Take off your pants, fart and spread culture

I recently saw a WeChat video about a TV station interviewing a woman, surrounded by a circle of audience members (commentators?) who were sitting upright. The host asked the lady: I ??heard that your children are learning Chinese recently. Can you tell us what they have learned? Lady: Yes, they told me a Chinese proverb called "take off your pants and fart". The lady said the words "take off your pants and fart" in Chinese, and of course the foreign host couldn't understand it. Then the lady explained what it meant, which made a group of people laugh so hard. It was later learned that this interviewee was British actress Rosamund Pike during a conversation on The Graham Norton Show, which shows that it was a conversation with great power and influence.

Pei Chunhua’s interview on the Norton Show

Although it is ridiculous, you can actually learn more from this video. In recent years, our country has made great efforts to promote Chinese culture and tell Chinese stories. The video reminds us that in addition to formal and serious didactic propaganda, it can also be supplemented by a bit of knowledge-based, lively and popular format that is popular with the masses. This may have a better effect. With the vast and profound Chinese culture, it is not difficult to sort out some proverbs, catchphrases, cultural customs, etc. similar to "take off your pants and fart". As Ms. Pei said, this sentence is similar to what they say "Butter on bacon" (butter on bacon), both of which mean "extra things". Apparently "taking off your pants and farting" is more expressive and humorous than putting butter on bacon. In fact, we can easily cite many similar idioms and catchphrases, such as: monkey eating garlic - rolling eyes, dichlorvos mixed with garlic - poisonous, meat buns beating dogs - there is no return, carving a boat for a sword, a woman's eighteen transformations, etc. , all have very expressive effects.

In addition to language, Chinese culture certainly has more influential things overseas. The two most widely recognized ones are diet and kung fu. During my visit to New York, the author lived near Flushing, a Chinese district, and ate at Chinese restaurants in Flushing many times. I felt that the taste was very authentic. You can even see a dish called "Shui Shui" on the menu, which is actually grilled fish tail. This dish is no longer easily found in most restaurants in China.

As a cultural communication, the translation of dish names is undoubtedly the highlight. Regarding how to translate the names of Chinese dishes into English, according to the online writer "Gluttonous Little Chef God", the fried dough sticks are translated as "the palace's secret umami golden crisp", which is beautiful. How does this popular food have anything to do with the palace? The Chinese don’t know either; Chive Box is translated as “Sicilian-style thin noodles wrapped with egg and fragrant pancakes”. I wonder if such a long name will confuse foreigners, and it may not be a suitable translation. The improper translation of dish names is also reflected in the great arbitrariness. For example, Mapo Tofu, some use the transliteration and call it Ma Po Bean Curd or MAPOTofu, and some use the free translation and translate it as "Tofu made by a woman with freckles." Some translations of Kung Pao Chicken are "KungPao Chicken", some translations are "Government Abuse of Chickens" and so on. In response to this confusion, relevant departments have also made some efforts. In 2008, the Foreign Affairs Office of the Beijing Municipal Government published "English Translation of Chinese Dishes" during the Olympic Games; during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, the Shanghai Municipal Government took various measures to improve The current state of English translation of recipes. However, due to the lack of efforts at the central government level, the above efforts have had limited effect.

In the field of "Kung Fu", we have the same problem. Take Tai Chi, our country's intangible cultural heritage, as an example. Tai Chi has now become a world sport and has spread to more than 150 countries on five continents. countries and regions, and become a movement that benefits the world. The spread of Tai Chi is much more difficult than the spread of Chinese food, because in addition to superficial movements, according to Zang Jiahui and others, Tai Chi expresses the Chinese philosophy of harmonious coexistence between man and nature and between people since ancient times. Tai Chi combines ancient Chinese Confucianism, Taoism and other thoughts, plus ancient health care concepts and medical treatments, which together form the philosophical connotation of Tai Chi.

The "English-Chinese Bilingual Tutorial on Tai Chi Teaching and Training" launched by Beijing Sport University Press in 2009 has filled the gap in bilingual tutorials in the field of Tai Chi. However, there is still no authoritative English translation of the move names at the national level. . It is undoubtedly an obstacle to the spread of culture. According to Tan Youjin, there is a Cuban with Chinese descent in Havana, Cuba, Li Rongfu. The "Cuban Martial Arts Association" he has opened in Havana has more than 6,000 people. The Tai Chi and swordsmanship he teaches use every move and style. It is directly in Chinese, but the target audience is all Cubans. What an amazing thing. However, from the perspective of reducing the difficulty of cultural transmission, it is not necessarily an appropriate approach.

As a Chinese, we undoubtedly hope that Chinese culture will be widely spread around the world, and we are also willing to accept excellent foreign cultures. Since it is communication, it is far from just the government's business. The joint efforts of the public and the government will undoubtedly have better results. Work hard, Chinese people all over the world!