My Way - now in Chinese

If you spend time with Chinese, then you from time to time end up at Karaoke, (卡拉OK/KTV) . As I many times mentioned, my big favorite is Paul Anka's / Frank Sinatra 's "My Way", that I always perform when I got a Karaoke microphone in my hand.

Recently, one of my friend finalised the big project to create a Chinese version of "My Way", which is not so easy. If you know the biggest language in the world, then you are most welcome to comment the translation:

现在,结局已近 (And now, the end is near)

我终于面临最终的谢幕 (And so I face the final curtain)

我的朋友,我会清楚的说出 (My friend, I'll say it clear)

我将会说出那些我确信的经历 (I'll state my case, of which I'm certain)

我度过了充实的一生 (I've lived a life that's full)

我已走过了每一条道路 (I've traveled each and ev'ry highway)

而且更多 更多的是 (And more, much more than this)

我以自己的方式 (I did it my way)

懊悔,我也曾有过 (Regrets, I've had a few)

但再次想起，那些已微不足道 (But then again, too few to mention)

我做着自己想做事 (I did what I had to do)

回首过去,已不想再改变
(And saw it through without exemption)

我计划好每一次的旅程
(I planned each charted course)

谨慎的向前跨出每一步
(Each careful step along the byway)

但更多更多的是
(But more, much more than this)

我以自己的方式 (I did it my way)

的确,我相信你也知道有那么几次
(Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew)

当我承担了超出我所能承的
(When I bit off more than I could chew)

但是从始至终,当这一切还在被质疑
(But through it all, when there was doubt)

我毫不犹豫的坚持着
(I ate it up and spit it out)

我直面一切,傲然挺立
(I faced it all and I stood tall)

依然以我自己的方式 (And did it my way)

我曾爱过,也曾笑过哭过
(I've loved, I've laughed and cried)

我曾志得已满,也曾承受失败 (I've had my fill; my share of losing)

但是现在,当泪水已逝去
(And now, as tears subside)

我才发现这一切原来都是那么有趣
(I find it all so amusing)

回忆起我所做过的一切 (To think I did all that)

我可以毫不愧疚的说
(And may I say - not in a shy way)

不,那不是我 (Oh no, oh no not me)

我行我素 (I did it my way)

作为一个男人,什么才是他拥有的？(For what is a man, what has he got?)

如果不能拥有自我,他将一无所有
(If not himself, then he has naught)

说出他真实的感受
(To say the things he truly feels)

而不是那些虚伪谄媚的言语
(And not the words of one who kneels)

这里记载着我所承受过的一切
(The record shows I took the blows)

我依然我行我素 (And did it my way!)

I perform the ENGLISH version of "My Way" for the third times in this blog.

V as in Victory

I use to reflect over that when Chinese people is been photographed they use to stand in a very strict "military" position with straight back, arms along there sides and head up. Specially in front of tourist attractions. This gives extreme boring pictures if you ask me - but the Chinese like it.

The last years I have seen an obvious changes in the behavior. Specially for the young people. These days they always have there index- and middle finger in V-shape when someone is in front of a camera. Also sometimes even in half formal pictures. If I ask them why the do the V-sign or what it means they usually dont have any good answer, but I take for sure that it is the classic Victory sign they have seen. Young Chinese really love to follow some west world behavior.

Normally it is needed to take at least two pictures when I photo Chinese people. The other one is after I told them to remove the stupid looking fingers.

To eat Bird Food

One of the winter traditions when I was a child was that we bought Bird Food (sunflower seed) and feed the birds with.

This childhood memories popped up in my mind when I started to spend time with Chinese in home environment, and find out that its often are standing a bowl of "Bird Food", which means Sunflower seed on the table, and the Chinese eat it like candy. They open the seed with there teeth and throw the shell somewhere around them, and then eat the very small core inside. It use to be a bit messy, since it will be seed shells all over the place.

I tried it from time to time, but for me it is like eat air. Much work for almost nothing - the core is so small.

In China, this "Bird Food" is sold based on weight together with raisins, peanuts and a lot of other nature candy that I dont know what it is. The Chinese do not think it is funny when I call it Bird Food. ;-)

Bird Food....och Chinese candy, is sold everywhere in China.

15 days of bombing has reached its end

Yesterday it was the 15:s day of the Tiger Year, and the Chinese Lantern Festival, 元宵节, (Yuánxiāojié), is hold when the first full moon of the year is celebrated by hanging a lots or red lamps everywhere. The day is also called the Small New Year's Eve, and is the completion of the big new year celebration.

You also eat "rice-flour-balls" with different stuffing. The balls is called Yuanxiao, 元宵, in north of China, and the south have there corresponding Tangyuan, 汤圆, that is a bit smaller.

Yesterday was the last day that it is allowed to shoot fireworks in Beijing, and it was of course an explosive termination, and I can really say that it is a comfortable feeling that 15 days of continues shooting has reached its end.

A Chinese saying tells that extreme happiness demand sadness, and every year many tragic accidents happens because of the fireworks. The glad news for this year is that the death victims only become half related to last year. The biggest fire scandal for the year was that they succeeded to burn down the 1 600 years old south city gate of Zhengding, 正定.

The 1 600 years old south city gate in Zhengding was this years most discussed victim for the new year fireworks.

Yuanxiao, 元宵, (also called Tangyuan, 汤圆, in south of China) is traditional rice-flour-balls that is eaten as a conclusion for the celebration of the new year.

Who pays the bill?

When Chinese goes to restaurant it is always ONE person that pays the bill. The typical Swedish behavior when two couples is going to a restaurant and ask for a calculator together with the bill so they can calculate exactly "fear" how much everyone shall pay does not exist over here. In stead is the problem WHO shall pay.

It is a pretty advances relation-based mechanism that control who take the bill. Sometimes it is not obvious and then it can end up with (friendly) fighting. If it is obvious, and still some other pays the bill, then it is a courteous crime. But, what is obvious for the Chinese, is not always obvois for us from the outside. If you for example are on business trip in China and are invited to dinner, and you think you are polite to sneak out and pay the bill before the Chinese, then you have made a big mistake. You have really humiliated your host and you can actually have burned your business relation. It is really this serious.

A story from the real life:

A man from West did meat a Chines lady. After a while they decided to get married. A time before the wedding it was the moment for the man to meet the parents-in-law in a restaurant. The man, that actually knows a bit about Chinese culture, did not understand that he was supposed to pay the bill, so after a while the brides father pays. The result of this was that the brides parents was really disappointed of there daughters selection of man. How stupid is he if he dont can take the bill? It was not an easy game to convince the parents that it was a culture misunderstanding.

In spite of this situation, it become a wedding. A time after the wedding they again ended up in a restaurant together with the parents-in-law. Wise of the previous experiences the man was now good enough to pay the bill in front of the eyes of her wife's parents. What he did not understand was that he now after the marriage was considered as a sun in the family, and in this situation it is obvious that the father shall pay. The fact that he now payed was a disaster mistake, because he really humiliated the father that understand the situation that the "sun" considered him to not be capable to pay for the families bill.

I can really confirm that my years with Chinese have included some hard situations when I thought I done the right thing, and after get informed that I had break some culture rules. It take really deep knowledge to know how to behave "correct" with Chinese company. It is not enough to just learn the "base rule" because it is always some exemption in the actual situation that demand an alternative act.

人 太多- TOO much people

Temple of Earth, 地坛, is one of the four temple for Earth, 地, Moon, 月, Sun, 日, and Heaven, 天. These four temple is placed in the four point of the compass from the center of Beijing. (Temple of Heaven is the most famous). Temple of Earth is mainly a park, but have also some buildings and a big "altar", that is square because of the classic Chinese believe that the earth was square. The park is located just outside the 2:nd north ring road and is really big - about 700 x 700 meter, so it take some time to go around the whole. Temple of Earth is not a "heavy" tourist attraction, but can be a pleasant place for a walk after a visit the Lama Temple or the Confucius Temple that both are very close just on the other side of the ring road.

In these New Year days it is every year hold a festival at Temple of Earth. Could be interesting, I thought, so I went there. The festival was in my eyes 90% market selling of "crap". The rest 10% was local fast food and red lanterns in the trees. These rad lanterns is one of the characteristics for this festival. So - not so very funny, but a little interesting.

The thing that I really will remember from this festival was that it was so EXTREMELY LOTS OF PEOLPE!. Every little spot on the ground was covered by humans. After two second of thinking I realize that this is obvious since all are free from work these days. It was just only one person in the complete park that was not Chinese! Sometimes it was actually hard to decide by your self which direction to go, and it was a fight to se what was to be sold at the small shops. After one hour I got some kind of panic and wanted to get out, but that was not so easy.

Tigers shows up on many places a day like this.

It was so much people that it was not one single free spot on the ground, and you have to follow the river of people. The red lanterns in the tree is characteristic for this festival.

...but who the f..ck care?

As mentioned a few times, this year the rules for the fireworks is more strict then before. Specially inside the 5:th ring road. A lot on information posters is to be find everywhere that tells what is allowed and not, so nobody can have missed this.

There are time limitations. Only the first and the last day of the year, you are allowed to shoot 24 hours. After that it is from 7 AM until midnight for the 15 first days of the year. The rest of the year it is totally forbidden - included 31 december. I am actually writing this post before 7 AM, and I have already started to hear the bombs outside.

You are not allowed to shoot outside schools, hospital, bus stations, train stations, historical buildings, embassies, military buildings, electrical centrals, gas stations and a row of other listed places. I am living next to Beijing's military hospital, this is not a peaceful zone. The even shoot inside the hospital area.

You are only allowed to shoot at open spaces, and not close to houses or from balconys. There are also "soft" restrictions about respect towards other peple, and that children only is allowed to shoot with supervision of grownups.

That means pretty reasonable regulations and limitations - but who the f..ck care about these rules?

I think actually that pretty many tries to follow, but there are still enough number of firework-crazy Chinese to make the streets feel like anarchy from time to time.

For a while I was wondering why they often places there bombs in the middle of the street, and now I have the theory that they try to follow the regulation about shoot on open spaces...

This type of posters about the fire works regulations is to be find everywhere and an many different versions.

Long or Short menu?

To make a big generalization of the west world, you can say that the more nicer a restaurant is - the less dishes in the menu. The physical menus in real nice restaurant also use to be in the minimalistic spirit, so sometimes just a simple white paper, or a writing on a blackboard. Pictures of the dishes are also totally forbidden in a high class west restaurant, and is only to find in low class tourist restaurants, that also have obvious more dishes in the menu.

In China, this things is the totally opposite. In the to of line line restaurants, the menu is like a book with an impressive huge number of dishes. The presentation is often in a leather frame with art-like pictures of the food. Only the real simple small restaurants have menus without pictures, and also not so many dishes. Totally the other way around compared to the west world.

The saying "I would never eat in a restaurant with pictures in the menu" maybe can be valid in China also, but then likely told by someone in the lower salary level. (The restaurants with no pictures is the cheapest)

Ping, with an example of a real nice menu at the "The Dazhaimen Restaurant"

Chinese - The language without Yes and No

The Chinese language is very big. From time to time I become a bit depressed when I just learned a Chinese word for something, and then find out that it is a long row of alternative to say the same thing. Or if you look up a word in a dictionary and find 25 different proposal. Which one to choose? And which one is relevant to learn?

A funny paradox is that there are no clear translation for "Yes" and "No" in the Chinese language - words that is usually very clear defined in other language. In general the Chinese language is so different from for example English, that many phrases dont have any direct translation. Many Chinese sentences can have many translation, and need to be put into a situation to become understandable. It is funny to look in different "fast-guide-to-Chinese" that of course need to have translations of Yes and No. There are always different proposal, just because there are no exact translation available.

So - How to express Yes and No in Chinese?

There are a lot of different "Yes saying" and "Denying" phrases that express the meaning of Yes and No. Some example of words that can act as a "Yes"

好, hăo - OK (good)

行, xíng - OK

是, shì - To be

对, duì - Correct

可以, kěyǐ - Possible, Allowed

有, yǒu - Available, Have

To make corresponding phrases Denying - "No", you often add 不, bù or 没, méi before the phrases above.

不是, bùshì - Is not

没有, méiyǒu - Have not