stopped running since there was no danger. He then looked over to C, the soldier who ran 100 steps and laughed at C, calling him names and accusing him of cowardice.
Indignantly, C pointed out that L was similarly startled and ran away as well. As such, L was as much a coward as C. I hope you find this story interesting if not amusing. methinks "laugh at/tease/taunt" is a better translation for 笑, in context.
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Post by reinafu on Apr 3, 2016 17:25:52 GMT
Sorry if I already posted this question, but there's something that titillates me...
When people say " be careful " in movies, the Chinese characters and pinyin are the same as the ones for xiao (small) and xin (heart ) and I don't see how " small heart " or " little heart " can take the meaning of " be careful "...
Does anyone can explain me, please ?
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Post by chefying on Apr 3, 2016 18:11:39 GMT
methinks "laugh at/tease/taunt" is a better translation for 笑, in context. You are absolutely correct, tease/taunt or mock is more accurate in this context, albeit a lesser used form of 笑.
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Post by chefying on Apr 3, 2016 18:21:03 GMT
Sorry if I already posted this question, but there's something that titillates me... When people say " be careful " in movies, the Chinese characters and pinyin are the same as the ones for xiao (small) and xin (heart ) and I don't see how " small heart " or " little heart " can take the meaning of " be careful "... Does anyone can explain me, please ? I have wondered about this as well. I do not have the correct answer, but I would guess that it was the precursor of 细心 - to be attentive. I would venture to guess that in this case, the 心 is not heart, but an abbreviation of 心神 - mental concentration. I stress I am guessing here.
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Post by reinafu on Apr 3, 2016 19:32:20 GMT
Well...Your guess seems plausible to me. Thanks. And I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one to wonder about this and that even Chinese speakers are wondering too !! (Big smiles).
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Post by siuyiu on Apr 4, 2016 3:42:03 GMT
Sorry if I already posted this question, but there's something that titillates me... When people say " be careful " in movies, the Chinese characters and pinyin are the same as the ones for xiao (small) and xin (heart ) and I don't see how " small heart " or " little heart " can take the meaning of " be careful "... Does anyone can explain me, please ? it does seem odd that 小心 "little heart" should mean "be careful". i don't know the origins, but i found an interesting paper that attempts to explain! look for "Xin and concentration". from what i understand after a cursory glance, the phrase uses other meanings of the two single terms to mean "have a concentrated focus, be cautious, be prudent", which can be extended to mean "be careful". www.academicjournals.org/article/article1379496939_Li%20et%20al.pdf
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Post by chefying on Apr 4, 2016 9:45:12 GMT
siuyiu, you are a fount of knowledge! Great article of "xin". Especially interesting to me was the mention that "xin" also means mental attitude - hence there is talk of "xinfa" 心法 in marital arts.
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Post by siuyiu on Apr 5, 2016 1:42:32 GMT
siuyiu , you are a fount of knowledge! Great article of "xin". Especially interesting to me was the mention that "xin" also means mental attitude - hence there is talk of "xinfa" 心法 in marital arts. great freudian slip!
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Post by galvatron prime on Apr 5, 2016 5:56:37 GMT
Chinese Idioms 成語 誓不低頭 mean vow that I will not bow or don't look down when people look down at you or never give up reinafu
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Post by galvatron prime on Apr 5, 2016 6:06:54 GMT
Chinese Idioms /Cantonese Idioms 成語 一石二鳥 killing two birds with one stone 江山易改﹐本性難移 Its easier to move a mountain than to change a persons character 含血噴人 Slander. Mouth blood and spray on others 黑口黑面.
Actually some of the older TVB serial title are Cantonese Idioms which we seldom heard from it.
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Post by galvatron prime on Apr 5, 2016 6:21:02 GMT
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Post by reinafu on Apr 5, 2016 17:02:41 GMT
Thank you very much !
What is this ATV series with Chen Kuan Tai and from which year is it, please ? I hardly recognize Adam's voice in this song, and sadly, I can't see what is on the youku link. Google translates the series as Righteous spirit, but I can't find any tvb series with this title. Do you know the English title, please ?
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Post by chefying on Apr 5, 2016 18:41:25 GMT
Chinese Idioms /Cantonese Idioms 成語 一石二鳥 killing two birds with one stone Is 一石二鳥 commonly found in Chinese? I have heard this phrase used in TVB period drama, but this phrase is too close to the English proverb "one stone two birds" I know of the existence of 一箭双雕 - killing two birds with one arrow, but I am not sure if 一石二鳥 is a modern adaptation of the English phrase or not. I know zhou mo 周末 commonly used these days is a direct adaptation of the English word "weekend". I wonder if 一石二鳥 is an adaptation as well.
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Post by Admin on Apr 6, 2016 4:27:50 GMT
Another interesting tale that has simple words and is an idiom/a common phrase is 此地无银三百两I am going for my Qing Ming prayers this few days, so it may be a while before I respond. Any one is welcomed to tell this tale if (s)he has the time. if I'm not mistaken, long time ago there's a wealthy man who had 300 taels of silver. And he heard that some robbers planned to rob his house. Therefore for prevention he dug out in his yard a pit and buried his 300 taels of silver in it. Still he's paranoid that someone would steal his silvers. Someone saw that his garden had some freshly dug areas, and asked him why he dug his backward. Being paranoid, he answered : nothing..there's absolutely nothing here. there's no 300 taels of silver in this land. (此地无银三百两) chefying : is the story correct?
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