A Report on Culture Class Assignmentreview of Chinese film, an idiom, the thing

like/dislike most in China

eport on Culture Class Assignmentreview of Chinese film, an idiom, the thing

like/dislike most in China

Shameel Farhan (PhD student in Materials Science & Engg.

Specialization in Composite MaterialsStudent Number 2013410005

eport on Culture Class Assignment- a

review of Chinese film, an idiom, the thing I

Shameel Farhan (夏明汉) PhD student in Materials Science & Engg.

Specialization in Composite Materials Student Number 2013410005

Chinese Culture

We are not born knowing how to dress,

what toys to play with, what to eat, which

gods to worship, or how to spend our money

and our leisure time.

Culture is opera, art and architecture, etc.

Culture is everything and everywhere.

CULTURE is a system of shared beliefs,

values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that

the members of a society use to cope with

their world and with one another, and that

are transmitted from generation to

generation through learning.

Chinese Idioms

成语, chéngyǔ are a type of traditional

Chinese idiomatic expressions, most of

which consist of four characters. Chengyu

were widely used in Classical Chinese and

are still common in modern Chinese writing

and in the spoken language today. There are

about 5,000 chengyu in the Chinese

language according to the most stringent

definition, though some dictionaries list

over 20,000. They are often referred to as

Chinese idioms or four-character idioms.

The first idiom that I like the most is as

following;

First idiom

一 无 所 有 yīwúsuǒyǒu

(in classical Chinese it means 全 or 都

["everything"]) + 无 (“not”) + 所有

(“have”)

Translation : To not own a thing in the

world.

Similar English Expression: To not have a

thing to one’s name.

Example:

如果你离开了我，我就一无所有。Rúguǒ

nǐ líkāi le wǒ, wǒ jiù yīwúsuǒyǒu. — If you

leave me, I’ll have nothing left.

Fig. 1 一无所有

A song containing this idiom

我曾经问个不休/wǒ céngjīng wèn gè bùxiū I’ve asked (you) endlessly

你何时跟我走/nǐ hé shí gēn wǒ zǒu When will you go with me?

可你却总是笑我/kě nǐ què zǒngshì xiào wǒ But you always just laugh at me

一无所有/yīwúsuǒyǒu (with) nothing to my name

我要给你我的追求/wǒ yào gěi nǐ wǒde zhuīqiú I want to give you my dreams

还有我的自由/háiyǒu wǒde zìyóu (and I) also have my freedom (to give you)

可你却总是笑我/kě nǐ què zǒngshì xiào wǒ But you always just laugh at me

一无所有/yīwúsuǒyǒu (with) nothing to my name

噢 你何时跟我走 / ō nǐ hé shí gēn wǒ zǒu Oh! When will you go with me?

噢 你何时跟我走 / ō nǐ hé shí gēn wǒ zǒu Oh! When will you go with me?

脚下这地在走 /jiǎo xià zhè dì zài zǒu The ground beneath my feet is moving

身边那水在流 /shēnbiān nà shuǐ zài liú The water beside me is flowing

可你却总是笑我/kě nǐ què zǒngshì xiào wǒ But you always just laugh at me

一无所有/yīwúsuǒyǒu (with) nothing to my name

为何你总是笑个没够/wèihé nǐ zǒngshì xiào gè méi gòu

Why is your laughter never enough?

为何我总要追求 / wèihé wǒ zǒng yào zhuīqiú Why will I always search?

难道在你面前我永远/nándào zài nǐ miànqián wǒ yǒngyuǎn

Could it be that before you I’ll forever…

是一无所有/shì yīwúsuǒyǒu

…have nothing to my name?

告诉你我等了很久/gàosu nǐ wǒ děng le hěn jiǔ

(I’m) telling you I’ve waited a long time

告诉你我最后的要求 / gàosu nǐ wǒ zuìhòu de yāoqiú

(So I’m) telling you my final request

我要抓起你的双手 / wǒ yào zhuā qǐ nǐde shuāngshǒu I want to grab you by the hands

你这就跟我走 / nǐ zhè jiù gēn wǒ zǒu And then you’ll go with me

这时你的手在颤抖 / zhè shí nǐde shǒu zài chàndǒu This time your hands are trembling

这时你的泪在流 / zhè shí nǐde lèi zài liú This time your tears are flowing

莫非你是正在告诉我/mòfēi nǐ shì zhèngzài gàosu wǒ

Can it be that you are telling me

你爱我一无所有 /nǐ ài wǒ yīwúsuǒyǒu You love me with nothing to my name?

噢 你这就跟我走/ ō nǐ zhè jiù gēn wǒ zǒu Oh! Now you’ll go with me

Second Idiom

The second idiom is as following;

三 人 成 虎 – sān rén chéng hǔ

The translation is something like, "If three

people know something, it then becomes a

tiger." My understanding of this is that once

information gets to be known by three

people, it becomes a beast. That is “a rumor

can be taken if many people say so”.

This idiom was invented 2000 years

ago. Here is the story. A general was about

to attack a foreign country. Before he left

his own country, he asked the king, "If one

guy tells you there is a tiger in the

marketplace, will you believe it?" "No," the

king answered. "What if there are two

person saying so?" "Still not." "What if

there are three persons saying so?" "Well, I

guess I will believe it."

Then the general said, "It will take

months for me to march to the country I are

going to attack. However, there will

definitely be more than three persons

spreading rumors about me after I have left.

So please wisely check any information you

hear about me."

A review on a Chinese

movie-落叶归根

In 2005, I came first time in China

for studying MS in Materials Science. That

time was a golden period for me as we were

a few foreign students in NPU and were

treated as princes. My Chinese language

teacher gave me a movie to watch. I liked

this movie a lot and still remember it. The

name of the movie is a derivation from a

Chinese idiom- ye luo gui gen ( 叶落归根叶落归根叶落归根叶落归根)

means the falling leaves settle on the roots.

a person residing elsewhere finally returns

to his ancestral home. If the motherland

were a river, I would be a fish swimming

happily. If the motherland were a road, I

would be a car moving forward happily. If

the motherland were a tree, I would be a leaf

waving in the breeze happily.

Life is unpredictable, consisting of

ups and downs.Sometimes you may be in

high spirits, but at other times you can feel

very low. Sometimes you may meet very

good people, but don't forget villains do

exist. Sometimes you may bound forward

and run quickly, but you can be found

staggering along one night.

Luo ye gui gen (2007)

Fig. 2 The title cover

Director:

Yang Zhang

Writers:

Yao Wang, Yang Zhang

Stars:

Benshan Zhao, Qiwen Hong, Dandan Song

Zhao, a construction worker,

struggles to fulfill his dying co-worker's last

wish to be buried in China's Three Gorges

region. Setting out with his colleague's body

in tow, Zhao embarks on a journey that will

lead him to colorful adventures and

characters--as well as love in some unlikely

quarters. This comedy offers a powerful

commentary on human connectivity in

modern China.

After a dead leaf falls down, it is

absorbed by the soil and a new plant will

grow.The cycle of birth, growth and death

repeats itself, like the river in the last scene.

That's life...No matter how feeble and

helpless we may feel sometimes, human

beings will still struggle with the

environment and fate for an opportunity to

live. Ahead of us are lots of things to

experience, exciting and depressing.

Nevertheless, because of pain, we know

what pleasure is. (That's just like the

walking scenes in the movie. When the girls

working in the field, cars, cow and bicycle

pass by, we know how fast Old Zhao walks.

By the way, the audience may pay attention

to the symbolic meanings of different

vehicles in the movie, e.g. bicycles,

coaches, carts, private cars, trucks, buses,

etc.) If we were doomed to the sufferings,

what we are able to change would be the

way in which we interpret them. Be positive

and never give up! The movie ends

suddenly and the unfinished business may

puzzle some members of the audience.

However, I personally find it very

meaningful and symbolic. The ending

successfully upgrades this can-be-typical

road movie to an abstract motto. "Life is a

road comprising UPS and DOWNS. Do live

each day happily as it comes and enjoy life

to the full!" The ending (i.e. the river) also

symbolically implies that human beings

should not always emphasize the

importance of results. Instead, we should

pay attention to the process.

Those touching moments, black

humor, superb acting and the meaningful

ending make this road movie a unique and

impressive one causing catharsis. Moved to

tears and laughter, you may ponder on the

meaning of LIFE when you leave the

theatre. My favourite movie in 2007!!!

The film is both comic (with black

humor involving the transport and

preservation of a corpse) and sad. When the

film opens, Lao Zhao thinks his friend has

passed out at a cafe, but in fact he has died.

Fig. 3 The first scene of the movie

The main character is never daunted.

No matter what hardship he encounters en

route to getting his friend to his native

place, he perseveres. He feels joy in small

victories, such as beating a water buffalo in

a foot race or finding a tire that he can use.

Lao Zhao reminds one of a modern-day Ah-

Q, a fictional character by Lu Xun , one of

the most important Chinese writers of the

20th century.

"Getting Home" is entertaining and

good for understanding issues of

contemporary Chinese economy, society,

government, and culture, as well as for

gorgeous landscapes of rural China.

Fig. 4 my favorite scene

Fig. 5 Getting home

The thing I like about

Chinese

The first thing I see as a pro is they

respect their families and elders very much.

This is a trait similar to my culture. They do

work hard, the women do make terrific

mothers and wives, wives support their

husbands completely as long as the

husbands are good and supportive to their

wives. I think of the Chinese people as one

of the best people I have met, in general. I

try to be honest about these people and not

to say anything I think of as bad towards

them. I have the utmost respect for my

Chinese family and friends and would never

think bad of them.

Some English

mistakes

Fig.6 200 Chou vs 200 pumping!!

Fig. 7 The quality of ten years

Fig. 8 Yuan dian means a focal!!

200 Chou vs 200 pumping!!

The quality of ten years!!

means a focal!!

Fig. 9 Kai xin gou is a happy doy!!

Fig. 10 Red face dambiguous

Kai xin gou is a happy doy!!

Red face dambiguous