谢谢 Baba。三小时前又发生了为7.1级的余震。连我这边压力很大，大得我忍不住把家里的冰淇凌都吃掉了，哈。看来有效果　

噢，“失踪的人还有一万四千多。余震还没停息。核污染天天排出”。。真可惜。我希望余震快停息，平安快回到日本，复原很快很大。

祝福日本！热烈欢迎changye回来！

Who do you mean by "Japanese government" though? The party that was ruling in 1995 may get asked to join a coalition but has not since and will never be a main ruler again. I have a feeling the same thing again, with the DPJ. Isn't it general apathy on our part that's to blame for lost lessons? Japanese may be better suited to be subjects to a monarch than work to maintain a democracy, but we are a democracy now and we get the kind of leaders we deserve. Their credibility is our credibility.

There's something to be said for governments sitting long term uncontested, and for the leadership to have a strong military at their fingertips. As long as the people prosper (and you can keep the unhappy minorities down)! I'm watching Russia, seeing how it turns out there 10, 15 years from now.

I guess the Chinese government has more practice with natural (and some man-made) disasters - such a big country so something is adversely affecting people (floods, drought, earthquake, fire, mud-slide), somewhere, almost all the time. Since I have lived in Yunnan we have had all of these.

The only real defence against tsunami is to not build near the coastline that is tsunami-prone. It is easier to implement strict limitations on where people build in China than in a democracy like Japan (or Australia). In Australia one of the biggest dangers is bushfire, and the dangers grow every year because more and more people choose to live in fire-prone areas.

I think the biggest dangers in China appear to be in the countryside where enforcement is lax or corruption more rife.

Hi bodawei

Most houses and buildings in Japan are more or less earthquake-proof, but not tsunami-proof, naturally. Without giant tsunami, the death toll, about 20,000 as of today, would have been very much smaller. It seems to me that the Chinese government is more experienced in handling natural disasters than our government is. Looks like the Japanese government learnt no lesson from the 1995 Kobe earthquake, which killed more than 6,000 people.

PS I didn't know you changed your avatar. 黑猫警察 is just cool!

Thanks for that changye. I just saw this report although it is a few days old. 'Victims of deadly Yunnan earthquake identified' By : Xinhua| Updated: 2011-03-16

YINGJIANG, Yunnan, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The identities of 25 people killed in a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in Yingjiang County of southwest China's Yunnan Province have been verified, according to the local rescue headquarters. The victims, aged 2 to 83, include 20 females and five males, according to a name list provided by the headquarters Tuesday night. Three primary school students and two middle school students were among the dead, the list showed. The quake, which jolted the county Thursday, also left 314 people injured, 134 seriously. It toppled 1,039 homes and seriously damaged 4,994 others.

'Hollow bricks' (concrete blocks) are being blamed for the casualties and I can't help thinking that there has to be more to it. The building techniques may be at fault, or a whole range of things; the block design is now a fairly standard building material around the world. One report said a woman was killed when a block fell on her off her roof.

RJ, I really appreciate your concern for us. For now yes I too just hope we've already seen the worst of this. There was misfortune on many levels, but I don't think anyone can deny there was also incompetence on many levels. It should never have come to this. Like Changye says, we have to change.

Hi RJ

I just hope this 3/11 disaster will change Japan and Japanese people.

Changye

I have no doubt that the Japanese people will overcome the damage done. This nuclear accident on top of all else just makes the whole situation so much worse. It becomes painfully obvious that you can never just turn a nuclear reactor completely off, and the absence of something as simple as cooling water to the reactor and spent fuel pools becomes a critical thing. I think the entire world will now re-think what are adequate back-ups to these cooling systems and how to insure this never happens again. Earthquakes are inevitable and even in the US we have several nuclear power plants sitting on fault lines. This is a wake up call for sure, I just hope the outcome is a good one. Well, its already not good, but lets hope this is as bad as it gets.

Hi RJ

Thanks a lot for your warm message, as always. Almost all the Japanese people expected that a very large scale earthquake would someday hit Japan, probably directly hit Tokyo area, but this 3/11 disaster, which is accompanied by a nuclear accident, is completely beyond our imagination. Actually, the worst is yet to come. Most Japanese seismologists believe that big one will jolt Tokyo (or Nagoya/Shizuoka) in the near future. Anyway, I'm sure that we Japanese can overcome any damages caused by natural disaster, just like people in other countries can.

Changye,

Thanks for stopping by and letting everyone know you are OK. At least you look OK. I mean, the dog looks OK. Glad your family is well, but nobody in Japan will be truly "OK" until this terrible uncertainty has been lifted. What a nightmare this has become. Stay well old friend. This whole thing troubles me greatly. I cant even imagine what it must be like to be living in Japan right now. My heart goes out to all these people. I am so disappointed that something like this is even possible in this day and age. I would have thought nuclear plants today would have been more disaster proof.

Hi zhenlijiang

你说的很有道理。其实我本来就是个知足的日本人，对自己的要求不高，当然对自己政府领导们的要求更不高。“知足者常乐”，对不对？我向不顾生命去拯救核电站的日本武士们致敬！

Yes but Changye we can't ask for the moon, as you like to say. As long as he's what we've got now I'd really like it if he didn't bring down our morale with every on-camera appearance ...

OK all this sounds terribly callous and unkind I know. It's my way of saying ガンバレ！（頼むから、しっかりしてくれ）

Hi zhenlijiang

我看他最需要的不是“面部提升”，而是“智能提升”！

Ha thanks Changye. I also saw 面部提升, a literal translation I guess, but 拉皮 is much better.

Hi zhenlijiang

Looks like there are two Chinese translations for face lift, 祛皱整容 and 面部拉皮. I think the latter one is more "visual", hehe.

Yes Changye you, and Patty, have been missed here on ChinesePod!

Our Prime Minister is in dire need of a facelift. 中文怎么说？ He has been for a while now of course. But seeing him during this crisis is like watching a time-lapse clip of the deterioration process.

Sadly, I'm afraid we're becoming too resigned to incompetence.

Bodawei I was just writing, being close to the source we're probably getting much better information and updates about the radiation levels and what they mean, than the Chinese public. The updates and explanations by experts on television I am finding quite reassuring, not that I am at all nonchalant about implications for tomorrow, for later on; the situation is very serious indeed. Also, the reactors are not right in my back yard after all. Locals will surely feel very differently from us.

I learned of the salt panic on Chinese websites and Twitter (finally got an account two days after the quake, am seeing how useful it can be, and star athletes and TV celebs' fame can be, in times like these.). Of course our media are not up to reporting on this, so the Japanese public have no idea that is going on in China. Yeah but people do need to calm down. There should be better information.

What we are advised here--for those within the 20-30 km radius who have to stay indoors, when they need to go buy food or fuel or see the doctor etc.--is much like the advisory for sufferers of hay fever from cedar pollen. Leave as little of your skin exposed as possible. Wear a mask to keep out any nuke dust from entering mouth and nostrils. Wear hats with large brims, cover your neck, hands. If radioactive fallout settles on your clothing or even your skin it will not to immediate harm. When you get home remove the clothing, take a shower or even just wash hands and gargle, clean out nostrils too. I guess if it were me I'd be inclined to hose off the shoes I wore and wash the clothes.

I get the feeling quite a few overseas jounalists and media feel we are being way too calm about the mounting threat, underestimating the seriousness of the situation. I have to say our government has been looking like they're always one step behind, never on top of things. I think we the public are all watching very closely, concerned. Any foreign nationals in the area or even the Tokyo area who want to leave the country should, quickly and calmly.

Hi bodawei

I think the news article is not so fair. Unlike in Japan, nuclear accidents and radioactive contamination are completely new to most Chinese people, which can easily cause nuclear panics here in China. I understand well how Chinese people feel. Honestly, I don't know how long Japanese people can withstand current situation. Looks like incompetent Japanese government is now trying their people's patience.

'For cultural differences in North Asia compare the generally calm manner in which the Japanese have dealt with the multiple disasters that have befallen them this past week with the hysterical Chinese reaction to the threat of nuclear fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi reactors.' The Australian, 2011, March 19.

Hi bababardwan and bodawei

Long time no see, guys. Floods, revolutions, and earthquakes (one of them is accompanied by a nuclear accident)! What a hectic year 2011 is! And it's only March now ........　　Actually, I'm running out of salt at home here in China. Perhaps I can lead a healthy life eating less salt from now on. Recently I've been always trying to look at the positive side of things....

Hi Changye - so good to hear from you (and your chubby dog - I almost forgot!). We've missed you here. :)

Glad to hear that your family members are okay.

You may know that yesterday was a great Day of Panic in China - I received warnings that something apocalyptic could occur 'on Friday'. I was told 'not to sleep' (I really didn't follow that part of the advice - maybe I was to remain alert.) It seems people were in a state of panic over the possibility of meltdowns at the power plants. There was a lot of queues at supermarkets even way out where I live. Salt has disappeared off the shelves. I tried to buy some yesterday and it was 卖完了 everywhere. It seems to me that text messaging and QQ contributes these days to mass panic ..

I spent the day reading 'Krakatoa' by Simon Winchester - an ideal text for these troubled times. The book reminds us of the mindless machinations (and immense power) of Nature and the seeming insignificance of Man on the face of the earth. I recommend this book.

Awesome ! Changye, so good to see you..so good to drop in and let us know you and your family are all ok. Our thoughts are all still with our Japanese friends at this terrible time. Take care mate.

晚安/早安/上午安，睡安觉【诶，我猜这个词语，这个表现。。在谷歌看起来这样说】

吴丹老师，很感谢你的热心你的祈祷。Changye 我想他还在中国，但不知道他家人住在日本哪里。

Baba, 朋友们，很感谢你们的关心和鼓励。

It's terrible, we're OK, I have a cousin in Sendai, and his sister who usually isn't there happened to be there on business. We know now they're both OK. All of you who have sent your good wishes and prayers thank you very much. The aftershocks keep coming and we're worried still about tsunamis, nuclear power plants in the earthquake area, and those trapped under rubble. I couldn't sleep last night, am about to snatch a few winks now (with protection around my head) ...

顺便，据我所知Changye住在中国东北方

就是，保佑他们

有道理，可是还关心你们

天灾不分善恶...

噢，真可惜。

"I think this friend is relieved when we can communicate, and tries to keep things simple for me. "

..ah, excellent point. So important to catch on to where someone is coming from.

Yeah, thanks changye, it's good to have you back keeping us on our toes. I am clear now about 海啸 being the right word, thanks, but I found that my friend was happy to describe it as 大浪 (even when I pressed him with the term 海啸.) Maybe because they have no real idea about what a 海啸 involves? (Not many people do actually.) He said the same thing as you I guess when pressed: 大浪 can cover it, but it is not as specific as 海啸. Obviously not the best word. I think this friend is relieved when we can communicate, and tries to keep things simple for me.

thanks changye. hehe, yeah, that's why when I looked up 大浪 in google and saw several pics of just big waves, I specifically chose the one with the guy surfing it. I'm thinking Big Wednesday here. A note on the English..we no longer call them "tidal waves" as that name was based on a misunderstanding of their cause. We call them tsunami's now too.

Hi bababardwan and bodwei

“海啸” specially indicates big waves and tidal waves caused by earthquakes. As far as I know, “海啸” is most commonly used as an exact equivalent of Japanese “tsunami”. On the other hand, 大浪 has a broader meaning. You can surf 大浪， but can't surf 海啸!

hehe, thanks mate. I can't say that's any more satisfying though...it's just not 大 enough. I would have settled for nothing less than 巨大 or 庞大。 I can't help but wonder if this 大浪 is an official word for tsunami or just a lay description. My translators have it either as billow, surge or more simply as big wave. [mind you the old "tidal wave" was just as lame...in fact more so because it was wrong]. I recently noticed in one of the CPod lessons that 海啸 is the term used. Looking up 大浪 under google images included this pic as one of the top results:

http://pic5.nipic.com/20091223/1412106_164724356957_2.jpg

..so, at the least, it doesn't seem too specific. Useful to know though, so thanks for passing this knowledge on mate :)

I consulted a native speaker and he said that a common expression is 大浪 (tsunami); I don't know whether that would put your mind at rest or not. :)

I've posted elsewhere that I just finished reading 'Krakatoa' - it seems that much of what we know about the tsunami today dates from this experience. (It also directly relates to weather reporting and time lapse photos of clouds across weather maps.) In 1883 there was the first categorical evidence of 30 metre high waves - the author brings his scientific training to bear to describe the mechanics of plate tectonics, the volcano and the tsunami. The vast majority of people killed by Krakatoa were killed in a matter of hours by tsunami (thought to be nearly 40,000.)

好，明白了啸的意思，可是另外的情况也可以发出这个声音【所以不太特定，不太具体】，而且这个啸只是形容一个海啸的方面【而据我想法，不是海啸最重要的方面】

啸是‘long,deep and loud sound'的意思， 所以我觉得海啸是意义的。

海啸浪高可超过30米， 天啊！