User Comments - pearltowerpete

Posted on: The Bride Makes Soup - 新嫁娘

Hi changye,

Thank you for sharing. You are like the CPod Batman-- we flash the light and you come to the rescue.

If only it were a picture of a pudgy little dog...

Posted on: Saved by the Gong: Music Class

Hi minymouse

The word is 酷 kù. It used to mean "very" or "cruel" but it was borrowed for its resemblance to "cool."

Posted on: How Many Zeroes?

Hi vann0000

Don't worry, this gets easier with time. Stick with it!

Posted on: 谋杀案

蛛丝马迹 is such a poetic way of expressing clues or traces.

"Spider webs and hoof-prints."

Posted on: The Bride Makes Soup - 新嫁娘

Hi zhenlijiang

There are a definitely a lot of negative stereotypes about mothers-in-law in the West, too. Cinderella is a great example.

Hi bodawei

The high quality of Zhang Yimou's early work is what makes his descent into shilling for the Politburo so depressing. "Hero" was a decent action movie and a forceful call to reunify the motherland.

I can understand a great artist's desire to paint on a canvas the world can see, as Zhang did by directing the Olympic opening ceremonies. But I think his silence would have actually said more.

And I love exploring and explaining Chinese characters and sayings. Happy to help!

Hi kesirui

You're right-- this was tied into the perception that bound feet were a sign of high class, as a peasant family couldn't afford to waste labor in this way. This seems similar to the way young ladies are torturing themselves with diets and even anorexia these days-- a slim figure can be status symbol. Is it really worth it?

And I'd be very interested to hear more details about your experience, if you feel comfortable sharing. If not, that's cool, too.

Hi qingxiqingxi

So glad you're enjoying the series.

The visual appeal of the characters is a big part of Chinese poetry, as you suggested. That's why whenever possible it's great to look at calligraphy of these poems.

Changye is the resident expert on classical Chinese rhyme patterns. If you're reading, Changye 叔叔, we would be interested in your comments.

It seems that 汤 is only pronounced shāng in onomatopoeia, for flowing water.

Posted on: The Bride Makes Soup - 新嫁娘

Hi clairebaer

未 is actually used quite often in modern written Chinese.You'll see it in 未来 and 未成年人 as mentioned in the podcast. Other common uses are 未必 and 未婚.

Don't confuse it with 末. The easiest way is to remember that 未 is the phonetic in 味道的味, which most people know how to write properly.

But 谙 is much less common. I have never heard anyone use it in conversation. Usually you would say 了解 when talking about understanding people's personal habits and preferences.

Posted on: Guilin Mifen

Stealing Chinese menus to learn Chinese is a great idea. But if you're stealing them to learn English...good luck.

More where this came from.

Posted on: The Bride Makes Soup - 新嫁娘

Hi bodawei,

上有政策，下有对策. Anyone can write a law banning concubines, but it will be a cold day in Guangzhou when they can get rid of all the 二奶 ;-)

These mistresses have no real legal status, though. In some ways, they may be worse off than the concubines of yesteryear.

The most famous depiction of concubines is the Zhang Yimou film 大红灯笼高高挂 "Raise the Red Lantern." That was before he pawned his street cred to the CCP.

Posted on: The Bride Makes Soup - 新嫁娘

Hi kdombros

So glad to hear that you enjoyed this episode. This is not an especially famous Tang poem, so don't be disappointed if your interviewees aren't familiar with it. Still, poetry can be a great means of cultural exchange.

Hi bendidelaowai,

Congratulations on your family's happy news. And I'm delighted that you enjoy the poem.

Hi bodawei,

The Book of Rites is 礼记/ 禮記 (Lǐjì).

The characters in this poem were not extremely complicated to begin with, so I guess it's probably pretty normal that not many were reduced. Some poems will have a lot more.

You may sometimes see 嘗 written with a mouth radical on the left 嚐, but the meaning is the same.

Also, the inside part of 廚 (chú) is the phonetic component of the character for tree-- 樹, (树shù). That gets lost in simplification, which is a shame. But Wenlin suggests that the character 厨 may depict a room 厂 for cooking beans 豆 with your hands 寸.

You're right, for brides, we usually see 新娘. I think the 嫁 here is just expanding on the meaning of "newly married." Of course, this character shows a woman 女 and a family 家.

Hi paulinurus,

I'm delighted that you enjoyed this piece. Credit for the sound editing goes to Joy, who did her usual excellent work.

Posted on: Saved by the Gong: Music Class

Hi mattwhyndham

Yes! The differences are a bit long to explain in this post, so I recommend you check out this Qing Wen on the subject.