Foreign Service Institute

OPTIONAL MODULE: Customs Surrounding Marriage, Birth and Death SPONSORED BY AGENCIES OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADIAN GOVERNMENTS This publication is to be used primarily in support of training military personnel as part of the Defense Language Program (resident and nonresident). Inquiries concerning the use of materials, including requests for copies, should be addressed to: Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center Nonresident Instruction Division Presidio of Monterey. CA 93940 Topics in the areas of politics, international relations, mores, etc., which may be considered as controversial from some points of view are sometimes included in language training for DLIFLC students, since military personnel may find themselves in positions where clear understanding of conversations or written material of this nature will be essential to their mission. The presence of controversial statements—whether real or apparent—in DLIFLC materials should not be construed as representing the opinions of the writers, of the Defense Language Institute, or of the Department of Defense. In DLIFLC publications, the words “he," “him," and “his” denote both masculine and feminine genders. This statement does not apply to translations of foreign language texts. STANDARD CHINESE: A MODULAR APPROACH OPTIONAL MODULE: CUSTOMS SURROUNDING MARRIAGE, BIRTH AND DEATH Before starting the MBD Module, you should have at least completed the Arranging a Meeting Module. August 1979 PREFACE Standard. Chinese: A Modular Approach originated in an interagency-conference held at the Foreign Service Institute in August 1973 to address the need generally felt in the U.S. Government language training community for improving and updating Chinese materials to reflect current usage in Taipei and in Peking. The conference resolved to develop materials which were flexible enough in form and content to meet the requirements of a wide range of government agencies and academic institutions. A Project Board was established consisting of representatives of the Central Intelligence Agency Language Learning Center, the Defense Language Institute, the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute, the Cryptologic School of the National Security Agency, and the U.S. Office of Education, later joined by the Canadian Forces Foreign Language School. The representatives have included Arthur T. McNeill, John Hopkins, and John Boag (CIA); Colonel John F. Elder, III, Joseph C. Hutchinson, Ivy Gibian, and Major Bernard Muller-Thym (DLl); James R. Frith and John B. Ratliff, III (FSl); Kazuo Shitama (NSA); Richard T. Thompson and Julia Petrov (OE); and Lieutenant Colonel George Kozoriz (CFFLS). The Project Board set up the Chinese Core Curriculum Project in 197^+ in space provided at the Foreign Service Institute. Each of the six U.S. and Canadian government agencies provided funds and other assistance. Gerard P. Kok was appointed project coordinator, and a planning council was formed consisting of Mr. Kok, Frances Li of the Defense Language Institute, Patricia O’Connor of the University of Texas, Earl M. Hickerson of the Language Learning Center, and James Wrenn of Brown University. In the Fall of 1977» Lucille A. Barale was appointed deputy project coordinator. David W. Dellinger of the Language Learning Center and Charles R. Sheehan of the Foreign Service Institute also served on the planning council and contributed material to the project. The planning council drew up the original overall design for the materials and met regularly to review their development. Writers for the first half of the materials were John H. T. Harvey, Lucille A. Barale and Roberta S. Barry, who worked in close cooperation with the planning council and with the Chinese staff of the Foreign Service Institute. Mr. Harvey developed the instructional formats of the comprehension and production self-study materials, and also designed the communicationbased classroom activities and wrote the teacher’s guides. Lucille A. Barale and Roberta S. Barry wrote the tape scripts and the student text. By 1978 Thomas E. Madden and Susan C. Pola had joined the staff. Led by Ms. Barale they have worked as a team to produce the materials subsequent to Module 6. All Chinese language material was prepared, or selected by Chuan 0. Chao, Ying-chi Chen, Hsiao-jung Chi, Eva Diao, Jan Hu, Tsung-mi Li, and. Yunhui C. Yang, assisted, for part of the time by Chieh-fang Ou Lee, Ying-ming Chen, and Joseph Yu Hsu Wang. Anna Affholder, Mei-li Chen, and. Henry Khuo helped in the preparation of a preliminary corpus of dialogues. Administrative assistance was provided at various times by Vincent Basciano, Lisa A. Bowden, Beth Broomell, Jill W. Ellis, Donna Fong, Judith J. Kieda, Renee T. C. Liang, Thomas Madden, Susan C. Pola, and Kathleen Strype. The production of tape recordings was directed by Jose M. Rann't-p?. of the Foreign Service Institute Recording Studio. The Chinese script was voiced by Ms. Chao, Ms. Chen, Mr. Chen, Ms. Diao, Ms. Hu, Mr. Khuo, Mr. Li, and Ms. Yang. The English script was read by Ms. Barale, Ms. Barry, Mr. Basciano, Ms. Ellis, Ms. Pola, and Ms. Strype. The graphics were produced by John McClelland of the Foreign Service Institute Audio-Visual staff, under the general supervision of Joseph A. Sadote, Chief of Audio-Visual. Standard Chinese: A Modular Approach was field-tested with the cooperation of Brown University, the Defense Language Institute, the Foreign Service Institute, the Language Learning Center, the United States Air Force Academy, the University of Illinois, and the University of Virginia. The Defense Language Institute printed the preliminary materials used for field testing and has likewise printed this edition. Carnes R. Frith, Chairman Chinese Core Curriculum Project Board CONTENTS OBJECTIVES UNIT 1 Part I Part II Part III Vocabulary UNIT 2 Part I Part II Vocabulary UNIT 3 Part I Part II Vocabulary UNIT 1+ Part I Part II Vocabulary UNIT 5 Part I Part II Vocabulary UNIT 6 Part I Part II Vocabulary APPENDIX Unit Vocabulary Characters OBJECTIVES General The purpose of the Module on Customs Surrounding Marriage, Birth and Death is to furnish you with the linguistic skills and cultural Background information you need to take part in conversations about changing attitudes and practices with regard to courtship, marriage, birth, divorce, death and funerals in China, and to conduct yourself in a culturally appropriate manner when you come in contact with Chinese people at the time of one of these significant events in their lives. Before starting the MBD module, you should have at least completed the Arranging a Meeting Module. You may, of course, use this module at any later point in the course. Specific When you have finished this module, you should be able to: 1. Ask about the age when most people get married. 2. Ask about how a wedding is celebrated and what differences there are in marriage practices between the city and the country. 3. Ask about the current local customs regarding gifts for weddings, births, and funerals. U. Ask about the frequency of divorce. 5. Talk about the functions and statuses of the people who play a role in arranging a present-day traditional marriage. 6. Ask questions about the bride, the groom, and the ceremony in a modern-day wedding. 7. Ask about population control efforts, changes in population control policy, restrictions on young people having children, what factors are taken into consideration in family planning, and how old most couples are when they have children. 8. Congratulate a new mother. Ask about a new-born infant’s health, appetite, and weight, and describe the baby in terms of traditional values. 9. Talk about the traditional beliefs and practices with regard to the mother's health before and after giving birth. 10. Present condolences to someone whose relative has died, comfort and express concern for that person. 11. Ask, after deciding if appropriate, about the circumstances of the death and the funeral. 12. Apologize for not being able to attend a funeral. 13. Ask what attire and behavior are appropriate when attending a funeral. Customs Surrounding Marriage, Birth, and Death: Unit 1 PART I 1. Zhōngguo zhèngíu shì bu shi tíchàng niánqīng rén wan Jiéhūn? 2. Zhèngíu tíchàng wǎnliàn wǎnhūn. 3. Nèige qīngnián, gōngzuò hen nǔlì. 4. Nongcūn niánqīng rén yě shíxíng wǎnhūn ma? 5. Wǎnhūn yǐjīng chéngle yìzhǒng fēngqì. 6. Xiǎo Lǐ he tǎ liàn’ài hen jiǔ le, kěshi yìzhí bú yào Jiéhūn. 7. Zhège xiǎo chéngshì kě piào-liang le! Does the Chinese government advocate that young people marry late? The government advocates late involvement and late marriage. That young person is very hardworking. Do the young people in the countryside also practice late marriage? Late marriage has already become a common practice for young people. Xiǎo Lǐ has been in love with her for a long time, but he’s never wanted to get married. Boy, is this little town pretty! NOTES ON PART I Notes on No. 1 tíchàng: ’to advocate, to promote, to initiate, to recommend, to encourage’ Zhè shi shéi tíchàngde?            Who advocates this? nianqīng: ’to be young’ green’. There are two different for the second syllable.) Tā zhènme niánqīng, zhènme piàoliang! Wǒ niánqlngde shíhou, bù xǐhuan kàn shū. (literally ’years-light’ or ’years-characters with the same sound used She’s so young and so beautiful! When I was young, I didn’t like to read. Zhèixiē niǎnqīng rén dōu ài        These young people all love to go kàn diànyǐng.                       to the movies. Nèige niánqǐngde Zhōngguo          That young Chinese person speaks rén, Yīngwén shuōde bú cuò.        pretty good English. jiéhūn: ’to get married’, also pronounced jiehūn. Notice that in Chinese you talk of ’getting married’, while in English we talk of ’being married’. And it follows grammatically that jiéhūn is a process verb, not a state verb. Jiéhūn will always be seen with an aspect marker such as le or will be negated with méi. Tāmen jiéhūnle méiyou?             Have they gotten married yet? (This is the equivalent of ’Are they married?) Nǐ jiéhūn duo jiǔ le?              How long have you been married? Jiéhūn is a verb-object compound, literally meaning ’to knot marriage’. Jié and hūn can be separated by aspect markers, such as de or guo. Nǐ shi shénme shíhou jiéde hūn? or Nǐ shi shénme shíhou j iéhūnde? Wang Xiānsheng jiéguo sāncì hūn. To say ’get married to someone’ Tā gēn shéi jiéhūn le? When did you get married? Mr. Wang has been married three times. use the pattern gēn ... jiéhūn. To whom did he get married? Note on No. 2 wǎnliàn wǎnhūn: ’late involvement and late marriage’. Wǎnliàn is an abbreviation for wan liàn’ài, ’mature love’, (liàn’ài means ’romantic love, courtship’), and wǎnhūn is an abbreviation for wǎn jiéhūn, ’late marriage’. This policy has been promoted since the 1960s, but only actively enforced since the 1970s. It is difficult to generalize about the required minimum marriage ages, as they differ from city to city and might be nonexistant in certain rural and national minority areas, where the government is trying to increase the population. The minimum age has been progressively raised over the years, until 1978 when the rules were eased a bit. In general, if the combined ages of the couple exceeds fifty years (or the female’s age exceeds the male’s), then the marriage is allowable. Note on No. 3 qīngnián: ’youth, young person’. adjectival verb niánqīng, ’to be young Zhèiwèi qingnián lǎoshī yīnggāi dào dàxué qù jiāo shū. In this sentence, the noun qīngnián is ’teacher’. A: Wo J ide sānshinián yīqián nǐ tèbié ài chī táng. B: Shi a, nèi shíhou women dōu háishi qīngnián. Xiànzài lǎo le, yá bù xíng le. nǔlì: ’to be hardworking, to be hard’. Tā suīrán hen nǔlì, kěshi tāde Yīngwen háishi bù xíng. Wǒ děi nǔlì xué Zhōngwén. Do not confuse this noun with the ’. (See Notes on No. 1) This young teacher should go to a university to teach. used to modify the noun lǎoshī, I remember that thirty years ago you especially loved to eat candy. Yes. Back then we were all young people. Now I’m old, and my teeth aren’t good any more. diligent’, or as an adverb, ’diligently, Although he’s very hardworking, his English is still not good enough. I have to study Chinese very hard. Notes on No. U nongcūn: ’rural areas, countryside, village’. Nóngcūnde kōngqì bǐ chéngli        The air in the country is much hǎoduō le.                           better than in the city. Tāmen Jiā zài nongcūn zhù. shíxíng: ’to practice, to carry Nǐ zhèige Jìhua hen hǎo, kěshi wǒ xiǎng bù néng shíxíng. Zhèige bànfa yǐjīng shíxíngle sānge xīngqīle, kěshi Jiéguǒ bù hǎo. Notes on No. 5 chéng: ’to constitute, to make, Their family lives in the country. out (a method, policy, plan, reform)’. This plan of yours is very good, but I don’t think it can be carried out. This method has been in practice for three weeks, but the results aren’t good. to become’. Tǎde xuéxí yìzhí hen hǎo, bìyè yǐhòu ānpai gōngzuò bù chéng wèntí. Wode nūer xianzai chengle jiějie, tǎ zhēn xǐhuan tāde xiǎo mèimei. fēngqì: ’established practice, Xiànzài you bù shǎo qingnián bú yào zài shāngdiànli mài dōngxi, zhèizhǒng fēngqì zhēn bù hǎo. Xiànzài zài Zhōngguo, you yǒule niàn shūde fēngqì. His studies have been good all along, so after he graduates, setting up a job for him won’t constitute a problem. My daughter has become an older sister. She really likes her little sister. custom; general mood’. There are a lot of young people now who don’t want to sell things in shops. This practice is really bad. Now in China there is again a general atmosphere of study. Notes on No. 6 he: ’with’. You have seen he used between two nouns or pronouns as a conjunction meaning ’and’. Here you see it used as a prepositional verb meaning ’with’. The word gēn, which you have seen, also has both meanings, ’and’ and ’with’. Formerly, gēn was the most frequently used word for ’with’ or ’and’ in the Mandarin spoken in North China, and he was more often written. But he has come into wide conversational use in pùtōnghuà. In addition to this variation, school children in Taiwan are sometimes taught to say hàn instead of he, which is the same character with another pronunciation. Generally speaking, if you use he or gēn you should not have any problem being understood by any speaker of Standard Chinese. liàn*ài: ’to fall in love, to be in love; romantic love, courtship’. This is the socially acceptable way to describe a romantic relationship between two people. Notice that liàn*ài can be used both as noun and as a verb. (Liàn’ài is written with an apostrophe to show where the syllable division is: liàn ài, not lià nài.) Tǎmen liàn’àile hǎojinián le. They’ve been in love for quite a few years now. Tǎmen xiànzài kǎishǐ liàn’ài le. They’ve just started to fall in love. Womende liàn’ài zhī you sāntiǎn, Our love is only three days old and jiù bù xíng le.                     already it’s over. The noun liàn’ài is often used in the phrase tan liàn’ài, ’to be romantically involved’ or more literally ’to talk of love’. Tāmen liāngge tan liàn’ài yǐjīng The two of them have been in love for tánle hen jiǔ le.                   quite a while now. Wo méiyou he tā tan liàn’ài.       I’m not in love with her. In China young people tend to go out in groups. When two people are seen going out alone, then it is assumed that they have serious intentions for the future. Notes on No. 7 kě: ’really, certainly*. This is an adverb which intensifies state verbs. Kě can be used before a negative. Tāmen liāngge kě hāo le’. The two of them are very good friends. Kě bú shi ma’. Isn’t that so! (Really! or No kidding! Nà kě bù xíng*. That really won’t do! Na kě bú shi yíjiàn hāo shi. That’s really not a good thing. Nǐ kě yào xiāoxīn’. You’ve got to be careful! Although some Chinese are fond of using the word kě, to other Chinese it may sound too full of local color with which they do not identify. Peking: An American exchange student talks with her language teacher. They are both in their late twenties. A: Wo jide shàngcì nǐ shuō nǐ èrshibásuì le, hái méiyou j iéhūn. B: Duì. A: Wǒ yìzhí xiǎng wènwen ni, Zhōngguo niánqīng rén hǎoxiàng sānshisuì zuǒyòu cái jiéhūn, shi bu shi? B: Duì le. Women qīngnián you hen duō shi yào zuò. Yào nǔlì gōngzuò, nǔlì xuéxí, bú yào zǎo jiehūn! Zhèngfǔ yě tíchàng wǎnliàn wǎnhūn. Zài chéngshì-li niánqīng rén dōu zài èrshi-wǔliùsuì yīhòu cái jiehūn. A: Nongcūnlǐde niánqīng rén yě shíxíng wǎnhūn ma? B: Duì, tāmen yě shíxíng wǎnhūn. Zài nongcūn, wǎn liàn'ài wǎn jiéhūn yǐjīng chéngle yìzhǒng xīn féngqì. Wǒ you yíge zài Bǒijīng jiāoqū gōngzuòde péngyou xià lǐbài jiehūn, nǐ yào bu yao hé wo yìqǐ qù kàn-kan? Wǒ gěi ni ānpai yixiar. A:    Hǎojíle. Nà kǒ zhēn you yìsi, gang dào zhèr jiù you zhènme yíge hǎo jīhui. I remember last time you told me that you're twenty-eight years old and you're not married yet. Right. I've been meaning to ask you all along, it seems as if young people in China don't get married until they're about thirty, is that so? Right. We young people have a lot of things we have to do. We have to work hard and study hard; we shouldn't get married early.' The government also promotes late involvement and late marriage. In the city, young people don't get married before the age of twenty-five or twenty-six. Do the young people in the rural areas practice late marriage too? Yes, they do too. In the rural areas, late involvement and late marriage have already become a new common practice. I have a friend who works in the suburbs of Peking who's getting married next week. Do you want to go see it with me? I'll arrange it for you. Great. That would really be interesting. And such a good opportunity so soon after getting here. NOTE ON THE DIALOGUE ...zài èrshiwǔliǔsuì yǐhòu cái jiéhūn: This is quite a change from Imperial times, when females might be married off at age thirteen and males at age six so as to insure the family fortunes or fend off economic difficulties later. Nontheless, regulations are less strict in the countryside today, where one can marry perhaps at age twenty. PART II 8 . Xiànzài Zhōngguo rén j iēhūn you shénme yíshì? 9- A: Nǐ jiehūn de shíhou nǐde qǐnqi sònggei ni shénme lǐwù? B: Tāmen sònggei wo yìxiē xiǎo lǐwù zuò jìniàn. 10. A: Xǔduō nan qīngnián jiehūn yǐhòu zhùdao nuj iār qu. A: Zhè gēn yǐqiánde fēngsū you hen dàde qūbié. B: Ke bú shi ma! Zhēnshi gǎi-biànle bù shǎo. 11. Ěrqiě zài nóngcūn yě shíxíng wǎnhūn. What kind of ceremony do the Chinese have when they get married now? What gifts did your relatives give you when you got married? They gave me a few small presents as mementos. Many young men now go and live with the wife’s family after they get married. This is very different from the customs of the past. I’ll say! It’s really changed a lot. Furthermore, late marriage is also practiced in rural areas. NOTES ON PART II Notes on No. 8 yíshì: ’ceremony, function’ This can be used to refer to a range of different ceremonies, from the signing of a treaty or agreement to the taking of marital vows. In old China, marriages were celebrated extravagantly. It was not uncommon to find families going into debt because of the joyous occasion, which marked a new generation added to the family line. This elaborate ritual served to strengthen familial bonds and the newlyweds’ feeling of obligation owed to the family. In PRC cities of today, lack of extra money and coupons to purchase food for guests, celebration space, and free time for preparation limit the celebration often to procedural formality alone—registration with the local police bureau. Wedding dinners may still be enjoyed in the countryside, where there are fewer restrictions on time and food. Notes on No. 9 qǐnqi: ’relatives* Qǐnqi is slightly different from the English word ’relatives’ in that it does not include one’s immediate family, that is parents or children, but is used to refer to all other relatives. (One’s immediate family are called Jiāli rén.) Nǐmen Jiā qīnqi duō ma?            Do you have a lot of relatives in your family? Women Jiā qinqi kě duō le!         We have lots of relatives in our family. sǒnggei: ’give (a gift) to ...’ The verb song has several meanings. One is ’to send’, as in Wǒ bā nǐde xíngli sòngshangqu le, ’I sent your luggage upstairs.’ Another is to give someone something as a present. Here you see song with the prepositional verb gěi ’for, to’ after it. You have also seen Jiāogei, ’to hand over to ..., to submit to...’. When gěi is used after the main verb as a prepositional verb, it must be followed by the indirect object, that is, the person or thing to whom something is given. Gěi can also be used this way with jì ’to send’, and mǎi ’to sell’. Wǒ bǎ zhèijiǎn yīfu Jìgei wǒ       I sent this piece of clothing to my mèimei le.                          younger sister. / Tā bǎ fángzi màigei wǒ le.         He sold his house to me. In these examples the direct object, clothing or house, is up front in the sentence, making it necessary to use gěi to put the indirect object after the main verb. This usually happens in sentences where the object is specific and the bǎ construction is preferred. When song is followed by an indirect object, however, the gěi is usually optional. Wǒ yǎo song ta yíge xiǎo lǐwù.     I am going to give him a small present. Wǒ yǎo sǒnggei ta yíge xiǎo        I am going to give him a small present. lǐwù. ...sǒnggei ni shénme lǐwù?: Wedding gifts for friends and relatives in the PRC are generally ’’useful’’ items. Common among these are nuǎnpíng, hot water Jugs; huāpíng, vases; tǎidēng, table lamps; bǐ, pens; liánpěn, wash basins; or cānjù, kitchen items. zuǒ: ’to act as, to serve as’. Tǎmen sǒnggei wo yìxiē xiǎo lǐwù zuǒ Jìniǎn. is literally ’They gave me a few small presents to serve as mementos.’ Zhèige xuéxiǎo bìyède xuésheng, A lot of students who graduated from hěn duō dōu zuǒ lǎoshī le.         this school have become teachers. Yǒng zhèiběn xǐn shū zuò lǐwù, Would it be okay to use this new hǎo bu hǎo?                         book as a present? Zuò, ’to act as, to serve as’ is often seen used with yòng, ’to use’ as in the example above, yòng ... zuò ..., ’to use (something) as (something) else’. jìniàn: ’memento, remembrance; to commemorate’. Wǒ gěi ta yìzhang zhàopiàn zuò I’ll give him a photo as a memento, jìniàn. Notes on No. 10 xǔduō: ’many; a great deal (of), lots (of)’. Xǔduō is used as a number (it can be followed by a counter) to modify other nouns. A: Hai you duōshao qián? B: Hái you xǔduō. Tā mǎile xǔduō (zhang) huàr. How much money is there left? There’s still a lot left, or There’s a lot more. He bought a lot of paintings. Xǔduō has several things in common with hen duō, in addition to similarity of meaning. Used as modifiers in front of nouns, both xǔduō and hen duō can (1) be used alone, (2) be used with de, and (3) be followed by a counter, but not usually -ge. Tā rènshi xǔduō rén. Tā rènshi hen duō rén. He knows a lot of people. Tā Jiànle xǔduō(de) rén. Tā Jiànle hen duō(de) rén. He saw (met with) a lot of people. Bìchǔli you hen duō (jiàn) dàyī. There are a lot of overcoats in the closet. Tā xiěle xǔduō (běn) shū. He wrote a lot of books. Hen duō is probably more common than xǔduō. Some speakers feel that they do not use xǔduō in conversation; many speakers, however, do not feel any restriction about using it in conversation. ...zhùdao nǔjiār qu: ’to go live with the wife's family' You've seen the prepositional verb dào used after main verbs, as in nádao loushàng qu, 'take it upstairs'. Following verbs expressing some kind of motion, the use of dào is fairly straightforward. But in the above example from the Reference List, dào is used with a verb which is not usually thought of as expressing motion, zhù, 'to live, to inhabit'. Here is another example of zhù used in a phrase expressing motion: Tā shi zuotiān zhùjinlaide.        He moved in yesterday. The verbs zhàn ’to stand’ and zuò ’to sit’ can also be used in phrases expressing motion. Qǐng ni zhàndao nèibianr qu,       Would you please go stand over hao bu hǎo?                         there. Qǐng ni zuòdao qiǎnbianr qu,       Would you please go sit up hǎo bu hǎo?                         front. Due to the lack of housing, which might involve a wait of from one to three years for newlyweds, it is not infrequent now to find the groom join the household of his new bride. This is in contrast to former tradition, which stated that the woman became part of the man’s family, and of course, moved into his family’s house. In the past, for the groom to join the household of his new bride carried special significance. It was called rù zhuì and might take place when a family had only female children and the father wanted his daughter’s husband to take his last name in order to carry on the family line. qūbié: ’difference’ things, use ... gēn ... you qūbié. Zhèiběn zìdiǎn gēn nèibēn you hen dàde qūbié. Zhèige xuéxiào gēn nèige xuéxiào you shénme qūbié? Zhèiliǎngge bànfǎde qūbié zài nǎr? When expressing the difference between two There is a big difference between this dictionary and that one. What is the difference between this school and that one? What is the difference between these two methods? Kě bú shi ma*. : ’Yes, indeed’., I’ll say!’, or more literally, ’Isn’t it so’. ’ Kě bú shi ma! is often used in northern China to indicate hearty agreement, or to indicate that something makes perfect sense to the speaker, something like English ’Well, of course!’ or ’Really!’. bù shǎo: Literally ’not a little’, in other words, ’quite a lot’. Tā you bù shǎo huà yào gēn ni shuō. Zài Měiguo bù shǎo rén you qìchē. érqiě: ’furthermore, moreover’ Jīntiǎn tiānqi bù hǎo, érqiě hǎoxiàng yào xià xuě. He has a lot he wants to say to you. In America a lot of people have cars. The weather is bad today, and furthermore it looks as if it’s going to snow. Ěrqiě is often used in the pattern bú dan...érqiě "but also...’ or ’not only.. .moreover...’: ’not only. . . Zhèizhěng huār hú dan hǎo kàn, érqiě fēicháng xiāng. This kind of flower is not only pretty, but it’s also very fragrant. Wo bú dan ài chī tang, érqiě shénme tian dōngxi dōu ài chī. I not only like to eat candy, (moreover) I like to eat anything sweet. Tā bú dàn xuéguo Zhongwén, érqiě xuéde bú cuo. Wo bu dàn méiyou hé tā tan liàn’ài, érqiě wo yě bú dà xīhuan ta. Not only has he studied Chinese, but moreover he has learned it quite well. Not only am I not in love with her, moreover I don’t like her very much. Peking: The American exchange student and her language teacher continue their conversation: A: Zhōngguo rén jiéhūnde shíhou you shénmeyàngde yíshì? B: Méiyou shénme yíshì, jiù shi qǐng qīnqi péngyou lai hē dianr chá, chi diǎnr tang, diānxin, shenmede. A: Qīnqi péngyou song bu song lǐwù? B: Youde rén song yìdianr xiao lǐwù zuò jìniàn. A: vWǒ tīngshuō yǐqián nóngcūnli nūháizi jiéhūnde shíhou, nánjiā yào song xuduō lǐwù. Zhèige fēngsū shi bu shi yě gǎibiàn le? B:   Shi a! Zhèizhǒng shìqing zài bù shǎo dìqū dōu méiyou le. Érqiě xiànzài yě yǒude nan qīngnián jiehūn yǐhòu zhùdao nūjiār qu. Zhèi gēn yīqiánde fēngsū yě you hen dàde qūbié. A:   Ke bū shi ma’. Zhēn shi gaibiànle bù shǎo. What kind of ceremony is there when the Chinese get married? There is no ceremony, we just invite friends and relatives to come and have some tea, candy, snacks, and so on. Do the friends and relatives give gifts? Some people give small gifts as a memento. I’ve heard that it used to be that in the country, when a girl got married, the man’s family would have to give a lot of gifts. Has this custom changed too? Yes! In many regions, this kind of thing doesn’t exist any more. Furthermore, now there are also young men who go to live with the wife’s family after they get married. This is also very different from the customs of the past. I’ll say! It has really changed a lot. PART III 12. Nǐmen jiéhūn yǐqián shuāngfāng dōu hen liǎoj iě ma? 13. Xiànzài Zhōngguo líhūnde bú tài duō. 14. Nèiduì fūfù bú zài yíge dìqū gōngzuò. 15. Tā meinián you duoshāo tiānde tànqǐnj ià? 16. Fūfù zōngshi něnggōu zài yìqǐ bǐjiào hǎo. 17. A: Tǎmen shi. jǐngguo xiǎngdǎng-de kǎolū yǐhōu cái jié-hūnde. A; Dànshi bù zhìdào wèishénme, tǎmen haishi you hen duō wèntí. 18. Nǎnnū yīngdǎng bǐcǐ liaojie yǐhōu zài jiehūn. 19. Nǐ xiǎng tǎ huì bu hui bǎng wō jiějué zhèige wèntí? Before you were married, did you both know each other very well? There aren’t many people getting divorced in China now. That married couple doesn’t work in the same region. How many days of leave does he get every year to visit family? It’s always better if married couples can be together. They gave it quite a bit of consideration before they got married. But for some reason or other they still had a lot of problems. A man and woman should know each other well before they get married. Do you think he will help me solve this problem? NOTES ON PART III Notes on No. 12 shuāngfāng: ’both sides, both parties’ Zhèijiàn shìqing shi Zhōngguo he Měiguo shuāngfāng dōu zhīdaode. This matter is known to both America and China. bǐcǐ: 'the one and the other; each other, mutually’ Suīrān women méiyou shuō huà, kěshi bǐcǐ dōu zhīdao, tāde bìng méiyou bànfa le. Although we didn't say anything, we both knew. There was nothing that could be done for his illness. Yěude dàxuéshēng xǐhuan zài bìyède shíhou bǐcǐ song lǐwù. A: Zhōumō hǎo! B: Bǐcǐ, bǐcǐ! liǎojiě: ’to understand; to acquaint oneself with, Some college students like to give each other gifts when graduating. Have a nice weekend.’ You too! to try to understand’ Zhèijiàn shi, wo bù dong, hái děi qù liǎojiě yíxià. Wo liǎojiě ta. Tǎ juéde tā méiyou yíge péngyou zhěnde liǎojiě tā. Notice that when you want to say ’to someone’, the Chinese word to use is to have made someone’s acquaintance) I don’t understand this, I have to go back and try to understand it again. I understand her. He feels that he doesn’t have a single friend who really knows him. know someone’ meaning ’to understand liǎojiě, not rènshi (which simply means Note on No. 13 ..■ líhūnde bú tài duo: ’There aren’t many people getting divorced ... Líhūnde, ’those (people) who get divorced’, is a noun phrase in which líhūn is nominalized by -de■ Notes on No. 1U fūfù: ’husband and wife, married couple’. Tāmen fūfù liāngge dou fēicháng hǎo. Those two (that couple) are both very nice. bú zài yíge dìqū gōngzuò: ’do not work in the same region’. Yíge, ’one’, is frequently used to mean ’one and the same’. Here are some more examples: Women dōu zài yíge xuéxiào niàn shū. All of us go to the same school. Tāmen liāngge dōu shi yíge lǎoshī jiāochulaide. They are both the product of the same teacher. Note on No. 15 tànqǐnjià: ’leave for visiting family’. Tàn qīn means to visit one’s closest relatives, usually parents, a spouse, or children. Míngtiān tā jiù qù Shanghai        Tomorrow he’s going to Shanghai to tan qīn le.                         visit his family. Note on No. 16 zǒngshi: ’always, all the time’. This adverb may also occur as zǒng. Tā zǒngshi ài qù Huáměi            He always loves to go to the kāfēitīng.                          Huáměi Coffeehouse. nénggòu: ’can, to he able to’. This is a synonym of něng. Notes on No. 17 jīngguo: ’to pass by or through, to go through’. Jīngguo can mean 1) to pass by or through something physically, or 2) to go through an experience. Jīngguo zhèicì xuéxí yǐhòu wǒ kě qīngchu duō le. As a result of this study, I see things a lot more clearly. Every day on my way home from work I pass by the Bǎihuò Dàlou. Wǒ měitiān xià bān huí jiāde shíhou, dóu jīngguo Bǎihuò Dàlou                  ...dōu jīngguo Baihuò Dàláu.) Nǐ jīngguo zhèige wūzide shíhou, nǐ méiyou kànjian women zài lǐtou gōngzuò ma? When you passed by this room, didn’t you see us working inside? etc.); considerable, a considerable His health is quite good. xiāngdāng: ’quite, pretty (good, degree of’. Tāde shēntǐ xiāngdāng hāo. \ kǎolū: ’to consider; consideration’ Wǒ yǐjīng kaoliiguo le, ta          I have already given it consideration háishi yīnggāi shàng dàxué.        he should still go to college. dànshi: ’but’, a synonym of kěshi. Wǒ yǐjīng qùguo le, dànshi         I already went there, but I didn't wǒ méiyou kàndao ta.                see her. Notes on No. 18 nánnū: ’male and female’. Nānnude shìqing zuì nan shuō. Matters "between men and women are the hardest to judge. yīngdāng: ’should, ought to’. Yīngdāng is a less-frequently heard word for yīnggāi. These two words share in common the following meanings: (1) ’should’ in the sense of obligation or duty. Zánmen shi tóngzhì, yīngdāng We two are comrades, we should help (or yīnggāi) bǐcǐ bāngmáng.        each other. (2) ’ought to’ in the sense of ’it would be suitable to’. Wàitou lěng, nǐ yīnggāi (or        It’s cold out, you should put on yīngdāng) duō chuān yìdiǎnr.       some more clothing. (3) ’should’ in the sense of ’it would be desirable to’. Nǐ yīnggāi (or yīngdāng) shìyishi, zhēn hǎo wánr. (U) ’should’ in the sense of ’it is Shídiǎn zhōng le, tā yīnggāi (or yīngdāng) kuài dào le. Tā xué Zhōngwén xuéle sānnián le, yīnggāi xuéde bú cuò le. bǐjiào:   ’r elat ively, comparatively, by Jīntiān bǐjiào rè. Zhèijiàn yīfu gǎile yǐhòu, bǐjiào hǎo yìdiǎnr. Zhèi liǎngtiān tā bǐjiào shūfu yìdiǎnr, bù zěnme fā shāo le. You should try this, it’s fun. expected’. It’s ten o’clock, he should be here soon. He’s been studying Chinese for three years, he should be pretty good by now. comparison’. Also pronounced It’s hotter today. After this article of clothing is altered, it will be better. The past couple of days he’s been feeling better, he doesn’t have such a high fever any more. You may sometimes hear Chinese speakers use bǐj iào before other adverbial expressions like bú tài ’not too’, bù zěnme ’not so’, bú nàme ’not so’ or hen ’very’. Careful speakers, however, feel that bǐjiào should not be used in such cases. Notes on No. 19 huì: ’will; might; be likely to*. The auxiliary verb huì is used to express likelihood here. Míngtiān tā huì bu hui lai? Will he come tomorrow? Wǒ qù bǎ men guānhǎo, nǐ huì bu hui juéde tài rè? If I go close the door, will you feel too hot? jiějué: ’to solve, to settle (a problem), to overcome (a difficulty)’. Nǐ bú yao jí, qiǎnde wèntí yǐjīng jiějué le. Don’t get anxious, the problem of money has already been solved. Washington, D. C. A graduate student in Chinese studies talks with an exchange student from Peking. A: Women rènshi zhǐ you liǎngge duō xīngqī, kěshi yǐjīng shi lǎo péngyou le. B: Duì. Women tiǎntiǎn zài yíkuàir, zhēn hǎoxiàng shi lǎo péngyou le. A: Wǒ yìzhí xiǎng wènwen ni nǐ shi shénme shíhour jiéhūnde ne? B: 0! Wǒ shi qiǎnniǎn jiehūnde. A: Nǐ èrshibǎsuì le. Nǐ àiren ne? B: Tā sānshièr le. A: Nīmen jiéhūnde shíhou kě bù xiǎo le’. Zhōngguo nianqīng rén dōu shi zhèige yàngzi ma? B: Duì le. Zhèngfǔ tíchàng wǎn liàn wǎnhūn. Nianqīng rén yě dōu yào nǔlì xuéxí, nǔlì gōng-zuò, bú yào zǎo jiehūn. A: Chéngshili nude duo da jiéhūn? B: Chàbuduō èrshiwǔsuì zuǒyòu. A: Nǎnde ne? B: Dàgài èrshibǎsuì zuǒyòu. A: Jiéhūnde shíhour you shénme- yàngde yíshì? B: Méiyou shénme yíshì. Būguò jiehūn nèitiǎn qīng qīnqi péngyou lai hēhe chǎ, chī diǎnr tang, diǎnxin shenmede. Yě you rén song diǎnr xiǎo lǐwu zuò We’ve only known each other for two weeks or so, but we’re old friends already. Yes. We’re together every day; it really is as if we’re old friends. I’ve been meaning to ask you all along when you were married. Oh. I was married the year before last. You’re twenty-eight years old. How about your spouse? He’s thirty-two. You certainly weren’t young when you were married! Is it this way for all Chinese young people? Yes. The government promotes late involvement and late marriage. Also, all young people should study hard and work hard, and shouldn't get married early. At what age do most women get married in the cities? After about twenty-five. And men? After about twenty-eight. What kind of ceremony is there when someone gets married? There is no ceremony. But on the day of the marriage relatives and friends are invited to come and drink tea, eat a little candy, snacks and so forth. Some people also give a jìniàn. A: Nōngcūnlǐde niánqīng rén yě shíxíng wǎnhūn ma? B: Duì. Zài nóngcūnli wan liàn’ài wan jiēhūn yě yǐjīng chéngle yìzhǒng fēngqì. u A: Nongcūnli nūháizi jiéhūnde shíhou nanjia hái yào song xǔduō lǐwù ma? B: Bú yào le. Érqiě xiànzài you. xiē nan qīngnián jiēhūn yīhòu hái zhùdao nūjiār qu. Zhè gēn yǐqiánde fēngsú you hěn dàde qùbié. A: Kě bú shi ma! Zhēn shi gǎibiànle bù shǎo. Xiànzài Zhōngguo líhūnde duō bu duō? B: You, kěshi bǐjiǎo shǎo.^, Yīnwei jiēhūn yǐqián nánnū shuāngfāng bǐcǐ bǐjiǎo liǎojiě, you jīngguo xiāngdāngde kǎolū, suōyi líhūnde bú tài duō. A: Wǒ t’ngshuō Zhōngguo you yìxiē fūfù bú zài yíge dìqū gōngzuò, bú zhùzai yíge dìfang, zhè huì bu hui you wèntí ne? B: Fūfù bú zài yíge dìfang gōngzuò, suīrán měinián you bànge yuède tànqīnjià, dànshi hái you hěn duō bù fāngbiàn. Suóyi wèile ràng tamen gèng hǎode gōngzuò he xuéxí, yīng-dāng bāng tamen jiějué zhèige wèntí. A:   Duìjíle. Fūfù zǒngshi nénggòu zài yìqī bǐjiào hǎo. small gift as a memento. Do the young people in rural areas also practice late marriage? Yes. Late involvement and late marriage have already become a common practice in the rural areas. In the farm villages does the family of the husband still have to give a lot of presents when a girl gets married? Not any more. Furthermore now there are even young men who live with the wife’s family after they get married. This is very different 'from the customs of the past. I’ll say! It’s really changed a lot. Are there many people who get divorced in China now? Yes, there are, but relatively few. The man and the woman know each other rather well before they get married, and they give the matter quite a bit of consideration, so not too many people get divorced. I hear there are some couples in China who don’t work in the same place. Do problems ever come about because of this? If the husband and wife don’t work in the same place, even though they get half a month’s leave every year to visit family members, it’s still very inconvenient. So in order to let them work and study even better, we should help them solve this problem. You’re so right. It’s always better if the husband and wife can be together. NOTES ON THE DIALOGUE ...nánjia hái yào song xǔduō lǐwù ma?: In traditional China, the groom’s family gave gifts to the bride’s family to compensate for the loss of their daughter. (For the loss of the daughter might also entail a substantial loss of property and servants.) In Taiwan, it is still the man’s family who in most cases pays for the wedding arrangements. In the PRC today, these customs no longer exist. Xiànzài Zhōngguo líhūnde duō bu duō?: Although allowed by law with the mutual consent of both parties, it is not easy to obtain a divorce in the PRC. With the exceptions of one party being either politically questionable or terminally ill, the majority of couples are asked to resolve their differences via study and group criticism. ...you yìxiē fūfù bú zài yíge dìfang gōngzuò: Many couples still have to be split up in order for each to have work. (Jobs are arranged for and assigned by the local government.) This is, of course, a great hardship since it is improbable that either will be able to arrange a transfer of job to the other’s work-place. The splits are arranged in order to increase rural population and provide labor for rural jobs. The partner left in the city, usually the woman, can go to the countryside to join her spouse, but rural life is so difficult that this is not likely. ...suǐràn měinián you bànge yuède tànqǐnjià: There are two types of leave for visiting one’s family in the PRC. One is for unmarried children to return home to see their parents, the other is for couples who are assigned to different places for work. These trips are paid for by one’s work unit (but communes have no family leave provisions). If the person on leave is working relatively near his home, he is allowed a fifteen day visit once per year and a worker who is located relatively far from home can take a thirty day visit once every two years. Vocabulary bǐcǐ each other, mutually; you too, the same to you bǐjiào (bījiǎo) relatively, comparatively; fairly, rather bú dan bù shǎo not only quite a lot, quite a few chéng chéngshì to become, to constitute, to make city dànshi but érqiě furthermore fēngqì fēngsū fūfù common practice; general mood custom married couple, husband and wife gǎibiàn to change he huì with; and might, to be likely to, will Jiéhūn (jiehūn) Jiějué^ jingguo jìniàn to get married to solve to go through, to pass by or through memento, memorial kǎolū kě kě bū shi ma! to consider; consideration indeed, really I’ll say, yes indeed, that’s for sure liàn’ài to be romantically involved with; love liǎojiě (liáojie) líhūn lǐwù (lǐwu) to understand; understanding to get divorced gift, present nánjiá(r) nánnu nénggòu niánqīng nongcūn nūjiā(r) nǔlì the husband’s family male and female can, to be able to to be young rural area, countryside the wife’s family to be hardworking, to be diligent; diligently, hard qīngnián qīnqi qūbié youth, young person relatives difference, distinction shíxíng to practice, to carry out (a method, policy, plan, ‘reform, etc.) shuāngfāng song both sides, both parties to give (something as a gift) tan qīn tànqīn to visit family to visit relatives (usually means immediate family) tànqīnjià tíchàng leave for visiting family to advocate, to promote, to initiate wǎnliàn wǎnhūn late involvement and late marriage xiāngdāng xǔduō quite, pretty, very many; a great deal (of), a lot (of) yīngdāng yíshì yìzhí should, ought to ceremony all along, all the time (up until a certain point) zhèngfǔ zhùdao zǒngshi zuò government to move to, to go live at always to serve as, to act as; as Customs Surrounding Marriage, Birth, and Death: Unit 2 PART I 1. Hòutiān shi nǐmen xiao j ie dàxǐde rìzi. 2. Xǐnlāng zài Taiwan Yínháng gōngzuò, rén hěn lāoshi, yě hěn shàngjìn. 3. Women Xiùyún gēn tā jiāowǎng yǐjīng yìniánduō le, duì tā hěn mǎnyì. 4. A: Nǐmen gěn nánfāngde fùmǔ shóu hu shóu? B: Bu tài shóu. Kěshi zāo jiù tīngshuōguo. B:  Tǎmen yì lai tíqǐn women j iù dāying le. 5. A:  Tǎmen tánlāi tānqù tánle hěn jiǔ bù néng juédìng. A: Kěshi hōulāi haishi wǒ gào-su tamen yīnggāi zěnme bàn. 6. Wǒ nùérde hūnlǐ zài Éméi Cān-tīng jǔxíng. 7. Tīngshuō jiehūn lǐfú shi xīnniāng zìjī zuòde, tā zhēn nénggàn. 8. Wǒ zhù yīyuànde shíhou nǐmen hai song huā lai, ài, zhēn shi tài xièxie le. The day after tomorrow is your daughter’s wedding day. The bridegroom works at the Bank of Taiwan. He’s very honest and very ambitious. Our Xiùyún has been seeing him for over a year now, and she's very pleased with him. Did you know the groom's parents very well before? Not too well. But we'd heard of them long before. As soon as they came to propose the marriage we agreed to it. They talked and talked for a long time and couldn't decide. But later it was I who told them what they should do, after all. My daughter's wedding will be held at the Omei Restaurant. I hear that the wedding gown was made by the bride herself. She's really capable. When I was in the hospital you even sent flowers. Thanks so much. NOTES ON PART I Notes on No. 1 xiáojie: ’daughter’. You have seen xiáojie meanirfg ’Miss’ or ’young lady’. Here it is used to mean ’daughter'. Note, however, that it is used only in referring to someone else’s daughter, not in referring to one’s own daughter(s). Tā you jǐwèi xiaojie?              How many daughters does he have? Nǐmen xiáojie zhēn piàoliang. Your daughter is really pretty. Xiáojie, meaning either ’Miss’ or ’daughter’, is not in current usage in the PRC. dā xǐde rìzi: ’wedding day’, literally ’hig joyful day’. Xǐ ’to he glad, joyful’, is used in several expressions having to do with weddings. The character for xǐ is often used as a decoration. For weddings, two xǐ characters together are used as a decoration. Notes on No. 2 ren hen lāoshi: ’he’s very honest’. Ren, ’person’, can he used to refer to a person’s character. It can he used with a noun or pronoun before it, for example Tā ren hen lāoshi, literally ’As for him, his person is very honest’. The wording Tā rén ... is often used to talk about the way someone truly is: Tā rén hen āi bāngzhu bié rén. Liu Xiānsheng rén hen tèbié, shénme shìqing dōu yào wen yige wèishenme. Tā rén hen kèqi. Sometimes rén refers to a person’s Wǒ hēde tài duō, rén hái you dianr bu qǐngchu. He (is the sort of person who) likes to help others. Mr. Liu is a different sort of person, he has to ask ’why’ about everything. He’s a very polite sort of person. mental state of being: I had too much to drink and I’m still a little foggy. Ren also sometimes refers to a person’s physical self. This meaning is mostly used in situations where a contrast is implied, something like ’And as for the person himself,        For Wǒ yìzhí zhǐshi he tā tōng diànhuà, jīntiān zǎoshang, cái dìyīcì jiàn miàn, tā rén fēichāng piàoliàng. Tāmen jiéhūn bu dào yíge yuè, xiānsheng jiù dào Jiāzhōu niàn shū qu le, rén zài Měiguo, xīn zài Tǎiwān, shū zěnme niàndehǎo ne? Notes on No. 3 jiāowǎng: ’to associate with, t boyfriend-girlfriend relationships. Wǒ hé tā méiyou shénme tèbiéde jiāowǎng. example: All along I had only talked to her over the phone, but this morning I met her for the first time. She’s very beautiful. They hadn’t even been married for one month when her husband went to California to go to school. He was in America, but his heart was in Taiwan, how could he possibly study well? have dealings with’, often said of There’s no special relationship between him and me. (Said by a daughter in explanation to her mother.) In the PRC jiāowǎng is not used this way; use rènshi, ’to know (a person)’ or jiāo péngyou, ’to make friends’ instead. In the PRC, you will hear jiāowǎng used in phrases such as ’’lǐangguo rénmínde jiāowǎng”, ’the contact (association) between the peoples of these two countries’. Notes on No. U nánfāng: ’’the bridegroom’s side”, a phrase which often refers to the bridegroom himself, and sometimes refers to the bridegroom’s family, relatives, and friends collectively. Nanfāng, ’’the bridegroom’s side”, happens to be a homonym of nanfāng, ’the South’. Zhōngguo rén Jiéhūnde shíhou, When Chinese get married, the groom’s nǎnfāng dà qǐng kè.                 family hosts a big feast. V __ Jiéhūn yǐqiǎn nǎnfāng nūfāng       Before a marriage, the groom’s side bǐcǐ song lǐ.                       and the bride’s side give each other gifts. ENūfāng means ’’the bride’s side, referring either to ’’the bride” herself, or to ’the bride’s family, relatives, and friends collectively’.] shou: ’to be familiar with ...’ Also pronounced shú. Shou is used with hé for people and with duì for places. Wǒ hé tā hen shou.                  I know him very well. Tā duì Tǎiběi hěn shóu. She knows Taipei very well. Shóu also means ’to be cooked sufficiently’ and ’to be ripe’. zǎo: You've learned this as the verb 'to be early' , now you see it used to mean 'long ago'. Wǒ zǎo zhǐdào nǐ bù huílai.        I knew long ago that you wouldn't come back. Wǒ zǎo tīngshuō le.                 I heard about it long ago. Zǎo is usually followed by jiù to stress the idea of 'as early as that’. Wǒ zǎo jiu gaosu tǎ neijian        I told him that long ago. (Said to shi le.                             correct an impression that he didn't actually know it so early. ) Wǒ zǎo jiù xiǎng lai kàn ni,       I've been meaning to come see you yìzhí méi shíjiǎn.                  for a long time, but I never had the time. tíqǐn: 'to bring up a proposal of marriage' Traditionally, the man's parents would visit the parents of the woman they wished their son to marry in order to bring up the subject of marriage. The situation in Taiwan is changing rapidly today, but some marriages are still proposed in this way. More frequently, however, the children simply inform their parents of their own arrangement. daying: 'to agree (to something), Tǎ dǎying gěi wo nèijiàn dōngxi, zěnme tǎ xiànzài you bù gěi le? Nǐ dǎying ta le, dāngrǎn yīnggāi péi ta qù. Nǐ dǎying zuòde shi, yídìng yào zuòdào. Nǐ dāyinglede shi, wèishénme bú zuò? Nǐ dāyingguode shi, jiù yǐnggǎi zuòdào. Wǒ méi dǎying gěi ni yíge hùzhào. Dǎyjng can also mean 'to answer'. to consent, to promise' He agreed to give me that thing. How is that now he won't give it to me? You promised him, of course you should go with him. You must do what you promise to do. Why don't you do this thing that you have promised? You ought to do things that you promise• I didn't promise to give you a passport. Tā jiao ni, nǐ zěnme méi dāying? He called you, how come you didn’t answer? Notes on No. $ tánlai tánqù: ’to talk over’. Tánlai tánqù, yě bù néng jiějué We discussed it for a long time, but zhèige wèntí. still couldn’t solve the problem. Tánlai tánqù, tánde hen you yìsi. It got very interesting, conversing back and forth. juédìng: ’to decide’. Wǒ juedìng yào qù. I’ve decided that I’m going. Wǒ yǐjīng juedìng jiù zhènme ban. I’ve already decided that it’ll be this way. Wǒ hái méi juedìng gāi zěnme ban. I haven’t yet decided what should be done. Notice that when you want to say ’I can’t decide whether (to do something)’ or ’I haven’t decided whether (to do something)’, the object of juedìng is a choice-type question. Wǒ hái méi juédìng qù bu qù. I haven’t yet decided whether to go or not. Wǒ bù néng juédìng wǒ qù bu qù. I can’t decide whether to go or not. Wǒ hěn nán juédìng rang bu rang ta qù. Wǒ shi bu shi gāi huíqu hěn nán juédìng. I’m having a hard time deciding whether to let him to or not. It’s hard to decide whether or not I should go back. hòulái: ’afterwards, later’. You have already learned another word which can be translated as ’’afterwards” or ’’later”: yǐhòu. Yǐhòu and hòulái are both nouns which express time. Here is a brief comparison of them. (1) Yǐhòu can either follow another element ’in which case it is translated as ’’after ...”) or it can be used by itself. Tā láile yǐhòu, women jiù zǒu After he came, we left. le. Yǐhòu, tā méiyou zài láiguo. Afterwards, he never came back again. Hòulái can only be used by itself. Hòulái, tā shuì jiao le. Afterwards, he went to sleep. (2) Both yǐhòu and hòulái may be used to refer to the past. (For example, in the reference list sentence, yǐhòu may be substituted for hòulái. But if you want to say "afterwards" or "later" referring to the future, you can only use yǐhòu. When it refers to the future time, yǐhòu can be translated in various ways, depending on the context: Yǐhòude shìqing, děng yǐhòu zài shuō. Yǐhòu nǐ you kòng, qǐng cháng lái wán. Wo yǐhòu zài gàosu ni. Tāde háizi shuōle, yǐhòu tā yào gēn yíge Rìběn ren Jiéhūn. Let’s wait until the future to see about future matters. In the future when you have the time, please come over more often. I’ll tell you later on. His child said that someday, he wants to marry a Japanese. Usage Note: Yǐhòu has the meaning of "after that". It can imply that some past event functions as a dividing point in time, as a sort of time boundary, and yǐhòu refers to the period from the end of that time boundary up to another point of reference (usually the time of speaking). In this usage it is often translated as "since". Tā zhǐ xiěle yìběn shū, yǐhòu zài méi xiěguo. Ránhòu stresses the succession of one event. Wo shàngwū zhǐ you liǎngjié kè, ránhòu jiù méi shi le, women kéyi chuqū wánr. He only wrote one book, and hasn't written any since. event upon the completion of a prior I have only two classes in the morning, and after that I don't have anything else to do, so we háishi: 'in the end, after all' You have seen háishi meaning 'still' that is, that something remains the same way as it was. Here háishi is used to mean that the speaker feels that, all things considered, something is the case after all. Háishi tā duì. He is right, after all. Note on No. 6 jūxíng: 'to hold (a meeting, banquet, celebration, ceremony, etc.)' For this example you need to know that diānlǐ means 'ceremony'. Míngtiān jǔxíng bìyè dianlǐ. Tomorrow the graduation ceremony will be held. Notes on No, 8 hái: ’even, (to go) so far as to’ You have seen hái meaning ’still’*as in Nǐ hái zài zhèr!, ’You’re still here!’. You’ve also seen hái meaning ’also, additionally’, as in Wo hái yào mǎi yìpǐng qìshuǐ., ’I also want to buy a bottle of soda.’ Here you see hái meaning additionally in the sense of additional effort. The sentence Nǐmen hái song huār lai, hái expresses the speaker’s feeling that sending flowers went beyond what was expected or necessary. zhēn shi tài xièxie le: ’I really thank you so much.’’ You have seen tài used to mean ’very, extremely’, as in Tài hǎo le!, ’Wonderful!’. Notice that here it is used with xièxie. Taipei: A woman goes to visit her old friend her daughter and future son-in-law. A:   Gōngxǐ, gōngxǐ! Zhège Xīng- qītiān jiù shi nǐmen èr xiáo-jiede dàxǐde rìzi! Zhèli shi sònggei xīnláng xinniángde lǐwù. B:   Xièxie*. Xièxie’. Nǐ tai kèqi le. A: Yìdiǎn xiǎo yìsi. Nǐ yídìng hěn mǎng ba’. Hūnlǐ dōu zhǔnbèi-hǎo le meiyou? B: Zuì mángde shíhou yǐjīng guò le, xiànzài chàbuduō dōu zhǔn-bèihǎo le. A: Xīnláng shi náli ren a? Zài náli gōngzuò? B: Xīnláng shi Héběi rén, zài Táiwān Yínháng gōngzuò. Tā rén hěn laoshi, yě hěn shàngjìn. A: Xiùyún gēn tā shi biéren jièshào rènshide háishi zìjǐ rènshide? B: Shi Xiùyúnde lǎoshī jiěshàode. Xiùyún gēn tā jiāowǎng dào xiànzài yǐjīng liǎngnián le, duì ta hěn mǎnyì. A: Nǐmen gēn nánfāngde fùmǔ yǐqián shou bu shōu? B: Bù shóu, kěshi women zǎo jiù tīngshuōguo tamen le. Tāmen liǎngwèi dōu zài TáiDà jiāo shū. Tāmen yì lái tíqīn women jiù dāying le. A:   Wǒ kànjian qǐngtiēshang xiězhe hūnlǐ zài Guǒbīn Dàfàndiàn jǔxíng. Nali dìfang you dà you piàoliang. Zhen hǎo. and to present her with a gift for Congratulations! This Sunday is your second daughter’s big day! Here’s a present for the bride and groom. Thank you! That’s so nice of you. It’s just a little something. You must be busy! Is everything all ready for the wedding? The busiest time has already passed; almost everything is ready now. Where is the groom’s family from? Where does he work? The groom’s family is from Hopei. He works at the Bank of Taiwan. He’s very honest and ambitious. Were Xiuyun and he introduced by someone else or did they meet by themselves? They were introduced by Xiuyun’s teacher. Xiuyun and he have been seeing each other for two years now, and she’s very pleased with him. Did you know the groom’s parents well before? No, but we had heard of them long before. They both teach at Taiwan University. As soon as they came to propose the marriage, we agreed to it. I saw on the invitation that the wedding is being held at the Ambassador Hotel. It’s very spacious and beautiful there. That’s great. B: Shi a! Women gēn nǎnfāngde fùmú tǎnlǎi tǎnqù tǎnle hǎo Jiu, bù zhīdào zài nǎli Jǔxíng hūnlǐ zuì hǎo. Hòulǎi haishi wǒ Juédìng zài Guóbǐn Dàfàndiàn jǔxíng. A: Ng! Guobǐn Dàfàndiàn bù zhǐ shi dìfang piàoliang, nàlide cài yě tèbiě hǎo. B: Duì le. A: Xīnniǎngde Jiēhūn lǐfū zài nǎli mǎide? B: Bu shi mǎide, shi Xiùyún zìjǐ zuòde. A: Nǐmen èr xiǎojie zhēn nénggàn. Tiān bù zǎo le, wǒ gāi zou le. B: Nǐ hai zìjǐ song lǐwù lai, zhēn shi xièxie! Xīngqǐtiān yídìng lǎi, ǎ! Yes. We discussed it back and forth for a long time with his parents. We didn’t know where it would be best to hold the wedding. Afterwards I was the one who decided that we would have it at the Ambassador Hotel. Oh! Not only is the Ambassador Hotel a beautiful place, but the food there is especially good too. That’s right. Where did you buy the bride’s wedding gown? It isn't bought. Xiuyun made it herself. Your second daughter sure is capable. It's getting late, I ought to be going. You even brought the gifts yourself. Thank you so much. Be sure to come on Sunday! NOTES ON THE DIALOGUE Guǒbǐn Dàfàndiàn bù zhǐ shi dìfang piàoliang, nàlide cài yě tèbiě hǎo. Traditional wedding foods included huāshēng, peanuts; liǎnzǐ, lotus seeds; and zǎozi, dates, all of which symbolize fertility in that shēng(zǐ) means "give birth to" (a son); liǎnzǐ sounds like part of the phrase liǎnshēng guìzǐ, "have sons consecutively"; and zǎozi sounds like part of zǎoshēng guì-zǐ, "have an early son." The wedding marked the beginning of that generation's carrying on of the family line. Today few adhere to these symbols and food is served according to family preference. Bú shi mǎide, shi Xiùyún- zìjǐ zuòde: Wedding gowns in Taiwan these days are frequently hand-made or tailor-made, as tailoring is affordable and the quality of work surpasses that of ready-made items. Brides may wear two gowns: a white one for the ceremony (which may be in a church nowadays) and a traditional Chinese red one at the celebration. 9. Xīnláng Jiā xìn Jǐdūjiào, fùmǔ xīwàng tāmen zài Jiàotáng Jiéhūn. 10. Xīnniáng jiā xìn Fo, fùmǔ bú rang tamen zài Jiàotáng Jiéhūn. 11. Tāmen yào zài fǎyuàn gōngzhèng j iēhūn ma? 12. Hūnlǐ yǐhòu bādiān zhōng rù xí. 13. Zhège wèntí hen fùzá. lk. Wǒde yìjian shi děng liāngge xīngqī women zài tantan. 15. Tāmen qǐng shéi zhènghūn? 16. A: Hūnlǐ yǐhòu tāmen māshàng Jiù qù dù mìyuè ma? B: Bù, yào děng huí mén yǐhòu cái qù. 17. Hòutiān yídìng lai chī xǐjiǔ! 18. A: Nǐmen xiáojie hūnlǐshàng jièshaorén shi nāliāngwèi a? B: Yíwèi shi lai zuò méide Lǐ Jiàoshòu. 19. Nàwěi youzhèngjú Juzhāng shi women Jiā duōniánde lāo péngyou. 20. Tāndao jiehūn, nǐ yě yīnggāi kuài diān qù zū Jiàn Jiéhūn lǐfú. The family of the bridegroom are Christians and the parents hope they will be married in church. The family of the bride are Buddhists and -her parents won’t let them be married in church. Are they going to have a civil marriage in court? After the wedding ceremony the banquet will start at eight. This question is very complicated. My opinion is that we should wait two weeks and talk about it again. Whom did they ask to witness the marriage? After the wedding are they going to leave right away to go on their honeymoon? No, they’re going to wait until after the bride’s first visit to her family before they go. Be sure to come to the wedding banquet the day after tomorrow. Who are the two people who are going to be the introducers at your daughter’s wedding? One is Professor Li who was the go-between. That postmaster is a friend of our family from many years back. Speaking of the wedding, you really ought to hurry up and go rent a wedding gown. NOTES ON PART IT Notes on No. 9 xìn Jǐdūjiào: ’to believe in (Protestant) Christianity' This is one way of saying 'to be a (Protestant) Christian'. Notes on No. 10 xìn Fo: 'to believe in Buddha' This is one way of saying 'to be a Buddhist'. Notes on No. 11 zài fǎyuàn: 'in court' Zài is the verb 'to be in, at, or on', in other words 'to be located (someplace). Zài must be followed by a place word or a place phrase. Just what is considered to be a place word or phrase may be difficult for the non-native speaker to figure out. Words which are not considered to be place words or phases must have a locational ending such as -li or -shang added to them. (Nǐ zài chēshang mǎi piào., 'You buy the ticket on the bus.') The names of institutions in Chinese are considered to be place words. The phrase 'in court' does not need a locational ending, zài fǎyuàn. Here are some other words which can function as place words by themselves. Many of these end with syllables such as -shi (shǐ) 'house, apartment', -jú 'office, shop', -dian 'inn, shop', -chǎng 'field, open ground', -ting 'hall, room', -suǒ 'place, room', -jiān 'house, rooms', guǎn 'public office, hall'. Jīntiān xiàwu zài bàngōngshì Jiàn! See you at the office this afternoon! Zài běnshì you wǔge yóuzhèng- There are five post offices in this Jú!. city. Nǐ zài cáiféngdiàn zuòde ba? You must have had that tailor's. made at a Nǐ zài canting kàndao ta le ma? Did you see him in the dining room? Other words which behave in a similar way are: càishichǎng market fùjìn area cèsuǒ toilet fúwùtái service desk dàfàndiàn hotel Gōngānjú Bureau of Public Security shāngdiàn store gongsī company dàlou building gōngyù apartment dashiguan dìqū fàndiàn fǎngjiǎn fànguǎnzi feinting fēijichǎng embassy region restaurant room restaurant dining room airport gōngyuǎn park huìkèshì reception room huǒchēzhàn railroad station jǐngchǎjú police station kǎfēitīng coffeehouse lǎoj iǎ hometown and many more...including proper names of Restaurants, buildings, associations, organizations, etc. gōngzhèng: ’notarization, government witness’. A gōngzhèng rén is a notary public. Note on No. 12 rù xí: ’to take one’s seat at a banquet’, literally ’to enter the mat(ted area)’. Women kuài diānr zhùnbèi,          Let’s get ready a little faster, tǎmen liùdiǎn zhōng jiù            the banquet starts at b:00. yào rù xí le. Note on No. 13 fùzǎ: ’to be complicated, to be complex’. Questions, problems, or situations can be fùzǎ if there are many pieces or factors figuring into the problem. It is also possible to use fùzǎ to imply that the situation is messy, problem-ridden. Tǎmen jiǎde qíngkuàng tài fùzǎ, wǒ gǎobuqīngchu. Zhèige wèntí tài fùzǎ, hěn nǎn shuōqīngchu. Zhèige jùzi tài fùzǎ, zuì hǎo bú zhèiyangr xiě. Their family situation is too complicated, I can’t make heads or tails of it. (This sentence has an ambiguity in both languages.) This question is so complicated, it’s very hard to explain it clearly. This sentence is too complicated, it would be best not to write it this way. Fùzǎ can also be used in a complimentary way. (For this example you need to know that sìxiǎng means ’thinking, thought’.) Tǎde sìxiǎng hěn fùzǎ.             His thinking is very complex. This sentence might be said of an Einstein. The opposite of fùzǎ in this case would, be jiāndān ’to be simple’, as in ’simple-minded’. Fùzá is also pronounced fǔzā. Note on No. 14 yìj iàn: ’idea, view, opinion, suggestion’. Gāngcái tā tánle duì zhèiběn shūde yìjian, wo Juéde duì women hen you bāngzhu. Wǒ hen xiāng zhīdào, zài zhèige wèntíshang, Zhōngguo zhèng-fǔde yìjian shi shénme? Wǒ xiāng xiān qù Shanghai, zài dào Wǔhàn, nǐde yìjian zěnmeyang? Wǒde yìjian shi xiān qù Wǔhàn, zài dào Shànghāi qu. Yīnwei zài guò yíge yuè, Wǔhàn fēi-cháng rèle. He just told us his opinions on this book, and I feel that they’re really helpful to us. I’d very much like to know what the Chinese government’s view is on this question. I’d like to go to Shanghai first and then to Wuhan, what’s your opinion? My opinion is to first go to Wuhan, then to Shanghai, because after a month, Wuhan will be extremely hot. Note on No. 1J? zhènghǔn: ’to witness a marriage’. Witnesses formerly were persons of good reputation and venerable old age. Today, familiarity is most important. The witness makes a brief speech during the ceremony and stamps the marriage certificate with his name seal. He receives no remuneration for this service, but is honored to have been asked. Notes on No. 16 dù mìyuè: ’to spend one’s honeymoon’. Dù is the verb ’to spend, to pass (something which is an amount of time, like a holiday). Mìyuè is literally 'honey-moon'. huímén: 'the bride's first visit to her own family on the third day after the wedding', literally 'return to the door'. When the newlyweds return home for this first visit, the family of the bride is given a chance to entertain the couple. More friends and relatives are invited and introduced to them. (It is the groom's family which arranges the marriage ceremony.) Note on No. 17 xǐjiǔ: ’wedding banquet’ . Notice that in the Reference List sentence the phrase lai chǐ xǐjiǔ is translated as ’to come to the wedding banquet’. A more literal translation might be ’come to eat a wedding feast!. The verb chi could also be rendered into English by ’attend’ or ’take part’, as in ’Be sure to come take part in the wedding banquet the day after tomorrow’. Notes on No. 18 hūnlǐshàng: ’at the wedding’. Notice that in English you say ’at the wedding’ while in Chinese you say hūnlǐshàng, literally ’on the wedding'. -Shang would also be the locative ending to use for ’at the meeting (huìshang). jièshaorén: ’introducer’. This is one person in the cast of people who play a part in getting two people together in marriage. Originally, the ’’introducer" functioned in much the same way as match-makers - finding a good mate for a friend or relative. Today, most young people find their own mates. The "introducers", however, still have a ceremonial function. They accompany the bride and groom during the ceremony (one for the bride and one for the groom). zuò méi: ’to act as the go-between for two families whose children are to be married’. This person arranged the details of the match. He acted as a go-between for the families of the bride and groom, settling points which were usually of a financial nature. Often the zuò meide was also the jièshaorén. Traditionally, the go-between was an older woman who made a profession of it. She was paid for her services in money if the family was wealthy or in the best pork legs if they were poor. Today any adult can act as the go-between, although the practice is becoming less and less common. During the wedding ceremony, the go-between places his stamp on the wedding certificate. Wo gěi ni zuò méi, hǎo bu hǎo? I’ll act as go-between for you, all right? Zhang Tàitai qǐng wo tī tāde       Mrs. Chang asked me to act as go- nùér zuò méi.                       between for her daughter. Notes on No. 19 júzhǎng: ’head of an office or bureau’. Júzhǎng is only used when the Chinese name of the office or bureau ends with the syllable -jú, as in youzhèngjú, ’post office’. You’ve also seen bùzhǎng, ’minister of a bureau’ and kēzhang, ’section chief’. duōnián: ’many years’. Here are some examples: Women duōnián bú jiàn le. We haven’t seen each other for many years. Women zài yìqǐ gōngzuòle duōnián le. Wo zhù zài zhèr duōnián le, kěshi méi tīngshuōguo zhèige rén. We’ve been working together for many years. I’ve been living here for many years, but I’ve never heard of this person. Notes on No. 20 tándao: ’to talk about, to speak of’. This is used to refer to something that was Just brought up in conversation. You have seen dào used as a main verb meaning ’to go to, to arrive at’, and as a prepositional verb meaning ’to towards’. Now you see that dào is also used as a verb ending. Literally, it means ’to, up to’, but its translation into English sometimes changes, depending on the meaning of the verb it is used with. When used with tan, ’to talk, to chat’, -dào can be translated as ’about’ or ’of’. Here are some other examples of -dào used with verbs you’ve already studied: Women gāngcái hái shuōdao nǐ, nǐ Jiù lái le. Jintiān nǐ gēn ta Jiǎngdao wo méiyou? Wǒ chángchang xiǎngdao wǒde háizi• We were even talking of you Just now, and here you are! Did you talk about me with him today? I often think of my child. Notice that in the Reference List sentence, tándao is used at the beginning of the sentence to introduce a topic, like we use ’speaking of ...’ in English. Here are some other examples: Tándao Jiéhūnde shi, wǒ hái děi xiǎngyixiang. Tándao zěnme xiě Zhōngguo zì, tā bǐ wǒ zhīdaode duō. When it comes to talking about marriage, I have to think it over. When we talk about writing Chinese characters, he knows a lot more than I do. yě: ’really, after all’. You have seen yě meaning ’too, also’. Another common meaning of yě is ’(even though) ... nevertheless, still’. For example: Wǒ suīrán shi Zhōngguorén wǒ yě huì shuō yìdiǎn Yǐngwén. Although I am Chinese, I can still speak a little English. A: Zhèige diànyǐng zěnmeyàng? B: Bu shi hěn hǎo, dànshi yě hái kéyi. How was the movie? It wasn’t great, but it was pretty good nevertheless. Wǒ suīrān méi dàoguo Tiān An      Although I’ve never been to Tian An Men, yě zài diànshìshang           Men, I’ve seen it on television, kànj ianguo. In addition, yě often is used to contrast the thought expressed in the sentence with another thought. This meaning can be paraphrased something like this: "in spite of anything which might be believed to the contrary, indeed what I am saying is true." Sometimes, however, yě is used when there is not much to contrast it with, and means little more than "we really ought to agree that what I am saying is true." There are many different possible ways to translate this yě into English. The following examples are meant to show some of its range of meaning and some of its possible translations. Xiànzài shíyǐdiǎn ban le, wǒ yě yào shàng kè le, wǒmende wèntí míngtiān zài tan ba’. Zhōngguo rénkǒu tài duō, zhèngfù tíchàng wǎnliàn wǎnhūn yě shi yinggāide. Tāmen wèishénme yào líhūn, wǒ yě bù zhǐdào. A: Nǐ zěnme hǎi méi bǎ zhèxiē yǐfu xǐwān? B: Wǒ yě bú shi nǐde yòngren, báitiān wǒ yě shàng bān, wǒ méiyou zhènme duō shij iān. Nǐ xiànzài yě gāi míngbai le ba? Women liāngge rènshi yě you jǐniǎn le, nǐ yǐnggāi liǎojiě wo. It’s eleven-thirty. I really have to be going to class. Let’s talk about our question tomorrow, okay? The population of China is too large, it really is right for the government to promote late marriage and late involvement. Why they wanted to get a divorce, I really don’t know. How come you still haven’t finished washing these clothes? I’m not your servant, after all; I work during the day too, and I don’t have all that much time. Now you (really) ought to understand, don’t you? We have known each other for several years, after all; you ought to understand me. Taipei: The day before a young couple is to the mother of the bride: A: Gōngxǐ, gōngxǐ! Míngtiān shi nǐmen xiáojie dàxǐde rǐzi! Xīnláng shi shénme rén a? Tāmen shi zěnme rènshide? B: Shi péngyou jièshàode. Nánfāngde fùqin gēn wǒ xiān-sheng zài youzhèngjú shi tongshì, búguò yǐqián bú tài shóu. Hòulái lìngwài yíge xǐng Lǐde tongshì jiù lái zuò méi, jièshào tamen rènshi. Tāmen jiāowǎng dào xiànzài yě yìnián duō le. Nàge nánháizi xiànzài èrshibǎsuì, rén hěn laoshi, yě hěn shàngjìn. Xiànzài zài Táiwān Yínháng gōngzuò. Tā bàngōngshìlide rén dōu shuō tā nénggàn. Xiùyún duì ta hěn mānyì, érqiě Xiùyún yǐjīng èrshisìsuì le, yě dàole gāi jiéhūnde shíhou le, suoyi nánfāng yì lái tíqīn women jiù dāying le. A:   Wǒ kàn qǐngtiēshang shuō wǔdiǎn zhōng zài Guobīn Dà-fàndiàn jǔxíng hūnlǐ, liùdiǎn zhōng rù xí. Nà dìfang hěn dà, cài yě hěn hǎo, míngtiān yídìng hěn rènao. B:   Tándaò jǔxíng hūnlǐ a, yìjian duō le. Zhēn fùzá. Xiān shi liǎngge háizi yào dào fǎyuàn gōngzhèng jiéhūn, kěshi nánfāngde fùmǔ bù dāying. Tāmen xìn Jīdūjiào, yídìng yào dào jiàotáng qù. Women jiā xìn Fo, zěnme kéyi rang tamen dào jiàotáng qù jǔxíng hūnlǐ ne! Hòulái, liǎngjiā tánlái tánqù, zuìhòu cái juédìng háishi zài Guobīn Dàfàndiàn be married, a friend pays a visit to Congratulations! Tomorrow’s your daughter’s big day! Who’s the bridegroom? How did they meet? They were introduced by friends. The father of the groom is a colleague of my husband’s at the post office, but they didn’t know each very well before. Afterwards, another colleague by the name of Li came to act as the go-between and introduced them. They have been seeing each other for over a year now. The young man is twenty-eight years old now. He’s very honest and ambitious. He works at the Bank of Taiwan. The people at his office all say he’s very capable. Xiuyun is very pleased with him, and besides, she’s twenty-four years old; she has reached the time when she should get married. So as soon as his family came to propose the marriage, we agreed to it. I see it says on the invitation that the ceremony will be held at the Ambassador Hotel at five o’clock, and that the banquet starts at six. It’s a very big place, and the food is very good. It should be very lively tomorrow. As far as the wedding ceremony is concerned, there were a lot of different opinions. It was really complicated. At first the two children wanted to go to court and have a civil marriage, but the parents of the groom didn’t agree to that. They’re Christians, and insisted on going to a church. Our family is Buddhist; how could we let them go to a church to hold the wedding! Later, our two families discussed it back and jǔxíng hūnlǐ. A: Shi qǐng shénme rén zhènghūn a? B: Zhènghūnrén shi Youzhèngjū Zhang Júzhǎng. Tā gēn nánfāngde fùqin shi duōniánde lǎo péngyou, suóyi yì qǐng ta, tā mǎshàng jiu daying le. A: You méiyou jièshàorén? Jiè shàorén shi shéi ya? B: Nánfāngde jièshàorén jiù shi lai zuò méide nàwèi Lī Xiān-sheng. Women zhèbiān jiù qǐngle Zhang Zǐmíng Jiàoshòu. Tā shi Xiùyūn niàn dàxué shíhoude lāoshī. A: Xǐnniángde jiéhūn lǐfú shi zài shénme dìfang zuòde? B: Bú shi zuòde, shi zūde. A: Tāmen jiehūn yǐhòu yào dào náli qù dù mìyuè? B: Tāmen jìhua yào dào Alǐ Shān qù wan yíge xīngqī, būguò tāmen jiéhūn yǐhòu bù néng mǎshàng zǒu, yào děng huí mén yǐhòu cái qù. A: 0, hǎo hǎo hǎo. Wǒ xiang nǐmen yídìng hen máng. Wǒ yīnggāi zǒu le. B: Nǐ nàme kèqi, hái zìjǐ lai song lǐwù lai. Xièxie, xièxie! Míngtiān yídìng lai chī xījiǔ. A: Hǎo, míngtiān jiàn. forth, and finally we decided it would be best to hold the wedding at the Ambassador Hotel. Whom did you ask to witness the marriage? The witness is Postmaster Zhang. He’s an old friend of many years of the groom’s father, so as soon as we went to ask him, he agreed right away. Are there any introducers? Who are they? The introducer for the groom’s side is the Mr. Li who was the go-between. For our side we asked Professor Zhang Ziming. He was a teacher of Xiuyun’s when she was in college. Where was the bride’s wedding gown made? It wasn’t (specially) made, it’s rented. After they’re married, where are they going to spend their honeymoon? They’re planning to go to Mt. Ali for a week, but they can’t leave right after the wedding. They have to wait until after the bride’s first visit to her new parents’ home before they go. Oh, okay. Well, you must be very busy, so I should be leaving now. You’re so polite, you even brought presents over in person. Thank you! Be sure to come to the banquet tomorrow. Okay, see you tomorrow. NOTES ON THE DIALOGUE . ..liǎngge háizi yào dào fǎyuàn gōngzhèng .jiehūn: Traditional wedding ceremonies were held at home or in ancestral halls (not in temples or pagodas). Modern ones are likely to "be held in hotels or restaurants, as there is more room and food is then easier to prepare. Tǎmen jìhua yào dào Ālǐ Shan qù: Ālǐ Shān and Rìyuè Tan (Sun-Moon Lake) are the two most popular honeymoon spots on Taiwan. An average honeymoon stay might last one week. Vocabulary ài (sound of sighing) dàxǐ dàxǐde rìzi daying great rejoicing wedding day to agree (to something), to consent, to promise dù dù mìyuè to pass to go on a honeymoon, to spend one's honeymoon duōnián many years fǎyuàn Fo fùzá (fǔzá) court of law Buddha to be complicated gōngzhèng jiēhūn civil marriage hái háishi hōulái hui men even, (to go) so far as to after all later, afterwards the return of the bride to her parents' home (usually on the third day after the wedding) hūnlǐ wedding j iàotáng jiāowāng church to associate with, to have dealings with Jīdūjiào jiēhūn lǐfú j ièshaorén juédìng jǔxíng Juzhǎng Christianity wedding gown introducer to decide to hold (a meeting, ceremony, etc.) head of an office or bureau (of which the last syllable is jú) ...-lái...-qù (indicates repeating the action over and over again) lǎoshi (lǎoshí) to be honest rnǎnyì mìyuè to be pleased honeymoon nánfāng nēnggàn the groom's side, the groom's family to be capable ren person, self, body rù xí to take one’s seat (at a gathering, meeting, or banquet) shàngjìn shou to be ambitious to be familiar (with), to know well tándao tánlai tánqù tíqīn to talk about; speaking of ... to talk back and forth to bring up a proposal of marriage xiáojiě (xiáojie) daughter (referring to someone else’s daughter) xījiù xìn xìn Fo xīnláng xīnniáng wedding banquet; wedding wine to believe (in) to be a Buddhist bridegroom bride yě yìjian indeed, in fact, admittedly opinion záo zhènghūn zhènghūnrén zū zuò mei long ago to witness a marriage chief witness at a wedding ceremony to rent to act as go-between (for the families of a man and woman considering marriage) Customs Surrounding Marriage, Birth, and Death: Unit 3 PART I 1. Wǒ tīngshuō Zhōngguo kòngzhi rénkǒude gōngzuò zuòde hen chénggōng. 2. Zài chéngshìli zhùde rén yào you yíge hāizi děi zuòdao sān tōngguò. 3. Sān tōngguòde yìsi yě jiùshi shuō děi you sānge dìfang tongyì zhèwèi fùnǔ shēng hāizi. 1+. A: Něi sānge dānwèi ne? B: Zhèwei fùnǔde gōngzuò dānwèi, tā zhùde dìfangde jǔmín wěiyuānhuì, he pàichūsuǒ. 5. Zhōngguo zhèngfǔ gēnju shénme pīzhǔn fùnùmen shēng xiāo-háir? 6. Gègè chéngshì měinián zhǐ kéyi zēngjiā yídìng shùmude hāizi. 7. Women shìqū jīnniānde chǔshēng-lù bù gāo. 8. Wǒ zhǐ néng fēnpèigei nǐmen zhèiyìqǔ bābǎige míng* é. 9. Zhōngguo rénkǒu tài duō, zhèngfǔ tíchàng rénmín shí-xíng bìyùn. 10. Bìyùn gōngjù dōu shi miǎnfèide. 11. Wǒ yījīng dédao pīzhǔn, kéyi you yìjiān xìn fāngzi. I hear that population control work has been done very successfully in China. People who live in the city, if they want to have a child, must have ’the three approvals’. ’The three approvals’ means that a woman must have the consent of three places in order to have a child. Which three units? The woman’s work unit, the neighborhood committee of the place she lives, and the local police station. On what basis does the Chinese government give official permission for women to give birth? The various cities can only increase by a specific number of children every year. The birth rate in our municipal area this year isn’t very high. I can only assign a quota of eight hundred to your area. The population of China is too large so the government encourages the people to practice birth control. All contraceptive devices are free. I have already received permission to get a new room. NOTES ON PART I Notes on No. 1 kòngzhi: ’to control; control’. dominate; to command’. Zhèige fǎngjiānde wěndù kòng-zhude hù hǎo, yìhuǐr lěng, yìhuǐr rè. Shíjiān méi hànfa kòngzhi, shéi yě bànbudao. Tāde hìng yǐjīng kòngzhizhù le, yěxǔ Jǐtiān yǐhòu, tā huì hǎoqilai. You yìxiē rén kòngzhile zhèi-jià fēijī, hú rang ta qǐfēi. This can also he translated as ’to The temperature in this room isn’t well regulated. It’s cold one minute and hot the next. There is no way to control time; no one can do it. His illness is under control now; maybe in another few days he will start to get better. Some people have taken control of this airplane and won’t let it take off. chénggōng: ’to succeed; to he Zhèihěn shū chénggōng le. successful’. This hook was a success. Zhèihěn shū xiěde hěn chénggōng. His hook was written very successfully, (i.e., His hook came off very well.) This soup is a success, everyone loves it. So long as you work hard at it, your effort is sure to succeed. Zhèige tāng chénggōng le, dàjiā dōu ài chī. Zhǐ yào nǐ nǔlì, nǐde shìqing yídìng néng chénggōng. Notes on No. 2 zuòdào: ’to achieve, to make (a goal)’.. In Unit 2, Part II, you saw tandao ’to talk about, to speak of’, with the ending -dào meaning literally ’to, up to’. Here you see -dào used as an ending after the verb zuò ’to make’. You may think of -dào in zuòdào as conveying the meaning of reaching a goal. Zhèijiān shi, wǒ yǐjīng zuòdào I have already succeeded in doing le.                                   this. Nǐ shuōguo, zuǒtiān nǐ yào qù, You said that you wanted to go nǐ zuòdào le ma?                    yesterday. Did you do so? sān tōngguò: ’the three approvals’. The ’three approvals’ have "been in effect since 1973/7^. At that time, the minimum marriage age was pushed upward, but most recently it has been relaxed to ages twenty-five for males and twenty-three for females. Most couples must still wait a number of years before they can have a child. The sāntŌngguò guiding for city residents effectively means that, without these three approvals for a child, a pregnancy must end in abortion or else the child will have to live without food rations. (A government slogan is Yíge zuì hǎo, liǎngge gòule, "One is best, two is enough.’’) Applications to have children are reviewed and permission granted or denied by one’s work unit, based on the total allowable city quota. A third child is strongly discouraged and life would be very difficult for it should it be born. Special gifts, privileges, and awards are given to one-child families. In the countryside, one can find four to six children in a household, but they of course could not easily move to the city. Notes on No. 3 yě jiùshi shuō: ’to mean; in other words, that is to say’. Jìhuà shēngyù yě jiùshi shuō yào you jìhuade shēng xiǎo-háir. Planned parenthood means having children in a planned way. ’Hébì’ yě jiùshi shuō ’wèi-shénme xūyào’. Tā bù néng zài shēng xiǎoháizi, yě jiùshi shuō women juéde tā zhìbuhǎo le. Tā bù gěi ni dǎ diànhuà hǎo-xiàng yě jiùshi shuō tā bù xīhuan ni. Dàifu shuō tā bù néng chī ròu, yě jiùshi shuō chi ròu duì tāde shēntǐ bù hǎo. When what follows is a more pointed jiùshi shuō can be used in place of Tā bù kéyi shēng háizi, jiùshi shuō tā hái méiyou zuòdao sān tōngguò. tongyì: ’consent, agreement; to or thinks)’. ’Hébì * means ’why must’. She can’t have children any more; that is to say, we feel that she cannot be cured. The fact that he doesn’t telephone you would seem to imply that he doesn’t like you. The doctor said that he couldn’t eat meat, in other words, eating meat isn’t good for his health. explanation of what has just been said, yě jiùshi shuō, e.g. She cannot have a child; that is to say, she has not yet gotten the three approvals. agree, to agree with (what someone says A: Tongyì bu tongyì? Do you agree? B: Wǒ bù tongyì. I don’t agree. Wǒ bù tongyì nǐde huà.             I don’t agree with what you say. Although in English we can say ’I agree with you’, in Chinese it is wrong to say either Wǒ gēn nǐ tongyì or Wǒ tǒngyì ni. Tongyì can be used in two ways: without an object, or with an object like tā shuōde ’what he said’, tāde huà ’what he said’, tāde jìhua ’his plan’, tāde yìjian ’his opinion’. If you want to say ’I don’t agree with you’, you can say Wǒ bù tongyì, Nǐ shuōde, wǒ bù tǒngyì, Wǒ bù tǒngyì nǐde huà, Wǒ bù tǒngyì nǐde yìjian, etc. Notes on No. U dānwèi: ’(work) unit’. This word is used in the PRC as a cover term for any organization or department of an organization. It may, for instance refer to a factory, a school, a government organization, a store, or an army unit. Nǐ zài něige dānwèi gōngzuò? is a common way of asking where someone works; compared with Nǐ zài nǎr gōngzuò?, the question Nǐ zài něige dānwèi gōngzuò? sounds more official. Women dānwèi you hen duō nù        There are a lot of women teachers in lāoshī.                             our unit. (Here, dānwèi refers to a school. ) To specify that you are talking about a place of work, you can say gōngzuò dānwèi, as in the Reference List sentence. jūmǐn wěiyuánhuì: ’neighborhood committee’. The official duties of a neighborhood committee are diverse, ranging from sanitation maintenance to political study. Its actual role and duty remain ambiguous, as well as its relationship with the government. Although the government pays a committee’s elected delegates, there is no official connection between the two. The power of the committee in local affairs remains large. pàichūsuǒ: ’local police station’. The local police station is the lowest level of the Bureau of Public Security. In addition to taking care of matters of a criminal nature, the pàichūsuǒ is familiar with the history and political situation of every one of its residents. Along with the gōngzuò dānwèi and the jūmǐn wěiyuánhuì, it affects the daily life of each citizen. Notes on No. 5 gēnju: ’according to, on the basis of; basis’. Nǐ gēnju shénme shuō zhèige        On what basis do you say this? huà? Nǐ shuōde huà you méiyou           Is there a basis for what you're gēnju?                              saying? pǐzhǔn: 'to give official permission (to someone to do something)'. Dānwèi pǐzhǔn ta jiēhūn le.        Her unit gave her permission to marry. Xuéxiào pǐzhǔn ta qù Shanghai His school gave him permission to go le.                                    to Shanghai. Wǒ mai zhèige diànshì shi dédao I got permission to buy this pǐzhǔnde.                           television. fùnǔmen: 'women'. -Men is a plural ending for nouns and pronouns. You have seen it in the pronouns women, zánmen, nǐmen, and tǎmen. After a noun, however, -men is never obligatory. It is usually used with nouns which designate humans (although in literature you may sometimes see it used with nouns referring to animals as well). Nǔshimen, xiānshengmen.             Ladies and gentlemen. Note that the group referred to by a noun phrase with -men must be of unspecified number; it is wrong to say liàngge fùnǔmen or sānge jiàoshòumen, etc. Notes on No. 6 gègè: 'each and every, all of the various'. The first gè (a specifier like zhèi-) literally means 'each...' or 'the various, the different...'. The second ge is the counter ge, as in yíge rén 'one person'. Jiǔyuèli, gègè xuéxiào dōu         In September all the schools open, kāi xué le. Měiguode gègè zhōu dōu you         Each of the American states has its zíjǐde zhèngfǔ.                     government. zēngjiā: 'to increase; to increase by (such-and-such an amount)'. Jīnnián women xuexiàode xue-shēng zēngjiā le. Zhèige yīyuànde bìngrén bù néng zài zēngjiā le. Zhèijǐtiān nǐ máng bu máng, zài gěi ni zēngjiā yìdiānr gōngzuò, hǎo bu hāo? The students in our school increased this year. The patients in this hospital cannot increase any further. Have you been busy the past few days? Would it be okay if I give you some more work to do? Women dānwèi you zēngjiāle liǎngge bàngōngshì. They added two more offices on to our unit. yídìng: ’specific, certain, definite, set’. In addition to the meaning of yídìng which you already know, namely ’certainly, surely’, it can also mean ’set (by regulation, decision, or convention), fixed, particular,’ as in Tā ban shìqing you yídìng bànfa. He goes about doing things with a definite method. Měiniān zài yídìngde rìzi, tā dōu huíqu kàn māma. Every year he goes back to see his mother on a set date. Notes on No. 7 shìqū: ’city proper, municipal area’, the area within a chěngshì where population and buildings are relatively concentrated. Shìqu is used when you are emphasizing the city proper or contrasting it to the suburbs Ejiāoqūl. It is an administratively more exact term than chěngshì. CThe Peking municipal area, Beijing shìqū, is made up of eight urban districts, chěngqū.I chūshēnglū: ’birth rate’. Chūshēng means ’to be born’. The chūshēnglū is usually considered to be the number of births per one thousand population in one year. Notes on No. 8 fēnpèi: ’distribute; allot; assign; distribution’. Wǒ tīngshuō xiàge yuè jiù kéyi I’ve heard that you’ll be assigned gěi ni fēnpei gōngzuò. work next month. Wǒ xīwang néng zǎo yìdiān fēnpèidào fángzi. I hope that housing can be assigned soon. Tīngshuō tā fēnpèi dào Dōngběi qù gōngzuò le. I've heard that he has been assigned to go work in Manchuria. míng*é: ’the number of people assigned or allowed; quota of people’. Míng’é does not exactly correspond to ’quota’. ’Quota’ is a fixed number of places which must be filled. Míng’é is (1) a fixed number of places which must not be exceeded, or (2) one such place. Bābǎige míng’é is literally ’800 name given-numbers’, i.e. ’a quota of 800 names.’ Note on No. 9 bìyùn: Literally, ’avoid-pregnancy’, i.e. ’contraception’. Shíxíng bìyùn ’to carry out (the government policy of encouraging) contraception, to practice birth control’. Note on No. 10 miǎnfèide: Literally ’exempt from charge’, i.e. ’free (of charge)’ Zhèige zhǎnlǎn kéyi miǎnfèi cānguān. Sānyuè Báhao, funù he haizi dào gōngyuán qù dōu shi miǎnfēide. Lǔxíng bù piányi a! Fēijīpiào kě bú shi miǎnfèide. You can visit this exhibit for free. On March 8th, women and children can go to parks free of charge. Travelling is not cheap. Plane tickets are certainly not free! Notes on No. 11 dedao:  ’to receive, to get’. Tā dédao hùzhào yǐhòu mǎshàng jiù zōu le. He left immediately after getting his passport. Tā dédao pīzhǔn kéyi liúzai        He has gotten permission to stay in Beijing gōngzuò.                    Peking to work. yìjiān xīn fángzi: ’a new room’. Notice that although you have seen fāngzi meaning ’house’, it is being used here in the wider sense of ’a place to live’. In this phrase it is preceded by the counter for rooms of a house, jiān. Thus the whole phrase means ’a new room’, not ’a new house’. Living quarters in Peking and many other Chinese cities are very scarce. (Housing in Shanghai is more critical than Peking.) When a newly married couple applies for housing, they will be assigned a room that does not exceed 8-10 square meters. Rarely do living quarters have private baths, toilets, or kitchens. Later, when children come along, they will continue to live in the same size room. Peking: A Canadian tourist talks with her guide: A: Wo zài Jiānádàde shihou jiù tīngshuō Zhōngguo kòngzhi rénkoude gōngzuò zuòde hěn chénggōng. Nǐ kéyi bu kéyi gěi wo jiǎngyijiǎng? B: Hǎo. Wǒ xiān shuōshuo zài chéngshìli shi zěnme zuòde. Zài chéngshìli rúguo you rén yào you yíge haizi, děi zuòdào sān tōngguò. A: Shénme shi sān tōngguò? B: Jiùshi děi you nǐ gōngzuò dānwèi, nǐ zhùde dìfangde jūmín wěiyuānhuì, hé pàichūsuǒde tōngyì. A: Zhèi sānge dānwèi gēnju shénme pǐzhǔn fùnǔmen shēng xiǎoháir? B: Gègè chéngshì měinián you yídìngde chūshēnglǔ, yě jiùshi shuō měinián zhǐ kéyi zēngjiā yídìng shùmude haizi. Zhèixiē míng’é jiù an rénkou fēnpèigei gègè shìqū. Gègè shìqū zài w fēnpèigei yào shēng háizide nǔ-tongzhì, suoyi fùnu dōu shi dédao pǐzhǔn yǐhòu cai huáiyùnde. A: Zài nongcūn, rénmen yě shíxíng bìyùn ma? B: Yě shíxíng bìyùn, kěshi bú xiàng chéngshìli zuòde nàme chénggōng. A: Bìyùn gōngjù guì bu gui? B: Zhèngfǔ tíchàng rénmín shíxíng bìyùn, suoyi bìyùn yào hé bìyùn gōngjù dōu shi miǎnfèide. When I was in Canada I heard that population control work is being done very successfully in China. Could you tell me about it? Okay. First I’ll talk about how it’s being done in the cities. In the city if there’s someone who wants to have a child, they have to get the ’three approvals’. What are the ’three approvals’? It means that you must have the consent of your work unit, the neighborhood committee of the place you live, and the local police station. On what basis do these three units give official permission to women to have children? Each year the various cities have specific birth rates; that is to say, each year they can only increase by a specific number of children. These quotas are distributed among the various cities according to population. The various cities then distribute them to women comrades who want to have children. So women don't get pregnant until they receive official permission. Do the people in the country also practice birth control? They practice birth control too, but it isn't as successful as in the city. Are contraceptive devices expensive? The government encourages people to practice birth control, so all contraceptive medicines and devices are free. PART II 12. Zài Zhōngguo, you gōngzuòde fùnu shēng háizi you chǎnjià, hái you gōngzì■ 13. Hěn duō Zhōngguo fùnū yòng gèzhōng hìyùn gōngjù shíxíng jìhuà shēngyù. 1U. Zhōngguo ren zuò juéyù shōushù-de duō hu duō? 15. Bìyùn shīhàide rén kéyi dào yíyuàn qu zuò réngōng liú-chǎn, hái kéyi you liǎngge xíngqíde Jia. 16. Zài shǎoshù mínzū dìqū rénkǒu bǐjiǎo shǎo. 17. Zhōngguo rén xiāngxìn hōngtáng duì chǎnfù shi yìzhōng hěn hǎode yíngyǎngpǐn. 18. Tǎ hé hiérén hù tong, tā shi wō zuì qìnjìnde péngyou. 19. Shǒuxiān yào qù gěi Mama mǎi xiānhuā, ránhòu hái yào gěi ni hǎ wánjù xiūlihǎo. 20. Tándao Zhōngguode nongcūn, gèdìde qíngkuàng dōu hù tong. In China working women get maternity leave when they have a child and they still receive their pay. Many Chinese women use various kinds of contraceptive devices to carry out family planning. Are there many Chinese people who have contraceptive surgery performed on them? A person who fails at hirth control can go to the hospital to have an abortion performed, and they can also have two weeks of leave. The population is relatively small in the national minority areas. Chinese believe that brown sugar is a very nutritional food for women who have given birth within the last month. She’s different from other people, she’s my closest friend. First I have to go buy fresh flowers for your mother, and then I have to fix your toy for you too. As for the rural areas of China, the situation is different in various places. NOTES ON PART II Notes on No. 12 chǎnjià: ’maternity leave’. The syllable chǎn, literally ’to give birth to’ is used in compounds meaning ’maternity, delivery, birth’. It can also be used outside the context of human reproduction in compounds meaning ’to produce, production’, as in chǎnpǐn ’product’.] gōngzī: ’wages, pay’, literally ’labor-capital’. ...you chānjià, hái you gōngzi: For a normal birth, a woman is given fifty-six days of paid leave; for a difficult birth, seventy days; and for twins, ninety days after the birth. After this period, one hour per day is allowed off in order to nurse the baby. Notes on No. 13 gèzhōng: ’various kinds, every kind’. Ge ’each’ is a specifier like zhèi- ’this’ or nèi- ’that’. As a specifier, it can be followed by counters. Here you see ge- used with the counter -zhǒng ’types, kinds, sort, species’. Here are some other ways gè- is used: u Tā néng dào gèguō qù luxíng        It’s great that he can go to all zhēn bú cuò.                        sorts of countries. Xuéshengmen yinggāi you gèrén-de xuéxi jìhua. Míngtiānde diànyǐngr piào gègè dānwèi dōu you. Students should each have their own plan of study. Each and every unit has movie tickets for tomorrow. Sometimes ge- is followed directly by the noun. Jīntiān xiàwu gè dānwèi dōu        This afternoon every unit is having kāi huì.                            a meeting. bìyùn gōngju: ’contraceptive devices’. This does not refer to birth control pills. EBìyùnpǐn ’birth control products’ includes both bìyùnyào ’birth control pills’ and bìyùn gōngjù.i jìhuà shēngyù: ’family planning, planned parenthood’. Jìhuà means ’plan; to plan’. Shēngyù literally means ’to give birth to and raise’. Notes on No. lh juéyù: ’sterilization,’ or ’to sterilize, to be sterilized,’ applies to operations for men and women. Sterilization for women is still much more common than for men; and more prevalent in the cities than in the countryside. Tā juédìng juéyù.                   He has decided on sterilization. Juéyù shi jiějué Zhōngguo          Sterilization is one good way to rénkōu wèntíde yíge hāo bànfa. solve China’s population problem. shǒushù: ’surgery’. Dàifu gěi ta zuòde shǒushù hěn chénggōng. The surgery the doctor performed on him was very successful. Notes on No. 1$ shībài: ’to fail’. Tā zuò mǎimai shībài le.           He failed in business. Nǐ gēnju shénme shuō tā shibài     On what basis do you say that he le?                                 failed? réngōng liúchǎn: ’abortion’, more literally, ’artificial miscarriage’. dào yīyuàn qu zuò réngōng liúchǎn: ’go to the hospital to have an abortion performed’. Zuò réngōng liúchǎn here means ’to have an abortion done', not of course ’to do an abortion'. Compare the following two sentences: Yīshēng gěi ta zuòle réngōng       The doctor performed an abortion on liúchǎn.                            her. Tā zuòle réngōng liúchǎn.          She had an abortion. In the first sentence, the subject of the sentence (yīshēng) performed the abortion. In the second sentence, the subject of the sentence (tā) had the abortion performed. In some cases, a verb-object in Chinese can mean either 'to do something' or 'to have something done'. Here are some more examples: Zhènme hǎode yīfu, shéi gěi nǐ Who made such nice clothes for you? zuòde? Zài Měiguo zuò yīfu hěn guì.       It's really expensive to have clothes made in America. jià: 'leave, vacation'. You have seen this as part of the word chǎnjià ’maternity leave’. Here you see it used by itself. Notes on No. 16 shǎoshù mǐnzú: 'minority natiionalities', often translated as 'national minorities’. Besides the Han people, China has over fifty national minorities which are spead out over fifty to sixty percent of the land area and make up six percent of the total population of the country. The largest minorities are the Mongols (mostly in the Nèi Měnggú Zìzhìqū, 'Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region'), the Hui (Chinese Muslims), Tibetans, Uighurs (in the Xīnjiāng Wéiwú-ěr Zìzhìqū, 'Xinxiang Uighur Autonomous Region'), and the Miao (found in several southern provinces). Shǎoshù mínzúde yīfu dōu hěn hǎo kàn. Zhōngguo you wǔshijǐge shǎoshù-mínzú. The clothing of the national minorities is very beautiful. China has fifty-odd minority nationalities. Notes on No. 1? xiāngxìn: ’to believe (that), to trust (someone), to believe in, to have faith in’. Wǒ xiāngxìn, women liǎngguǒ        I believe that the friendship between rénmínde yǒuyì yídìng huì          the people of our two countries búduàn fāzhǎn.                      will constantly grow. Compare xiāngxìn to the verb xìn, which you learned in the last unit. For the second example you need to know you is a verb meaning ’it’s up to...’. Bié xìn tāde huà.                   Don’t believe what he says. Xìn bu xìn you ni.                  Believe it or not, as you like. hōngtáng: ’brown sugar’, literally ’red sugar’. The Chinese often use brown sugar in cooking and for medicinal purposes. For example, a common remedy for colds is a hot drink made by boiling ginger root and brown sugar in water CjiāngtāngC, or simply brown sugar water Ctángshuǐ3. chǎnfù: ’a woman who has given birth within the last month’. [Contrast this word with yùnfù ’a pregnant woman*.3 The birth of a child is celebrated on the successful completion of the first month of life. yíngyǎngpǐn: ’a nutritional food item’. Yíngyǎng means ’nutrition’, for example: Dòujiāng hěn you yíngyǎng.         Soy bean milk is very nitritious. -Pin is a syllable used in many words to mean ’item, article, product’, [for example jìniànpǐn ’souvenir’, yòngpǐn ’item of use’, chǎnpǐn ’produce’, gōngyèpǐn ’industrial product’3. As the Reference List sentence shows, the mother’s health continues to be an important consideration even after the child is born. Both mother’s and baby’s health are carefully attended to after birth, while Western medicine emphasizes the mother’s health only as long as she is carrying the child. Notes on No. 18 bù tōng: ’to be not the same, to be different’. This is often used in the pattern ...he ... bù tong, is different from ...’. Hùzhào he luxíngzhèng wanquan bù tong, nǐ bú yào nòngcuò le. A passport and a travel permit are completely different. Don’t mistake them. Zhèige gōngchǎng jīnnián he qùniánde qíngkuàng hěn bù tong. The situation in the factory this year is very different from last year. Bù tong can also be used as a noun as in Tāde dānwèi he nǐde you hěn        There is a big difference between dàde bù tong.                       his work unit and yours. You should be aware that tong ’same’, cannot be used as the main verb of a sentence to mean ’to be the same’. To say, ’These two things are the same’, you must say Zhèiliǎngge dōngxi shi yíyàngde. qǐnjìn: ’to be close (to), to be on intimate terms (with)’. Zhèiliǎngge rén hěn qǐnjìn.        These two are on intimate terms. Dàjiā dōu yuànyi qǐnjìn ta.        Everyone wants to be friends with him. Notes on No. 19 shōuxiān: ’first (of all), in the anyone/anything else’. Jīntiān dàjiā kāi huì shōuxiān shi yào jiějué women chǎng shēngchǎnshàngde wèntí. Zài fàndiànli shōuxiān yào zhùyi jiějuéhāo kèrenmende chī fàn he xiūxi wèntí. Zuìjìn wàiguo péngyou hěn duō. Women shōuxiān yào jiějué zhùde wèntí. xiānhuā: ’fresh flowers’, as which the Chinese are also fond of. first place, first; first, before The first thing we want to do at today’s meeting is to solve our factory’s problems in production. A hotel must first of all pay attention to solving the dining and rest problems of the guests. Recently there have been many foreign friends. We must first of all solve the lodging problems. ;ed to dried or artificial flowers, wánjù: ’(children’s) toy’. Míngtiān érzi guō shēngrì, gěi ta mǎi ge wánjù. Tomorrow is let’s buy our boy’s birthday, him a toy. Note on No. 20 Here you see the specifier -gè are some more examples: I’d very much like to go visit lots of places in America. America is a great country. I’ve visited and sightseen lots of places in China for three weeks, it’s time to go back home. gèdì: ’each place; various places’ ’each’ used in another compound. Here Wǒ hen xiang dào Měiguo gèdì qù kànyikàn, Měiguo shi ge wěidàde guójiā. Zài Zhōngguo gèdì cānguān yǒu-lānle sānge xīngqi, wǒ gāi huí guǒ le. Peking: A Canadian student in Peking interviews a population control worker: A:   Wo zài Jiānádàde shihou jiù tīngshuō Zhōngguo kōngzhi rén-koude gōngzuò zuòde hen chéng-gōng. Nǐ néng hu néng gěi wo jiǎngyijiǎng nīmen shi zěnme zuòde? C: Shōuxiān, zhèngfǔ tíchàng wǎnhūn. Érqiě, yìhānde shuō, zài chéngli jiéle hūnde rén liǎngnián yǐhòu cái yào haizi. Tāmen yào xiǎohair yǐqián yīnggāi zuòdao sān tōngguò. A:   *Sān tōngguò' shi shénme yìsi ne? C:    'Sān tōngguò* yě jiùshi shuō yīnggāi dédao nǐ gōngzuò dānwèi , nǐ zhùde dìfangde jūmín wěiyuánhuì hé pàichūsuǒ zhèi-sānge dìfangde tongyì. A:   Gè dānwèi gēn^u shénme biāo- zhūn pīzhǔn fùnūmen shēng xiǎohair ne? C:   Gè chéngshì dōu you yídìngde rénkōu chūshēnglū, měinián měige chéngshì zhǐ kéyi zēngjiā yídìng shùmude haizi. Zhèixie míng'é Jiù fēnpèigei gègè shìqūde xiāng shēng háizide nutóngzhì. Fùnū dōu shi dédao pīzhǔn yǐhòu cái huáiyùnde. Bù xiāng yào háizide kéyi shíxíng bìyùn; hìyùn gōngjù hé bìyùn yào dōu shi miǎnfèide. A:   Ruguo bìyùn shībàile zěnme bàn? C:   Kéyi dào yīyuàn zuò réngōng liǔchān, shǒushù bǔbì zìjǐ gěi qián, hái you liāngge xīngqīde When I was in Canada I heard that population control work is being done very successfully in China. Could you explain to me what you do? First, the government promotes late marriage. Furthermore, generally speaking, in the city, married people don’t have children until after two years. Before they have a child they should have the 'three approvals*. What does the 'three approvals' mean? The 'three approvals* means that you should have the consent of your work unit, the neighborhood committee of the place you live, and the local police station. According to what criteria do the various units give official permission to women to have children? All the various cities have set population birth rates, and each year they can only increase by a certain number of children. These quotas are apportioned among women comrades in all the various cities who want to have children. Women do not become pregnant until they receive official permission. Those who do not want to have children can practice birth control; all contraceptive medicines and contraceptive devices are free. What is done if birth control fails? One can go to the hospital to have an abortion. A person doesn't have to pay for the operation herself, and jià, you you gōngzī. A:   Wo hǎoxiàng tīngshuō Zhōngguo fùnū shēng háizide shihou you wǔshiliùtiānde chǎnjià, érqiě kéyi duō mǎi yìxiē yíngyǎngpǐn, shi hu shi? C:   Duì le, chǎnjià you gōngzī. Chǎnfù hái kéyi mǎi yìliǎngjīn hongtáng, duō mǎi yìliǎngjīn jīdàn. Zhōngguo rén dōu xiāngxìn hōngtáng duì chǎnfù hěn hǎo. A:   Rénmen shēng háizide shíhou, qīnqi péngyou song hu song lǐwù? C:   Qīnqi hé qīnjìnde péngyou háishi huì song yìxiē xiǎo lǐwù, xiàng xiǎoháizide yǐfu la, xiǎo tǎnzi la, xiǎo màozi la, wánjù shenmede. Yě you rén huì song yìxiē shuǐguǒ huōzhǎ xiǎnhuā. A:   Yíge jiātíng kéyi you jǐge xiǎoháir? C:   Zài chéngshìli niánqīng fūfù zuì duō yào liǎngge háizi. A:   Nongcūnde qíngkuàng zěnmeyàng? C:   Gèdì nongcūnde qíngkuàng hù tong. Rénkǒu duōde dìfang zhèngfǔ tíchàng jìhuà shēngyù. Nóngcūnlide rén yě yòng gè-zhǒng hìyùn gōngjù. Bù shǎo rén yōule liǎngge háizi yǐhòu jiù zuò juéyù shǒushù, nánde zuò, nude zuò, dōu kéyi. Nōngmín juéde zuò Juéyù shǒushù hǐ yòng hìyùn gōngjù fānghiànde duō. there is two weeks' leave with pay. It seems to me I've heard that when Chinese women have children they get 56 days' maternity leave, and they can also huy extra nutritional food items. Is that so? That's right. The maternity leave is paid. In the month after delivery, a woman can also huy one or two catties of hrown sugar, and one or two extra catties of eggs. Chinese believe that hrown sugar is very good for women during the month after delivery. When someone has a hahy, do relatives and friends give presents? Relatives and close friends will still give a few small gifts, like clothes for the hahy, little blankets, little hats, toys, and so forth. There are also people who will give a little fruit or fresh flowers. How many children can one family have? In the city young couples have two children at the most. What's the situation like in the rural areas? The situation in rural areas is different in different places. Where there's a large population the government promotes family planning. People in the rural areas also use all the various kinds of contraceptive devices. Quite a few people undergo contraceptive surgery after they've had two children. Either men or women may have this done. The peasants feel that having contraceptive surgery performed is much more convenient than using contraceptive devices. Keshi zài shaoshù mínzú dìqū, yīnwei rénkǒu shǎo, zhèngfǔ hù tíchàng jìhuà shēngyù, suoyi yìbānde jiātíng kéyi duō you jǐge xiǎoháir. But in the areas populated hy minority nationalities, because the population is smaller, the government doesn’t advocate family planning, so the average family can have a few more children. NOTE ON THE DIALOGUE Rénmen shēng háizide shíhou, qǐnqi péngyou song bu song lǐwù?: As stated in the dailogue, friends and relatives in the PRC give useful items for the baby, like clothes, hats, cups, or perhaps a chicken for the mother. These are presented casually. Vocabulary bìyùn bù tong contraception to be different chǎnfù a woman who has given birth within the last month chǎnjià chénggōngs chūshēnglù maternity leave to succeed, to be successful birth rate dānwèi -dào unit (indicates successful accomplishment of something) dédao to receive, to get fēnpèi to assign, to apportion, to allot gèdì gègè gēnjù (gēnju) gèzhǒng gōngzī the various places, each place various according to, based on various kinds, types wages, pay hóngtáng brown sugar jià jiātíng jìhua shēngyù juéyù jūmín wěiyuánhuì vacation, leave family planned parenthood, family planning sterilization neighborhood committee kòngzhi to control -men miǎnfèi ming’é plural suffix to be free of charge the number of people assigned or allowed, quota (of people) nóngmín nii peasant female pàichūsuǒ(r) pīzhǔn the local police station to give official permission qíngkuàng qīnjìn situation to be close (to a person) réngōng liúchǎn abortion sān tōngguò shǎoshù mínzú "the three approvals" minority nationality, national minority shēngyù shībài shìqū shōushù shōuxiān shùmu to give birth to and raise to fail urban area or district operation, surgery first number tongguò tóngyì to pass, to approve to consent, to agree wánjù toy xiāngxìn xiānhuā xiǎoháir to believe fresh flowers child, children yě jiù shi shuō yìbān yìbānde shuō yídìng yíngyǎngpǐn to mean; in other words ordinary, general, common generally speaking to be specific food items of special nutritional value zengjiā to increase Customs Surroundins Marriage, Birth, and Death: Unit U PART I 1. Nǐde fúqi zhēn hǎo. 2. Zhang Tàitaide xífu tǒuyìtāí jiù gěi ta shēngle yige dǎ sūnzi. 3. Wǒ zhèli you yíge hǒngbāo shi gěi xiǎo bǎohaode. b. Bù gǎn dāng! 5. Nǐ zhēnshi tǎi kèqi le. Hébì pòfei ne? 6. A: Nǐde nūér shēngxialaide shíhou you duo zhong? B: Qibǎng ban. 7. A: Wǒ gang wèile ta bù jiù, tā you kū le. B: Dàgǎi you yào chi nǎi le. 8. Tā zhǎngde hěn piàoliang. 9. A: Nǐ zhège háizi hěn you fúxiàng, ěrduo zhǎngde zhēn dǎ. B: Tuǒ nínde fú*. You are really blessed with good fortune. Mrs. Zhang’s daughter-in-law in her first pregnancy presented her with a fine grandson. I have a "red envelope" for the baby. I’m flattered. You shouldn’t have.’ You’re too polite. Why should you spend so much money? How much did your daughter weigh when she was born? Seven and a half pounds. I just fed him not long ago, and now he’s crying again. He probably wants to nurse again. She is very pretty. This child of yours has a lucky physiognomy. His ears are really big. It’s because of your lucky influence. NOTES ON PART I Note on No. 1 fúqi: ’blessings, good fortune, luck’. Wo hěn you fúqi, érzi bāng wo I’m very fortunate, my son helps me bù shǎo máng.                         a lot. Nǐ zhen méi fúqi, gang chū men jiù xià yǔ le. You really have bad luck. You just leave on a trip and then it rains. Notes on No. 2 xífu: ’daughter-in-law, son’s wife’. Tā xífu hāo piāoliang!             Her daughter-in-law is so beautiful! Wo xífu gōngzuò mángjíle.          My daughter-in-law is very busy. tōu-: ’first’, (literally ’head’) as in tōuyitiān, ’the first day’. Tōu- is used much like dì-: before a number and a counter, which may or may not be followed by a noun. tōuyicì                             the first time touyige rén                         the first person tóuliāngge rén                      the first two people tousānběn                           the first three volumes In touyige, tou- is stressed and yi is in the neutral tone. Also notice that the word for ’two’ is liāng- (not èr as is usually the case when a counter follows). Now here is a comparison of tou- and dì-: (1) Touyige rén and dìyíge rén are both translated as ’the first person’ and touyige is for the most part interchangeable with dìyíge. (2) Although the yǐ in touyige is unstressed and written without a tone mark over it, the yī in dìyíge is stressed and said with a second tone (or sometimes with a first tone). (3) The word for ’two’ is liāng after tou-, but èr after dì-. Dìèrge means ’the second one’, while touliāngge means ’the first two’. (L) Tou- must be used with a counter, but dì- can be used with just a number after it. Here are some examples of dì- used with a number but no counter after it: Wǒ yào māi zhège dōngxi. Dìyī, zuòde hen hāo; dìèr, hen piányi. Tā shi dìyī, wǒ shi dìèr. I’m going to buy this. First, it’s very well made; second, it’s inexpensive. He is first, I’m second. But touyī-, touliāng-, tóusān- always have a counter word after the number. tāi: This is the counter for pregnancies, whether carried to term or not. Literally tāi means ’embryo’. The expression touyitāi can also be said toutāi. Tóusāntāi dōu shi nude, dào dìsìtāi cai shēngle ge érzi. The first three hahies were all girls it wasn’t until the fourth that she had a boy. Tā shēng tōutǎide shíhou, shēntǐ bú cud. Shēng dìèr-tāide shíhou jiù bù xíng le. When she had her first baby, she was still in pretty good health. But when she had her second, it wasn’t good any more. shēng; ’to give birth to...’ Notice that the Chinese verb shēng is used in an active sense which is not always reflected in the English. Compare the various translations of shēng in the Reference List, the above examples and the dialogue. sūnzi: ’grandson’. This only refers to the son of one’s son. The son of one’s daughter and son-in-law is called wàisūnzi. Here is a chart showing how these terms relate to each other. spouse (grandson) (granddaughter) nuer (daughter nuxu son-in-law) waisūnzi waisūnnu (grandson) (granddaughter) Notes on No. 3 hóngbāo: 'a red envelope with money in it, given as a gift or bribe’. These gifts of money may be given to children by people at least a generation older. This usually happens at festive occasions, like New Years or a birthday. The amount given varies greatly but there is one thing to remember: ‘Do not give an amount with the number four in it! The number four, si, closely resembles the verb "to die," sǐ, and is therefore considered unlucky. Chinese youth were without any real opportunity to make money in the past, so this is one way that it is made up for. xiǎo bǎobao: Literally ■’little treasure’, in other words ’the little darling’ or ’the baby’. This word is usually used by women. Some people use the word bǎobao (with or without xiǎo) in addressing or speaking about babies or children. The second bǎo in bǎobao is neutral tone; even though it was originally also third tone, it does not make the first bǎo change to a rising tone, as you might expect (e.g. nǎli). The first bǎo in bǎobao is pronounced low, without any rise in pitch. (Some people also say hǎohǎo and xiao bǎobǎo.) IThere are many other words used to refer to babies. Some terms used by both men and women include (xiǎo) bēibì, (xiǎo) guāiguai, xiǎo jiǎhuo. Some terms used mostly by men include xiǎo bēibei and xiǎo budiǎnr.J Note on No. 4 bù gǎn dāng: ’I’m flattered'. Literally, this means 'I dare not assume (the honor you pay me)'. This is a polite response to a compliment (such as 'You speak Chinese very well'), to a respectful gesture (such as helping someone put on their coat), or to a respectful phrase (like 'Qǐngjiǎo'). Note on No. 5 pòfei: 'spend money (on someone)', also sometimes translated as 'to spend recklessly'. Rang nín pòfei. or Jiao nín pòfei• Tā shi wǒ sūnzi, wèi ta pòfei liǎngge qiǎn shi yīnggāide. I have caused you to spend a lor, of money. (i.e., 'you shouldn't have spent all that money on me') He’s my grandson, it’s only right that I should spend a little money on him. Tā shēngrìde shíhou, Wang Xiānsheng pòfeide zhēn bù shǎo. For his birthday, Mr. Wang really spent quite a bit of money on him. Notes on No. 6 you duo zhòng: 'how heavy?' Zhòng is the adjectival verb 'to be heavy’. Notice the similarity between asking age, weight and height. In each the pattern is literally 'have how much (of some quality)'. Nǐ you duo dǎ?                      How old are you? Nèizhāng zhuōzi you duo zhòng? How heavy is that table? Tā you duo gāo?                     How tall is she? This pattern is usually confined to measurements of some sort. bang: 'pound (unit of weight)’. In addition to the traditional Chinese units of weight such as dǎn 'picul (100 liters approximately)', jIn 'catty (1 1/3 lbs.)', liǎng 'tael (105 grams approximately)’, and the metric system of weights, such as gōngliǎng *100 grams’ and gōng jin ’kilogram', you also find customary American units such as 'pound' used. Notes on No. 7 gang wèile tā bù jiǔ: This means 'It's only been a short while SINCE I fed him.', NOT 'I fed him for only a short while.' Chinese can distinguish between the duration of a continued activity and the duration of something not happening by putting these two types of duration phrases in different places in the sentence. Let's review time when and time spent, and take a look at how you express TIME WITHIN WHICH something didn't happen and TIME ELAPSED since something happened. 1. Simple duration phrases, that is phrases telling how long an activity went on, follow the verb. These contrast with phrases telling the time when something happened, which come before the verb. Simple duration Ta zai Xianggang zhù liāng-tiān. He’s staying in Hong Kong for two days. Tā zuòle wǔfēn zhōng, jiù zǒu le. He sat for five minutes and then left. Time when Ta shi zuǒtian dàode. She arrived yesterday. 2. The amount of time something did not happen, that is the TIME WITHIN WHICH the activity has not taken place, is expressed in negative sentences with time phrases before the verb. Time Within with a Negative Verb Women yìnián méi jiàn le. Wǒ yijīng yíge yuè méi qù nar le. We haven’t seen each other for a year. I haven’t been going there for a month now. 3. To express the time elapsed since an activity took place the duration phrase is again placed after the verb. Time elapsed in an affirmative sentence Wo zuòwánle yǐjīng yíge zhōngtou le. I’ve been done for an hour already. Tā cai zěule yíge xīngqi. It’s been only a week since he left Wo gāng líkāi zhèige wūzi I’ve been out of the room only a bù jiù.                         short while. Note on No. 7 chī nǎi: ’to eat (mother’s) milk’, in other words, **to breastfeed” and by extension ’to drink milk’, even from a bottle. Similarly, wèi nai can mean ’to feed milk (to a baby)* without specifying mother’s milk or otherwise. To distinguish between breast feeding and bottle feeding, one can say chī māmade nǎi, ’to eat mother’s milk’. And from the mother’s point of view, one can say mama zìji gěi haizi wèi nǎi, ’the mother nurses the child herself.’ Note on No. 8 Tǎ zhǎngde hěn piàoliang: * She’s very pretty.’ Zhǎngde piàoliang literally means ’grow pretty’, but it should be translated simply as ’is pretty*. Zhangde ... is often used in descriptions of the appearance of living things. In these cases, zhǎngde ... is absent of any meaning such as ’has grown ...’, ’has come to be ...’ or ’has become ...’; it simply means ’is, are*. Tǎ zhǎngde hěn hǎokàn.              She is very beautiful. Tā zhǎngde gēn wo yíyàng gāo.      She is just as tall as I am. Tāde lian zhǎngde gēn wo mèi-      Her face looks just like my little mei yíyàng.                         sister. There is almost no difference in meaning between Tā hěn piàoliang and Tā zhǎngde hěn piàoliang. Both are used frequently. But there is a difference in meaning between Tā zhǎngde hěn gāo and Tā zhǎnggāo le: the former means ’He is very tali’, and the latter ’He has grown tall*. Notes on No. 9 fúxiàng: ’auspicious physiognomy’. This phrase implies something more than ’lucky face’. The word fú expresses the destiny of a person to enjoy a life of good fortune. Xiang is a person’s looks considered from the point of view of fortune telling. Traditionally, it was believed that a person's destiny could be determined from the individual variations of his hands, bones, face, ears, hair, and so forth. The xiàng includes the face, ears, hairline, and bumps on the head. ...erduo zhǎngde zhēn dǎ: Portraits of some of the most admired men in Chinese history depict them with long ears. (Long ears are thought to indicate wisdom.) It was thought that rulers in particular were so endowed. Buddha is also pictured with long ears, as he appeared in Indian portrayals. Taipei: Mrs. Song’s daughter-in-law, Bǎolǎn, has just recently had a baby. A friend of the family, Mrs. Zhāng, comes to pay them a visit: Z:   Song Taitai, nín xífu shēngle meiyou? S:   Shēng le. Shēngle ge nánháizi. Z:   ōu! Nín fùqi zhēn hao. Tā tóuyitāi jiù gěi nin shēngle yige da súnzi. Gōngxǐ, gōngxǐ. S:   Xièxie, xièxie! Lai kànkan wǒ xífu gēn xiǎo bǎobao ba! Z:    Hǎo. Bǎolǎn! Gōngxǐ, gōngxǐ! Nǐ hǎo ma? B:   Wǒ hen hǎo. Zhāng Bomù, nín lai le. Z:   Ou! Nǐ zhè haizi hen you fúxiāng, ǒrduo zhǎngde name da! B:   Xièxie! Tuō nínde fú! Z:   Tā shēngxialaide shíhou you duō zhòng a? B:   Qībàng ban. Z:   Ùg, zhēn bù xiǎo. S:   Tā zhēn néng chī. Bǎolàn gāng wèile ta bù jiù, xiànzài you kū le. Dàgài you yào chǐ nǎi le. Z:   Tā kūde shēngyin hen dà. Shēntǐ yídìng hen jiànkāng. B:   Duì! Tā cōng yǐyuàn huílai yíge lǐbài jiù zhǎngle yíbàng. Z:   Wǒ lái yǐqiǎn xiǎngzhe nǐ yīnggāi shēngle, suōyi Mrs. Song, has your daughter-in-law had the baby yet? Yes. It’s a boy. Oh! How lucky you are. She had a nice big grandson for you—and it was her first! Congratulations. Thank you. Come see my daughter-in-law and the baby! Okay. Congratulations, Bǎolǎn! How are you? Well Mrs. Zhāng! I’m fine, thanks. Oh! He’s got a very lucky physiognomy. Such big ears,’ Thank you! It’s because of your lucky influence! How much did he weigh at birth? Seven and a half pounds. Hm. That’s really pretty big. He eats like a horse. Bǎolǎn just fed him a little while ago, and now he’s crying again. He probably wants to nurse again. He cries so loudly. He must be very healthy. Yes! In the week after he came back from the hospital, he gained a pound. Before I came I thought you should have had the baby by now, so I got a zhùnbèile yíge hóngbāo. Shi gěi xiǎo bǎobaode. B:   Bù gǎn dang. Nín tai kèqi le. Hébì pofei ne? Z:   Bú shi kèqi. Zhí shi yìdiǎn xiǎo yìsi. B:   Xièxie! Xièxie! ’red envelope* ready. It’s for the baby. You shouldn’t have. That’s too polite of you. Why should you spend money? I’m not being polite. This is just a little something to express my feelings. Thank you! PART II 10. Zhōngguo rén xiāngxìn chǎnfù mǎnyuè yīqián hu kéyi chuī fēng. 11. Chǎnfù zuò yuèzide shíhou yào tèbié xiǎoxīn. 12. Zhōngguo rén dōu shuō chī Zhōngyàode shíhou, hú yào chī shēnglěng. 13. Yīshēng shuō wǒ déle fēngshī, zuì hǎo hú yào pèng lěngshuī. 1U. Nǐ yīnggāi duō tǎngzhe, zhùyi xiūxi, zhèyang cai néng huīfude kuài. 15. Jiàndao Wang Bùzhǎngde shíhou qiǎnwàn dāngxīn, hié suíhiàn shuō huà. 16. Tā jiéhūn yǐqián duì tā xiān-sheng liǎojiěde húgòu, jiéguō jiéhūn yǐhōu hěn tòngkǔ. 17. Nǐ kàn tā duo kuài, yíxiàzi jiù hǎ fàn zuōhǎo le. 18. Nà shi Wángjiāde xífu, zhènme pang! Chinese people believe that women who have just given hirth should stay out of drafts until the child is a full month old. Women who have just given hirth should he especially careful during the month after delivery. Chinese people say that when you take Chinese medicine, you shouldn’t eat raw or cold things. The doctor says I’ve got rheumatism and that it would he hest for me not to come in contact with cold water. You should lie down more and pay attention to your rest; that’s the only way you’ll recover quickly. When you see Secretary Wang, he sure to watch yourself, don’t he careless in what you say. Before she got married she didn’t understand her husband well enough and as a result she suffered a lot after the marriage. Look at how fast he is, he got dinner ready in no time at all. That is the Wang family’s daughter-in-law, she’s so fat! NOTES ON PART II Notes on No. 10 mǎnyuè: ’thirtieth day after a child is born’, literally, ’full-month’. (it also means ’full moon’.) This refers to a baby’s completion of the first full month of life and is a cause of celebration. Wángjiā háizi kuài mǎnyuè le, The Wang’s hahy is about to be a qīng dàjiā qù chī mǎnyuè           month old, and they’re asking jiù.                                everyone to go take part in the ’full month’ banquet. chuī fēng: Literally, ’to blow wind’, but actually ’to be in a current of air, a draft, the wind’. Although what blows is the wind, fēng ’wind’ seems to be in the object position in this phrase. Chǎnfù bù keyi chuī fēng does not mean ’’Women recently delivered of a child cannot blow wind", but rather, ’’Women recently delivered of a child cannot have wind blow on them." Traditionally, Chinese women were to stay out of drafts because of the very poor overall health situation of the country, and because of the importance of caring for the next generation. Of the three (Confucian) ways to be unfilial, the worst was to be heirless. Nīde bìng gang hǎo, bu yào         You're just over your illness, chūqu chuī fēng.                     don’t go out in a draft. Notes on No. 11 zuò yuèzi: Literally, ’to sit the yuèzi', yuèzi being the month after giving birth during which a woman is supposed to take special care of her health. There are different motivations underlying this custom. Woman’s most important function (indeed her only one) was to aide in perpetuating the family line. Therefore it was essential to take special precautions for her own health so that she would nurse a healthy baby. Another idea was that a woman’s body at this time was "dirty" and to avoid offending the door gods she should not go past them. Tā zuò yuèzide shíhou, kě xiǎo- During the first month after delivery xìn, méi chūguo yìtiān men.        she was extremely careful. She didn’t go out once. xiǎoxīn: ’to be careful’, literally, ’small-heart’. Xiǎoxīn is an adjectival verb which can be used with or without an object following. Tā zhèige rén bù zěnmeyàng, hé This guy is nothing special, you’d tā zuò péngyou yào xiǎoxīn.        better be careful making friends with him. Xiǎoxīn.’ Qiánbianr shi hóngdēng. Careful.’ There’s a red light up ahead. Xiǎoxīn nèige rén!                  Be careful of that person.’ Xiǎoxīn guò mǎlù.                   Be careful crossing the street. Note on No. 12 shēngleng: 'raw or cold foods'. Traditional Chinese medicine divides foods into yin and yang Yin are "cool" (liángxìngde) foods, that is, foods that make the system cool; yang foods are "hot" (rèxìngde), that is, they make the system hot. These characteristics are not dependant on the degree temperature at which the food is eatenj but are rather inherent in the food. For example crab, white sugar, and most vegetables and fruits are yin or cool while hot pepper, lard, millet, brown sugar, and certain fruits such as canteloupe and lichee nuts are all particularly yang or hot. Generally speaking, yang foods harmonize with body temperature while yin foods shock the system. Nonetheless, a balance between the two kinds of foods must be maintained. Too much yang food can cause the body's "heat" to rise too much (shàng huo), minor symptoms of which might include a cough, fever, dry mouth, blisters on the tongue, and constipation. On the ocher hand, too much yin food is bad for the stomach and can cause diarrhea. The body's "heat" (huo) can be regulated by eating one or the other kind of foods. Thus in hot weather, when the huo naturally rises, one should eat "cool" foods to lower the huo (qing huo), and in the winter one should eat "hot" foods. Likewise, certain illnesses call for the eating of one kind of food or the other: one should eat "cool" foods to counteract infections and fevers, while one should eat "hot" foods to build up one's strength if one has a disease which makes him weak. In particular, women giving birth should eat plenty of the "hot" type of foods. Shēngleng, raw or cold foods, have also traditionally been considered bad for women who are pregnant or have just given birth. Given sanitary conditions in traditional China, this is understandable. Chi shēnglengde dōngxi yídìng When eating raw things, be sure to yào xǐgānjing.                      wash them well. de: 'to get, a catch (a disease) Wo de bìng yǐhòu, méi bànfa niàn shū le. Tā de bìng yǐqián, shēntǐ hen hāo. Tā dede shi shénme bìng? Dé bìng means 'to get an illness'. After I got sick, I couldn't study any more. Before she got ill, her health was very good. What illness was it that she got? Here are some examples of dé followed by the name of an illness: Tā dé gānmào yǐhòu, jiù méiyou He didn't go out after he got a cold, chūlaiguo. QÙniān dōngtiān, tā dele xuěyā gāo. Last winter, he got high blood pressure. Here are some more examples sentences showing various uses of de: Jīnniān guè shēngrì wo dele        I got a new book on my birthday this yìběn xīn shū.                      year. Xiǎodì jīntiān néng de hǎojǐ- Little brother will be able to get ge hongbāo!                         a lot of "red envelopes" today! Of course, de cannot be used in all cases when we would say ’get’ in English. For one thing, de only means to receive passively, whereas English ’get’ sometimes denotes actively seeking to obtain, as in ’I’m going to the supply room to get some paper and pens’, or ’I got a package of cereal at the supermarket’. In these cases, dé would not be appropriate in Chinese. To show you some other ways in which the English word ’get’ is expressed in Chinese, here are some Chinese sentences which do not use de although the English translation uses ’get*: Zuotian lai nǐde diānhuā le.       Yesterday you got a phone call (but you weren’t here to get it.) Zuotian wo jiēdāo tāde diānhuā Yesterday I got a phone call from le.                                 him (and was there to receive it.) Tā zēngjiā gōngzī le. Tā jiā xīnshuǐ le. Wǒ shōudàole yíge zhāngdān. Wǒ cóng tā nār bǎ jiègei tade nèiběn shū nāhuilai le. Yǒ gěi wǒ nǎ yíge lai• Cong shenme dìfang wo néng mǎidao yíge xiāng zhèiyangrde? He got a raise in wages. He got a raise in salary. I got a bill. I got the book back which I lent him. Get one for me too. Where can I get (buy) one of those? fēngshi: ’rheumatism’, literally Tā you fēngshi, tiān yì lěng tuǐ téngde lìhai. ’wind-humid’. He has rheumatism, as soon as it gets cold, his leg hurts severely. pèng: ’to touch’, only in the sense of one object coming into contact with another. The verb pèng can also mean to come into contact with something in a violent way, ’to hit, to bump into’. Whether pèng means merely ’to touch’ or ’to bump into’ must be determined by context. Ni bie peng zheige zhuōzi.         Don’t touch this table. Tāde chē kě bùdeliǎo. Biérén His car is terrific! Other people pèng dōu bù néng pèng, gèng        can’t even touch it, not to mention bú yào shuō Jièqu kāi le!          borrowing it to drive! CSome other words meaning ’to touch’ are āi ’to be close to, to be next to, to be touching’ Ta zui pa da zhen. Zhen hai méi āidao ta, tā jiù dà jiao. dōng: ’to touch, to handle’ Nǐ bié dōng wo zhuōzishangde dōngxi, děng yìhuǐr wǒ huí-laile zìjǐ shōushi. mō: ’to feel, to rub, to touch’ Here ’to be soft, yielding to the touch’. Zhèijiàn yīfu zhēn hǎo, mōshang-qu ruǎnruǎnde; chuānzhe yídìng hěn shūfu. She is extremely afraid of getting shots. She cries out before the needle has even touched her. Don't touch the things on my desk, in a while when I come back I’ll straighten them up myself. you also need to know that ruǎn means This piece of clothing is really nice very soft to the touch; it must be very comfortable to wear.] Notes on No. 1U tang: ’to lie down’. This is an action verb. Under most circumstances it requires some kind of complement: either a zài phrase telling where the subject ended up in a lying position, as in Ta tangzai chuangshang le.         He lay down on the bed. or the durative apsect marker -zhe, as in Tā zài chuangshang tǎngzhe. or the directional ending -xia(lai), Dàifu jiào wo tǎngxia. or the completion le, as in Tangle bàntiān, háishi bu shūfu. Tā tangle yìhuǐr, jiù Juéde hǎo yìdiǎnr le. He is/was lying on the bed. as in The doctor told me to lie down. I lay down for quite a long time, but still felt ill. After I laid down for a while, I felt better. huīfu: ’to restore; to return to health)’. Zhèige gōngchāng yījīng huīfu shēngchǎn le. Tā qiánjǐnián dào nóngcūn qu le. Zuìjìn cái huīfu gōngzuò. A: Wǒ shàngge yuè shēng bìng-le, zhèige xīngqi cái huīfu yìdiǎnr. B: Kan nǐde yàngzi, huīfude bú cuò. (an original state); to recover (one’s This factory has already restored production. (Production in many areas was stopped during the turmoil of the Great Cultural Revolution.) She went to the countryside several years ago. Only recently did she return to work. I was sick last month and only this week am feeling like myself again. Looking at your appearance I’d say you’re pretty well recovered. Notes on No. 1$ qiānwàn: ’by all means, for sure’ Nèitiáo jiēshang chē tài duō, nī qiānwàn bié qù. Nī gāng Xue kāi chē, qiānwàn xiāoxīn. Qiānwàn zhùyì, bú yào xiěcuò le, xiěcuòle kě máfan. literally ’thousand ten-thousands*. There are too many cars on that street, you are absolutely not to go there. You’ve only just learned to drive a car, be sure to be careful. Be sure to be careful, don’t write this incorrectly, if you do it’ll be so much trouble. dāngxīn: ’to watch out, to watch oneself, to be cautious’. Not to be confused with dānxīn, ’to worry’. Gāng xiàle xuě, chū men dāngxīn! It’s just snowed, watch yourself when you go out. Kāi chē shàng jiē dāngxīn yì- Watch yourself when you go out diǎnr a!                            driving downtown! Notes on No. 16 jiéguǒ: ’as a result, and so ...’. One of the uses of this word is to connect the thought of one sentence with the next. (Another is as the noun ’result(s)*.) It provides a transition from one sentence to another, as in 'As a result, then        Below is a monologue which takes place in Peking, in which the apeaker uses the word jiéguo in this way several times. (This is not meant to he an example of eloquence; in fact, you should not use jiéguo as repetitively as this speaker.) Wo tīngshuō Xiǎo Wang he Xiǎo Lǐ tan liàn’ài le. Tǎnde zěnme yàng ne? Tǎnde hú cuò. Liǎngge rén dōu méiyou yìjian. JiéguS Xiǎo Wǎngde fùqin bù tongyì. Zhèijiàn shi kě jiù hù hǎo hàn le. Xiǎngle hàntiān, jiéguS haishi Xiǎo Wang qù zhǎo jūmín wěiyuǎnhuì. Jūwěihuìde gànhu hé Xiǎo Wang tǎnle hàntiān, jiéguǒ hai hù xíng. Zěnme hàn? Xiǎo Wang you qù zhǎo pàichūsuS. PàichūsuSde gànhu you lai hé Lǎo Wang tǎnle hàntiān, haishi méiyou jiéguS. Zuìhòu nǐ xiǎng zěnmeyàng, Xiǎo Lǐ zìjǐ lai hé Lǎo Wang tǎnle, shuō jiéhūn yīhòu hù hānchuqu zhù, tā zhàogu lǎorénjiā. Zhèihuǐr Lǎo Wǎng mǎnyì le. JiéguS Xiǎo Wǎng Xiǎo Lǐ gāogāoxìngxìng jiéhūn le. I heard that Xiǎo Wǎng and Xiǎo Lǐ are in love. How serious? Really serious. The two of them had no problems with the idea (of getting married). But then Xiǎo Wǎng’s father didn’t agree. The whole thing became difficult to arrange. They thought for a long time, and as a result it was Xiǎo Wǎng who went to seek out the neighborhood committee. The neighborhood committee cadres talked with Old Wǎng (Xiǎo Wǎng’s father) for a long time. But then it still didn’t go over. What to do? Xiǎo Wǎng then went to seek out the local police station. And the police station cadres went to talk with Old Wǎng too, but still no result. Well what do you think happened in the end? Xiǎo Lǐ went herself to talk with Old Wǎng. She said that after they married they wouldn’t move out, that she would take care of the old gentleman. That’s when Old Wǎng became satisfied. So in the end Xiǎo Wǎng and Xiǎo Lǐ were happily married. tòngkū: ’to be in pain, to be suffering’. Tā nèi shíhou hen tòngkū.          She was in a great deal of pain at that time. Liàn’ài shībàile tā hěn tòngkū. It was very hard on him when they broke up. Zheijiàn shìqing ràng ta           This matter pained him a great deal, fēichǎng tòngkū. Notes on No. 17 duo kuài: ’how fast’.’ Duo or the alternate form duome is used in exclamatory sentences to mean ’how ...!’ Here are some more examples: Nǐ kàn cai shuōle liǎngjù huà, tā jiù bù gāoxìng le. Duo You see you only have to say two sentences and she gets unhappy. rang rén bù hǎo yìsi! It really makes a person embarrassed! Zhèi kùzi zhènme duǎn, chuǎn-shang duo nánshdu! Zhèiběn shū xiěde duo hǎo! Wo bǎ chē yǎoshi fǎngzi chuangshang. Duo ben! yíxiǎzi: in no time’. Wǒ huà hái méi shuōwán, tā yíxiǎzi jiù shēngqì le. Shéi zhīdao wèishénme? These pants are so short, when you wear them they’ll be so uncomfortable. This book is so well written! I left the car keys on the bed. How stupid! ’in a flash, at one blow, at one fell swoop, all at once, I hadn’t yet finished speaking when he got angry all of a sudden. Who knows why? Notes on No. 18 Wángjiā: ’the Wang family’, referring either to the people, the social unit, or their home (in which case it can be used as a place word). pǎng: ’to be fat, to get fat’. The verb pǎng can be used in two ways: one as an adjectival verb ’to be fat’, the other as a process verb ’to get fat’. To the Chinese, a fat baby is not only a healthy baby, it is a beautiful one. Plumpness and roundness are two features admired in babies and children. Adjectival verb (state) Tā hěn pǎng. Tǎ xiǎo shíhou bú pǎng. Wǒ hěn pǎ pǎng, shénme dou bù gǎn chī. Process verb Zuìjìn shēntī hǎole, tā pǎng duō le. Nǐ shi bu shi pǎngle yìdiǎndiǎn, Èrgē a? He is fat. She wasn’t fat when she was little. I’m afraid of being fat, I don’ dare eat anything. Lately his health got better and he got very fat. Haven’t you put on just a little bit of weight, Older Brother? Taipei: Mrs. Fang pays a visit to Mrs. Zhāng and her daughter-in-law to see the daughter-in-law’s new baby: F:   Gōngxǐ, gōngxǐ! Zhāng Taitai, nín zhēn you fúqi, nínde xífu tōuyitāi Jiù gěi nín shēngle yíge dā pang sūnzi. Nínde xífu he xiao bāobao cōng yīyuàn huílaile meiyou? Tāmen dōu hāo ba? Z:   Xièxie, xièxie*. Tāmen dōu hāo, jīntiān zāoshang gāng cong yǐyuàn huílai. F:   Wo zhèli you yíge hōngbāo, shi gěi xiāo bāobaode. Z:   Ai! Bù gān dāng, nín zhēn shi tài kèqi le, hébì pòfei ne? F:   Nali, nāli! Zhǐ shi yìdiān xiāo yìsi. Hāizi you duō zhòng a? Z:   Haizi shēngxialaide shíhou shi bābàng qī. Zhège hāizi shēntǐ zhēn hāo, zhēn neng chǐ. Gāng wèibāo, yíxiāzi you è le. NĪ ting, tā you kū le, shēngyin zhēn dà, dàgāi you yào chǐ nāi le. Women qù kànkan. Congratulations! Mrs. Zhāng, you’re so lucky! Your daughter-in-law had a big fat grandson for you—and it was just her first! Have your daughter-in-law and the little darling come back from the hospital yet? They’re both doing well, I hope? Thank you! They’re both fine. They just came back from the hospital this morning. I have a ’red envelope’ for the baby here. Oh! You shouldn’t have. You’re really too kind. Why should you spend all this money? Don’t be silly. This is Just a little something to express my feelings. How much does the baby weigh? He was eight pounds seven ounces at birth. He’s really a healthy baby, and he eats a lot. Right after his feeding, in no time he’s hungry again. Listen, he’s crying again. What a loud voice! He probably wants to nurse again. Let’s go see. C:   ō! Fang Bōmu, nín yě lāi le! F : Gōngxǐ, gōngxǐ ’. Wō lāi kàn nǐ ěrzi lai le! Zhège hāizi zhāngde zhēn hāo, duō you fúxiàng! C:   Xièxie, xièxie! Tuō nínde fú! Oh! Auntie Fāng, you’ve come too! Congratulations! I’ve come to see your son! He looks so good! What a lucky physiognomy! Thank you! It’s all thanks to your lucky influence! F:   Nǐ shēntǐ hao bu hao? Yuèzili yào xiǎoxīn, bú yào chi shēnglěngde dōngxi, bú yào chuī fēng, bú yào pèng lěng shuǐ, yě bú yào chū men. Nǐ kàn, Liújia nàge xífu zuò yuèzi bú zhùyì, chǎng kāi diàn bīngxiāng, yòng lěng shuǐ, jiéguō dele fēngshī, tòngkúde hěn. Xiànzài hai yào tiǎntiǎn chi Zhōngyào. Nǐ qiǎnwàn yào dāngxīn. Z:   Shi a’. Wǒ yǐjīng gàosu ta le, yuèzili shénme shi dōu bú yào zuò, duō tǎngzhe, duō xiūxi, duō chi hǎode, shēntǐ jiù huifude kuài yidiǎn. F:   Wǒ zōu le, guò jǐtiǎn zài lái kàn nǐ gēn xiǎo bǎobao. C:   Deng yíxià. Nǐ dài jǐge hōngdàn qu, mǎnyuède shihou zài qǐng ni chi mǎnyuèjiú. F:   Hǎo hǎo hǎo, wǒ yídìng lái. How are you feeling? You have to be careful for the first month after giving birth. Don’t eat raw or cold foods, stay out of drafts, avoid cold water, and don’t leave the house. Look at Mrs. Liú who didn’t pay attention during the first month after giving birth; she opened the refrigerator a lot and used cold water, and ended up getting rheumatism. She suffered so much. Now she still has to take Chinese medicine every day. Be absolutely sure you watch out. Right’. I’ve already told her. You shouldn’t do anything at all during the first month after giving birth. You should lie down a lot, get a lot of rest, eat a lot of good food, and then your health will come back faster. I’m going to leave now. I’ll come back in a few days to see you and the baby. Wait a second. Take a few red eggs with you. We’ll invite you to the celebration dinner when the baby is one month old. All right, I'll be sure to come. NOTE ON THE DIALOGUE hōngdàn: Red eggs symbolize a combination of lucky influences: red is the color of happiness and dignity, while eggs are symbols of health and prosperity to the farmer. Hōngdàn are sometimes also used as gifts from a newly-engaged couple to their friends. Vocabulary -bang bǎobao (bǎobao) bīngxiāng bù gǎn dāng pound (unit of weight) baby, darling (term of endearment for a young child) refrigerator, ice box I’m flattered, You shouldn't have, I don't deserve this chī nǎi to nurse, to suckle chuī fēng to have air blow on oneself, to be in a draft dāngxīn to watch out de to get duo kuài! how fast! ěrduo ear fēngshi rheumatism fúqi blessings, luck fúxiàng lucky physiognomy hongbāo a red envelope with a gift or bribe of money in it hongdàn eggs dyed red huīfu to recover jiēguǒ (jiēguǒ) as a result; result, results mǎnyuè a full month after the birth of a baby mǎnyuèjiǔ celebration meal one month after a baby is born pang to be fat pèng to touch pofei to spend a lot of money (on someone), to go to some expense qiānwàn by all means, be sure to; (in com bination with a negative sentence) by no means, under no circumstances shēnglěng raw or cold foods shēngxialai to be born sūnzi grandson -tāi birth tang tòngkǔ touyige tóuyìtāi tuō nínde fú Wangjia wèi xiǎo bǎobao (xiǎo bǎobǎo) xiǎoxīn xífu yíxiǎzi yuèzi zhang zhòng zuo yuèzi to lie,to recline to he painful the first the first pregnancy, the first hahy thanks to your lucky influence, many thanks the Wang family to feed hahy, darling (term of endearment for a young child) to be careful daughter-in-law an instant, a moment, a while month of confinement after giving birth to a child to grow; to be (pretty, etc.) to be heavy to go through the month of confinement and special care after childbirth Customs Surrounding Marriage, Birth, and Death: Unit 5 PART I 1. Wǒ zuìjin chūchai qu le, méi néng cānj iā zhège huì. 2. Wǒ zài shàng Xīngqīèr jiù tīngdao tā zùmù qùshìde xiāoxi. 3. Míngtiān wǒ yào qù diàosāng. U. Míngtiān wǒ yào bāng tāmen bàn sānglǐ. 5. Wǒ fùqin yíxiàng xǐhuan he jiù, shàngge yuè hùrán juédìng zài yě bù hē le. 6. Wǒ fùqin fànle xǐnzàngbìng. 7. Women gǎnjǐn bǎ tā lǎorénjiā sòngdao TāiDà Yīyuàn qu. 8. Yīshēng shuō jīngguo jíjiù, yǐjīng jiùguolai le. 9. Nǐ zùmù yíxiàng hen bǎozhòng shēntǐ. 10. Tā guòqude shíhou, niánji yídìng hen dà le ba? 11. Wǒ tīngwánle yǐhòu xīnli hen jiù bù néng píngjìngxiàlai. 12. Hen bàoqiàn, wǒ méi néng gǎnhui-lai diàosāng. I’ve been out of town on business lately, so I wasn’t able to participate in this meeting. Last Tuesday I heard the news that his grandmother had passed away. Tomorrow I’m going to present my condolences at the funeral. Tomorrow I’m going to help them take care of the funeral. My father always liked to drink, but last month he decided all of a sudden that he would never drink again. My father had a heart attack. We rushed him to Taiwan University Hospital. The doctor said that she had been saved through emergency treatment. Your grandmother always took good care of herself. She must have been quite old when she passed away. After I listened to it I couldn't calm down for quite a while. I’m sorry I couldn’t rush back in time for the funeral. NOTES ON PART I Notes on No. 1 zuìjìn; ’lately, recently; in the near future*. This word can either refer to the near past or the near future. A: Tā zuìjìn zěnmeyàng?           How has she been lately? B: Zuìjìn tā hěn hǎo.              Lately she’s, been very well. Wǒ zuìjìn zài niàn shū.            I’ve been studying lately. Wo zuìjìn yào dào Jiāzhōu qù.      I’m going to be going to California in the near future. chūchāi: ’to go away on official business’. Míngtiān chūchāi, jǐntiān hěn máng. Zhècì chūchāi, qù shénme dìfang? Zhějiàn shi, děng wo chūle chāi yǐhòu zài bàn. Zhècì chūchāi huílai, kéyi dài diǎn dōngxi gěi ni. cānjiā: ’to participate in; to performance, etc.); to join’. Wǒ jìhua xià Xǐngqīyī yào dào Niǔ Yūē qu war. Nǐ xiǎng bu xiǎng cānjiā? Wǒ yào cānjiā míngtiān xiàwude huì. Zuǒtiān women gěi Zhāng Tàitai sòngxíng, nǐ yě cānjiā le ma? Tomorrow I’m going away on business, so today is a busy day. Where are you going on this business trip? I’ll get to this matter after my business trip. When I come back from this business trip, I’ll be able to bring you back a little something. attend; to go to (a meeting, gathering, I’m planning to go to New York next week to relax. Do you want to join in? I’m going to attend the meeting tomorrow afternoon. Yesterday when we gave the going-away party for Mrs. Zhang, did you come too? Notes on No. 2 zài shàng Xīngqīèr: ’on last Tuesday’. Notice that with an expression stating a time when something occurs. zài is optional. Here are some more examples: Zhège huì zài xiàge yuè kāi. This meeting will zài is used here In this sentence he held next month. Zhège haizi zài qùniǎn qiūtiān kāishǐ zài jiā niàn shū le. This child began studying last fall. at home Wǒ zài shàngge lǐbài mǎile yíjiàn jiéhūn lǐfū. Last week I bought a wedding gown. Zài Yījiǔliǔsānniǎn wǒ rènshi-le ta. I met him in 1963. Zài Yījiǔwǔlíngniǎn wǒ jiù kànguo zhèběn shū. I read this book back in 1950. zǔmǔ: ’(paternal) grandmother'. Remember that this refers exclusively to the father's mother. The mother's mother is wàizǔmǔ. EA grandmother is usually addressed by her son's children as nāinai.J Here is a chart showing these terms: zǔfù zǔmǔ                     wàizǔfù       wàizǔmǔ qùshì: 'to pass away'. Literally, this means 'to go (from this) world'. It is a euphemism for sǐ 'to die', which is introduced in Unit 6. Xiǎo Wāngde fùqin qùshì yǐjīng It's been two years since Xiǎo Wang's liǎngniǎn le.                       father died. xiǎoxi: 'news, information, tidings'. Zhèiliǎngtiǎn bàozhǐshang you     The hěn duō guānyu Zhōngguode xiǎoxi. Jīntiǎn bàozhǐshang you shénme xīn xiǎoxi? The past couple of days there's been a lot of news about China in the newspaper. What news is there in the newspaper today? Women jiā liǎngge yuè méiyou xìn le, shénme xiāoxi dōu méiyou. Our family hasn’t sent a letter in two months, there’s no news at all. (Said hy one family member who is separated from the rest.) Xiāoxi can be used with the counter -ge to mean ’a piece of news, an item of news’: Wǒ you yíge hǎo xiāoxi. I have a piece of good news. Note on No. 3 diàosāng: ’to present one’s condolences at a funeral, to attend a funeral’. At a traditional funeral, the guests, by groups, present their condolences to the family of the deceased in a brief formal ceremony. Jīntiān wǒ qù diàosāng, jiàndao Today when I was at the funeral I nín jiā lǎotàitai.                  saw your grandmother. Note on No. 4 sānglǐ: ’the funeral ceremony’. CSāng- in some combinations means ’funeral’, for example, sāngfú ’funeral clothing’, or sāngshì ’funeral’.! On a volunteer basis, family, friends, and villagers help with funeral preparations. Members of the immediate family stay with the coffin to guard it during the day and sleep with it at night. Notes on No. 5 yíxiàng: ’always (up to now)’, has been so all along up until now (and else change). This adverb indicates that something may either continue the same way or I’ve always like to eat sweet snacks He has always done very well in his studies. Teacher Wú has always liked children Mr. Xià has always been very polite. time word. It may go before the verb, Wǒ yíxiàng ài chi tian diǎnxin. Tā yíxiàng niàn shū niànde hen hǎo. Wú Lǎoshī yíxiàng xǐhuan haizi. Xià Xiānsheng yíxiàng hěn kèqi. hūrǎn: ’suddenly’. This is a or at the front of the sentence. Wǒ hūrǎn xiǎngqilai, wǒde xìn hai méiyou jì. I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t mailed my letter yet. Hūrán, tā pǎolai le, hāoxiàng you shénme shi. Suddenly, he came running in, as if there were something wrong. Hūrán tiān xià yǔ le, xiàde        Suddenly it started raining, raining hāo dà. very hard. Tā jìnlai zuòle yìhuǐr, hūrán jiù zǒu le. He came in and sat down for a while, and then left all of a sudden. zài yě bù he le: ’will never drink again’. Sometimes people ask what is the word for ’never’ in Chinese. The answer is that ’never’ is not expressed by one word, but rather by a combination of adverbs and negative. Not only is ’never’ rendered into Chinese by several words, but the word patterns are different for sentences expressing completed action, habitual action, or planned action. For these examples you need to know that yongyuān is the word for ’forever’. Wo cǒnglai méi chīguo Zhōngguo I’ve never eaten Chinese food, cài. Wǒ cónglái bu kàn nèiyangde        I’ve never read those kinds of books, shū. Tāde wèntí yongyuān bù néng        His problems can never be solved, jiějué. Wo zài yě bú qù nàli le.            I’ll never go there again. The adverb zài and a negative, such idea of not doing something anymore. Bìng hāole yǐhòu, tā méiyou zài hē jiǔ. Yǐhòu wǒ bu zài zuò le. Bú yào zài dā ta le. as méiyou, can be used to express the After he got well, he didn’t drink anymore. In the future I won’t do it again. Don’t hit him any more. If zài is placed in front of the negative, the meaning of the phrase is more emphatic. Wǒ zài bù huílai le’.                I’m never coming back here again.’ If yě is added between zài and the negative, the meaning is approximately the same. Wǒ zài yě bù chǐ táng le.          I’m never going to eat candy again. Nèitiáo lù bù hāo zǒu, nǐ zài That road is hard to go on, don’t yě Lie zǒu nèitiáo lù le.          ever take it again. Nǐ zài yě bié kàn zhèzhǒng shū le. Nàge fàndiànde cài tài guì, wǒ zhǐ qùle yícì, jiù zài yě méi qùguo le. Women shi tǒngxué, kěshi líkāi xuéxiào yǐhòu, wǒ jiù zài yě méi kànjian ta le. Sānge yuè yǐqián xiàguo yìchǎng yǔ, yǐhòu jiù zài yě méi xiàguo le. More on ’Again*: Up until now you’ve which did not express a completed event and Don’t ever read, this kind of book again. That restaurant is too expensive; I only went there once and then I never went back again. We were schoolmates, but after we left the school, I never saw him again. Three months ago it rained once, and since then it hasn’t rained again. seen zài ’again’ used in sentences òu used in sentences which did. Míngtiān zài lai ba. Come again tomorrow.’ òu, nǐ you lai le. Oh, you’ve come again.’ But there are further qualifications on the use of ’again’ in Chinese. While zài always refers to activities which have not yet occurred, that is future activities or events, you is not totally limited to activities or events which are completed or past. You may be used in present or future situations if the thing being talked about is so certain that it may be treated like something which has actually happened. Míngtiān you shi Xīngqīyī le. Zhè you yào duōshao qián a? Zhèi yìtiān you yào wan le. Xiànzài wǒ you you gōngzuò le. And tomorrow is Monday again. And how much money is needed again for this? And this day is about to end too. (Said at the end of a long busy day with many things left to do.) Now I have a job again. Notes on No. 6 fàn: ’to have an attack (of a revert to (an old habit)’. Tā you fàn lǎo máobìng le, zhèjǐtiān hěn bu shūfu. disease), to have a recurrence of, to That old problem of his is acting up again. He hasn’t been feeling well the last few days. Shàngge yuè tā fan bìng le, xuěyā hǎo gāo Bié fan nǐde lǎo mǎobìng le, kuài qù shàng xué qu ba! xǐnzàngbìng: ’heart disease’. Last month he had a recurrence; and his blood pressure was really high! Don't fall back into your old habit (of skipping sbhool), get yourself to school. Xǐnzàng is ’heart’.. Notes on No. 7 gǎnjǐn: ’in a hurry’. This adverb means that someone decided to hurry up and start doing something. It can often be translated as 'to hurry up and', or ’to rush to (do something)'. Here are some examples: Nàbiān chū chēhuò le, nǐ gǎnjǐn qù kǎnkan! Jīntiǎn xiàwǎ, tā zǒu le, zhōngwǎ wǒ gǎnjǐn péi ta qù chī wǔfàn. Kuài jiǎdiǎn le, wǒ yào gǎnjǐn zǒu le. There's been a car accident over there, hurry up and go look! He was leaving this afternoon, so at noontime I hurried to go out to lunch with him. It's almost nine o'clock. I have to hurry up and leave. Gǎnjǐn means only that someone hurries to start the action. It does not mean that the action is finished quickly. For example, to say 'He made dinner in a hurry, so it didn’t come out well', meaning that he finished cooking it in a very short time, you cannot use gǎnjǐn; you could say Yǐnwei tā zuò fàn zuòde tài kuài, suǒyi zuòde bù hǎo. tā lǎorénjiā: Lǎorénjiǎ is a respectful way of referring to or addressing old people. When addressing someone directly, it is almost always preceded by nǐ or nín, as in Qīngwèn nín lǎorénjiā, dào         Excuse me, sir, how do I get to Zhōngshān Lù zěnme zǒu?            Zhongshan Road? Nǐ lǎorénjiā, zuìjìn zěnmeyàng? Shēntǐ hǎo ba? How have you been lately? Have you been in good health, I hope? A third party can be referred to as tā lǎorénjiā: Tā lǎorénjiā shuō le, zhèjiàn shi búbì jízhe bàn. He said that we don't need to be in a rush to do this. I've come to give him some pastries. Wǒ gěi tā lǎorénjiā song yidiǎn diǎnxin lai. Wo wènguo wǒ zùfù le, tā lāo- I asked my grandfather, and he said rénjia shuō míngnián zánmen        our whole family is going to quánjiā qù Shanghai.                Shanghai next year. Here are two examples of lāorénjia being used as a respectful word for ’old people’: Jǐntiān, liāngwèi lāorénjia tánde hen gāoxìng. Today those two (old people) had a very pleasant conversation. Older people like to eat soft foods. Lāorénjiamen dōu xǐhuan chi ruānde dōngxi. In Peking, the syllable lāo in lāorénjia receives the heaviest stress of the three syllables, and jia is in the neutral tone. song: ’to take (someone somewhere), to escort (someone somewhere), to see someone off or out’. The basic meaning of this word is to accompany someone who is leaving, but as you can see from the various translations given, song can be used in a wide variety of circumstances. Here are some examples: Wǒ qù bā kèren sòngdao dàmén wàitou. Nǐ song ta huí jiā. Tā míngtiān zǒu, women dào jīchāng qu song ta. Wǒ song ta dào xuéxiào qu. To specify that you are taking someone this way: Wo kāi chē song ta dào xuéxiào qu. I’m going to show the guests out the front door. Escort her home, or Walk her home. or Take her home. She’s leaving tomorrow and we’re going to the airport to see her off. I took him to school. (E.g., I drove him there or I walked there with him. ) in a car, you can phrase your sentence I drove her to school. Notes on No. 8 jǐngguò: You have seen jǐngguo meaning ’to go thru’. Here it is used to mean ’though’ in the sense of ’by means of’. It can also be translated ’as a result of’, ’after’, ’through’, or ’via’. Tā shēntǐ yìzhí bù hǎo, dànshi wǒ xiǎng jīngguò yíduàn shí-jiānde bǎoyǎng, kěnéng huì hǎo yìdiǎn. Jīngguò sāntiānde kǎolù, wǒ juédìng he tǎ jiēhūn. Jīngguò dàjiǎde nǔlì, zhèjiàn shìqing chénggōng le. Zhège jìhua bìxū jīngguò tǎo-lùn. His health has been bad.all along, but I think after a short period of taking care of himself, he might get a little better. After three days of consideration, I’ve decided to marry him. As a result of everyone’s hard work, this matter has succeeded. This plan must go through discussion. jíjiù: ’emergency treatment; to administer emergency treatment, to receive emergency treatment’. Notice that jíjiù can mean to give or get emergency treatment. Jīntiān yǐjīng shi jíjiùde dìsǎntiān le, bù zhīdào you méiyou xīwàng. Tāde chēzi yǐjīng wánle, rén zài jíjiù. Gāngcǎi chū chēhuò, you jǐge rén shòushāng le, yīshēng zhèngzài jíjiù. Jíjiù refers only to aid given in nature, usually those where life is in injury or acute attacks of an illness. Today is already the third day of emergency (intensive care) treatment. I don’t know if there’s . any hope. His car is finished (totalled), and he himself is undergoing emergency treatment. There’s just been a car accident, and several people were injured. The doctor is administering first-aid. incidents of a relatively serious danger; for example, cases of severe jiùguolai: ’to save’, literally ’to save over’. The directional verb ending guòlai ’over’ sometimes shows the recovery of an original desirable or normal state. For example, in jiùguolai it implies the change from a condition in which death is imminent to one in which the patient can be expected to' live. Daren qíngkuàng hai hǎo, haizi jiùbuguòlai le. Zhège jùzi xiěcuò le, wǒ yào bǎ ta gǎiguolai. Zhège dìzhǐ xiěde bǔ duì, nín děi gǎiguolai. The adult’s condition is all right, but the child cannot be saved. This sentence is wrong, I have to correct it. This address is wrong, you have to correct it. Zuò huǒchē zuòle sāntiān lèi-huài le, yào shuì yídà Jiao cái néng xiūxiguolai. Shàngwù mangle sìwùge zhòngtou zhōngwù shuì ge wùjiào, rén •jiù xiūxiguolai le. Tiān tài lěng, hē kōu jiu jiù nuǎnhuoguolai le. Wo hǎoxiàng hìng le, chuān zhènme duō yīfu dōu méi banfa nuanhuoguolai. After three days on the train, I’m exhausted. I’ll have to have a good long sleep before I can be well rested. In the morning I ran around for four or five hours, but then after a nap at noon, I felt very rested. The weather is too cold, a sip of wine will warm you up. I seem to be sick, I’ve got on all these clothes and I still can’t get warm. Note on No. 9 bǎozhòng: ’to take care of oneself, to take care of (one’s health)’. Haohao baozhong shenti, bie lèihuài le. In telling someone to be sure to take preceded by duō or duōduō ’more (than Yílù píng’ān, duō bǎozhòng. Nǐde bìng gāng hǎo, duōduō bǎozhòng. Take good care of your health, don’t wear yourself out. care of himself, bǎozhòng is usually usual)’. Have a good trip, and take good care of yourself. You just got over your illness, take real good care of yourself. Notes on No. 10 guòqu: ’to pass away’. Like English ’pass away’, this is a euphemism for ’to die’. Tāde zǔfù zuotiān wǎnshang guòqu le. Nǐ mùqin shi shénme shíhou guòqude? Wō mùqin guòqude shíhou, wo hái hen xiǎo. niánji:  ’(a person’s) age’, you should learn by heart: His grandfather passed away last night. When did your mother pass away? I was still very young when my mother passed away. Here are some frequently used patterns Nín duo dà niánji le?              How old are you? (polite way of asking an adult’s age) Tā niánji bù xiǎo le.               She’s not young any more. Tā niánji dà le. or Tā shàngle He’s getting on in years, niánji le. [Although the adjectival verb dà ’to be big’ is used after niánji to mean ’to be old’, when you want to say ’to be young’, you should use the adjectival verb qīng ’to be light* rather than xiǎo ’to be small’; for example, Tā niánji hái qīng, bù yīnggāi ràng ta qù gōngzuò, ’He’s still young, you shouldn’t make him go get a job.’] Note on No. 11 píngjìng: ’to be calm’. Pingjìngxiàlai, ’to calm down’. Shuǐshàng yìzhī chuán dōu méiyou, ye méiyou fēng, hen píngjìng. Kànjian jiāli rén dōu hěn hǎo, xīnli píngjìngdeduō le. As in the last example above, pingjìng is heart’ to describe one’s emotional state. There wasn’t a single boat on the water, and there was no wind. It was very calm. When I saw that everyone in the family was all right, I felt much calmer. often used with xīnli ’in the Jīntiān tā hěn shēngqì, wǒ méi bànfa ràng ta pingjìngxiàlai. He got very angry today and there was no way I could get him to calm down. Notes on No. 12 méi néng: ’was not able to’• Here you see the auxiliary verb néng used with the negative méi. You have learned that state verbs (auxiliary verbs are one type of state verbs) are negated with bù, (bù hǎo, bù zhīdao) not with méi. Here, however, you see méi néng instead of bù néng. This is an exception to the rule that all state verbs are always negated with bù. Actually, either bù néng or méi néng would be acceptable in this sentence. Some speakers, however, feel that there is a subtle difference between bù néng and méi néng when referring to an event in the past. For example, one can say Wo zuōtiān méi néng qù as well as Wo zuotiān bù néng qù. Wǒ zuótiān méi néng qù hints at the fact that there was a failure to attain the state of being able to go, whereas Wǒ zuotiān bù néng qù merely describes the state of being unable to go, without making any implications about failure (to attain the state of being able to go). Such a subtle difference in implication may make very little difference in the actual import of a sentence in some contexts, although in other contexts it may be of some significance. (For the first example sentence, you need to know that mìmi means ’secret’.) Zuotiān nǐ wen wo, wǒ bù néng gàosu ni, yīnwei zhè shi *mìmi. Zuotiān, nǐ wen wo, wǒ méi néng gàosu ni, yīnwei Zhang Sān zhàn zai pángbiān, wǒ bù xiǎng rang ta zhīdao. gǎnhuilai: ’to rush back’. Dōu liùdiǎn zhōng le, wǒ xiǎng tā dàgài gǎnbuhuílai le. Xiàwǔ wǔdiǎn zhōng, women you ge huì, nǐ gǎndehuílai gǎnbuhuílai? Yesterday when you asked me, I couldn’t tell you, because it’s a secret. Yesterday when you asked me, I couldn’t tell you, because Zhāng Sān was standing there, and I didn’t want to let him know about it. It’s six o’clock already, I think she probably won’t make it back in time. At five in the afternoon we have a meeting. Can you make it back in Taipei: A woman goes to visit her friend after hearing of her father’s death: A: Wǒ zuìjìn chūchāi qu le, jīngguò Táinánde shíhou tīngdao nǐ fùqin qùshìde xiǎoxi. Zhēn bàoqiàn, wǒ mei néng gǎnhuilai diàosāng. B: Wǒ fùqin dele bìng, hen kuài jiù guòqu le. Women you xiē zài wàidìde qǐnqi dōu méi néng láidejí cānjiā sānglǐ. A: Wǒ jìde nī fùqin shēntī yíxiàng bú cuò, zhècì déle shénme bìng? B: 0, wǒ fùqin shēntī shi bú cuò, jiùshi xīnzàng bú tài hǎo, zhècì hūrán fànle xīnzàngbìng, women gǎnjīn bǎ tǎ laorénjia sòngdao TaiDà Yīyuàn qu. Kěshi jīngguo jíjiù, háishi méi j iùguolai. A: Wǒ zǔmǔ yě shi xīnzàngbìng qùshìde. Hǎoxiàng niánji dàlede rén déle xīnzàngbìng yǐhòu, hen nan zhìhǎo. Lǎo xiānsheng guòqude shíhou bú tài tòngkǔ ba? B: Shìde. Tǎ guòqude shíhou bǐjiào píngjìng, hǎoxiàng bú tài tòngkǔ. A: Nǐ zhèxiē tiǎn yídìng mángde hen lèi le. Nǐ yào bǎozhòng shēntī. Guò xiē shíhou wǒ zài lāi kàn ni. B: Xièxie ni. Yǐhòu you gōngfu zài guòlai zuòzuo. A: Hǎo. Zàijiàn! B: Zàijiàn! I went away on business lately and I heard the news of your father’s death when I was passing through Tainan. I’m so sorry I couldn’t make it back in time to go to the funeral. My father passed away very soon after he became ill. We even have relatives outside the area who couldn’t make it to the funeral. As I recall your father’s health was always pretty good, what illness did he get this time? Well, my father’s health was pretty good, only his heart wasn’t so good. This time he had a sudden heart attack, and we rushed him to Taiwan University Hospital. But even the emergency treatment didn’t save him. My grandmother also died of heart disease. Older people seem to be very hard to cure after they get heart disease. When your father passed away he wasn’t in much pain, I hope? No. He was rather calm when he passed away. He didn’t seem to be in too much pain. You must be very tired from being so busy these past few days. You have to take good care of yourself. I’ll be back to see you again soon. Thanks. When you have time come over again and sit awhile. Okay. Good-bye.’ Good-bye.’ PART II 13. Wǒ dǎ chángtú diànhuà gàosu ta. 11. Tā lǎo péngyoude mǔqin shàngge ■xīngqī guòshì le. 15. Tā shāngxīnjíle. 16. Nǐ fùqin yǐjīng qīshiwǔsuì, kéyi shuō shi chāngshòu le. 17. Zài shuō ta guòshìde shíhou ye hu tài tòngkǔ. 18. Nǐ hú hi tài nánguò le. 19. Wǒ mǔqin hǎnlāi xīwàng érnǔmen yíhèizi dōu zài tā shēnhiān. 20. Wo dàgē jīnniān qubuliǎo Xiāng-gǎng le. 21. Jiānglái you jīhui zài qù ha! 22. Wǒ mǔqin cháng shuō tā hú yuànyi j iānglái zàngzai guōwài. 23. Ràng ta zài jiā ānxǐn xiūxi. 21. A: Tā shuō tā qùshì yǐhòu yào huǒzàng. B: Bìngqiǒ xīwàng tade háizimen néng hǎ tāde gǔhuī sònghuí guōnèi. I called him long distance to tell him. His old friend’s mother passed away last week. He was terribly broken up. Your father was already 75 years old. That’s quite a long life, actually. Besides that, he wasn’t in too much pain when he died. You don’t have to feel too sad. Originally my mother hoped that her children would stay with her all her life. My oldest brother can’t go to Hong Kong this year any more. Go sometime in the future if you get the chance. My mother often said that when the time came she didn’t want to be buried abroad. Let her rest without worry in her home. He says that after he passes away he wants to be cremated. Moreover he hopes his children will be able to take his ashes back to his home country. NOTES ON PART II Note on No. 13 da chángtú diànhuà: ’to make a long-distance telephone call’. Qǐng nǐmen shēngyin xiǎo           Would you all he a little quieter, yídiǎn, wǒ zài dǎ chángtú         . please? I’m making a long-distance diànhuà ne!                          call! You saw in the Post Office-Telephone Module that diànhuà can also be used with the meaning ’a telephone call’ as in You nǐde diànhuà, ’There’s a telephone call for you’. Chángtú diànhuà can be used in the same way: Wèi! Xiǎo Sānr! You nǐde         Xiǎo Sānr! There’s a long-distance chángtú diànhuà!                    phone call for you! In the Meeting Module you saw the expression lái diànhuà ’a telephone call is received’ or ’make a telephone call here’. Here is chángtú diànhuà used in the same pattern: Jīntiān zǎoshàng you ren gěi       This morning someone called long- ni lái chángtú diànhuà le,         distance for you, but you weren’t nǐ bú zài.                           here. Note on No. 1H guòshǐ: ’to pass away, to die’. You have now seen ’to die’ expressed three different ways: guòqu, qùshì, and guòshì. All may be used in conversation, although guòqu is probably the most common. Note on No. 15 shāngxǐn: Literally, hurt, to be sad, to be broken-hearted’ A: Tā zhènme shāngxǐn, wèi-shénme? B: Tā núpengyou zou le, zenme néng bù shāngxǐn? Women j iāde gǒu sǐle, wǒ shāngxīnle hǎo cháng shíjiān. Nàme hǎode yíge háizi sǐle, zhēn ràng rén shāngxǐn. ’to wound the heart’. ’To be grieved, to be Why is he so broken-hearted? His girlfriend left, how can he not be broken-hearted? After the family dog died, I was broken-hearted for a real long time It really grieves one for such a good child to die. Note on No. 16 chángshòu: ’long life, longevity; to live a long life’. Yào xiang chángshòu, jiù bù yīnggāi dūo he jiu. Běifāng chángshòude rén bī Nanfāng duō. If you want to live a long life, you shouldn’t drink excessively. There are more people who live long in the North than in the South. Note on No. IT zài shuō: ’furthermore, moreover, in addition, besides’. Often following a clause with zài shuō, one of the adverbs yě ’also’ or you ’also’ is used. A: Zěnmeyàng? Jīntiān nī néng lai ma? B: Zhèiliǎngtiān xià xuě, wo gānmào le, tiānqi you zhènme bù hǎo, zài shuō haizi tài xiǎo, bǎ tā yíge rén fàngzai jiāli, wō bu fàngxīn. Gǎitiān, wo yídìng lai, hǎo bu hǎo? Tā hen nénggàn, zài shuō you nàme piàoliang, nī jiù tongyì le ba? How about it? Can you come today? It’s snowed these two days, and I caught a cold, and the weather is so bad. Moreover the child is too small to leave alone at home. I would worry. I’ll come for sure another day, okay? She’s very capable, and what’s more, she’s so beautiful too. So you will agree (to marry her), won’t you? (said by a matchmaker to a young man) A: Wō děng ni bàntiān le, wō yào hé ni tan yixia. B: Wo gāng xià kè. Zài shuō wō hái méi chī fàn ne’. Gǎitiān zài shuō ba’. I’ve been waiting for you for ages. I want to have a talk with you. I just got out of class. And furthermore I haven’t eaten yet! Let’s talk some other day! Note on No■ 18 nánguò: ’to be sad, to verb can be used to refer to either Yīshēng shuō tā muqinde bìng hěn lìhai, women dōu hěn nánguò. be distressed, to feel bad’. physical or emotional This adjectival distress. The doctor said his mother’s illness was very serious, and we were all very sad. Jīntiān tā chǐle hǎo duō shēngcài, xiànzài dùzili nánguò le. Bié nánguò le, rén yǐjīng sǐle nánguò yě méiyou yòng le. Jīntiān Song Lǎoshī hěn nánguò. Xiǎo Wángde jiāli you nàme duō máfan. Zhēn ràng rén nánguò. He ate a lot of raw vegetables today, so now his stomach hurts (he feels bad) . Don’t be sad, he’s already dead, and it’s no use being sad. Teacher Song is very sad today. There’s so much trouble in Xǐao Wáng’s family, it really makes a person sad. Notes on No. 19 běnlái’originally, at first, in the first place’. Běnlái wo xiǎng jǐntiān xiàwu qù kàn diànyǐng. Hòulái tīngshuō kāi huì. Suànle, wǒ yǐhòu zài qù ba. Běnlái wǒ jīntiān qù Guangzhou, tiānqì bù hǎo, dàgài děi míngtiān cái néng zou le. Originally I wanted to go see a movie this afternoon. Later I heard there was a meeting. So I’ll forget it and go another time. Originally I was going to Canton today, but the weather is bad so I’ll probably have to wait until tomorrow before X can leave. yíbèizi: ’all one’s life, in one’s (whole) life, throughout one’s life, as long as one lives, a lifetime’. Zhèngfù bāng tā bǎ zài wàiguō-de qián zhǎohuilai le. Tā yíbèizi yě méiyou jiànguo zhènme duō qián, hǎo gāoxìng. Tā you sānge érzi, wèi zhèi sānge érzi mángle yíbèizi. Xiànzài lǎole, gāi xiūxi xiūxi le. The government helped her get back money she had outside the country. She had never seen so much money in her whole life. She was really happy. She has three sons and for these three sons she was busy her whole life. Now she is old and should take it easy. shēnbiān: ’at/by one’s side; (have something) on one, with one’. Wo you yíge háizi zài nongcūn, yíge háizi zài shēnbiān. Rúguo tā shēnbiān you hǎo jǐge háizi jiù méiyou bànfǎ chū-lai gōngzuò. I have one child out in the country and one child here with me. If she has several children at her feet, then she just can’t go out and work. Notes on No. 20 dàgē; ’oldest brother'. Remember that 'older brother' is gēge, but the oldest of several children is dàgē. In addition dàgē can be used between men to show a friendly relationship of unequal status. qùbuliǎo: 'cannot go*. This is a compound verb or result, like kanbujian 'cannot see' or chǐbubǎo 'cannot eat one's fill'. The ending -liǎo is in compounds of potential result (those with -de- or -bu- between the main verb and the resultative ending) with the meaning of 'be able to'. You may be thinking (and rightly so) that this is just the meaning added by the use of -de- or -bu-. This has led some people to label -liǎo as a 'dummy' resultative ending since it does not seem to add any additional information like other more specific endings do (e.g. wan 'finish'). Wàimian shēngyǐn hǎo dà. Shizài shuìbuliǎo jiào. Jīntiān ting diàn, kànbuliǎo diǎnyǐngr. Wǒ zuìjìn dùzi bù shūfu, chǐ-buliǎo shēngcài. Zhènme duō cài, chìbuliǎo le'. Xiàwu wǒ you shi, qùbuliǎo túshūguǎnle, míngtiān zài shuō ba. Nǐ jiǔdiǎn zhōng xià ban, jintiān wǎnhuì nǐ qùdeliǎo qubuliǎo? Nǐ bú yào dāo jīchǎng lai song wo, nǐ yì kū wǒ j iù zōubu-liǎo le. It's so noisy outside. I really can't sleep at all. Today they're turning off the electricity, so we can't watch the movie. My stomach has been uncomfortable lately, I can't eat lettuce. So many dishes, we won't be able to eat them! This afternoon I'm busy, I can't go to the library, let's talk about it tomorrow. You get off work at 9:00, can you go to the evening meeting? Don't come to the airport to see me off; as soon as you start to cry, I won't be able to leave. Note on No. 21 jiānglǎi: 'in the future*. Like other time words, jiānglai can be used between the subject and the verb, or at the front of the sentence before the subject. Jiānglai ZhōngMěi guānxi yuè       In the future as Sino-American lái yuè hǎo, women zài Měiguo relations get better and better, jiù bǐjiào rōngyi mǎidào           it will be easier for us to buy Zhōngguode dōngxi.                  Chinese goods in America. Wǒ jiānglái yào dào Shànghǎi lǐngshìguān qù gōngzuò. In the future I want to work in the consulate in Shanghai. Note on No. 23 ānxǐn: ’to feel at ease, to set to keep one’s mind (on something)’. Tā xiānshēng nǔlì zuò shi, tā keyi ānxǐn dú shū. Wǒde hāizi gōngzuòde hěn hāo, wǒ yě jiù ānxǐn le. o'ne’s mind at ease, to be at peace; With her husband working hard at his Job, she could keep her mind on her studying. My child is doing well at work, and I can now feel at ease. Note on No. 2k bìngqie: ’furthermore, moreover, and, besides’. Wǒ yào bā bìngqie xuěhāo. gōngzuò zuò hāo yào bā Zhōngwén I want to do a good and do a good job job at work and studying Chinese. Zhèige hāizi hěn nùlì bìngqiě hěn cōngmīng. This child is very industrious and intelligent too. Wǒ jìhua zhèige xīngqī bā zhèipiān wénzhāng xiěwán, bìngqiě fānyicheng Zhōngwén. I plan to finish writing this essay this week and furthermore translate it into Chinese. Taipei: After the funeral of an elderly man a friend comes to visit the family: A: Wo zuìjìn chūchāi qu le, zuotiān huílai cai zhīdao lǎo xiānsheng guòshìde xiǎoxi, érqiě tīngshuō sānglǐ yě bānguo le, wǒ méi néng gǎn-huilai diāosāng, zhēn shi bāoqiān. B: Wo fùqin xīnzàng yíxiàng hú tài hǎo, zuìjìn liǎngniān, yīshēng jiao ta tiāntiān chī yào, jiéguo wèntí hǎoxiāng shǎole yìdiǎn, kěshi liǎngge xīngqī yīqiǎn hūrān fānle lǎo bìng, wǒ dǎgē jiù gǎnjīn bǎ tǎ lǎorénjia sǒngdao TǎiDā Yīyuān jíjiù, bìngqiě dǎ changtú diānhuā bǎ wo jiāo-huilai. Tā niānji dā le, suīrān jīngguò jǐtiān jíjiù haishi méi jiùguolai, zāi shāng Xīngqīèr qùshì le; búguǒ tā qùshìde shíhou bǐjiǎo píngjìng, hǎoxiāng bú tāi tòngkū. V A: Fùqin qùshì, érnu yídìng hěn shāngxīn. Búguǒ lǎo xiānsheng qīshiduōsuì qùshì yě suān shi chǎngshòu le. Zāi shuō tā gudqude shíhou bú tāi tòngkū, nǐmen xiōngdì jiěmèi yě dōu zāi tā shēnbiān, tā yě jiù ānxīn le, nǐ yě bú yāo tāi nanguò. Lǎo xiānsheng zāngzai nǎli? B: Wǒ fùqin shuōguo, yāo huǒ- zāng. Tā shuō tā zhèyíbèizi kǒngpā huíbuliǎo lǎojiā le, jiāo women jiānglāi bǎ gúhuī sònghuí lǎojiā qu, suoyi women jiù zhǔnbèi zhǎo tā shuōde bān. who came to Taiwan from the mainland, I've been away on business lately, and I didn't find out until I got back yesterday that your father had passed away. And I hear that the funeral has already been held. I'm really sorry I didn't make it back in time to attend the funeral. My father's heart was never too good. The past two years, the doctor told him to take medicine every day, and there didn't seem to be so much of a problem any more, but two weeks ago he had a sudden attack of his old illness. My oldest brother rushed him to Taiwan University Hospital for emergency treatment. He also called me long distance to get me to come back. He was quite old, and even after several days of emergency treatment they still weren't able to save him. He passed away last Tuesday, but at the time he was rather calm, and he didn't seem to be in too much pain. When a father passes away, the children always feel very grieved. But for your father to pass away at over seventy is really quite a long life. Besides, he wasn't in too much pain when he passed away, and all you brothers and sisters were at his side, so he could set his mind at ease; so don't be too sad. Where will he be buried? My father had said he wanted to be cremated. He said that he probably wouldn't be able to return to his hometown in his lifetime, and he told us to take his ashes back to his hometown someday. So we're planning to do as he asked. Vocabulary ānxǐn to be without worry, to feel at ease to feel relieved bǎozhòng běnlái bìngqiē to take good care (of oneself) originally moreover, and cānj iā chángshòu to take part in; to attend long life, longevity; to live a long time chūchāi to be out of town on business dǎ chángtū diànhuà dàgē diàosāng to make a long-distance phone call oldest brother to present one’s condolences at a funeral, to attend a funeral érnū children fàn to have an attack (of an old disease) gāndeshàng to be able to catch up, to be able to make it in time gǎnhuilai gǎnjīn gǔhuī guòqu guòshì to rush back quickly bone ashes to pass away, to die to pass away, to die huǒzàng hūrǎn to cremate; cremation suddenly jiānglai Jí jiù the future, someday first aid; to administer emergency treatment j iùguolai to save lǎorénjiā polite way of addressing or referring to an old person (ní lǎorénjiā, tā lǎorénjiā) -liǎo can, to be able to nǎnguò niánji (niánji) to be sad age píngjìng to be calm qubuliǎo qùshì sānglǐ shāngxīn shēnbiān song xiāoxi xīnzàng xīnzàngbìng yíbèizi yíxiang zài shuō zàng zuìjin zǔmǔ cannot go to pass away, to die funeral to be grieved, to be sorrowful, to be heartbroken one’s vicinity, one’s immediate surroundings to escort, to take (someone to a place) news heart heart disease all one’s life (have) always, (had) always, consistently, all along furthermore, besides to bury recently; soon grandmother (on the father’s side) Customs Surrounding Marriage, Birth, and Death: Unit 6 PART I 1. Xiǎo Lǐde mama sǐ le. 2. A: NǏ shuō women shi fǒu gāi cānjiā tāde sānglǐ? B: Women yīngdāng qù yíxià. 3. Xiǎo Lǐde māma jīntiān chū bin. 4. Yìbān rénde sānglǐ méiyou name duōde guǐju le. 5. Yìbān cānjiā sānglǐde rén dōu song wǎnliàn huò huāquān. 6. Xiě wǎnliàn fǎnzhèng lāibují le. 7. Women qù mǎi yige huāquān rúhé? 8. Nianqīng fùnù xǐhuan chuān huā yīfu. 9. Na néng rang ni pòfei? 10. Wō qù gei ta mǎi diān xiǎo lǐwù jiù shi le. 11. Zhǐ yǎo bú tài guì, wō hāishi dā jìchéngchē qu. 12. Nǐ shuō women liǎngge rén héqilai song ta yítāo pǎnzi-wǎn zěnmeyāng? 13. Nǐ xiǎode Yāngmíngshān Gōngmù zài nali ma? Xiao Li’s mother died. Do you think we should go to the funeral? We should go. The funeral procession for Xiao Li’s mother is today. Most people’s funerals don’t have so many special customs anymore. Most people who attend a funeral send a funeral scroll or a flower wreath. It’s too late to write a funeral scroll anyway. How about if we go buy a flower wreath? Young women like to wear multicolored clothing. How could I make you spend money? I’ll just go and buy her a little present. As long as it’s not too expensive, it would be best if I took a taxi. What do you say the two of us give him a set of dishes together? Do you know where Yangmingshan Public Cemetery is? NOTES ON PART I Notes on No. 1 mama: ’mother, mom’ Although this can he used as a term of address, like English ’Mom’ or ’Mommy’, it can also he used in informal conversation to refer to one’s own or someone else’s mother, as in wǒ mama ’my mother’, or tā mama* his mother’. For the term of direct address ’Mom’, Mā is prohahly more commonly used than Mama. Wǒ mama shàng hān qu le.           My mother has left for work. Xiàwù, Mama jiù zuò huǒche lāi This afternoon, Mom came hy train kàn wo le.                           to visit me. sǐ: ’to die’ This is a process verh, like hìng ’to become ill, to get sick’, and therefore corresponds more closely to the English ’to become dead’ than it does ’to be dead’. In English one can talk about a person who has a terminal illness, saying ’He is dying’, but this does not translate directly into Chinese. In Chinese one can say Tā kuài (yào) sǐle, ’He is about to die,’ or Tā huòbuliǎo duo jiù le, ’He won’t live much longer.’ Tīngshuō Lao Liùde fùqin sǐ le. I heard that Lāo Liu’s father has died. Sǐ can be used directly before a noun as an adjective, meaning ’dead’. Shi sǐde may be used to mean ’is dead’. Zhè shi yìtiāo sǐ yù.               This is a dead fish. Zhèitiáo yu shi sǐde.               This fish is (a) dead (one). Notes on No. 2 shi fǒu: ’is it (true) or isn’t it (true that) ...’ This phrase is a more formal-sounding equivalent of shi bu shi; fǒu in literary Chinese means ’or not’. In spoken Standard Chinese, the use of shi fǒu is more restricted than shi bu shi. First of all, shi fǒu has a more educated, formal ring to it than shi bu shi. Secondly, shi fǒu verbal expression, as in the following Zhèzhǒng tiān shi fǒu huì xià yù? Jǐnnián dōngtiān, nǐ shi fǒu xiāng dào Màiāmì qu? Nǐ shi fǒu zhùnbèi ànzhao zhège jìhua qù zuò? is usually used only before another examples: Is (this weather) going to rain? Are you hoping to go to Miami this winter? Are you planning to act according to this plan? Nǐ yīnggāi xiǎngyixiǎng, nǐ duì zhège rén shi fǒu liǎojiě. Nǐ niánji hù xiǎo le, nǐ shi fǒu kǎolūguo jiéhūnde wèntí? Jīnnián, nǐmen xuéxiǎode xué-shēng shi fǒu zēngjiā le? Wǒ hù zhīdào wǒde yìjian shi fǒu néng dédao tǒngyì. Zhèizhong dōngxi zài zhèli shi fǒu mǎidedāo? You ought to think about whether you understand this person or not. You’re not young anymore, have you considered the question of marriage? This year did the (number of) students in your school increase? I don't know whether my opinion will be agreed with or not. Can this sort of thing be bought here? Note on No. 3 chū bin: ’to transport the coffin to the burial place or to the tomb'. Literally, this means 'take out the coffin’. Liújiā míngtiān chū bin.           The Liu's have the funeral procession tomorrow. Zuotiān, Liu Xiānsheng gěi tā Yesterday, after Mr. Liu accompanied fùqin chūle bin yǐhòu, hui         his father's coffin to the cemetery jiā jiù bìng le.                    he went home and then got sick. Note on No. 4 guǐju: 'fixed standards of conduct, regulations, or customs'. Anzhao Zhōngguode guīju, gěi sǐrén chūle bin yǐhòu hái yāo zuò shénme? Kèren lái le, zāi máng yě yāo he běi chá, zhè shi wǒmende guīju. According to Chinese custom, after accompanying the coffin of the deceased to the cemetery, what else should be done? When a guest comes, no matter how busy he is, he should have a cup a cup of tea. This is our custom. You guīju means 'to have manners': Zhège háizi bù dong shi, méi guīju, zhēn rāng rén bù hǎo yìsi. Wángjiāde lǎodā zhǎngde hǎokān, you you guīju, zhēn hǎo. This child does not understand about things, he has no manners• It really embarasses a person. The Wáng's oldest son is good looking and he is well mannered. He's really great. Guīju as an adjectival verb means ’to be proper, to be correct (of a person)’. Lǎo Wǎngde nūér rén hěn guīju. Lǎo Wang’s daughter is very proper. Notes on No. 5 dōu: Some of the uses of dōu do not correspond to ’all*. ’All’ in English is often described as ’collective’, that is, referring to all the members in a group. D5u in Chinese is often described as ’distributive’, that is referring to the members of a group as individuals. This usage sometimes is translated as ’each’. Notice that in the Reference List sentence dōu in combination with yìbān and another noun produces this meaning. Hěn duō Zhōngguo rén dǎole Měiguo dōu xiǎng niǎn shū. Qiǎnjǐniǎn, xǔduō xuéshēng bìyè yīhōu dōu dào nongcūn qu le. Yìbān Zhōngguo rén dōu juéde xué Yīngwén bǐ xué Zhōngwén nan. A lot of Chinese want to study after they get to the United States. Several years ago many students went to the countryside after they graduated. The average Chinese thinks that English is harder to learn than Chinese. wǎnliàn: ’funeral scroll, scroll of condolence’, literally ’elegiac— couplet’. CLiǎn is short for duìliǎn ’a written or inscribed couplet (pair of parallel sentences)’.] Traditionally, white cloth scrolls in one to three strips were written for the deceased by friends. More recently a new practice has developed which is to send scrolls or wreaths bearing one character: diǎn, ”to sacrifice.” Sending flowers has been brought in by Western custom. Xiǎwǔ wǒ dào Liūjiā qu, nǐ gěi This afternoon I’m going to the Liu’s, xiě ge wǎnliàn hǎo bu hǎo?         could you write a funeral scroll for them? huò: ’or’. You have learned huòshi and huōzhě for ’or’. Huō is a more literary variant, but it can still be heard in conversation. Jīntiān wǎnshang huō míngtiān Come over to my house tonight or wǎnshang nǐ dào wǒ zhèli lai       tomorrow night, okay? yítàng hǎo bu hǎo? huāquān: ’flower wreath’, literally ’flower circle’. Wǒ xiǎng mǎi ge huāquān gěi        I want to buy a flower wreath to send Liujiā sōngqu.                      to the Liu’s. Note on No. 6 fanzheng: ’anyway, anyhow, either way, in any case, all the same’. Fǎnzhèng may come either before or after the subject of the sentence. Nǐ jí shenme, fǎnzhèng gǎnbu-shàng kāi huì le, mǎnmǎn zǒu ba! Fǎnzhèng wǒ bù mǎi, méi qián méi guānxi. Wǒ fǎnzhèng méi shi, women jiù tántan zhèige wèntí ba. Fǎnzhèng wǒ yào qù, nǐ bú qù yě kéyi. Fǎnzhèng is often prefaced by a matter whether...': Bù guǎn nǐ qù bu qù, fǎnzhèng wǒ yào qù. What are you so anxious for, we won’t make it in time for the meeting anyway, so let’s just take our time! I’m not going to buy it anyway, so it doesn’t matter that I don’t have any money. I don’t have anything to do anyway, so let’s talk about this. I’m going anyway; it’s okay if you don’t go or It’s okay if you don’t go; anyway, I’m going. clause beginning with bù guǎn ’no No matter whether you go or not, I'm going anyway. Note on No. T rúhé: ’how; how about; in what way'. This is a literary word which means about the same as zěnmeyǎng. In a more plain, colloquial style, the Reference List sentence could also be said as Women qù mǎi yige huāquān zěnmeyǎng? Spoken Standard Chinese draws more on the written style in an area like Taiwan, where a majority of the population learn Standard Chinese in school, rather than at home. A speaker from Peking might consider Women mǎi yige huāquān rúhé to sound a little stiff and unnatural. You should be able to understand rúhé, but use it yourself only in speaking with people who use it, or in writing. Míngtiān Lǎo Zhāng qǐng women Tomorrow Lǎo Zhāng has invited all dǎjiā chǐ fǎn, nǐ juéde rúhà? of us to eat, what do you think? Zhèjiǎn shìde jiéguǒ rúhé?         What was the outcome of this matter? "Jiǎo wǒ rúhé bù xiāng ta?"        "(it makes me so that) How could I not miss her?" (name of famous popular song of the 30's) Note on No. 8 huā: ’to be multicolored’. Jīntiān tā chuānle yíjiǎn huā yīfu, hǎo piāoliāng! Today she’s wearing a multicolored dress. It’s gorgeous.’ Note on No. 9 Nǎ néng rang ni pòfei: Nǎ or nǎr (Peking) is used in rhetorical questions. Tā méi qián, nǎ néng jiēhūn’. Zài Yéye nali nǎ(r) néng name shuō huǎ’. Nǐ shi women jiǎde rén, nǎ(r) néng bú rang ni zhīdao zánmen jiǎde shi ne? Wǒ shuōde shi jǐbǎiniánqiánde shi, nǎ shíhoude Měiguo nǎ(r) you shenme chéngshì ’. A: Wǒ nǎ(r) míngbai’. B: Nǐ name cōngmingde rén, nǎ(r) huì bù míngbai! Nǐ kǎn, nǎ(r) you zhèyang ban shìde, bù jīngguò jūmín wěiyuánhuì, jiù xiǎng shēng háizi, nǎ nǎ(r) xíng? Tā yìzhí zǎi chéngli zhùzhe, nǎ(r) dǎoguo nongcūn ne! A: Zěnmeyǎng? Xiǎo Zhāng kuǎi jiēhūn le ba? B: Nǎr a! Nūjiā fùmǔ bú yuǎn-yi , máf an dǎ le ’. He has no money, how can he get married? How can you talk like that in front of Grandpa? You’re family, how could we not let you know what’s going on in our family? I’m talking about something several hundred years ago, how could America have had any cities at that time? Like heck I understand! You’re such a smart person, how could you not understand? Look, how can you go about things like this? You want to have a child without going through your neighborhood committee, how can that be okay? When has he ever been to the countryside! He’s always lived in the city! How’s it going? Is Xiǎo Zhāng going to get married soon? You must be kidding! The girl’s parents don’t want it. There’s a lot of trouble. Note on No. 10 jiù shi le: This phrase is used at the end of a sentence to mean ’...that’s all’. It can have several different implications, depending on the context: ’’Don’t worry, this matter can simply be taken care of like this.’’ (something is virtually taken care of) (1) Wǒ you wàngle bǎ shū dàilai, búguǒ wǒ yídìng jiègei ni jiù shi le. I forgot to bring the book again, but I’m going to lend it to you for sure, don’t worry. Wǒ zhào nín shuōde bàn jiù shi le. I’ll simply do as you say. Deng yixià gěi ni bàn jiù shi le, nǐ jí shenme! I’ll take care of it for you in a moment, don’t worry, why are you so anxious? Anzhao zhège jìhua zuò jiù shi le, you shénme hǎo tánde?.’ Do it according to this plan and that’s all there is to it! What else is there to discuss? 2) ’Only, just this, nothing more than this’. Zhèliǎngge háizi chàbuduǒ, búguǒ Lǎo Dà cōngming yidiǎnr jiù shi le. These two children are about the same, but the older one is a little more intelligent, that’s all. Tā lái, méiyou shénme shi, búguǒ xiǎng yào nàběn shū jiù shi le. When he came he wasn’t up to anything special, he just wanted that book, that’s all. (3) ’that’s all that can be done about it’. Fǎnzhèng wǒ gēn ni shuōguo jiù shi le. In any case, I've told you, and that’s all I can do. Notes on No. 11 zhǐ yào: ’as long as, so long as, Zhǐ yào wǒ jīntiān wǎnshang you kǒng, jiù kéyi bǎ zhèběn shū kànwán. i f only’. As long as I have time tonight, I can finish reading this book. dā: ’to travel by, to take (a bus, car, train, boat, etc.)’ Wo yě yào dào xuéxiào qu, dā nínde chē xíng bu xíng? Wo dācuòle chē, jiéguō pāodao Běitou qu le. Měitiān wō dā sìlù chē shàng bān. I’m going to school too, can I get a ride with you? I got on the wrong bus, and ended up in Běitou. I take the Route 1 bus to work every day. Note on No. 12 héqilai: ’to combine, to put together, to unite’. He is a verb meaning ’to combine, to put together, to unite, to merge’. You should learn to use he in the following combinations: hézai yìqǐ ’to combine (two or more things together)’, héqilai ’to combine (forces), to come together, to put together’, héchéng ’to combine into, to merge into’. Women liāngjiā héqilai mǎixiale zhè liùjiān fángzi. Zhèliāngge jùzi hécheng yíge, rōngyi shuō yidiǎnr. Zhèliāngbān hézai yìqǐ, zhǐ you shíge xuéshēng, hái bú suàn tài duō. Our two families bought these six rooms together. If you combine these two sentences into one, it’s easier to say. If these two classes are combined, there are only ten students; that’s still not too many. Notes on No. 13 xiāode: ’know’. This is a synonym of zhídao, and can be used in most of the same ways that zhǐdao can be used. Xiāode is not, however, commonly used in Peking; it is mostly used in southern areas. gōngmù: ’public cemetery’. Gāngcái tā you dào gōngmù qu       Just now she went to the cemetery le, gěi tā māma song yibā          again and left a-bunch of flowers huā.                                     (on her mother’s grave). Taipei: Two friends who work together at the A: Tīngshuō Xiǎo Lǐde Mama sǐle. Nǐ xiǎng women shi fǒu gǎi qù cānjiā tāde sānglǐ? B: Women gēn Xiǎo Lǐ yǐjīng shi shíjǐniǎnde lǎo péngyou le, nǎ néng bū qù.’ A: Sānglǐ you méiyou shénme tēbié guīju? Wǒ zhǎngde zhènme da le, hai méi cānjiāguo sānglǐ ne! B: Zhǐ yāo bù chuān huā yīfu dāgāi jiù kéyi le. A: Women gāi song diǎn shénme dōngxi ma? B: Yìbān rén dōu song wǎnliān huǒ huāquān. Women liǎngge rén kéyi héqilai song yíge huāquān. Nǐ kān rúhé? A: Dāngrǎn hǎo....NǏ zhīdao bu zhidao tā māma nǎtiān chú bin? B: Xiā Lǐbāisān xiāwǎ sāndiǎn. A: Yào zāngzai nǎli? B: Yāngmíngshān Dìyī Gōngmù. A: Zěnme qù? B: Wǒ yě bù xiǎode.  Fǎnzhèng dào shíhou women dā jìchéngchē qu jiù shi le. A: Xiǎng bu xiǎng xiànzài qù kànkan Xiǎo Lǐ? B: Bù xíng. Wǒ jīntiān wǎnshang you shìqing. Bank of Taiwan are having a talk: I heard that Xiǎo Lǐ’s mother died. Do you think we should go to the funeral? We’ve been friends with Xiǎo Lǐ for over ten years, how could we not go.’ Are there any apecial customs at funerals? I’ve reached this age without ever having been to a funeral.’ As long as you don’t wear multicolored clothes it should be okay. Should we send some kind of gift? Most people send a funeral scroll or a flower wreath. The two of us can send a flower wreath together. What do you think? Of course that would be good....Do you know what day his mother’s funeral procession will be? Next Wednesday afternoon at 3. Where is she going to be buried? In Yangmíngshān Public Cemetery No. 1. How do you get there? I don’t know either. Anyway, when the time comes we’ll just take a cab there. Do you want to go see Xiǎo Lǐ now? I can’t. I’m busy tonight. A: Name míngtiān Jiàn. B: Míngtiān jiàn. Then I’ll see you tomorrow. See you tomorrow. PART II 14. Zài Táiběi you rén rènwéi Yāngmíngshǎn gōngmù fēngshuǐ hǎo. 15. Shéi dōu xīwàng tǎde zīsūn hòudài fādá. 16. Jiǎngj iu fēngshuǐ hǎo hu hǎo hǎishi jiù guǎnniàn. 17. Wǒ mǔqin bù mixìn, tā shuō tǔzàng, huǒzàng dōu kéyi. 18. Women yídào qù Jílè Bìnyíguǎn ba! 19. Wǒ kàndao chū bìnde rén dàdōu zhǐ zài shǒubìshang dài xiào. 20. Wǒ cōnglāi bù chuān huī yīfu. 21'. Keren dōu yào zài qiānmíngbù-shang qiān ming, zhè shi wǒmende xíguàn. In Taipei there are people who believe that the feng-shui in Yangmingshan demetery is good. Everyone hopes that his descendants will be prosperous. To be particular about whether the fengshui is good or not is an old way of thinking. My mother isn’t superstitious; she says that either burial or cremation is okay. Let’s go to the Paradise Funeral Home together, okay? I saw that most of the people in the funeral procession were only wearing mourning on their arm. I never wear gray clothing. The guests are all supposed to sign their name in a guest book. This is our custom. NOTES ON PART II Notes on No. 14 rènwéi: ’to think (that), to consider (that), to believe (that)’. This is a very common verb used to express that someone has formed an opinion or made a judgment about a person or thing. Wǒ rènwéi zhè shi yíge hěn zhòngyàode wèntí. I think this is a very important question. I don’t think you should do this Wǒ bú rènwéi nǐ yīnggāi zuò zhèjiàn shi. fēngshuǐ: Literally ’wind and water’, this means the geographical outlay of something to he built, such as a grave or the foundation of a house. The traditional Chinese science of fēngshuǐ, or geomancy, is concerned with the good and bad influences which the location of a grave or building are believed to exert over a family and its descendants. In particular, the dead are influenced by and able to influence the celestial bodies for the benefit of the living. Each family, therefore, is naturally interested in arranging the most auspicious placement for it’s family grave. Zhège fángzide fēngshuǐ bù hǎo.    The fengshui of this house is no good. Zhèlide fēngshuǐ bú cuò.           The fengshui here is pretty good. Notes on No. 15 zǐsūn: ’sons and grandsons’, or used in a more general sense, ’offspring descendants’. For this example, you have to know that Huangdì means ’the Yellow Emperor’, a legendary ruler thought of as the father of Chinese civilization. Zhōngguo rén dōu shi Huangdì- The Chinese are all descendants of de zǐsūn.                           the Yellow Emperor. hōudài: ’descendants, posterity, later generations’. Wǒmende hōudài dōu yīnggāi jìzhu Our descendants should all remember zhèijiàn shi.’                          this.’ Tā méiyou hōudài.                   He is without descendants. fādā: ’to be prosperous, to be flourishing; to be developed, to be well-developed’. For the first example, you need to know that gōngshāngyè means ’industry and commerce’. Měiguode gōngshāngyè fēichāng America’s industry and commerce are fādǎ.                               very developed. Zhèijiā rénjiā hěn fādǎ.           This family is prosperous. Notes on No. 16 jiǎngjiu: ’to be particular about, to be meticulous about, to pay attention to, to strive for’. Zhège rén hěn jiǎngjiu chī, hěn This person is particular about what jiǎngjiu chuān.                     he eats and what he wears. Nèige haizi tài jiǎngjiu chuān.    That kid pays too much attention to what she wears. Jiǎngjiu can also mean ’to be elegant’. Nǐmen jiāde jiāju zhēn jiǎngjiu. Your furniture is truly elegant. guānniàn: ’way of thinking, concept, notion, view, sense (of), mentality (of). Měiguo rénde guānniàn gēn Zhōngguo rénde guānniàn yǒude yíyàng, yǒude bù yíyàng. Nǐ kàn ba, zài guò jǐniān niān-qīngrén yīnggāi wǎnliàn wǎnhūn jiù huì biàncheng yizhǒng guānniàn. Sometimes the American way of thinking and the Chinese way is the same, sometimes not. You watch, in more few years, it will have become an accepted notion that young people should get involved late and marry late. Notes on No. 17 míxìn: ’to be superstitious (about); superstition’. Shāngchāode shíhou Zhōngguo rén During the Shang Dynasty, the Chinese bǐjiào míxìn, xiànzài bǐjiào       were relatively superstitious, now bù míxìn le.                        they aren’t so much any more. Yǒude Zhōngguo rén míxìn fēng- Some Chinese are superstitious about shuǐ.                                  fengshui. tǔzàng: ’to bury (a dead person)’, literally ’ground-bury’. This word is used only in contrast to other ways of disposing of a dead body, for example cremation or burial at sea. CIf no contrast with other forms of disposal is implied, then the word for ’to bury’ is simply zàng (for formal burials), máj (for informal burials), mǎizàng, or ānzàng (literally ’peacefully bury’, a respectful term).2 Éguo rén shuōguo tāmen yào         The Russians said they wanted to māizàng Měiguo.                    bury Americans. huǒzàng: ’to cremate; cremation*. In this word, you may think of zàng ’to bury’ as extended to mean ’to dispose of (a dead body)’. Huǒ means ’fire’. Note on No. 18 yídào: ’together’. You have already learned yìqǐ and yíkuàir for ’together’. Yídào is mostly used by speakers of southern Mandarin and is little used by northerners. Yàohuá hé tāde nūpéngyou yídào Yàohuā and his girlfriend went to kàn diànyǐngr qu le.                see a movie. Háizimen zài yídào wánr. The children are playing together. Notes on No. 19 meaning which is prohahly used hy more people than dàdōu is dàduō. dàdōu: ’for the most part, mostly’. Another word with the same Zài Yìndu rénmín dàdōu (or         In India the people are mostly Hindu, dàduō) xìn Yìndujiào. Zhōngguo rén dàduō shi nóngmín. Chinese for the most part are rural people. shōuhì: ’arm (from the wrist to the shoulder)’. Other words for ’arm’ used in different regions are gēhei and gēho (Peking gēhe). Xiǎo Lǐ gēbo shòule shāng,         Xiǎo Lǐ was hurt in the arm, and also Xiǎo Wǎngde tuǐ yě shòule          Xiǎo Wǎng was hurt in the leg. shang. Gǎngcái, wō bù xiǎoxin pèngdao- Just now I was careless and bumped le ménshang, dào xiànzài           into the.door, and my arm still shǒubì hai téng ne.                 hurts now. dàixiào: ’to wear mourning’. Formerly, people wore certain types of clothes while in mourning (sackcloth or white from head to foot). Nowadays, customs differ widely, but some small item is usually still worn to indicate a death in the family. These include a white flower in the hair, a coarse cloth patch on the arm or in the hair, or a black armband. Tā fùqin sǐle kuài sānnián le, Her father has been dead for almost tā hái dàixiào ne!                  three years and she is still wearing mourning! Notes on No. 20 cōnglái bù: ’never, never does...’. In the last unit, you saw the pattern cōnglái méi(you), meaning ’have never...’ or ’had never...’. Cōnglái means ’from the past up until now (it has always been this way)’. Wǒ cōnglái bú yuànyi zǎoshang I never want to study in the morning, niàn shū. huǐ:   ’to be gray’. Zài Zhōngguo dàduōshù rén dōu The great majority of people in China xǐhuan chuān lánsè hé huīsède like to wear blue or gray clothing, yīfu. Notes on No. 21 qiānmíngbù: ’guest book’, literally, ’sign-name record book’. qián míng: ’to sign one’s name’. Qǐng ni zài zhèli qiān míng.       Please sign here. xíguàn: ’custom, habit’. The definition of xíguàn in a Chinese dictionary reads: ’behavior, tendency, or social practice cultivated over a long period of time, and which is hard to change abruptly’. Compare this with fēngsú ’custom’, which you learned in Unit 1: ’the sum total of etiquette, usual practices, etc. adhered to over a long period of time in the development of society’. Notice that xíguàn may refer to the way of an individual or of a community, whereas fēngsú only refers to the way of a community. Taipei: An American student attending Taiwan with a Chinese classmate and friend: A: Tīngshuō Wang Lāoshīde fùqin qùshì le. Nǐ xiang women shi fou gāi qù cānjiā sānglǐ? B: Wo xiang women yīngdāng qù. A: Tīngshuō sānglǐ zài Jílè Bìnyíguān jǔxíng. Nǐ xiāode Jílè Bìnyíguān zài náli ma? B: Xiāode. Jiù zài Nánjīng Dōnglù. A: Wo cónglái méi cānjiāguo Zhōngguo rénde sānglǐ, "bù zhīdào nǐmen you nāxiē guīju. Nī néng "bu néng gēn wo jiāngyijiāng? B: Kéyi. Xiànzài yibān rénde sānglǐ dōu hěn jiāndān, méiyou tài duōde guīju. Búguò, nǐ hú yào chuān héngde, lùde, huòshi huāde yīfu. Chuān hēide, huīde, lānde dōu kéyi. Qù cānjiā sānglǐde rén dàdōu song wānlián huò huāquān. Wō xiāng women kéyi héqilai song yige huāquān. A: Hāo. B: Dào bìnyíguānde shíhou, nǐ yí jin mén jiù huì kàndao zhuōzishang fàngzhe qiānmíngbù, nī yào zài shàngmian qiān míng. A: Ng. Wang Lāoshīde fùqin yào tǔzàng haishi huǒzàng, nī tīngshuō le ma? B: Tīngshuō shi yào tǔzàng. A: Yào zàngzai náli? National University is talking I heard that Teacher Wang’s father died. Do you think we should attend the funeral? I think we ought to go. I hear that the funeral is going to he held at the Paradise Funeral Home. Do you know where that is? Yes. it’s on Nanking East Road. I’ve never been to a Chinese funeral, so I don’t know what special practices you have. Could you tell me about them? Okay. These days the average person’s funeral is very simple. There aren’t too many special customs. But you shouldn’t wear red, green, or multicolored clothing. Black, gray, and blue would all be okay to wear. Most people who attend a funeral send a a funeral scroll or a flower wreath. I think we could send a flower wreath together. Okay. When you get to the funeral home, as soon as you go in the door you’ll see a guest book on the table. You should sign your name in it. Uh huh. Have you heard whether Teacher Wang’s father is going to be buried or cremated? I heard he’s going to be buried. Where is he going to be buried? B: Yào zàngzai Yángmíngshān Gōngmù, yīnwei tǎmen rènwéi nàlide fēngshuǐ hǎo, rén zàngzai nàli, tāde zǐsūn houdài jiù huì fādǎ. A: Tǎiwān xiànzài you xiē rén hai you diǎn míxìn, shi hu shi? B: Shìde, búguò zhèxiē dōu shi jiù guānniàn. Niǎnqīng rén dàdōu hù jiǎngjiu zhèxiē le. A: Tǎiwān xiànzài hǎi you dài xiàode xíguàn ma? B: You. Nǐ méi kàndao Wǎng tā shōubìshang jiù dàizhe xiào ne. Yǐqiǎnde rén dài xiào yào dài yìniǎn! Xiànzàide rén duōhàn zhǐ dài yìhǎitiān le. A: Míngtiān women shénme shíhou qù? B: Xiàwu yìdiǎn zhōng wō zài TǎiDà ménkōu děng ni, women yídào qù. A:    Hǎo. In Yangmíngshān Public Cemetery, because they believe that the fengshui there is good, and that if a person is buried there his descendants will be prosperous. There are still some people in Taiwan who are a little superstitious, aren’t there? Yes. But these are all old notions. For the most part, young people don’t pay much attention to this kind of thing any more. Does the custom of wearing mourning still exist in Taiwan? Yes. Didn’t you see Teacher Wǎng, she’s wearing mourning on her arm. Before, people had to wear mourning for a year’. Now most people only wear it for a hundred days. What time shall we go there tomorrow? I’ll wait for you at the gate of Taiwan University at one o’clock, and we can go together. Okay. NOTE ON THE DIALOGUE Funeral procedures in the PRC today are very simple. In the interest of sanitation (bodies might have some communicable disease) and economy (ground burials are expensive and consume government agricultural land), deceased city residents are required to be cremated. By government regulation the immediate family is allowed two days of paid leave, sàng jià. The funeral involves someone saying a few kind words about the deceased in the presence of relatives and people from his work unit. Those present are dressed plainly, bearing a white flower. Ashes are placed in carved wood or porcelain boxes in a gǔhuǐ cúnfàngchù, a building reserved for this purpose. It is not necessary to give anything to the family of the deceased but people sometimes give money or other small items. In the countryside, there might be a large feast at the deceased's home. There is an attitude which says a funeral is a time of gladness when the deceased enters the world of the non-living. CA funeral is a "white joyous event," bái xīshì. A wedding is a "red event." Together they are sometimes referred to as hongbái xīshì, red and white joyous events.J bìnyíguǎn chū bin conglái bù conglái dōu conglái mei dā dàdōu dài xiao fādá fānzhèng fēngshuǐ gāi gōngmù guānniàn guīju héqilai hòudài huā huāquān huī huò huōzàng jiǎngjiu Jílè Bìnyíguǎn jiù shi le māma míxin nǎ (náli , nǎr) qiān ming qiānmíngbù rènwéi funeral home to hold a funeral procession never always (in the past) have never travel by, take (a taxi, bus, train, airplane, etc.) for the most part to wear mourning to be developed, to be prosperous anyway, in any case the Chinese science of geomancy (that is, the influence of land scape on people and their fortunes) should, ought to public cemetery concept, notion, view special customs, established rules to combine, to join together descendants to be multicolored flower wreath to be gray or cremation to be particular about; to be elegant, to be tasteful Paradise Funeral Home (in Tapei) ..., that’s all mother, mom to be superstitious; superstition how (used in rhetorical questions to deny something) to sign one’s name guest book to think that, to believe that rúhé how, in what way; how (someone or something) is; how is it (literary form) shi fou shoubì si (literary form meaning shi bu shi) arm to die tǔzàng burial (the word used in contrast to cremation or burial at sea) wǎnliàn funeral scroll xiāode xíguàn to know habit, custom Yàngmíngshān yídào a mountain in suburban Taipei together zhǐ yào zǐsūn as long as, if only descendants bǐcǐ each other, mutually relatively, comparatively bú dàn not only bù shǎo a lot, many chéng to become, to constitute, to make chéngshì city dànshi érqiě but furthermore fēngqì fēngsú common practice custom fūfù -fá- married couple, husband and wife gǎibiàn to change with; and might, to be likely to, will jiéhūn (jiehūn) to get married. jiéjué ílípj*; to solve jīngguo to go through, to pass hy or through jìniàn memento, memorial kǎoiū to consider; consideration kě Cíf" indeed, really kě hú shi ma! I’ll say, yes indeed, that’s for sure V' — lian ai     'XIítR^ to he romantically involved with liǎojiě (liáojie) to understand; understanding líhSn $ to divorce lǐwù (lǐwu) gift, present „ .-/ \      tfl & nanjia(r) „                    1 nannu         -jr- the husband’s family male and female '    -       4ít nenggou     jSj^ ol& can, to he ahle to niánqīng      ìfò to he young nongcūn rural area, countryside nujiā nfilì the wife’s family to be hardworking, to be diligent; diligently, hard shuāngfāng both sides, both parties to give (something as a gift) tan qīn to visit family qīngniān youth, young person qīnqi relatives qūbié difference, distinction shíxíng to practice, to carry out (a method policy, plan, reform, etc.) tànqīnjià tíchàng leave for visiting family to advocate, to promote, to initiate wǎnliàn wǎnhūn late involvement and late marriage xiǎngdāng quite, pretty, very xǔduō many, a great deal (of), a lot (of) yīngdāng should, ought to yíshì ceremony yìzhí all along, all the time (up until a certain point) zhèngfu government zhùdao to move to, to go live at zongshi always ZUO to serve as, to act as; as ài (sound, of sighing) dàxǐde rìzi laying dù mìyuè duōnián wedding day to agree (to something), to consent, to promise to pass to go on a honeymoon, to spend one's honeymoon many years fǎyuàn Fō fùzá (fǔzá) court of law Buddha to be complicated gōngzhèng jiēhūn civil marriage hui men even, (to go) so far as to after all later, afterwards the return of the bride to her parents’ home (usually on the third day after the wedding) hūnlǐ wedding jiāotáng jiāowǎng Jǐdūjiāo jiéhūn līfu jièshaorén juédìng jǔxíng Júzhǎng church to associate with, to have dealings with Christianity wedding gown introducer to decide to hold (a meeting, ceremony, etc.) head of an office or bureau (of which the last syllable is Ju) lǎoshi (lǎoshí) to be honest mǎnyì mìyuè to be pleased honeymoon nanfāng nénggàn the groom's side, the groom's family to be capable rén person, self, body rù xí shàngjìn shóu to take one’s seat (at a gathering, meeting, or banquet) to be ambitious to be familiar (with), to know well tándao tánlai tánqù tíqīn to talk about; speaking of ... to discuss back and forth to bring up a proposal of marriage xiǎojiě (xiáojie) xǐjiǔ xìn /j' I xìn Fó xīnláng xīnniáng w< a way of referring to someone else’s daughter wedding banquet to believe (in) to be a Buddhist bridegroom bride yìjian indeed, in fact, admittedly opinion zǎo long ago zhènghūn zhènghūnrén zu zuo mei to witness a marriage a witness for a marriage to rent to act as go-between (for the families of a man and woman considering marriage) bìyùn contraception bù tong yf'- I?] to be different chǎnfù a woman who has given birth within the last month chǎnjià jl- maternity leave chénggōng to succeed, to be successful phūshēnglù birth rate dānwèi       \^L unit -dào (indicates successful accomplishment of something) dédao to receive, to get fēnpèi to assign, to apportion gèdì the various places, each place gègè various gēnjù (gēnju) according to, based on gè zhǒng various kinds, types góngzī wages, pay hongtang brown sugar vacation, leave jiātíng family jìhua shēngyù planned parenthood, family planning juéyù sterilization jūmín wěiyuánhuì the neighborhood committee of the place you live kòngzhi to control plural suffix to be free of charge the number of people assigned or allowed, quota (of people) nóngmín peasant nù female pàichūsuo(r) the local police station pizhǔn to give official permission qíngkuàng • V* "u qīnjìn réngōng liūchǎn        X- yfòj sān tōngguò shǎoshù mi nzú     Jz shēngyù it shíbài shìqū shǒushù shǒuxiān shùmu tōngguò tongyì wánjù xiāngxìn situation to be close (to a person abortion "the three approvals" national minority give birth to and. raise to fail urban area or district operation, surgery first number to pass, to approve to consent, to agree toy to believe xiānhuā fresh flowers xiǎohair 'J'WG child, children yě jiù shi shuō to mean; in other words yìbān ordinary, general, common yìbānde shuō generally speaking yídìng to be specific yíngyǎngpǐn food items of special nutritional value zēngjiā to increase -bang pound (unit of weight) bǐngxiāng refrigerator, ice box bù gǎn dang I’m flattered! You shouldn’t have! chī nǎi to nurse, to suckle chuǐ fēng to have air blow on oneself; to be in a draft dāngxǐn to watch out dé to get duo kuài !      • 1'^’ how fast! ěrduo ear fēngshi rheumatism fúqi blessings, luck fúxiàng       féj lucky physiognomy hóngbāo    ^í. t a red envelope with a gift or bribe of money in it hóngdàn eggs dyed red huīfu to recover jiéguǒ (jiēguǒ) as a result mǎnyuè jjfa a full month after the hirth of a baby mǎnyuèjiǔ celebration meal one month after a baby is born pàng to be fat pèng to touch pòfei to spend a lot of money on someone qiānwàn by all means, be sure to; (in a negative sentence) by no means, under no circumstances shēngleng raw or cold foods shēngxialai to be born sūnzi grandson -tāi jfìc] fetus, embryo tǎng J^fa] to lie down tòngkǔ to be painful tóuyige touyìtāi the first pregnancy, the first hahy tuō nínde fú thanks to your lucky influence Wang jiā the Wang family wèi to feed xiǎo hǎohao yjx^e^ hahy xiǎoxīn to he careful xífu daughter-in-law yíxiǎzi an instant, a moment, a while yuèzi     J" month of confinement after giving hirth to a child zhǎng to grow; to he (pretty, etc.) zhòng to he heavy zuò yuèzi to go through the month of confinement and special care after childbirth the first ānxīn to be without worry, to feel at ease to feel relieved bǎozhòng to take good care (of oneself) běnlái originally bìngqiě moreover canjiā to take part in; to attend chángshòu long life, longevity; to live a long time chūchāi to be out of town on business dǎ chángtú diānhuā to make a long-distance phone call dāgē diāosāng oldest brother to present one’s condolences at a funeral, to attend a funeral ernú fān children to have an attack (of a disease) gǎndeshāng to be able to catch up, to be able to make it in time gǎnhuilai gǎnjǐn gǔhuī guòqu guòshì to rush hack quickly hone ashes to pass away to pass away huòzàng hūrán to cremate; cremation suddenly jiānglái jíjiù j iùguolai the future, someday first aid; to administer emergency treatment to save lǎorénjia -liǎo polite way of referring to an older person (nǐ lǎorénjia, tā lǎorénjia) can, to be able to nánguò to be sad niánji (niánjì age píngjìng to be calm qùbuliǎo cannot go qùshì           {it to pass away sānglǐ funeral L** shāngxīn to be grieved. shēnbiān one’s vicinity, one’s immediate surroundings song to escort, to take (someone to a place) • -                 ■f'èi '$ xiaoxi       >Fjí\*f news xīnzǎng heart xīnzàngbìng i heart disease yíbèizi all one’s life yíxiàng (have) always, (had) always, consistently, all along zài shuō furthermore, besides zàng to bury zuìjìn recently zǔmǔ grandmother (on the father’s side) bìnyíguān funeral home chū bin to hold, a funeral procession; a funeral procession cónglái always (in the past) conglǎi bù/méi never dā dādōu dài xiāo travel by, take (a taxi, bus, train, airplane, etc.) for the most part to wear mourning fādā fǎnzhèng fēngshuǐ to be developed, to be prosperous anyway, in any case the Chinese science of geomancy (that is, the influence of landscape on people and their fortunes) should, ought to public cemetery concept, notion, view special customs, established rules héqilai to combine, to join together hòudài descendants huā to be multicolored huāquān flower wreath huí to be gray huò 4. or huozàng cremation jiāngjiu to be particular about Jílè Bìnyíguān Paradise Funeral Home (in Tapei) jiù shi le mama mother, mom míxìn to be superstitious; superstition nā (nali, nār) how (used in rhetorical questions to deny something)' qiān ming to sign one's name qiānmíngbù guest book rūhé rènwéi shi fǒu to think that, to believe that to be how, how is it; how, in what way (literary form) (literary form meaning shi bu shi) shǒuhì arm sǐ tǔzàng to die burial (the word used in contrast to cremation or burial at sea) wǎnlián funeral scroll xiǎode to know xí guan habit, custom Yǎngmíngshān a mountain in suburban Taipei yí dào together yīngdāng should, ought to zhǐ yào as long as, if only zǐsūn descendants ài                   (sound of sighing)                   MBD 2 ānxīn               to be without worry, to feel at MBD 5 ease, to feel relieved -bang pound (unit of weight) MBD 1+ bǎobao (bǎobǎo) baby, darling (term of endearment for a young child) MBD 1+ bǎozhòng to take good care (of oneself) MBD 5 běnlái originally MBD 5 bǐcǐ each other, mutually; you too, the same to you MBD 1 bǐjiào (bǐjiǎo) relatively, comparatively; fairly, rather MBD 1 bìngqiě moreover, and MBD 5 bīngxiāng refrigerator, ice box MBD 1+ bìnyíguǎn funeral home MBD 6 bìyùn contraception MBD 3 bú dan not only MBD 1 bù gǎn dāng I’m flattered, You shouldn’t have, I don’t deserve this MBD 1+ bù shǎo quite a lot, quite a few MBD 1 bù tong to be different MBD 3 cānj iā to take part in; to attend MBD 5 chǎnfù a woman who has given birth within the last month MBD 3 chángshòu long life, longevity; to live a long time MBD 5 chǎnj ià maternity leave MBD 3 chéng to become, to constitute, to make MBD 1 chénggōng to succeed, to be successful MBD 3 chengshì city MBD 1 chī nǎi to nurse, to suckle MBD 1 chū bin to hold a funeral procession MBD 6 chūchāi to be out of town on business MBD 5 chuī fēng to have air blow on oneself; to be in a draft MBD 1+ chūshēnglū birth rate MBD 3 conglái bù never MBD 6 conglái dōu always (in the past) MBD 6 cōnglái méi have never MBD 6 dā travel by, take (a taxi, bus, MBD 6 train, airplane, etc.) dǎ chángtú diānhuà to make a long-distance phone call MBD 5 dàdōu for the most part MBD 6 dāgē oldest brother "MBD 5 dài xiāo to wear mourning MBD 6 dāngxīn to watch out MBD 1+ dānshi but .MBD 1 dānwèi unit MBD 3 -dāo (indicates successful accomplishment of something) MBD 3 dàxǐ great rejoicing MBD 2 dāxīde rìzi wedding day MBD 2 dāying to agree (to something), to consent, to promise MBD 2 dé to get MBD 1+ dédao to receive, to get MBD 3 diaosāng to present one’s condolences at a funeral MBD 5 dù to pass MBD 2 dù mìyuè to go on a honeymoon, to spend one's honeymoon MBD 2 duo kuāi.’ how fast.' MBD 1+ duōnián many years MBD 2 ěrduo '          ear MBD 1 érnu children MBD 5 érqiě furthermore MBD 1 fādá to be developed, to be prosperous MBD 6 fan to have an attack (of an old disease) MBD 5 fǎnzhèng anyway, in any case MBD 6 fǎyuàn court of law MBD 2 fēngqì common practice; general mood MBD 1 fēngshī rheumatism MBD U fēngshuī the Chinese science of geomancy (that is, the influence of landscape on people and their fortunes) MBD 6 fēngsū custom MBD 1 fēnpèi to assign, to apportion, to allot MBD 3 Fó Buddha MBD 2 fūfù married couple, husband MBD 1 and wife fuqi blessings, luck MBD U fuxiàng lucky physiognomy MBD U fùzá (fùzá) to be complicated MBD 2 gāi should, ought to MBD 6 gǎibiàn to change MBD 1 gāndeshàng to be able to catch up, to be MBD 5 able to make it in time gǎnhuilai to rush back MBD 5 gǎnjǐn quickly MBD 5 gèdì the various places, each place MBD 3 gègè various MBD 3 gēnju (gēnju) according to, based on MBD 3 gè zhōng various kinds, types MBD 3 gōngmù public cemetery MBD 6 gōngzhèng jiēhūn civil marriage MBD 2 gōngzī wages, pay MBD 3 guānniàn concept, notion, view MBD 6 gǔhuī bone ashes MBD 5 guiju special customs, established MBD 6 rules guòqu to pass away, to die MBD 5 guòshì to pass away, to die MBD 5 hái even, (to go) so far as to MBD 2 háishi after all MBD 2 he with; and MBD 1 héqilai to combine, to join MBD 6 together hōngbāo a red envelope with a gift or MBD U bribe of money in it hōngdàn eggs dyed red MBD U hōngtáng brown sugar MBD 3 houdài descendants MBD 6 hòulái later, afterwards MBD 2 huā to be multicolored MBD 6 huāquān flower wreath MBD 6 huì to be gray MBD 6 huì might, to be likely to, will MBD 1 hui men the return of the bride to her MBD 2 parents’ home (usually on the third day after the wedding) huīfu to recover MBD 1+ hūnlǐ wedding MBD 2 huò or MBD 6 huǒzàng to cremate; cremation MBD 5 huozàng cremation MBD 6 hūrán suddenly MBD 5 Jiù vacation, leave MBD 3 Jiangjiu to be particular about; to be MBD 6 elegant, to be tasteful Jiānglai the future, someday MBD 5 jiàotáng church MBD 2 j iāowāng to associate with, to have MBD 2 dealings with jiātíng family MBD 3 Jídūjiào Christianity MBD 2 JieguS (jiēguǒ) as a result; result, results MBD 1+ jiehūn (jiehūn) to get married MBD 1 Jiehūn lǐfū wedding gown MBD 2 Jiějue to solve MBD 1 j ièshaorén introducer MBD 2 Jìhua shēngyù planned parenthood, family MBD 3 planning JíJiù first aid; to administer MBD 5 emergency treatment Jílè Bìnyíguǎn Paradise Funeral Home MBD 6 (in Taipei) jingguo to go through, to pass by or MBD 1 through jìniàn memento, memorial MBD 1 Jiù shi le ... , that’s all MBD 6 J iùguolai to save MBD 5 juedìng to decide MBD 2 jueyù sterilization MBD 3 Jūmín wěiyuánhuì neighborhood committee MBD 3 jǔxíng to hold (a meeting, ceremony, MBD 2 etc. ) Júzhǎng head of an office or bureau (of MBD 2 which the last syllable is jú) kǎolū to consider; consideration MBD 1 kě indeed, really MBD 1 kě bú shi ma I’ll say, yes indeed, that’s MBD 1 for sure kòngzhi to control MBD 3 ...-lai ...-qù (indicates repeating the action over and over again) MBD 2 laorénjia polite way of addressing or referring to an old person ní laorénjia, tā lāorénjia) MBD 5 lǎoshi (lǎoshi) to he honest MBD 2 liàn’ài to he romantically involved with; love MBD 1 -liǎo can, to he ahle to MBD 5 liǎojiě (liáojie) to understand; understanding MBD 1 líhūn to get divorced MBD 1 lǐwù (lǐwu) gift, present MBD 1 mama mother, mom MBD 6 mǎnyì to he pleased MBD 2 mǎnyuè a full month after the hirth MBD U of a hahy mǎnyuèjiǔ celebration meal one month MBD U after a hahy is horn -men plural suffix MBD 3 miǎnfèi to he free of charge MBD 3 míng’é the number of people assigned MBD 3 or allowed, quota (of people) míxìn to be superstitious; MBD 6 superstition mìyuè honeymoon MBD 2 nǎ (náli, nǎr) how (used in rhetorical questions to deny something) MBD 6 nanfāng the groom’s side, the grocm’s family MBD 2 nánguò to be sad MBD 5 nánjiā(r) the husband’s family MBD 1 nánnù male and female MBD 1 nénggàn to be capable MBD 2 nénggòu can, to be able to MBD 1 niánji (niánjì) age MBD 5 niánqing to be young MBD 1 nongcūn rural area, countryside MBD 1 nongmín peasant MBD 3 nù female MBD 3 nùjiā(r) the wife’s family MBD 1 nǔlì to be hardworking, to be MBD 1 diligent; diligently, hard pàichūsuǒ(r) the local police station MBD 3 pang to he fat MBD U pèng to touch MBD U píngjìng to he calm MBD 5 pizhǔn to give official permission MBD 3 pòfei to spend a lot of money (on Y1BD U someone), to go to some ex- pense qiān míng to sign one’s name MBD 6 qiānmíngbù guest hook MBD 6 qiānwan hy all means, he sure to; (in MBD U combination with a negative word) hy no means, under no circumstances qíngkuàng situation MBD 3 qingnián youth, young person MBD 1 qinjìn to he close (to a person) MBD 3 qīnqi relatives MBD 1 qūhié difference, distinction MBD 1 qǔbuliǎo cannot go MBD 5 qùshì to pass away, to die MBD 5 rén person, self, hody MBD 2 réngōng liúchǎn abortion MBD 3 r^.iwéi to think that, to believe that MBD 6 rù xí to take one’s seat (at a gather MBD 2 ing, meeting, or banquet) rúhé how, in what way; how (someone MBD 6 or something) is; how is...?, how is it (literary form) sān tōngguò "the three approvals" MBD 3 sānglǐ funeral MBD 5 shàngjìn to be ambitious MBD 2 shāngxīn to be grieved, to be sorrowful, to be broken-hearted MBD 5 shǎoshù mínzú minority nationality, national minority MBD 3 shēnbiān one’s vicinity, one’s immediate surroundings MBD 5 shēnglěng raw or cold foods MBD it shēngxialai to be born MBD U shēngyù to give birth to and raise MBD 3 shi fǒu (literary form meaning shi bu shi) MBD 6 shībài to fail MBD 3 shìqū urban area or district MBD 3 shíxíng to practice, to carry out (a method, policy, plan, reform, etc.) MBD 1 shóu (shū) to be familiar (with), to know well MBD 2 shǒubì arm MBD 6 shǒushù operation, surgery MBD 3 shǒuxiān shū (shóu) first to be familiar (with), to know well MBD 3 shuāngfāng both sides, both parties MBD 1 shùmu number MBD 3 sǐ to die MBD 6 song to give (something as a gift) MBD 1 song to escort, to take (someone to a place) MBD 5 sūnzi grandson MBD U -tài birth MBD 1+ tan qin to visit family MBD 1 tandao to talk about; speaking of ... MBD 2 tang to lie, to recline MBD U tánlai tánqù to talk back and forth MBD 2 tanqin to visit relatives (usually means immediate family) MBD 1 tànqínjià leave for visiting family MBD 1 tíchàng to advocate, to promote, to initiate MBD 1 tí qin to bring up a proposal of marriage MBD 2 tōngguò to pass, to approve MBD 3 tòngkǔ to be painful MBD 1+ tongyì to consent, to agree MBD 3 tóuyige the first MBD 1+ tóu(yì)tāi the first pregnancy, the first baby MBD 1+ tuō nínde fū thanks to your lucky influence, many thanks MBD 1+ tǔzàng burial (the word used in contrast to cremation or burial at sea) MBD 6 Wangj iā the Wang family, the Wangs MBD U wánjù toy MBD 3 wǎnliàn funeral scroll MBD 6 wǎnliàn wǎnhūn late involvement and late MBD 1 marriage wèi to feed *MBD U xiānhuā fresh flowers MBD 3 xiǎngdāng quite, pretty, very MBD 1 xiǎngxìn to believe MBD 3 xiǎo bǎobao baby, darling (term of endear MBD U ment for a young child) xiaode to know MBD 6 xiǎohair child, children MBD 3 xiǎojiě (xiǎojie) daughter (referring to someone MBD 2 else’s daughter) xiāoxi news MBD 5 xiǎoxīn to be careful MBD U xífu daughter-in-law MBD U xíguān habit, custom MBD 6 xǐjiǔ wedding banquet; wedding wine MBD 2 xìn to believe (in) MBD 2 xìn Fó to be a Buddhist MBD 2 xīnlǎng bridegroom MBD 2 xīnniǎng bride MBD 2 xīnzàng heart MBD 5 xīnzàngbìng heart disease MBD 5 xǔduō many, a great deal (of), MBD 1 a lot (of) Yāngmíngshān yě yě jiù shi shuō yìhān yìbānde shuō yíbèizi yídào yídìng yìjian yīngdāng yíngyǎngpīn yíshì yíxiàng yíxiàzi a mountain in surburban Taipei    MBD indeed, in fact, admittedly        MBD to mean; in other words            MBD ordinary, general, common          MBD generally speaking                 MBD all one’s life                     MBD together                           MBD to be specific                     MBD opinion                             MBD should, ought to                   MBD food items of special              MBD nutritional value ceremony                           MBD (have) always, (had) always,       MBD consistently, all along an instant, a moment, a while      MBD yìzhí all along, all the time (up until a certain point) MBD 1 yuèzi month of confinement after MBD 1+ giving birth to a child zài shuō furthermore, besides MBD 5 zàng to bury MBD 5 zǎo long ago MBD 2 zēngjiā to increase MBD 3 zhang to grow; to be (pretty, etc.) MBD 1+ zhèngfǔ government MBD 1 zhènghūn to witness a marriage MBD 2 zhènghūnrén chief witness at a wedding MBD 2 ceremony zhǐ yào as long as, if only MBD 6 zhong to be heavy MBD ll zhù dao to move to, to go live at MBD 1 zǐsūn descendants MBD 6 zǒngshi always MBD 1 zū to rent MBD 2 zūijìn recently; soon MBD 5 zǔmǔ grandmother (on the father’s MBD 5 side) zuò to serve as, to act as; as MBD 1 zuò méi to act as go-between (for the MBD 2 families of a man and woman considering marriage) zuò yuèzi to go through the month of MBD 4 confinement and special care after childbirth GPO 5B7-00l/3096 155