Brandonzin’s Weblog

If you do not know a single word in Chinese, but I tell you that I can help you and in less than 8 hours you will be able to read about 20% of the words in a Chinese newspaper. Would you believe me? Probably not! But read on.

One of the difficulties for foreigners learning Chinese is that Chinese has no alphabets. “When you read you begin with ABC”. So what do you begin with when you read Chinese. I would say with the 20 most frequently used Chinese characters.

Further, everyone would agree that the best way to learn the English alphabets is by the popular jingle “A for apple, B for boy, C for cat……”, at least that is how I learned when I was a kid. So wouldn’t it be nice if there is a jingle made up of the top 20 Chinese characters, which can help you learn Chinese.

One of the interesting facts about Chinese is that the uses of Chinese characters are concentrated on hundreds of characters. Based on a study carried out by a Chinese linguistic expert in 2004, the mostly used character in Chinese is 的, which was said to be used 2.5 times as much as the next character 一. Also according to the same study, the top 10 mostly used characters were said to be appeared in about 14 times out of 100 characters used in popular publications such as Chinese newspapers, magazines and Internets and the top 20 characters about 20 times.

I have made a jingle out of those 20 mostly used characters to help you learn those characters. Here is the jingle.

他们来中国为的不是在 tāmen lái Zhōngguó wéi dí búshì zài
有你这一个上大人*和我 yǒu nǐ zhè yī gè shàng dàrén hé wǒurure

They came to China not because there are “such an upstanding great man like you” and I.

You may learn each and every one of the above characters by clicking on the respective characters. The English translation is not a character by character translation of the jingle and is solely to help you understand the jingle and does not necessarily make any sense nor is it grammatically correct.

After you spend some time (make sure not more than 8 hours) on those characters, please click here or here and read the news articles therein. See if you can recognise, on an average, 20 characters out of 100 in those article. Please let me know of the results. In the meantime, I am working on the next set of mostly used characters.

*上大人 is part of a popular Chinese verse, the whole of which is 上大人, 孔乙己, 化三千, 七十士, meaning “there is one great man named 孔乙己 he had 3000 students of whom 70 became scholars”.

The China commerce minister on 22nd May took an unusual step to thank foreign agencies and companies on national television for donating to the the Sichuan earthquake aids. The donations were said to amount to 1.7 billion Yuan in cash and 200 million Yuan in supplies. It was in response to some China’s web surfers accusing foreign corporations for not doing enough comparing to their Chinese counterparts and called them “international misers”. One of the surfers put up a blog entitled “Foreign Companies Act Up now…” in the China Daily setting out the substantial sums allegedly given out by China corporations, but at the same time noting the conspicuous absence of some of the big names such as Nokia, HSBC, McDonald’s, KFC and etc.. or the sums they were donating were disproportionate to their substantial profits from their businesses with China. China’s ministry in the announcement said that such accusations were totally unfounded.

Most people would have paid little attention to such unconstructive comments from these irresponsible web surfers, whose motives, I believe, were none other than to draw readers to their blogs. However, they had almost killed the goodwill that the leaders of the country had built and the respect they gained from overseas in respect of their handling of the Sichuan disaster.  Credits must, once again, be given to the China authority in making the above announcement, which lessened the damages that those web surfers have done and in so doing it salvaged the already fragile relationship between foreign corporations and  Chinese citizens, as a result of the recent Carrefour’s incident and similar incidents with Japanese companies last years.

Nonetheless, foreign corporations should not feel embarrassed for being criticised as “misers”. The reason is that China’s own favourite son, Yao Ming, the famous National Basketball Association player, was likewise criticised for donating a paltry sum of US$50,000. This sum certainly is dwarfed by the huge sums of money donated by some of the celebrities and tycoons in Hong Kong, who have their own agendas

What these surfers have done, I believe, stems from an ugly tradition of the Chinese of judging one’s characters or wealth by the size of 人情 (gift money) he gives at dinner parties on big occasions. Unlike the western traditions of giving physical gifts, Chinese like to give moneys to marrying couples at their wedding parties or to the hosts at birthday dinner parties on the spot. A host often times uses the size of the gift money of a guest as a yardstick of his guest’s sincerity or actually the wealth. It is also good for gossiping. Those who are generous as well those who are mean are on the top of the lists of gossips.

I would like to cite a personal experience. At one time I gave a HK$200 gift money to one of my causal friends for his wedding, which I considered was a fair sum in light of my relationship with him. However, it came back to haunt me when later I asked him for a small favour, he turned me down, I did not know the reason why. Later, I found out from another friend, who heard it from another friend,that the friend in question was mad at me because of the HK$200 gift money, which he thought I was being a miser.

This tradition went away during the great Chairman Mao’s era, as everyone was considered equal at that time. Now in China it is said “to be rich is a glory”. The tradition is coming back, at least, to big cities. I was told by a friend in Guangzhou that it is now a common practice that the amount of the gift money one gives to the hosts at a dinner party is announced openly at the party. My poor friend who is a worker and is not making a lot of money is so afraid for being invited to these kinds of parties.

Returning to the earthquake donations, I cannot help but remind people that it is not the moneys that count, it is the heart. Also, I call upon those web surfers in question to learn the famous Chinese sayings or proverbs that “多多益善小小无俱 (more or less is welcome just the same”), which is often used when inviting others to make donations.

Background

卧薪尝胆 (wò xīn cháng dǎn) litrally means “Sleep On Brushwood and Taste Gall”

During the Spring and Autumn period （770－476BC）, the State of Wu launched an attack against the State of Yue. The King of Wu was seriously wounded and soon died. His son Fu Chai became the new King. Fu was determined to get revenge. He drilled his army rigidly until it was a perfect fighting force. Three years later, he led his army against the State of Yue and caught its king Gou Jian. Fu took him to the State of Wu.

In order to avenge his father’s death, Fu let him live in a shabby stone house by his father’s tomb and ordered him to raise horses for him. Gou pretended to be loyal to Fu but he never forgot his humiliation. Many years later, he was set free. Gou secretly accumulated a military force after he went back to his own state. In order to make himself tougher he slept on firewood and ate a gall-bladder before having dinner and going to bed every night. At the same time he administered his state carefully, developing agriculture and educating the people. After a few years, his country became strong. Then Gou seized a favorable opportunity to wipe out the State of Wu.

Later, people use it to describe one who endures self-imposed hardships to strengthen one’s resolve to realize one’s ambition.

Example

• The Kuomintang of Taiwan lost its control of the Parliament of Taiwan, which it had retained until 2000, but in the meantime it laid low and worked to re-build the foundation of the party and regained control of the Parliament in the recent election in 2008.

Tuesday, 20th May 2008 marked the inauguration of Ma ying-jeou (Ma) as the President of Taiwan, or as Beijing called him the leader of Taiwan. The date also marked the return of power of the Kuomintang (KMT) of Taiwan, the founding party of Taiwan, which was founded by the famous Generlismimo Chiang Kai Shek, who fled Mainland China, when the Communist party took over China in 1949. KMT lost control of the Parliament of Taiwan for eight years (2000 to 2008), during which time, Taiwan was under the ruling of Chen Shui Bian (Chen) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). 

The change of helm also signifies that the people of Taiwan are against an adversary stance vis-a-vis Mainland China. Ma of KMT, in his inaugural speech, announced that he would resume the dialogue with Mainland China, which was put on hold due to the adversay stance taken by DPP. It is clear that the people of Taiwan, or should we say the businessmen of Taiwan, want to have a closer tie with the mainland as they stand to benefit therefrom economically. The attractions of Mainland China to Taiwan are the former’s huge domestic market and abundant supply of cheap, but productive, labour force. What Chen of DPP advocated in the past for an independent Taiwan did not work.

As a matter of fact the election won by Chen back in 2004 was quite a controversial one. On March 19, 2004, the day before the then presidential election, Chen and his running mate, Lu Hsiu-lien, were shot and wounded while riding in a jeep campaigning through the streets of downtown Tainan. Given the extremely close nature of the then election, the shooting was interpreted by some people as a political manipulation by DPP for the re-election. 

The KMT could have made a big issue out of such controversy, but it did not. Instead KMT had laid low and worked hard to re-build the foundation of the party for the eventual success in the latest election. One of the Hong Kong newspaper used the Chinese proverb “Sleep On Brushwood and Taste Gall 卧薪尝胆” to describe the hardship experienced by KMT during the period of its loss of power.

My South Americans friends from time to time asked me whether I had any kids, when they knew that I am married. They were surprised when I hold them I do not have kids and do not intend to have any. A Colombian friend, when I gave him such answer, gave me a lecture as to one’s obligations to have kids. This is the reason he has four kids and it seemed that he intended to have more. Many of my South Americans friends have big families and having ten siblings is nothing unusual.

A lot of married couples I know of in Hong Kong are in the same situation as me, i.e. no kids. Pre 1997,  Hong Kong young people held off the decisions to have kids due to the uncertainty of the future of Hong Kong at the time. In 2003, the SARS epidemic, which killed a number of Hong Kong people within a short period of time. also delayed Hong Kong couples’ decisions to have kids. Now the good time is back. It is likely that the fertility rate of Hong Kong would improve, but only slightly as stated below.

As a matter of fact, Hong Kong as a special region by itself, like most industrial countries, is having a low birth rate. A lot of factors are affecting one’s decision as to whether to have kids or not. Now that the uncertainty of political  future of Hong Kong is out of the question, so what is holding its people back from considering have kids. It is a well known fact that the young people in Hong Kong are preoccupied with their jobs. It is a norm that an employee is expected to work until 7:00 p.m. every day. It certainly dampens young people’s desire for sex. It is no wonder that Hong Kong ranks bottom in a sex frequency survey. 

The females of our generation in Hong Kong are now more financially independent than our parents’ generation. Increasing number of them opt for remaining single. Further, unlike my parents’ generation, married couples are also now more financially independent and do not need or expect to rely on their children. if any, for financial support when they grow old. Therefore that is one less motive for having kids.

In terms of numbers, in 1983, the Hong Kong’s fertility rate was 1.72 person per woman and it dropped to .966 in 2005. It is predicted that that rate would only increase slightly to .99 in 2023.

Mainland China is also in similiar situations. Due to the country’s policy each couple is only allowed to have one kid. This policy is largely observed by the the citizens of the country. Although a couple may have more than one kid, if they were to pay a penalty to the government.  Nevertheless, the population of Mainland China is not expected to increase significantly in the future.  

It is clear that the population of South America will continue to grow while the population in China (including Hong Kong) is expected to remain steady. I joked with my Colombian friend that one day Hispanics would outnumber Chinese in this world.

The Chinese metaphor

患难见真情 huànnàn jiàn zhēnqíng

Meaning

Literally means “Adversity allows one to see the true feelings of the others”

similar to the English idiom “a friend in need is a friend indeed”

Examples

• Japan donating money and sending a rescue team to help victims of the Sichuan earthquake 

The Chinese metaphor

初生之犊不畏虎  (chū shēng zhī dú bù wèi hǔ)

Meaning

A new born calf is not afraid of a tiger

This straight forward metaphor is to mean that a young person is full of rigour and courage and is not afraid to challenge an experienced person.

Example

• In National Basket Association, Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornet, a 2nd year  player in the league, is not afraid to take up the challenge against the veteran player, Tim Duncan of. the San Antonio Spurs. a veteram basletba;; tea,. Chris Paul and his team now has a chance to advance to the West Coast Final if it beats the Spur in the upcoming final game in best of seven series.

I had previously written on the Tibet issue and criticised the western medias for China bashing. Nevertheless, I did not say the western medias were entirely to be blamed (read more in my blog of 24/04/08 ). I am happy to see that the western medias have overwhelmingly turned to praising China in its handling of the current Sichuan earthquake.

The Los Angeles Times reported that “Amid Tragedy lies opportunity:”

“Within a few hours after the quake, the Communist Party’s central propaganda department issued an order that Chinese news organizations not send reporters to the scene, but instead only use material from CCTV or from the official New China News Agency. What happened next, however, indicates how much China has changed… And Chinese media broadly ignored the propaganda department’s order. Many newspapers and regional television stations sent reporters to the scene. By Tuesday, the propaganda department appeared to have given up, and simply instructed that journalists “implement the spirit of the central government and use a reporting tone stressing unity, stability and positive publicity,” according to a journalist who had read the order

In The Wall Street Journal, Chinese born, raised and educated reporter, Li Yuan reported that “Sichuan Quake Shows Changing China:”

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Sichuan within hours, accompanied by the state press corps. State media, from the Central Television Station to the Xinhua News Agency (my former employer), covered the disaster vigorously. ”

The New York Times reported that “A Rescue in China, Uncensored”

Dali Yang, the director of the East Asian Institute in Singapore, said the [Chinese] government might have come to the realization that openness and accountability could bolster its legitimacy and counter growing anger over corruption, rising inflation and the disparity between the urban rich and the rural poor. “I think their response to this disaster shows they can act, and they can care,” he said. “They seem to be aware that a disaster like this can pull the country together and bring them support…

“Mr. Shi [a professor of media studies at Tsinghua University in Beijing] said he was surprised by the government’s candor and the vigor of the state-run Chinese press… like many experts, he said the Olympics were pushing China to experiment with a greater degree of openness. “This is the first time the Chinese media has lived up to international standards,” he said, adding, “I think the government is learning some lessons from the past.””

The Times magazine and the Washington Posts made similar comments in the respective articles entitled “China Quake Damage Control” and “China Expedites Vast Rescue Operation“.

At the centre of all these media mania is none other than the people premier, Wen Jiabao. Within 2  hours of the earthquake, Wen was already on the plane flying from Beijing to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. Wen then immediately proceeded to the epicenter of the earthquake, Beichuan, overseeing the rescue operation. Wen of course knew the seriousness of a scale 7.9 earthquake as his training was in geology. Wen had promptly mobilised the military forces and medical staff to the scene. If China were to proscrinate (like Mynamar), the casualties would have been more serious than the 50,000 deaths currently estimated.

We could see Wen at various cities around the epicenter of the earthquake directing the rescue units, comforting and lending support to the victims and their relatives. In the photo above, Wen was personally comforting a child wounded in the earthquake. What Wen did not only won the praises of the western medias but also touched the hearts of over 1.4 billion Chinese all over the world. 

What is more important is that China did not blame the disaster on ”heaven” (which Chinese (the race) would traditionally do on such occasion). As a matter of fact, the country tries to get to the root of the problem. The state run newspaper, China Daily, said in its Editorials that “we cannot afford not to raise uneasy questions about the structural quality of the school buildings“. A large number of school children died as a result of the collapses of the schools. The central government of China announced that it would launch a full scale investigation into whether some local officials had violated state policies with regard to the construction of schools. It was said that some of the schools were built of shoddy quality and some violated the height restrictios. The government had made it clear that any officials, if found guilty of wrongdoings, would be seriously reprimanded.  

I think the same investigions should be extended to other buildings in the affected cities as well as throughout the nation. Personally, I think, due to the rapid economic growth of the country, China has been laxed in its approval of building constructions, especially at the local level.

On 15 May, China, in a news conference, welcomed assistance in the form of medical aids from other countries, which is quite unusally as China tends to keep things of such nature as its internal affairs. Financially, China should have no diffiulties in meeting the huge expenses to be incurred in this disaster. However, China lacks experience, resources and expertise in dealing with earthquake of this magnitude. As a matter of fact, volunteers from the United States and Japan are giving their helping hands to China. This certainly helps ease the tension between tbe Chinese people and foreigners, which made headlines news recently.

The Sichuan earthquake is a real tradegy. The only good thing comes out of it probably is the apparent change of attitude of the western medias towards China and verse versa.  Let’s hope that this crisis would live up to the true sense of this word in Chinese,  ”危机 “, which semantically means “to every danger there is an opportunity”. Let’s make it an opportunity that China would view the western medias and foreigners in a more positive light.

This proverb  is an example of a borrowed metaphoer, i.e, it borrows an object, a horse, to convey a message. It is used most often for giving comfort to someone who met with un unfortunate incident.

It is is another example of 歇后语 (literally means words after a pause) being one proverb of four words phase followed by  another set of four words phrase (焉知非福)and is understood without saying it .

Background

塞翁失马, 焉知非福? (sài wēng shī mǎ yān zhī fēi fú) whidh literally means one frontier man lost his horse, who knows it is not a blessing. It can be difficult to foresee the twists and turns which compel misfortune to beget fortune, and vice versa. There once was a (father), skilled in divination, who lived close to the frontier (with his son). One of his horses accidentally strayed into the lands of the Xiongnu, so everyone consoled him. (But) the father said, “Why should I hastily (conclude) that this is not fortunate?” After several months, the horse came back from the land of the Xiongnu, accompanied by another stallion, so everyone congratulated him. (But) the father said, “Why should I hastily (conclude) that this can not be unfortunate?” His family had a wealth of fine horses, and his son loved riding them. One day (the son) fell off a horse, and broke his leg, so everyone consoled (the father). (But) the father said, “Why should I hastily (conclude) that this is not fortunate?” One year later, the Xiongnu invaded the frontier, and all able-bodied men took up arms and went to war. Of the men from the frontier (who volunteered), nine out of ten men perished (from the fighting). It was only because of (the son’s) broken leg, that the father and son were spared (this tragedy). Therefore misfortune begets fortune, and fortune begets misfortune. This goes on without end, and its depths can not be measured.

Meaning

1. Even the bad times are good 2. a blessing in disort

Examples

pending

The photo on the right was extracted from an article published in the China Daily on 5 May 2008. It appears to be an ordinary photo taken from a school cafeteria showing a teacher having a lunch with his students. However, the older person in the photo is not an ordinary citizen of China, he is the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao. It was taken when he visited the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, capital of China, on the day before. As can be seen from the photo Wen was having a conversation with the students in a very relaxing atmosphere. Further, he was eating about the same food as the students. I am very impressed and. in fact, moved by the photo as Wen appeared to be very friendly and down to earth, which is the reason Wen is well known as the People’s premier. What is encouraging is the messages that he conveyed to the students during the visit to the university, which are quoted as below.

• A law student should develop a high degree of sense of responsibility for the country, the society and the people. He or she should be fair-minded and above all, love this country.
• To promote democracy, improve the legal system, and rule the country by law is not only a national strategy, but also serves to safeguard the personal rights and freedom of every citizen.
• We will better implement the policy of “administration according to Law”.
• only when policies addressing issues of people’s livelihood were stipulated into law, could people enjoy the benefits of these policies for a long term.

It is clear that democracy, human rights and the law and order are at the hearts of our leaders and they are policies of our nation. Although the mainland China’s interpretation of those subjects are different from the West (even different from Hong Kong), I think China is moving in the right direction. Although China does not have universal suffrage (neither does Hong Kong), the government and its leaders have the overwhelmed support of its people. I have the confidence that they will lead China to be a more equitable society.

During Wen’s visit to the university, he expressed his concern over the recent price rise, and asked the students if they could afford the daily food and whether the scholarship could help them solve their difficulties. As you can see the “food crisis” is affecting China as well, of course, not as severe as on other developing countries. Further, it shows that the Chinese leaders are aware of the grievances of the people in the “main street”.