Tag Archives: Chinese

好狗不挡路/Good mutts don’t get in the way – Proverb

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 19
Occupation: Undergraduate Student at the University of Southern California
Residence: University of Southern California Parkside Dormitory
Language: Chinese

Text:

好狗不挡路 (hǎo gǒu bù dǎng lù)

Translation:

Good mutts don’t get in the way

Context:

“This saying is extremely prevalent in Chinese media such as novels or films, and it basically means to mind your own business. I don’t hear it said often as it’s considered a curse, and it’s pretty rude. It’s been around for so long that one of the most martial hero novel classics play off of this proverb.”

Analysis:

This proverb implies that people who are well-mannered should know their place and not cause any trouble. However, with the context of this being considered a curse, the phrase “good mutt” implies the receiver is nothing but an obedient pawn who shouldn’t “get in the way,” implying there is an “…or else.” It is especially prevalent in Chinese culture as it reflects a Confucian influence on social order and the emphasis on respecting those who are superior, with hierarchy typically based on age and duty.

Take Your Pants Off

Age: 20

Text:

“Taking your pants off to fart.”

Context:

The informer learned this phrase from this mother as a piece of advice while they were growing up. Even today they hear this. They grew up in China, and thus the above phrase is simply a translation from Chinese.

Analysis:

Although it is just a rough translation, it means to overcomplicate something quite simple, as one doesn’t need to take their pants off to pass gas. It is a humorous, satirical way to point out an issue, and highlights cultural values of pragmatism and “effortless action” that stem from Daoism. Chinese culture(and East Asian culture in general) strongly emphasizes efficiency, work ethic, and community. By “taking your pants off to fart”, not only are you wasting your energy, your inability to be resourceful wastes the time of the people around you–Confucian values.

Some English equivalents of this idioms include:

  • Making a mountain out of a molehill(dramatizing a tiny, insignificant event.)
  • Using a sledgehammer to crack nuts(using excessive force and effort to achieve a small thing.)

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.

五十步笑百步 (Wu Shi Bu Xiao Bai Bu)

Those who retreated 50 steps mock those who retreated 100 steps.

Occupation: Student 

Date: 02/11/2025 

Primary Language: English

Language: Mandarin

Description

Okay. I got closer so I actually got it. Yeah, I have the one that’s um, The change tax is like, um, so that’s like the one who runs 50 steps away from the enemy laughs at the one who runs 100 steps away. It’s kind of poking fun at people who like kind of fell but they’re making fun of other people who fell. Even though, like, on like surface level, they’re both like running away from something. Yeah. Um it’s really interesting to me because it was often used my in my family. Because I have a younger sister, which… sometimes when we both get clowned on by my parents, she will laugh at me even though like she also did do something wrong. It’s also… I don’t remember a specific history behind it, but it’s definitely used, like, in war times or like, like tease on soliders who run away from your enemies. 

Subject Opinion: 

Subject: It happens unintentionally so often that, just the saying, it…surprisingly could be applied to a lot of situations. 

Analysis: 

This ancient Chinese proverb states that those who mock others’ shortcomings often have the same shortcomings themselves, criticizing the irony and hypocrisy in human behavior. The proverb’s wartime context opens up a much larger consideration of folklore born in turbulent eras during which common folk are often exposed to war, famine, etc. Similar to a large portion of Chinese wisdom, this proverb places us in a military context that, on the literal level, only applies to soldiers. But the fact that the proverb is widely known reflects the reverence and attention common folk paid to soldiers at the time, giving folk speech that stem from that realm a particular zest and intrigue. It is also interesting that the subject referenced her own family and how it’s used to point out hypocrisy in mundane matters. Though the proverb does not directly communicate a piece of advice, it encourages against the behavior described by letting the receiver come to their conclusions after witnessing the irony of the situation, making it an incredibly durable and effective proverb. 

拿肉包打狗，狗吃了，自己没得吃 – If you hit a dog with a meat bun, the dog will eat it and you have no food now.

Age: 21

Proverb: 拿肉包打狗，狗吃了，自己没得吃 

Translation: If you hit a dog with a meat bun, the dog will eat it and you have no food now.

Context: “Basically if you punish someone with something and they enjoy it, it does nothing for you and makes it worse for you. I grew up hearing it from my mom all the time when I was growing up; mostly as a scolding for messing something up or not really helping in an already messed up situation. It was mostly used in Chinese households as a warning for kids to not act stupid and mess up something they achieved.” 

Analysis: “If you hit a dog with a meat bun the dog eats it and you have no food now” is a well-known Chinese proverb. It is primarily used as a lesson for young children and it teaches them to not be careful in situations and to be wary of what they say or do lest they mess up.