User Comments - pearltowerpete
pearltowerpete
Posted on: Last and Next
October 21, 2008 at 4:10 AMHi Tvan ,
Actually, this headline is talking about 产出 which is "production." The next word is 年比 which means "year-on-year" growth.
So the phrase means that in December '06, Japan's output of crude iron rose 10.6% y-o-y.
Easy to get confused in this language where words can seem to run together.
Posted on: Google vs. Baidu
October 21, 2008 at 3:01 AMHi Songyian
I'm not sure about the algorithms or magic that Baidu uses to come up with its rankings.
But as regards their use of the pay model, I will venture a guess. Many Chinese companies are interested in quick profits. They don't really see the benefit of giving something away as Google does, even if it has the benefits of
1) building huge brand credibility
2) collecting a massive ocean of data about web-users that can be used for marketing, etc.
In their minds, none of that compares to cash-in-hand.
This is in no way a slur on Chinese companies, and clearly has worked for a lot of them (one of the classic examples being QQ versus the other chat services). It's just a different approach to business.
Posted on: No Walking on the Grass
October 21, 2008 at 2:53 AMHi bababardwan,
我不行，太慢了 ;-)
Actually the true "drug" problem here is not medicines and narcotics, though of course they are available.
The saddest and most serious problem is Internet addiction. Walk through one of the countless 网吧 here and you immediately see unshaven young men sprawled out smoking, lost in fantasies. How different are these from the opium dens of the bad old days？
Compute the number of person-hours lost to these games, and it seems that thousands of people have simply never existed. How sad for a country whose chief resource is its bright and ambitious people.
Just my two cents on the issue.
Posted on: No Walking on the Grass
October 21, 2008 at 1:05 AMHi bababardwan,
Great picture. No, "grass" in Chinese has no connections to wacky tobacky, which is called "big numbness"- 大麻 da4ma2 in Chinese.
Posted on: Introducing the Managers
October 20, 2008 at 2:48 AMHi all,
Ｗe have another addition to the 久 file: "haven't seen you in ages" -- 久违了， jiu3wei2le.
This phrase is a little formal, but perfectly legit.
Posted on: A Month as a Monk and Chinese Business Meetings
October 17, 2008 at 7:39 AMHi bababardwan
I don't mean to be coy, but you're right, this is not the place for a full discussion of this topic. But throughout history monasteries have often been powerful for the ideas they preserve and spread, the weatlth they acquire, and the social networks that they establish independent of the government. Thus, there is a natural tension between monasteries and the surrounding governments.
In the West, we often see the discussion about separating Church and State as a means of preventing theocracy. But it works the other way by protecting the sanctity of religion from the prying eyes of a naturally suspicious government.
Of course, this is true around the world, not just China.
Posted on: No Wonder!
October 17, 2008 at 6:17 AMHi daveyjohn,
Good question. In this case, 原来 means something like "After all," or "as a matter of fact."
Posted on: Rome
October 17, 2008 at 1:13 AMHi pinkjeans,
You are right, the term coliseum apparently dates only from the middle ages. Fun facts about this barbaric yet enjoyable way to spend an afternoon:
- the word "arena" means "sand," referring to the layer of sand that was spread on the floor to absorb blood for easy clean-up.
- Emperors could punish unruly sections of the crowd by selectively rolling back portions of the sun shade to expose them to the baking Roman sun.
- And there is an on-going discussion about how exaggerated the descriptions of naval battles in the amphitheater really were. Some reports describe full size galleons doing battle in the flooded arena.
Posted on: A Month as a Monk and Chinese Business Meetings
October 16, 2008 at 4:09 AMHi tvan
I remember the temple at the top of Mt. Emei. I had no idea you could stay there, but really wish that I had.
That area of Sichuan province is an important part of the route by which Buddhism entered China through southeast Asia.
The earliest known surviving image of the Buddha in China is there, as well as the better known 乐山大佛, le4shan1da4fo2, The Happy Mountain Big Buddha ;-)
Posted on: Last and Next
October 21, 2008 at 4:14 AMOn a similar note, there is a joke about the big bridge that crosses the Yangtze river at Nanjing. A couple travelers come to that bridge and the one says to the other, "Wow, Nanjing's Mayor, Jiang Daqiao, is really friendly!" The other says "What do you mean?" His buddy says "Look at the sign, 南京市长江大桥欢迎您！”
A bit 冷，I guess.