Chinese virtue

Chapter 10 Euphemistic expressions

We Anglo-Saxons are frank when we speak, and we are proud of our habit.Of course, in some formal diplomatic and social situations, we also carefully consider our language.But the simple and direct way of speaking is still in our bones, but we will make corresponding adjustments when facing different people in different places.But Asians are different. As we spend more time in contact with them, we gradually discover that their personalities and behaviors are completely different from ours, even completely opposite.

People in many Asian countries flatter others too much, but we rarely use such flattering titles.Chinese people always use many different ways to express very simple things, we don't like this.For example, there are many ways for a Chinese to express death, none of which is simple and direct. Whether it is an emperor or a beggar, when referring to death, they all use some euphemistic ways, but the words are different.We are not talking about the accuracy of speech, but in terms of general expression, if everyone expresses it so plainly and knows that everyone else does it, then it is just a matter of the method used.

Foreigners who are familiar with Chinese people will have this discovery: it is almost impossible to know what a Chinese person really thinks only by listening to a Chinese person speak.Even if the foreigner speaks Chinese fluently, and even has a good understanding of Chinese colloquial dialects, he may not be able to understand the inner thoughts of Chinese people.This is because Chinese people are used to saying something related to their inner thoughts, so that the other party can figure out part or all of what he wants to express.

If you want to communicate with Chinese people, you must not only be very proficient in Chinese, but also have a strong reasoning ability.Of course, no matter how outstanding the reasoning ability of this foreigner is, he will still often infer wrongly, because inference and understanding are always limited.Let’s take an example to talk about this common phenomenon in Chinese life. First, let’s talk about the people we are more familiar with—servants. They may seem unimportant, but for us, they are representatives of the Chinese people.One day, the servant ran to the master and said that his aunt was ill, and he hoped to take a few days off to visit her.When a foreigner hears such words, he will just think that maybe his aunt is really sick, so he just asked for a few days off, and he will definitely not think of other meanings.In fact, this child may not have an aunt at all, or his aunt is not sick, he just had a conflict with the cook, and the cook is more powerful than him, so the actual purpose of making an excuse is to imply that his master, He wants to fly away.

There is such a person who helped others. The person who was helped had no money at that time, so he could only take some belongings as gifts.But the person who gave the helping hand politely refused to give the gift, and said: "This kind of trivial matter also needs to be paid, which will damage the 'Wu Chang'." If the other party still insists on giving it, it is belittling him and looking down on him.But this is only the superficial meaning, definitely not his original intention.So what did he mean by these words?It is likely that the person being helped is not satisfied with what he has given too little, and he hopes to get more.Want to "get more," as Oliver Twist said.Or he didn't mean that, but wanted to imply that you will accept your thanks when you have the ability to give him good things in the future.

The reason why the Chinese express their own interests in such a euphemistic way is probably because they are afraid of hurting the listener's feelings.When talking about other people, the Chinese will be very careful, lest they cause trouble and offend others.Chinese people like to chat, but they know what to say on what occasion, especially when there are foreigners, they will be very cautious.So these Chinese people often keep silent in crowded places, unless they can get benefits without taking risks, they will behave differently.

It's funny when the Chinese want to hint at a bad news to others, they try to find the best way to convey exactly what they mean, but the words always fall short.Often euphemistically imply that the other party can only understand this matter.For example, some people deliberately lower their voices when they speak, and always carefully check to see if anyone is eavesdropping, and then stretch out three fingers to imply that the person is the third child in their family.Then, he pointed out suspicious things during the narration process, and he might stop talking suddenly while talking, and then he looked at you inscrutablely and nodded, with an expression of "do you understand?"Maybe the foreigner didn't understand what he was talking about at all.So the whistleblower pulls you into the dark again, implying that one day you'll figure it out.

People of every ethnic group hope to conceal bad news as much as possible and report good news but not bad news, and the Chinese are no exception.But the Chinese method seems to us astonishing and useless.It is said that an old grandma's grandson passed away unfortunately. Two villagers came from other places to tell the old grandma. When they were discussing how to tell the story in a low voice, the three met unexpectedly.

They repeatedly emphasized that they were chatting, and only after half an hour did they tell the matter.There was also a son who was on his way home and ran into his friend, who told him to go home quickly and not stay here to watch the theater, so he knew his mother had passed away!There was once a Chinese who left home and asked me to deliver a letter for him. The content was roughly as follows: his wife died while he was away, and the neighbors took away what belonged to him while there was no one in his house. All belongings.However, the four inexplicable characters "Ping An Family Letter" were written on the envelope!
The Chinese also like to bend around numbers. A set of five books does not use numbers such as one, two, three, four, five, etc. in sequence, but uses the so-called "five constants" such as "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith" to express .Books with more than [-] volumes like the "Kangxi Dictionary" are not arranged with numbers such as one, two, three, four, five, or letters such as ABCD as we estimate, but are arranged in the so-called twelve earthly branches.During the exam, the order of each candidate's examination room refers to the order of words in "Yongle Dadian".

In addition, Chinese people call married women and married women call their family members differently.The Chinese call this kind of married woman not by her original name, but by her husband’s surname and the woman’s maiden’s surname, or "who and so his mother", for example, your Chinese friend said to you "Xiao Hei his mother" Sick, maybe you don't know that there is a "Xiao Hei" in his family, but he thinks you know.If there is no child, this woman may be called "Aunt Xiao Hei" or other awkward names.Elderly women generally refer to their husbands as "outsiders", and this "outsiders" refers to people who earn money outside to support their families.If a young married woman has no children, the surname of the two families is not used, but only the surname of the husband.They would address their husbands as "sir" or simply by their profession.

There is a very famous general in China. On the way to the expedition, he bowed to the frogs in the swamp, and wanted to tell the soldiers to be as brave as these frogs.To us Westerners, what the general wants to convey requires a very strong reasoning ability to understand, but it is nothing compared to the kind of reasoning ability that the Chinese hope.For example, at the end of each year in China, it is time to calculate the general ledger.A Chinese friend came to see me, and without saying a word, he pointed to the sky first, then the ground, then me, and finally himself.I really couldn't understand what these gestures meant, but he thought I was ignoring him on purpose.He felt that I would definitely understand through his gestures that he wanted to borrow money, and he hoped that only "God knows, Earth knows, you know, I know"!
Another example of Chinese euphemism is in the complex etiquette rules, which often make people offend others without knowing it, and this euphemistic method is incredible.

For example, when folding a letter, failing to write the other party's name on a new line is an offense to the other party. This behavior is like the British deliberately spelling the other party's name with lowercase letters.In social situations, not speaking, or saying bad things, can be regarded as disrespecting the other party.It is considered a faux pas not to send a different distance according to the identity of the guest, or not to go to the appropriate place to meet the guest.Omitting even a tiny detail in some simple action can be an insult, and the Chinese will spot it right away.Many foreigners who do not understand this truth not only do not feel that they have received special courtesy, but have also suffered a lot of harm.

When the Chinese are angry, they often speak ill of each other, but those who are talented and learned will use clever and subtle words to insult others.This kind of cryptic code language takes a while to understand, like a sugar-coated pill, it is sweet when you eat it, and you gradually feel sick when you swallow it.For example, the word "thing" is a kind of insult when used to describe people.To turn a corner and say that a person is not "North and South" is to say that he is "East and West"!
Chinese people, even the most illiterate people, make some excuses out of thin air, which will seem reasonable to outsiders. This level of adaptability is really beyond the reach of us foreigners.

However, except for foreigners, no one will believe these excuses unless it is for their own "face".

Even the most serious foreigners will not chase after it. For foreigners, it has become a habit to see the truth in the simplest way.If a Chinese is pushed to the point where he can't make sense, he will pretend he doesn't know anything to cover up his actions.Like God, the ignorant are forgiven.

"Beijing News" publishes a lot of similar topics every day.For example, what the ancients said "pointing a deer into a horse" has been brought into full play today.It is a Chinese trait that things look different from the inside.This translucent lens reflects the essence of the Chinese government, which is beyond the reach of all other windows.If the general rule of the Chinese is not to tell the truth about anything, then merely guessing the meaning of the other person from the language becomes the most profound skill.

The Chinese imperial court carried artificiality and life limited to form to the extreme. What is the significance of the portrayal of the pain experienced by the veteran officials who wished to resign published in the "Beijing News"?What does it mean to expose the memorial as factual material?Why are the officials' requests ignored and sent back to their posts forcibly?A high-ranking official who committed a crime was acquitted and given a lenient sentence. Is this because the prosecutor did not have enough influence, or did the official really commit no crime?No one can tell.

As others have said, everyone who reads the "Beijing News" carefully must see the real situation behind each event when dealing with each event. This is better than reading some famous books to understand China.But so far, every foreign barbarian nation can't really understand the Chinese, because they ignore a lot and just explain the meaning according to the appearance of the language, which is really worrying.

(End of this chapter)