For what it’s worth, David Bandurski and his team at China Media Project absolutely rock, and today’s commentary and translation of a bit of whiny blather from Qiu Shi on “people being mean to China” or some other such spray of sputum and self-pity is just the latest in a line of great posts. For what it’s worth, someone desperately needs to alert the editors of Qiu Shi as to the dangers of inadequate nutrition…poor sods seem to be suffering from a serious case of irony deficiency.
Leaving aside the whole point that very few people in the Chinese government understand, are willing to understand, or even want to understand how the media actually functions outside of PRC…the mother of all “dead horse” topics…There is this blissful piece of ineffable twaddle:
But in developed nations like the United States, some people now voice surprise at seeing that Chinese have mobile phones just as they do, and they ask ridiculous questions like, “You Chinese use mobile phones too?” Their understanding of China is trapped in the 1970s.
Yeah, maybe…but for every nameless American who “expresses surprise at Chinese using mobile phones,” I’ll give you 10 Beijingers who can’t wrap their skulls
Just some random links from the Chinese blogosphere on this Monday:
I always enjoy blogs that are about something, whether it’s law, or the media, or, for that matter, history. Along those lines, I’ve discovered a new blog called Beijing Sounds – 北京的声儿 that is devoted to the sounds of the Chinese language, particularly the local Beijing variety. Written by a foreign student of Mandarin, the blog conveys through posts and podcasts the twists the tongue involved in learning Beijing-hua. The most recent post, on the Beijing erhuayin, is as good a place as any to start.
Poorly-trained employees, plus a language barrier, can lead to all kinds of frustrating and amusing customer service stories. Such tales of woe are the stuff China blogs are made of. But I have never read a post, nor even heard tell such a tale, of bravery in the face of customer service intransigence as this post by new mother Emily of the blog Peer-See. You simply must read what happened the day she took her intermediate Chinese and a malfunctioning breast pump back to the store in search of a refund. Truly hilarious.
Finally, it would appear that Blogspot is, in fact, unblocked
The Beijing translation campaign long marches on. Afraid that visiting Olympic tourists might try to order roast duck at Tongrentang or attempt to buy herbal viagra from the waitresses at Quanjude, the translation board has given six of Beijing’s oldest brands new English monikers. Sort of. Actually, what they did was use the old pinyin name, mention the product offered for sale, and tack on an approximate founding date for good measure.
Thus Quanjude is now known as “Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant–Since 1864″ and Tongrentang is now “Tongrentang Chinese Medicine–Since 1669.” Four other brands got a similar makeover, but I wonder: Why stop there? Some suggestions:
“Old Guy on Jianguomenwai Pirated DVDs and ‘Roleks’ Watches–since 2001″ “Tiαnαnmen Tank Repair and Wash–Since 1989″ “Mao’s Family Tomb and Taxidermy Studio–Since 1976″ “Pure Girl ‘Liquor’ and Underage Drinker Emporium–Since 2003. And 2004. And 2005. And 2006.” “Hutong Barbershop & Soapy Massage Relaxation Spa–Since the last time we got busted for forgetting to grease the local cops.”
More suggestions welcome. Please send them to:
“Granite Studio Chinese History, Punditry, and Adolescent Humor–Since 2005.”
Today is July 4, American Independence Day. On this date in 1776…not much happened. The document had been completed two days earlier. As John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail: “July 2nd will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”
Okay, so he was two days off. Actually the final vote to declare independence and ratify the document did happen on July 4. The assembly then sent the declaration out to the printers and adjourned for lunch. At which time everyone went home to get ready for the British to invade Pennsylvania and politely hang them. Most signatories waited until August 2 before putting their names on the document and it would be a little while after that before the British court got around to reading it.
It
What are the perils of trans-lingual negotiation? Lydia Liu’s The Clash of Empires: The Invention of China in Modern World Making explores the myriad roles language, and the process of translation, played in shaping the relationship between the Qing and the foreign powers (especially Britain) during China’s long nineteenth-century.
The book itself is a little too laden with the vocabulary of linguistic theory for my tastes, reading the first chapter (“The Semiotic Turn of International Politics”) is its own exercise in trans-lingual negotiation. The emphasis on linguistics also in some ways obscures other historical exigencies. The ‘insults to the crown’ perpetrated by the Qing officials, who insisted on using the term 夷 when referring to the British, may have exacerbated issues in Canton circa 1840, but the crux of the dispute remained the demands of the British to ‘liberalize’ trade with the Qing empire, the Qing resistance to British overtures and the continued hostility of the Qing court and (some) Qing officials to the trade in opium. It’s a bit like if I’m hanging with my buddies, come home at 3:00 in the morning, and YJ and I have a fight, the critical problem is not
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Seeking truth from whatever…
For what it’s worth, David Bandurski and his team at China Media Project absolutely rock, and today’s commentary and translation of a bit of whiny blather from Qiu Shi on “people being mean to China” or some other such spray of sputum and self-pity is just the latest in a line of great posts. For what it’s worth, someone desperately needs to alert the editors of Qiu Shi as to the dangers of inadequate nutrition…poor sods seem to be suffering from a serious case of irony deficiency.
Leaving aside the whole point that very few people in the Chinese government understand, are willing to understand, or even want to understand how the media actually functions outside of PRC…the mother of all “dead horse” topics…There is this blissful piece of ineffable twaddle:
But in developed nations like the United States, some people now voice surprise at seeing that Chinese have mobile phones just as they do, and they ask ridiculous questions like, “You Chinese use mobile phones too?” Their understanding of China is trapped in the 1970s.
Yeah, maybe…but for every nameless American who “expresses surprise at Chinese using mobile phones,” I’ll give you 10 Beijingers who can’t wrap their skulls