Idioms for talking about movies you love in Chinese
Idioms for talking about movies you love in Chinese
Sister (我的姐姐 - ‘My Sister‘), a homegrown movie has captivated Chinese audiences
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This is a weekly dose of useful words and phrases from the news for Chinese language learners who lack the time, motivation, materials or environment to keep their language skills going.
This week:
Word of the week:
温室里的花朵 (Wēnshì lǐ de huāduǒ) - ‘a flower in the greenhouse’ and its different meanings
Quote of the week: Zhao Lijian on release of radioactive waste water
殷鉴不远 (Yīnjiàn bù yuǎn) - lessons from the past are not far behind
Idioms for talking about films you love: from ‘Sister’
丝丝入扣 (Sī sī rù kòu) - [the plot] holds together beautifully
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1. Word of the week: a ‘flower in the greenhouse’ - 温室里的花朵 (Wēnshì lǐ de huāduǒ)
‘A flower in a greenhouse’ is normally used to describe a spoilt child with protective parents.
青年绝不可成为不知辛苦的温室里的花朵 - a teenager must not become a ‘flower in a greenhouse’ who doesn’t know hard work
Another idiom that means something similar was covered in the 13 Feb issue of this newsletter:
娇生惯养 (Jiāo shēng guàn yǎng) - spoilt (as a result of being an only child - mostly boys)
他从小娇生惯养，什么苦都吃不了 - he’s been spoilt by his parents since he was a baby, he can’t take any hardships
But as with any Chinese word, the meaning can change or be open to interpretation if there’s an opportunity for colourful play on words.
Since January this year, ‘a flower in the greenhouse’ has also been China’s position on US-China climate change talks when MFA spokesperson said this:
中美在具体领域的合作不是“温室里的花朵” US-China cooperation in specific areas cannot be ‘a flower in the greenhouse’
Meaning: issues within the bilateral relationship cannot be treated in isolation (or as standalone issues)
The Chinese media have repeated this message in the last two days as meetings between US and Chinese Climate Envoys continue.
Question: will that still be the position in the readout of the meetings between John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua in the next few days?
Other useful words:
Considering the frothy rhetoric from China towards the US in recent months, the limited Chinese media coverage so far of the John Kerry - Xie Zhenhua meetings in Shanghai is restrained, even hopeful in tone:
小气候 (Xiǎo qì hòu) - ‘small atmosphere’; atmosphere of US-China relations
中美合力应对全球“大气候”或将为双边“小气候”带来一些新的变化 - US and China working together on addressing the global ‘big climate’ issue, perhaps will bring some changes to the ‘small climate’ of US-China cooperation
窗口期 (Chuāng kǒu qī) - window [of opportunity]
两国关系走向新的“窗口期” - the bilateral relationship is entering a new window [of opportunity]
知华派 (Zhī huá pài) - person who understands China [similar to 中国通, but more formal], the Chinese view of John Kerry
克里被视为美国政府的“知华派” - Kerry is regarded as the one who best understands China in the US government
Note: Unlike Sinophile, 亲华派 Qīn huá pài (covered in 27 Feb issue of this newsletter), a Zhī huá pài doesn’t always have to be supportive of China - sometimes they can disagree or be critical. Whereas a Sinophile is positive on everything China.
安全门 (Ān quán mén) - exit, escape route; in this context it means ‘a way out of’ a difficult situation or negotiation
分析认为，一份挑衅意味明显的报告单列气候问题，是在为与中国进行气候合作设置“安全门” Analysts believe that in singling out climate change in this otherwise provocative report, [the US] is providing a ‘way through’ for cooperation with China
Further reading:
163.com: 克里访华，只谈气候？
China News: 美气候特使克里访华，能否带来中美“气候”新变化？
2. Quote of the week
From Zhao Lijian during the MFA regular press conference on Wednesday, in response to a question about the release of radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear disaster:
海洋不是日本的垃圾桶，太平洋不是日本的下水道。日方处理和废水，不应让全是假买单。至于，日本个别官员称“这些水喝了没事”，那请他喝了再说。日本的水俣病，殷鉴不远。
MFA translation:
The oceans are not Japan's trash can; and the Pacific Ocean is not Japan's sewer. Japan should not expect the world to pay the bill for its treatment of wastewater. As for the individual Japanese official's remarks that the water is okay to drink, why doesn't he take a sip first? The lesson from Japan's Minamata disease is not far behind us.
There’s a good idiom at the end:
殷鉴不远 (Yīnjiàn bù yuǎn) - “the lessons of the past are not far behind”
It’s from Mencius (孟子), the full text is:
殷鉴不远，在夏后之世 (Yīnjiàn bù yuǎn, zài xià hòu zhī shì)
Background: 殷 (Yīn) is the latter part of the Shang Dynasty (商朝), China’s second dynasty, which ruled China from 1766 to 1122 BC; the 夏 (xià) was the first Chinese dynasty, just before the Shang, which existed 2070 and 1600 BC (according to Chinese government chronology)
Meaning:
‘Those in the Shang Dynasty should learn the lessons from the perishing of the Xia’. (殷商子孙应以夏的灭亡为借戒)
Other notes: it’s similar to the idiom 以史为鉴 (Yǐ shǐ wèi jiàn) - ‘learning the lessons of history’. But 殷鉴不远 (Yīnjiàn bù yuǎn) seems to often be used to refer to a specific event, or something in the not too distant past. Whereas 以史为鉴 can be used more generally about any time in history.
There’s also some historical context:
水俣病 (Shuǐ yǔ bìng) - ‘Minamata disease’: an awful disease caused by the release of methylmercury in industrial wastewater. It was first discovered in, and named after, the Japanese city of Minamata, when release of methylmercury from an industrial plant continued there from 1932 to 1968.
Further reading / watching
Youtube: 赵立坚：海洋不是日本的垃圾桶 太平洋不是日本的下水道
Sohu: 海洋不是日本的垃圾桶，太平洋也不是日本下水道
Sohu: 殷鉴不远的出处、释义、典故、近反义词及例句用法 - 成语知识 (good explainer of the idiom)
3. Idioms for talking about movies you love in Chinese
Sister (我的姐姐 - ‘My Sister‘), a homegrown movie released in China last week, has captivated Chinese audiences.
It’s about An Ran (安然), an 18-year-old girl who has to look after her 6-year-old brother following the death of both parents. While trying to find her own way in life, she is faced with the choice of having to put the needs of caring for her brother ahead of her own.
A Weibo post by Chinese sociologist Li Yinhe (李银河) discusses how the film highlights the clash between traditional Chinese values and the aspirations of modern Chinese today.
The article is a challenging read but is a great resource for language learners who want to talk about films they love with impressive idioms.
Impressive idioms
I’ve divided into two groups - general ones for talking about movies, and good ones to talk about emotions while watching. Rather than giving example sentences for each one, I’ve tried something new - a text from the article with all the idioms.
Movie idioms
引人入胜 (Yǐn rén rù shèng) - fascinating
匪夷所思 (Fěi yí suǒ sī) - incredible, inconceivable
丝丝入扣 (Sī sī rù kòu) - all threads neatly tie-up - the plot holds together really well
浮想联翩 (Fú xiǎng lián piān) - leaves a lot to the imagination
Emotions idioms
潸然泪下 (Shān rán lèi xià) - shedding tears
欲罢不能 (Yù bà bù néng) - can’t stop [yourself from…]
忍俊不禁 (Rěn jùn bù jīn) - can’t help but laugh
Here’s a text from the Li Yinhe article. As you can see, idioms are either used on their own, or with 令人 (Lìng rén) - ‘to cause’ [people to] in front:
《我的姐姐》给我们讲了一个好故事，不但合情合理，而且充满悬念，引人入胜。姐弟俩从陌生、隔膜、相互嫌弃到彼此沟通，演变过程清晰，丝丝入扣，到最后是分还是合的抉择关头，竟令人潸然泪下。开放式结尾更是绝妙一笔，令人浮想联翩，欲罢不能。
难能可贵的是，影片还带我们走近了一些奇特的市井生活和民俗。比如在丧葬活动中摆麻将桌招待来宾，看去匪夷所思，令人忍俊不禁。
Further reading
Weibo: 对《我的姐姐》的一个社会学分析
Finally, reading into China’s climate change and renewable energy stories this week, I found this amazing image:
Question: which province is it in, and what size is this array?
Reply to this email with your best guess.
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