When a Boat Reaches a Bridge (Chinese Proverb)

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 1-15-19
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

Background Info/Context:

My friend was laying in bed while browsing through her phone, listening to me pace across my room after not hearing back from an internship I applied to multiple weeks ago. She told me that I did my part, and all I had to do now was wait, and trust that if the company finds me to be a good fit for their internship role, they would reach out. She tried calming me down with a proverb that her dad used to tell her to go with the flow and help her trust the system.

 

Piece:

“When a boat reaches a bridge near a river… it naturally, like, bends the… right way, so it doesn’t crash. Meaning that if the boats at a slight angle, and it’s about to crash, you just have to have faith that it will correct itself and like not crash into the bridge and just like keep going smoothly.”

 

Thoughts:

The proverb my friend shared definitely gave me perspective on what I should and shouldn’t stress about. After something been all said and done, the best thing you can do is trust that you worked hard enough to not “crash” or fail. Although this proverb was used in the context of career, it could easily be applied to many other situations. If someone is stressing out because of an argument they had with a friend, feeling anxious about being a first time parent, or even worried that their pet might not recover from a surgery, the proverb is focusing on fate, and that things that are meant to be, are going to be happen regardless of worrying or panicking. 

Clear Water Trickling Down A Mountain (Korean Proverb)

Nationality: Korean
Age: 48
Occupation: Co-business Owner
Residence: Texas
Performance Date: 2016
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

Background Info/Context:

Because my mom is the oldest sister, she always had to set the example for her 2 younger sisters. So whenever she would disobey her parents, my grandma told her this proverb to explain why she needed to be a good role model. This saying actually annoyed my mom a lot, because although she understood the message of it, she felt like everything she was doing as an adolescent was being analyzed, to make sure her younger sisters would be happy and good.

 

Piece:

Korean:

윗물이 맑아야 아랫물이 맑다

 

English Transcription:

Weet mool ee mal ga ya ah rae mool ee malg dah.

 

Transliteration:

High water clear so bottom water clear.

 

English Translation:

The water at the top of the mountain has to be clear for the water at the base of the mountain to also be clear.

 

 

Thoughts:

I think this type of “role model” sentiment is valid, but instills Asian family household stereotypes and expectations. There is almost a lack of freedom for the eldest child, because he/she is reprimanded for making mistakes, exploring less developed paths, or even just not listening to his/her parents. For example, I was not allowed to quit piano lessons or go to a PG-13 movies, because it could negatively affect my younger sister. 

Although this proverb was always used in the context of sibling relationships in my family, it could also apply in a wider scope. Because the basis of the proverb pertains to being a role model, it could be used in other hierarchical systems, such as a place of work, an organization, or a class setting. If the person at the top (CEO / President / Teacher) is kind and understanding, the people that work alongside or beneath that person will also be respectful of others. While in the case that the “water at the top of the mountain” is rude and disrespectful, people will feed off of that negative energy and perpetuate these bad actions.

Balero, Mexican toy

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 54
Residence: California
Performance Date: 2019
Primary Language: Spanish

 

 

Main Piece:

A balero is an authentic Mexican toy made of wood. One part is made in the shape of a barrel with a hole in the middle, which is then tied to a small wooden shaft. The point of the toy is to make the barrel turn so that the shaft is inserted into the barrel’s hole.

Context:

The informant is a 54-year-old man from Guadalajara, Mexico. Growing up he had very little money to spend on toys so he would make his own variation of the classic toy.

20190410_104024 The picture shows his own variation on the classic toy.

 

 

Chinese Restaurant Clapping Game

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student/Musician
Residence: Pennsylvania/California
Performance Date: 4/11/19
Primary Language: English

Context

Having collected a fairly common children’s game, thumb wars, I sought a game or rhyme that was more obscure. While familiar with similar games such as Paddy Cake (which the informant mentioned for reference), I had never heard of the Chinese Restaurant variant.

Main Piece

When I was little, on the playground we used to have… it was a sort of “paddy cake”-like game that had, um… a rhyme about a Chinese restaurant. So you would start and you would clap your hands together and clap opposite hands with your partner, and it would be like:

“I went to a Chinese restaurant 

To buy a loaf of bread bread bread

The waiter asked me what I want 

And this is what I said said said”

and then you would point to your eye and say:

“I know karate”

then you would punch and say:

“Punch in the body”

Then you would cover your hands with your mouth and say:

“Oops I’m sorry”

Then you would wag your finger and say:

“Don’t tell my mommy”

And then the most upsetting part is that you would move your eyelids in accordance with people’s race, so you would say:

“Chinese” — pull your eyelids up — or down, I don’t remember

“Japanese” — pull your eyelids up and then you say:

“Freeze!”

And then whoever said “check please!” first would win.

Notes

As the informant notes, the game is upsetting, enforcing the kind of racial stereotypes and prejudices that would have been seen as innocuous in past decades. As such, I would classify it as an example of blason populaire. It is through games and rhymes such as these, shared among children during their formative years, that casual racism insidiously engrains itself into young minds. Thankfully, the informant grew up and now recognizes the problematic nature of this game, but many others likely do not, and maybe even teach it to their children one day.

Thumb Wars

Nationality: American (German heritage)
Age: 21
Occupation: Student/Musician
Residence: Wisconsin/California
Performance Date: 4/10/19
Primary Language: English

Context

I asked the informant for a popular schoolyard game from his childhood, and this was his immediate response. Though I had played many a thumb war, his opening signature chant varied from mine.

Main Piece

Alright: thumb wars! Everyone used to do ‘em, and it starts off with the signature chant: “one, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war” as you move your thumb from left to right in opposition to your opponent’s. Sometimes, I don’t know if this is a thing out here, but we had “one, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war. five, six, seven, eight, you’re the thumb I really hate” um, I’m not sure if that’s a thing out here but we did that back home and then, you know, obviously you just like take your thumb and you try to push the other person’s thumb down as your hands are intertwined. It is cheating to move the elbow, um, it has to be all the thumb and yeah, the winner gets nothing, besides pride.

Notes

Thumb wars were very popular during my childhood, and so this recounting may not be the most valuable piece of lore, but I was intrigued by the variation in the classic introductory chant. While familiar with the first part — “one, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war,” in my experience, it is followed by “five, six, seven, eight, try to keep your thumbs straight.” Because my informant grew up in Wisconsin, I believe it may be a regional variance.