User Comments - pearltowerpete
pearltowerpete
Posted on: Personal Ad
February 26, 2009 at 1:59 AMHi bababardwan
那么多鱼在海域 -- I like your phrase. A more natural Chinese way to say it is 天涯何处无芳草-- （literally: where on earth is there no fragrant grass?. This can be used to comfort men or women.
Posted on: I Miss Daddy!
February 26, 2009 at 1:39 AMHi bababardwan
If the person is going to leave, you can say 我会想你的
If you are being reunited, you can say 我想你啦 or 我很想你. Thanks, Jiaojie, for confirming.
Here is a classic Ge You 葛优 scene from the movie 手机 that includes this lesson's key phrase，in a naughtier context:
Posted on: Personal Ad
February 26, 2009 at 1:28 AMHi bluealvarez
Jiaojie and Connie just confirmed my hunch that mainland people do not think of homosexuality as a likely reason for men to be unmarried into their thirties and beyond. They might say that they were 不正常, but that's it.
When I was a teacher at a posh and fiercely homophobic (i.e. would fire a teacher if they knew he/she were gay) middle school in Nanjing, the "ayis" who tidied the building were blissfully ignorant when my gay friend and co-worker had his "cousin" visit for three weeks. They lived together in a small room with only one bed, and no one batted an eye.
Because of social pressure, tens of millions of secretly gay Chinese men and women get married, and then have affairs. These are often with prostitutes, and cause great shame and fear of discovery.
One of my mid-forties gay friends refused to date Chinese of his own age. In his experience, they were all married, extremely guilty about their sexuality, and emotionally shattered. Younger men were more able to accept themselves.
There is a book waiting to be written on this tragedy.
Posted on: Dreams of the Departed 陇西行
February 25, 2009 at 8:34 AMHi bendidilaowai
Thanks for an interesting comment.
Ancient Roman oratory was supposed to be delivered in a relatively flat tone. And Jonathan Edwards had people weeping and trembling with his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," which he apparently delivered in a monotone.
If we wanted to truly recreate the recitation style of the classic Tang poems, we would need to study classical Chinese and 平仄, the ancient tonal system. There is a strong argument for this degree of authenticity.
But the limitations of time and resources, and the preferences of modern listeners, do not permit this type of recitation. Instead, we present the poems as modern Chinese learn to recite them, in standard Mandarin, and with feeling. And when possible, I provide links to other interpretations.
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February 25, 2009 at 7:21 AMHi wzteachers
You've raised an interesting point. 心动不如行动 -- I translated this as "Thinking isn't as good as doing" because there isn't any mention of speech here.
There's a much more vivid phrase for the idea of "actions speak louder than words"-- 雷声大雨点小 -- lots of thunder but little rain. This is can be used to criticize someone who doesn't follow through.
Posted on: Dreams of the Departed 陇西行
February 25, 2009 at 5:39 AMHi qingdaossadventuresdotcom
Ah, I see now.
Ａnd thanks for the introduction to David Berman. That piece reminded me somehow of Robert Lowell's "For the Union Dead."
And thanks, lilywhytelegs. That's music to my ears.
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February 25, 2009 at 4:23 AMHi daveyjohn,
The folks over at the latest poetry lesson are talking about metonymy-- it's a literary device where the part can represent the whole. So here we have beautiful eyebrows representing a beautiful woman.
Beautiful eyebrows have traditionally been an important aspect of female beauty in China, as we can see in phrases like 娥眉粉黛 and 眉清目秀.
Plus, 美眉 sounds a lot like 妹妹, especially when you say it in a silly Taiwanese accent.
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February 25, 2009 at 2:55 AMHideous, obese, smelly, ill-tempered, lazy, compulsive liar seeks total opposite.
Posted on: The Traffic Jam
February 25, 2009 at 2:04 AMHi CharlesChinese
In the example you provided, 每天 is actually a 时间名词, a time noun.
The adjective "ordinary," or "everyday" can be expressed with other words such as 普通.
Thanks to Jiaojie for the explanation.
Posted on: 小沈阳
February 26, 2009 at 2:44 AM解放之前，中国相声更好玩儿，又黄又生活化。
但后來为了建设更和睦的社会，很多话题不能讲了，多可惜。由此可见，幽默的社会意义不可低估。