Tag Archives: Chinese proverb

冻得像个寒号鸟 (Dong De Xiang Ge Han Hao Niao): Frozen Like a Winter-Cry Bird

Nationality: USA
Occupation: Student
Performance Date: Feb. 22, 2023
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

CONTEXT:

A is one of my best friends. She is a senior in high school from my hometown. Her parents immigrated from China, and she was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and spent her early years as a child in Chicago before moving to San Diego. 

The context of this piece was during a facetime call in which I asked her to share some pieces of folklore with me. 

In Mandarin Chinese, there are many sayings that are short metaphors and morals derived from origin folktales, often involving animals or foolish people. These sayings are known as 成语 (chengyu). 

TEXT:

A: “So when I was younger, my dad and I had this routine that we would go through every time we went out. And it was always my dad saying ‘Go grab a jacket, it’s gonna be cold.’ And I’d be like, ‘No, I’m fine.’ And then I would go out and I’d be cold. And he would see me being cold. And when he would give me his jacket, he would also be like, ‘冻得像个寒号鸟,’ which, in English, is ‘frozen like this specific species of bird.’ The story behind it is that there’s like, there was this bird called 寒号鸟, and it lived in this tree. And summer ended, and fall approached like all of these birds were flying south right? And they were always like, ‘寒号鸟, you have to come south with us. You’re gonna freeze to death.’ And the bird would always be like, ‘No, it’s too late, I don’t want to go.’ And then more and more birds were flying and leaving, and it just wouldn’t go because it was lazy. And then winter actually came and it couldn’t fly through the snow and then it froze to death. So that’s why my dad was always like, ‘冻得像个寒号鸟.’

Me: “How do you feel about that particular phrase?

A: “I definitely feel some exasperation, almost, because it would be like, ‘Okay, I get it.’ You’re saying I should have listened to you and I should have listened to your advice. And I shouldn’t be lazy. I should go grab a jacket.’

Me: “Do you find that it’s helped your habit at all?”

A: “I mean, I think all kids grow up to become more responsible. And I don’t think he’s said that in a really long time, actually. But it’s something that I remember.”

ANALYSIS:

This story seems to have many different versions, but for the most part, the context is the same. The lessons of some of the other documented versions of this story seem to be focused on discouraging laziness and lack of preparation, and tend to be utilized for situations beyond literally freezing. In A’s instance, however, it is about literally being prepared for the cold. However, to me, it seems to be less about laziness and more about just not acting like you can handle more cold than you can, and her father seems to be comparing her to the bird in terms of the cold rather than saying she’s being lazy. Parents, especially when their children are young, often take pleasure in proving themselves right. For something like wearing a jacket in the cold, this is one of the most common ones, even across cultures. For Chinese Americans, though, it ties in with its own story — beyond a simple “I told you so” into a fixed phrase for a specific occurrence.

Proverb: bàn zhū chī lâo hû

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 02/20/2023
Primary Language: Chinese

Mandarin Characters: 扮猪吃老虎

Literal Translation: Pretending to be a pig to trap the tiger.

Context: The informant begins by saying that the proverb has been said to her by her parents and grandparents since she was a literal girl. There is no set time to use the phrase, as the proverb has been mentioned to her a couple of times a year, it simply depends on the situation or context of the prior conversation. For example, if one is going through hardships or periods in life that require encouragement, then it is appropriate for a family member or friend to use the proverb towards that individual. The proverb literally translates to “pretending to be a pig to trap the tiger,” which elicits the message of never fully revealing your cards until the moment is right. It’s a proverb that encourages individuals to remain clever and to always map out strategies that can help them attain success. V.S. also mentions that it encourages Chinese people to remain humble and never be boisterous, similar to the pig who pretended to be weak in order to conquer their enemy/obstacle, the tiger.

 Analysis: The Chinese are fond of incorporating mythical creatures and or animals into their folk, simply because they have a stronger connection to natural truths. Animals are primal, and thus act on instinct and learned behavior, a trait that allows them to be wise in a sense that humans could never be. There is also the presence of the zodiac within Chinese culture, which depicts a system that assigns you a certain animal based on your birth year. Each animal has a certain set of traits that sets them apart from others and all of its interpersonal relationships with the other zodiacs. The proverb also reminds me of the American proverb “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” which elicits the same idea of concealing one’s true power and nature until the time is right, although the American version is more villainized. The wolf in sheep’s clothing seems to be concealing itself for malevolent intent, while the pig does so to remain humble. 

塞翁失马，焉知非福 – Sai Weng lost his horse, how can I know it is not a blessing

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 49
Occupation: Software Engineer
Performance Date: 4/29/2022
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

Background: The informant is a Chinese immigrant who immigrated to the US in adulthood. She grew up on a small island off the coast of China.

Informant: “The old man in the story is named Sai Weng…”sai” means far away, far from the city, and “weng” means sort of..just old man. Sai Weng raised horses in the countryside. He had a great horse to help till his fields, but one day it ran away. His neighbor said to him, you must have spent so much money on this wonderful horse, you must be very upset. But the farmer was not sad, he said, “Who knows whether this is a good or bad thing?

But one night the horse returned and brought many female horses with him, who would now all belong to the farmer. Everyone congratulated the farmer, but he still said, “We don’t know if it’s good or bad.”

Sai Weng had a son who loved to ride horses, and he wanted to tame the wild horses. One day while trying to ride a wild horse he broke his leg. His neighbors offered their condolences to him, they said “Oh no, what a young healthy man but his leg is broken now. What a loss, I am very sorry.” The old man stayed quiet, and the neighbors asked why. “Good thing or bad thing, it’s hard to say,” the old man finally said. The neighbors did not understand him at all. His son was crippled, and he’s not even sad! One day, a war broke out in China. All the young men in the village were sent to the war, but when they came to Sai Weng’s house, they saw his son had a broken leg and did not make him go to war. That war was terrible…most of the young men who had been sent to fight died, and Sai Weng’s son was one of the only young men left in the village. Then, the neighbors perhaps understood.

Basically when bad things happen, you always stay positive.

This is… sort of…old people talk. An old man’s wisdom. The core main idea is that you must stay positive, even in the face of unlucky circumstances.

When good things happen, he remains cautious. He is prepared for the bad things. He stays strong. When anything bad happens, he won’t be devastated: he always stays positive. When good things happen, don’t be overly excited. The American saying “There’s no free lunch” is similar I believe…when something good happens you should still be weary. It’s the Chinese people’s philosophy, don’t be too happy but don’t be too sad. When good things happen stay cautious, and when bad things happen stay positive”

Me: “Where did you first hear this story?”

Informant: “I think I heard this story in my textbooks when I was in school, or maybe my dad told it to me.”

Context: This was told to me over a recorded phone call. The text is mostly translated from mandarin, though certain sentences and words were told to me in English.

Deceiving Yourself 掩耳盗铃

Nationality: Chinese
Performance Date: 03/14/2020

Background: My friend and I were talking about how different countries cope with the pandemic. We found that a few politicians around the world didn’t take the coronavirus seriously enough at first and pretended that it was only a small problem. My friend described them as “掩耳盗铃”.

Main piece:

掩耳盗铃

Pinyin: yan er dao ling

Transliteration: Cover your ears and steal the doorbell.

Informant’s explanation of the phrase: 

I think it came from a story. Well I’m not sure if it really happened, probably just a fable. A thief went to another person’s place because he wants their doorbell somehow. He tries to steal it, but he realized the doorbell would ring! So his genius solution is to cover his ears and then steal the bell. His logic is like he wouldn’t hear a sound, so other people won’t either. This dumbass got caught of course.

Context: As it was used by the informant in describing politicians who refused to take action, the proverb is used with irony to describe people who clearly understand what they do is wrong but still carry on with self-deception. 

Analysis: This particular form of proverb, 成语 (cheng yu), is very similar to another form of Chinese folk speech, the enigmatic folk similes. Both contain double meanings, with one layer of superficial storyline and a deeper connotation of advise, mockery, or knowledge. The difference, however, is that cheng yu often adhere to a uniform form of strictly four characters. While cheng yu are also proverbs that illustrate folk wisdom, in most cases the user must be familiar with the legend or history they allude to in order to use them in common speech. Cheng Yu thus becomes an identity marker. They reflect the culture, values, and identity of their “folk”, as well as a bigger reservoir of folklores that provide them with derivative connotations.

For a different version of this proverb, see

郑荣萍. “掩耳盗铃.” 中学生英语：少儿双语画刊 5 (2012): 13–13. Print.

Chinese Proverb for a Struggling Student

Nationality: Mexican American
Age: 17
Occupation: student
Residence: Franklin Park, IL
Performance Date: 4.2.20
Primary Language: English


Background: Below is a conversation about a proverb that the informant was told at the start of her academic journey at a competitive math and science boarding school. Two years later, she still holds the proverb near to her heart and uses it as motivation for her all-nighters. 

Main Piece:

Informant: I was struggling in excel with my workload and my math teacher told me a chinese proverb that helped. He basically said, the proverb goes like this like, “20 years ago was the best time to plant the tree, but the second best time to plant a tree is right now.

Interviewer: What does that mean?

Informant: Basically saying that you know you should have started this thing, a WHILE ago, but now that you haven’t done it you know that in the past that was the best time to start it. But, you haven’t so the best time to start it, again, is right now. And I think that works well cause like I’d procrastinate a lot on homework and then I’d be stressed like there’s no way I can finish this. And it’s like well yeah you should’ve started it 6 hours ago, but — you didn’t. So, the best time to start it is right now. 

Interviewer: Tell me about this teacher

Informant: He was half Chinese, his mother uh— actually I don’t know which region, but she spoke Cantonese not Mandarin. And his father was from Kentucky, he was Black. He was really understanding. Not judgemental, he knew that waiting til the last minute was punishment enough.

Context: This conversation occurred over a FaceTime call where I asked the informant if she had any sayings or proverbs she liked. She instantly told me this. The conversation was casual, but very relatable as we both lived out our shared experience of procrastination and all-nighters.

My thoughts: It was interesting to find out that this was one of those sayings that keeps the informant pushing through some tough times. It felt very personal to know that this has become a mantra for her. I also found it interesting and quite touching that she resonates so wholeheartedly will a proverb from a culture that is not her own. I feels that not only the proverb was given to her, but a kindness and genuine motivation from her teacher was transferred as well.