User Comments - tvan
tvan
Posted on: 日本核危机
March 27, 2011 at 1:58 AMMost Chinese are still brought up with an "alternate history" that includes the PLA singlehandedly defeating Japan. (No mention of the Kuomintang, USA, or atom bombs.), North Korea being unilaterally attacked by the United States. (No mention of North Korea's attack on South Korea.) Last National Holiday, there was an essay-writing contest at the local school to see who could best suggest a way to resist Japan. (Local school officials apparently unaware that war ended 56 years ago!) This tomb sweeping day, schoolchildren will honor communist heroes who died defending China from Japan. (No mention or honors will be accorded the Kuomintang defenders who accounted for the vast bulk of Chinese war casualties.) ... etc., etc., ad nauseum, ad nauseum.
China's economy has developed tremendously; as evidenced by @ruishiredbird's outrageous comments above and the propaganda upon which it's based, its social and political development still lag badly.
Posted on: Car Crash
March 23, 2011 at 12:20 PMAnother reason not to call the police in China on an accident is that they have a habit of impounding your car until everything is settled financially.
Posted on: Car Crash
March 23, 2011 at 12:18 PM还有，好像如果自行车或电动车被汽车撞了，没关系是谁的错。驾驶员必须肤付钱。
Posted on: The Four Sacred Mountains of Buddhism
March 15, 2011 at 12:53 PM@veronique, I don't know that there is a dividing line for when the Chinese government "allowed" religion. I climbed Emei Shan for the first time in 1984 and my companion an elderly monk who was imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution and had just been released after 20+ years. So your guess re: 1982 relaxation of rules isn't far off. However, the government still has an ambivalent attitude towards religion. Old Marxist habits die hard I guess.
Posted on: Overseas Chinese
March 7, 2011 at 9:53 PM@bababardwan, thanks for the correction and good point about the intentions. That's something probably true of swearing in all languages, at least with men.
Posted on: Overseas Chinese
March 7, 2011 at 12:29 PM@tsulu, I've don't know if being born in China makes a difference, but I've heard of half Chinese being called 混血. (I think that's right.)
There's another insulting term that goes something like "zatong"; however, I've only heard it spoken, so I'm not sure of the characters. However, as I understand it, it's quite rude.
Posted on: Getting Married in China
March 7, 2011 at 12:21 PMSomething that I have seen that I don't believe is mentioned above is people having multiple wedding ceremonies. Usually it's where neither the groom or bride are from the city that they work in so, for the convenience of the relatives a wedding is held in each of their respective home cities as well as the town that they currently live in.
Regarding the actual wedding itself, the one's I've attended usually have an MC (i.e. an employee of the hotel) who keeps the ceremony on track as well as announcing the principal participants, coordinates the light show, etc.
Posted on: The Various Guises of "Until"
January 30, 2011 at 7:46 AMHi @lujiaojie, 可以用 “又” 代替 “再” 吗？
Posted on: The 着 (zhe) Chronicles: Actions in Progress
December 12, 2010 at 10:23 PMRe: the 烫 vs. 热, I usually hear 烫 in connection with a warning to be careful, since the food/drink is too hot... usually after I've filled my mouth and am trying to contain myself at the table.
Re: 着 being used to convey duration of an adjective... no idea.
Posted on: 日本核危机
March 27, 2011 at 1:58 AMAnyway, back to Chinese.