Author Archives: Jay Chen

Lei Gong

Text:

“雷公 (Lei Gong)”

Translation:

The Thunder Father, the Thunder God

Context:

“I remember it being a more folkloreic thing. Becuase there were these gods, and it wasn’t authoritatively taught to us or anything. It’s more of like a- my parents would use it as a way for discipline thing… It’s funny because they only ever use him a lot because he’s the one that causes the thunder, and that scares children. It’s kinda a way to explain where thunder comes about. But it is the idea that if you behave badly, the thunder god will come to judge you. He punishes the morally guilty. So whenever you are misbehaving, he is gonna strike you down. It is related to thunder because you kind of caused it. And whenever it did thunder, and I didn’t do anything. My mom will reinforce that: ‘You hear the thunder? He is coming. Listen to how angry he is.’”

Analysis:

J: Turns out it is just a tactic for the parents to manipulate their children…
P: Yeah- but also,I guess the fact that it exists- in Chinese, it is a personification of the judge of guiltiness. It is really interesting that it passes down. Our parents say it.
J: Right, it is like- culturally, how our (Chinese) parents teach their children by scaring them instead of teaching them actual lesson.
P: Yeah, yeah. So I always have fascination about this. Even when I know it isn’t real now, I still have a fascination with thunder and rain. It makes you pay attention to it.

Lei Gong is not only a figure featured in Chinese legend; he is also taught to children as an invisible figure who judges them. It is interesting to see how the loud thunder in many cultures and legends always symbolizes judgment. But it is not hard to imagine having to come up with an explanation for loud bombing noise from the sky other than some omniscient beings.

Jeep Ducking/ Duck Duck Jeep

Object:

Rubber Ducks

Context:

The informant and the interviewer were walking around the USC campus and spotted a Jeep with a great amount of rubber ducks in it, thus sparking this conversation.
People who own Jeeps like to give rubber ducks to other Jeep owners. You can spot a lot of Jeeps with many different types of rubber ducks on their dashboard. The informant theorized that it is a millennial trend. They recall that it started during quarantine as a way to bond the Jeep community together.

Analysis:
A heartwarming game within the Jeep community, it is well needed during quarantine. People still keep it up nowadays, but more as a collector to show off the different rubber ducks they own.

Chivo

Text:

“Chivo”

Translation:

Cool
(Direct translation: Billy goat)

Context:

The informant heard this word often from their dad. In Salvadoran, it means cool and awesome. The informant states they use it when someone does a cool skateboard trick. “Chevere” is a word branched off from it, meaning good, interesting, or enjoyable.

Analysis:
It is interesting how the direct translation is “billy goat”, which relates to the modern day slang “goated,” also used to describe a cool action.

More Lost Than A Goat In The Garage

Text:

“Mas perdido que una cabra en un garaje.”

Translation:

More lost than a goat in the garage.

Context:

The informant heard it a lot growing up, usually in the context of whenever they or their siblings did something stupid. It can both be used in physically lost in a space or described a ridiculous action.

Analysis:

It is a clear simile from literal textual meaning, but also a fun and lighthearted way to tease someone because of the ridiculousness nature of this phrase. The mention of goats might seem random, but through some research, I learned that goats are important livestock in El Salvador. Perhaps there are more situations of goats ending up in a garage than we think there could be.

Apple Fortune Telling

Material:

One apple with the stem on top

Procedure:

  1. Form a group.
  2. Twist the stem of the apple and chant one letter from the alphabet.
  3. Pass it to the next person and repeat step 2.
  4. Til the stem breaks, whichever letter it lands on, it is the capital letter of your future spouse’s name.

Context:

The informant played this game a lot during elementary school. They will get apples at the end of a school day, but no one wants to eat them, thus, they play this game with the apples.

Analysis:

Fortune-telling for future partners is a very popular game among children. This game specifically is very easy to set up and start, it is a form of ritual. The result of this game always brings more rumors among children and further spreads the ritual itself. It allows interactions between friends while also satisfying the human nature of wanting to gossip.