February 28, 2022 • 27 mins
If language is one of the most important keys to unlocking a culture, then today's tenth and final compilation episode from Season 02 of the show perhaps represents the epitome of what I’m trying to achieve with Mosaic of China. It's a collection of the voices of 30 people from 30 contrasting backgrounds describing 30 favourite words or phrases in Chinese. With hearts heavy under the burden of world news at the moment, please use this as a much-needed injection of joy and entertainment. And consider it a thank you from me to all those who have been following the podcast through this second season. I'm looking forward to returning with 30 brand new episodes later in the Spring of 2022. Chapters 00:00 - Trailer & Intro 02:17 - Main 25:52 - Outro Subscribe to the PREMIUM version, see the visuals, and/or follow the full transcript for this episode at https://mosaicofchina.com/season-02-compilation-10-chinese-phrases.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
[Trailer]ZHAO Huiling: So I consider myself as 前浪
[qiánlàng].
OF (00:06):
You do?
ZH (00:07):
Yes!
OF (00:08):
If you’re 前浪 [qiánlàng] then what the hell am I?
[Intro]OF: Welcome to Mosaic of China, a podcast
about people who are making their mark inChina.
I’m your host, Oscar Fuchs.
We’ve finally made it, we’ve reached thefinal of these ten compilation episodes from
Season 02, and it’s the one on Chinese wordsand phrases.
(00:29):
I’ve always been a firm believer that learninga language is the best and most fun way to
get to the heart of another culture, so insome way this compilation represents the epitome
of what I’m trying to achieve with Mosaicof China.
But more than that, it seems to be the questionthat most accurately highlights all the different
personalities of the individuals who tookpart in the last 30 episodes.
(00:52):
So please enjoy this final chance to hearall these voices together.
Thanks once again to all the guests, and thanksto you of course for listening.
Not for the first time, I’m recording thisintro at a time where world news is oppressively
bad, and I don’t quite know what the situationwill be in the short time between recording
this intro and the episode being released.
(01:15):
So I feel a bit duplicitous putting on thischeerful voice when inside my heart is aching.
I can justify it by repeating to myself - andto you - that sometimes, you just need something
to cheer yourself up, and I hope this is it.
And I’ll continue to keep spreading a littlebit of joy and entertainment with this podcast
for as long as I can.
(01:36):
Speaking of which, I have been keeping busythese last few weeks and I’m almost ready
to launch Season 03 later in the Spring.
The main delay at this point is that thereare a few interviews I need to record outside
of Shanghai, and travel has been very hardto plan.
But I’m just about to hit the road againto finish up these final recordings, so fingers
(01:56):
crossed I should be back on your feed withthe next 30 great episodes before too long.
Make sure you’re subscribed to the show,wherever you’re listening to this today,
and also follow me on social media, I’mat @oscology on Instagram and YouTube, or
at @mosaicofchina on WeChat and Facebook.
Now, on with the show.
(02:16):
[Main][Voiceover]
Cocosanti, the drag performer from Episode 05.
[Clip]C: OK, are you ready for this?
说曹操曹操就到 [Shuō Cáocāo, Cáocāojiù dào] or 说曹操曹操到 [Shuō Cáocāo,
Cáocāo dào], which means like…
Hang on, 曹操 [Cáocāo] is the famous guy from history.
C (02:32):
Yes.
OF (02:33):
OK.
So hang on, 说曹操曹操知道 [Shuō CáocāoCáocāo zhīdào]?
C (02:35):
就到 [Jiù dào].
So it's like the Chinese version of saying“Speak of the devil, the devil will come”.
OF (02:41):
Right.
C (02:42):
Right.
All right, so it's really great because it'slike, it just kind of rolls off the tongue
really fun.
And you could always just say like “Oh,说曹操 [shuō Cáocāo],” like when someone
enters a room and you're like, "Oh, this **** ishere.”
That's what you can use.
I had a teacher in Beijing who used it veryoften.
And I was like “Oh, OK, you’re a sassyteacher!”
So it was really bad.
But I love that phrase, I don't know why.
OF (03:03):
That's great.
[Voiceover]OF: Vladimir Djurovic, the brand naming expert
from Episode 13.
[Clip]VD: The one I like is a story I heard from
my teacher, when I was in my second year ofChinese learning.
It's a story about a character 是 [shì],to be.
(03:24):
The interesting story is that if you lookat it, you have 人 [rén] on the bottom,
that is a person.
And somehow he seems to be walking into somethingthat is an obstacle.
And then there is a horizontal bar, and abovethat you have the sun.
So the story could be like “You are, whenyou meet a problem, and when you’ve faced
(03:47):
a difficulty, and when you start to see thelight.
And I like the story, this 是 [shì] character.
Right, it’s almost like Descartes, right?
I think therefore I am.
VD (03:57):
Exactly.
OF (03:58):
“I run into obstacles under the sun, therefore I am”.
VD (04:01):
I think resonance with Descartes was probably part of why I was so impressed by that story,
yeah.
OF (04:07):
There you go.
I actually met you on your level, I can'tbelieve it.
VD (04:10):
Thank you.
[Voiceover]OF: Vittorio Franzese, the lawyer from Episode
27.
[Clip]VF: Relating to my personal experience, I
would say 中国梦 [zhōngguó mèng], theChinese dream.
This is a country that I found out can bea country of opportunities, where you can
grow your dream.
(04:31):
And that’s exactly what happened in my firstfour years here.
I realised that I was growing very fast.
And I was already where I imagined I wouldhave been in 10 or 12 years.
[Voiceover]OF: Crystyl Mo, the fine dining expert from
Episode 26.
[Clip]CM: A phrase that I love is 麻烦你 [máfan
(04:53):
nǐ], which is a very polite way of saying“So sorry to trouble you”.
And Americans don't really say this, we wouldn'toff the cuff kind of say “Oh, I'm so sorry
to trouble you”.
But in Chinese, that's very common.
Like when you ask somebody to do a favour,or when someone just does something nice for
you, can say 麻烦你 [máfan nǐ], I'm sosorry to trouble you.
And it's just a very kind and generous recognitionof someone doing something for you.
(05:17):
[Voiceover]OF: Murray King, the public affairs leader
from Episode 29.
[Clip]OF: 厉害 [Lìhài], because it's a word
that's both positive and negative.
You know, somebody who is 很厉害 [hěnlìhài] can be really strong.
And it can be pejorative, it can be quitenegative.
You know, “His attitude is 太厉害 [tàilìhài]”, he's too strict, he’s too strong,
(05:39):
he's not flexible enough.
Or his personality.
But, you know, you can also describe someonewho's 厉害 [lìhài] as really good at something,
who’s really got great competency or skill.
It can be very different meanings dependingon the context.
OF (05:54):
Yeah.
Which 厉害 [lìhài] are you, do you think?
MK (05:56):
If you asked one of the people who works with me, they might say the negative one.
I like to think that I'm both.
And neither.
That I'm just me.
OF (06:06):
Yeah.
[Voiceover]OF: Noxolo Bhengu, the African community organiser
from Episode 14.
[Clip]NB: 可以 [Kěyǐ].
It means ‘I can’, right?
Yeah, if you're asking somebody if they canmake something for you, or deliver something
at a particular time, then they say “可以[Kěyǐ]”.
It has like, kind of like “Yeah, coming right up!”
NB (06:27):
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
OF (06:28):
“I can do it for you.”
NB (06:30):
Yeah, exactly.
OF (06:31):
It’s always got a positive connotation, really.
NB (06:33):
True.
[Voiceover]OF: Chang Chihyun, the humanities professor
from Episode 03.
[Clip]CC: Especially in mainland Chinese, there
are a lot of terms that we don't use in Taiwan.
给力 [gěilì], ‘to give power’.
And the first time I heard this, I simplydon't understand.
(06:55):
But it's so vivid.
OF (06:56):
Okay, let’s unpick that, so what does it actually mean then, in what context?
CC (07:00):
奥斯卡，给点力吧 [Àosīkǎ, gěidiǎn lì ba], do the homework better, for God's
sake, 给力 [gěilì].
OF (07:05):
Oh, right.
So is it like a 加油 [jiāyóu], is it?
CC (07:08):
Yeah, yeah.
But it's more rough.
OF (07:10):
OK.
CC (07:11):
You can see I'm quite a rough person, right?
[Voiceover]OF: Ajay Jain, the car designer from Episode
21.
[Clip]AJ: A lot of my car designer friends are gonna
go crazy when they hear this.
It’s a word called 大气 [dàqì].
Literally, every foreigner who comes hereto design cars is told by his boss “I want
(07:32):
大气 [dàqì].”
And 大气 [dàqì] is something like ‘prestigious’or ‘grand’ or ‘premium’ or…
And this word drives all the car designersabsolutely bonkers.
Because a lot of the time, the CEO of thecompany will say 大气 [dàqì].
“No, this is not 大气 [dàqì] enough,you need to be 大气 [dàqì]”.
And it's like “What is 大气 [dàqì]?”
(07:52):
And it's this word that doesn't translate.
It's a word that doesn't seem to have anyspecific meaning.
But it's just something where basically, “Yourdesign’s not good enough for China,” you
know, “It's not good enough for me, andyou’ve got to do better.
It's not 大气 [dàqì] enough".
OF (08:10):
Your everyday bane of your life is something I've never even heard of.
So that just shows that there are differentlives being led here in China.
AJ (08:17):
Yeah.
[Voiceover]OF: Katherine Wong, the Peruvian healer from
Episode 04.
[Clip]KW: 旅途愉快 [Lǚtú yúkuài], which
is ‘Have safe travels’.
The first time I heard it, I found it funny.
And then I kept using it, not knowing whatit means.
Until I asked my father what it means.
And yeah, it makes sense.
I love to travel.
OF (08:37):
Nice.
And did you learn that in Peru?
Or did you learn that in China?
KW (08:41):
I learned that in China.
OF (08:42):
Oh how funny, so he never taught that to you when you were small?
KW (08:46):
No, actually, he never talked to us in Chinese when we were small.
OF (08:50):
Really?
Is he happy now that you can speak some Chinese?
KW (08:53):
He’s proud.
[Voiceover]OF: Alex Shoer, the clean energy entrepreneur
from Episode 11.
[Clip]AS: It's actually a really simple one, but
for me summarises very nicely China, whichis 一步一步来 [yībù yībù lái].
You know, ‘one step at a time’, basicallyone step one step.
I just…
It answers so many questions.
(09:14):
And if I had known that from the beginning,it would have probably been a lot easier.
OF (09:18):
So do you think nowadays you are more 一步一步来 [yībù yībù lái]?
AS (09:22):
I'm definitely more 一步一步来 [yībù yībù lái].
But you know, that's only by experience, notby nature.
My nature is definitely the other way around,right.
Just trial by fire, test it, and see how itworks.
And, you know, I never did well learning byreading, you know, I had to learn by doing.
[Voiceover]OF: Stéphane Wilmet, the head of consumer
(09:45):
insights at L'Oreal from Episode 01.
[Clip]SW: I want to quote a poet from the Tang Dynasty,
his name is 白居易 [Bái Jūyì], wherehe tries to express his perplexity about another
philosopher, 老子 [Lǎozi].
And it’s written in classical Chinese, sovery hard to understand, but the title of
(10:05):
his poem is “Reading 老子 [Lǎozi]”.
He’s quoting (10:07):
“言者不如知者默 [Yán zhě bùrú zhì zhě mò], 此语吾闻于老君
[Cǐ yǔ wú wén yú lǎo jūn], 若道老君是知者[Ruò dào lǎo jūn shì zhì zhě], 缘何自著五千文
[Yuánhé zìzhe wǔqiān wén].
Those who speak don't know.
And those who know, don't speak.
(10:28):
This I have heard from 老子 [Lǎozi].
But if we say that 老子 [Lǎozi] is someonewho knows, why did he himself write a book
of 5000 characters?”
OF (10:39):
The paradox.
SW (10:40):
China, the Chinese culture, is always a source of questioning, of looking beyond
what you see or what you read.
OF (10:48):
Very nice.
[Voiceover]OF: DJ BO, the DJ from Episode 23.
[Clip]BO: My favourite one is related to a big passion
of mine.
And it is the Chinese name of Elvis Presley.
Are you familiar with what it is?
I can't wait.
BO (11:07):
It’s 猫王 [Māo Wáng], the Cat King.
OF (11:09):
Oh, OK.
BO (11:11):
And I just love that sort of characterisation of Elvis.
OF (11:15):
Yeah.
BO (11:16):
He’s someone I love, such a fascinating person, 猫王 [Māo Wáng].
I mean, it's very 50s slang, ‘cat’.
You know, he was that Memphis cat, and he'sthe king of rock and roll.
OF (11:24):
Exactly.
BO (11:25):
And that's what it's about.
[Voiceover]OF: Jo McFarland, the product sourcing leader
from Episode 18.
[Clip]JM: Well, 帅哥 [shuàigē].
So it basically means ‘handsome man’.
So, when I first learnt Chinese and they toldme that, I thought “Ooh, handsome man”.
And 美女 [měinǚ] means, like, ‘prettylady’.
(11:46):
But then I realised, it's used to say like“Hello, mate”.
So like, if you want to call a waiter in therestaurant or anything, you’d go “帅哥
[shuàigē].”
OF (11:55):
Yeah.
JM (11:56):
And I kind of like that.
It's a nice word.
And it's friendly.
And it's fun.
And when I say it everyone laughs.
Maybe it’s just because I’m saying itwrong.
OF (12:02):
I think it’s ‘帅哥 [shuàigē].’
JM (12:04):
帅哥 [Shuàigē], yeah.
OF (12:05):
But yeah, because when you translate it, you're saying “Oi handsome!
Come here!”
“Oi pretty lady!”
Ah.
[Voiceover]OF: Zhao Huiling, the Africa travel vlogger
from Episode 28.
[Clip]ZH: 后浪前浪 [Hòulàng qiánlàng].
前浪 [Qiánlàng] literally translates to‘waves that came before’.
(12:26):
And then 后浪 [hòulàng], it translatesto ‘waves that came after.’
It describes the millennials.
So I consider myself as 前浪 [qiánlàng].
You do?
ZH (12:36):
Yes.
OF (12:37):
Oh god.
ZH (12:38):
Because because the kids who are considered 后浪 [hòulàng] are basically 18 by now.
He's talking about a particular way of dressingor an underground culture that I don’t understand.
He might just finish the conversation saying“啊，你是前浪 [A, nǐ shì qiánlàng]!”
So that's just something funny that's beentrending on Chinese social media.
OF (12:56):
Oh man.
If you’re 前浪 [qiánlàng] then whatthe hell am I?
I must be, like, in the middle of the ocean.
There's no wave involved.
ZH (13:04):
No.
Didn’t make the wave.
OF (13:06):
Internet culture, it’s terrible everywhere around the world.
ZH (13:10):
This was made famous by 哔哩哔哩 [Bìlībìlī].
OF (13:12):
Ah yeah, right.
ZH (13:13):
哔哩哔哩 [Bìlībìlī], so they made a marketing video for their platform, to position
themselves as a platform for the millennials.
Yes, the young kids.
OF (13:22):
OK, that's why I'm not on 哔哩哔哩 [Bìlībìlī].
I bet you have an account there.
ZH (13:26):
I do.
Because in my head I'm like “I'm still eighteen”.
OF (13:31):
Yeah.
[Voiceover]OF: Louise Roy, the childbirth and lactation
specialist from Episode 06.
[Clip]LR: I think that actually 舒服 [shūfú]
is one of my favourite words.
Oh yeah.
LR (13:43):
舒服 [Shūfú] is just.. it sounds 舒服 [shūfú]
OF (13:48):
That's so…
It does sound cosy, 舒服 [shūfú].
LR (13:50):
It does, doesn’t it?
OF (13:51):
Yeah.
LR (13:52):
舒服 [Shūfú] sounds 舒服 [shūfú].
And 不舒服 [búshūfú], when I feel 不舒服[búshūfú] it perfectly explains…
like, I don't have to diagnose exactly whatI'm feeling right now, I just feel 不舒服
[búshūfú].
[Voiceover]OF: Jamie Barys, the street food expert from
Episode 02.
[Clip]JB: Yes.
So my favourite word or phrase is 吃撑了[chīchēngle], which…
(14:13):
A lot of times when people want to say thatthey're full, they'll say 吃饱了 [chībǎole].
OF (14:17):
Right.
JB (14:18):
But I have found, especially when I'm working with my vendors and things like that,
we oftentimes are doing tastings at a lotof different places, and if I don't finish
what they put in front of me, I can offendthem.
But I can usually get out of it really easily.
Because I used to like “吃饱了，吃饱了[chībǎole, chībǎole]” and they'd be
like "Oh, just have a little more”.
And then I found out about 吃撑了 [chīchēngle],which is like “I have eaten so much, it
is coming out of me” like "I am so full,it is up to my neck.
(14:43):
I cannot put anything else”…
And it's not very commonly used, and so theyjust crack up and they're like “OK, that's
fine”.
And so it kinda gets me out of a lot of thingswhere I'm like, “I literally can't eat anymore.
Please stop feeding me”.
OF (14:53):
That’s brilliant.
JB (14:54):
I know OF
‘I am full to the point of bursting’.
OF (14:57):
I love it.
[Voiceover]OF: Michael Kinsey, the fire engineer from
Episode 25.
[Clip]MK: 拍马屁 [Pāimǎpì].
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
拍 [Pāi], OK, 马 [mǎ], OK.
Is that to do with a horse’s fart?
MK (15:13):
拍马屁 [Pāimǎpì] is ‘stroke the horse’s arse’ or ‘pat the horse’s
arse’.
OF (15:17):
OK.
MK (15:18):
So it literally means sucking up.
OF (15:19):
Oh.
MK (15:20):
So quite often, when I meet people and you use just a few words of Chinese, they
go “Woah, 哇塞 [wasāi], your Chineseis amazing”.
And I say “No, 不用拍我马屁 [bùyòngpāi wǒ mǎ pì].”
OF (15:29):
Oh wow.
MK (15:30):
You don't need to stroke my horse’s arse, you don’t need to suck up.
OF (15:33):
OK.
I think I have to have a warning now on thisepisode.
I can't believe you've talked about horses’arses, Michael.
You're supposed to be a gentleman.
We’re representing the Brits here.
MK (15:43):
I apologise.
[Voiceover]OF: Michelle Qu, the improvisational comedian
from Episode 20.
[Clip]MQ: 己所不欲，勿施于人 [Jǐsuǒ bùyù,
wùshī yúrén].
Don't impose the thing you don't want ontoothers.
And also, don't impose the thing you loveonto others”.
(16:03):
I think at least we should give respect toeach other, to give enough space to everybody.
[Voiceover]OF: Salome Chen, the investor and developer
from Episode 24.
[Clip]SC: 舍身处地 [shěshēn chǔ dì], which
means ‘put yourself in someone else's shoes’.
OF (16:23):
Right.
SC (16:24):
It's very easy to be judgmental.
I'm very judgmental.
But you have to put yourself in other people'ssituations and try to understand.
This makes you have a much wider world.
It’s my moral standard.
Yeah.
OF (16:42):
Yeah.
[Voiceover]OF: Sean Harmon, the beer company CEO from
Episode 09.
[Clip]SH: I think the one I really like is, it's
a phrase (16:52):
车到山前必有路 [Chē dào shān qián bì yǒu lù].
Before the car reaches the mountain, theremust be a road.
Which I think is really relevant here, becausethings are often not that easy, but if you
do keep pushing and you keep going for it,usually you will find a way.
It really spoke to me when I first heard it.
And it's simple Chinese.
I mean, it's not complicated.
(17:14):
It's not like one of these four-character成语 [chéngyǔ]s which you have to really
know the story behind it.
It's very direct, and it speaks to me, soI love that one.
OF (17:23):
Yeah.
And is it fatalism, where the road will suddenlyappear?
Or is it that you have to make the road?
SH (17:28):
To me it says “just keep going”.
If you just keep driving, you keep going,the road we'll go through.
OF (17:34):
I like it, thanks so much.
Never heard it, I'm going to use it.
SH (17:40):
Please do.
[Voiceover]OF: Jiyoung, the transgender teacher from
Episode 30.
[Clip]J: I like that 同志 [tóngzhì] is the term
for ‘gay’, because it's a communist termfor ‘comrade’.
And I love - I absolutely love - how that'sbeen reclaimed as a secret term.
OF (17:55):
Yes.
Yes, it's like a delicious anachronism, nowthat you can go back and look at previous
things where 同志 [tóngzhì] just meant‘comrade’…
J (18:01):
Yeah.
OF (18:02):
… and imagine them to mean ‘gay lover’.
J (18:04):
Yes.
[Voiceover]OF: Seth Harvey, the education coach from
Episode 19.
[Clip]SH: In Chinese, there's a word in Mandarin,
it would be like 没事 [méishì].
And that means, like ’It's nothing, don'tworry about it’.
And in the Shanghainese dialect, it wouldbe like ‘méisì’, like they don't really
do the ‘SH’, it’s just like ’S’.if you throw a little Shanghainese dialect
(18:26):
in there, man, it just really opens peopleup.
[Voiceover]OF: Zhang Yuan, the performance art exhibitor
from Episode 07.
[Clip]ZY: 马马虎虎 [Mǎmǎhǔhǔ].
OF (18:38):
You're the first person to say that.
ZY (18:40):
Really.
OF (18:41):
But that's normally a phrase that foreigners know, more than Chinese.
I never hear Chinese people say that.
ZY (18:46):
Oh really?
OF (18:47):
Yeah!
ZY (18:48):
Oh that's kind of my favourite.
OF (18:49):
Can you explain it?
ZY (18:50):
I don't know why, because 马马虎虎 [mǎmǎhǔhǔ] literally means ‘horse horse
tiger tiger’.
It means ‘Not doing it well.
Not doing it too badly.
Something in between’.
So I think it’s more like the Chinese.
There’s something in the genes that we don'twant to be precise.
To push ourselves too hard.
(19:12):
It is not bad, so it still kind of qualifies.
But the reason I like this is the characters.
‘Horse horse tiger tiger’, I don't seea thing about why it is ‘not something great
or something not too bad’.
OF (19:27):
So where does it come from, do you know?
ZY (19:30):
No.
I would like to keep it a mystery.
OF (19:35):
Right.
[Voiceover]OF: Jovana Zhang, the handicrafts designer
from Episode 08.
[Clip]JZ: 差不多 [Chàbuduō].
That's your favourite?
JZ (19:44):
Must be.
OF (19:45):
Now do you know why I'm reacting like that?
JZ (19:49):
Why?
No.
OF (19:51):
Because Noah, who was the one who referred you, that's his least favourite.
JZ (19:55):
Ah no!
Because everything is 差不多 [Chàbuduō],everything, everything.
I must say that it was pissing me off in thebeginning, because it's just…
Something you get is not good enough, whichis something you were hoping to get.
Everything.
But if you have it the other way around, thenit's a blessing.
(20:19):
[Voiceover]OF: Douglon Tse, the island businessman from
Episode 15.
[Clip]DT: My favourite word is 应酬 [yìngchóu].
OF (20:25):
What actually is the 汉字 [Hànzì]?
Oh, 应该的应 [yīnggāi de yīng], andthen what's that one?
DT (20:29):
酬 [Chóu], 应酬 [yìngchóu].
OF (20:31):
Oh, it's 酬 [Chóu], OK.
DT (20:32):
应酬 [Yìngchóu] is kind of a business engagement, that happens quite often.
And I think understanding that culture reallyprogressed my business.
Once you enter the door, first know (20:43):
the person who's sitting across from the door is probably
the most important person, and paying.
OF (20:49):
Right.
DT (20:50):
And first thing when everyone gets seated is
Usually a speech in between each drink.
And then you take your cup, and your decanter,and you go around the table cheering every
single person.
That's if you're new.
OF (21:06):
If you're doing one little glass of 白酒 [báijiǔ] each time then it does add up,
right?
DT (21:11):
Yeah, but I've been to places where they've changed it to red wine.
And the problem is they fill the red wineto the brim.
And then you have to 干杯 [gānbēi] a wholefull glass of red wine instead of 白酒 [báijiǔ].
OF (21:20):
Oh man.
DT (21:21):
Yeah, that's much worse than 白酒 [báijiǔ].
OF (21:23):
Yeah.
DT (21:24):
I’m like “You guys, I’ve only got, like, three of these in me.
So right after this, I’m going home.”
[Voiceover]OF: Cassandra Chen, the heavy metal bar owner
from Episode 16.
[Clip]CC: 苦尽甘来 [Kǔjìn gānlái], “after
suffering comes happiness”.
OF (21:40):
Nice.
CC (21:42):
Most peoples lives have this growing experience, learning experience.
And they turn into the person that they wantto be.
OF (21:54):
Right.
[Voiceover]OF: Danma Jyid, the Tibetan social enterprise
leader from Episode 10.
[Clip]DJ: I would say 四海为家 [sìhǎi wéijiā].
OK, 四海 [sìhǎi] is like ‘the four seas’.
DJ (22:08):
Yeah.
为家 [wéijiā] means, like ‘make yourhome.’
OF (22:10):
OK so ‘four seas like home’?
DJ (22:12):
Wherever you travel to is your home.
Because like, I want to be a traveller aswell, you know.
And also because of work, I have to live inShanghai as my home.
That will make me feel more comfortable tolive here.
OF (22:28):
Lovely.
When someone asks me “Where is home?”
I don't quite know how to answer.
So maybe I'll just say 四海为家 [sìhǎiwéijiā].
DJ (22:36):
Yes.
OF (22:37):
Nice.
Yes.
[Voiceover]OF: Björn Dahlman, the Swedish clown from
Episode 17.
[Clip]BD: 太好了 [Tài hǎole], ’too good’.
太 [Tài] is the same word as in Tai Chi,meaning ‘too much’.
It refers to this whole Daoist theory of 阴[yīn] and 阳 [yáng], when something becomes
too much of one thing, it turns into its opposite.
So 太 [tài] would be the black dot in thewhite field of the 阴 [yīn] and 阳 [yáng]
(23:02):
symbol.
And you see these things all the time.
I very much like this expression.
It has this aspect of very every-day speaking,but there's also this very, very deep philosophical
meaning of it.
Like, you feel the depth.
[Voiceover]OF: Wendy Saunders, the architect from Episode
(23:23):
12.
[Clip]WS: I think everybody has the same, no?
没办法 [Méi bànfǎ].
没办法 [Méi bànfǎ], interesting.
That's the first time in two seasons it'sbeen said.
WS (23:31):
Ah OK, no I find that it used to be said all the time to me.
OF (23:35):
Can you first explain what it means?
WS (23:37):
Oh, it's like, you know “You can't do anything about it”.
It's like “It's how the cookie crumbles”,right?
没办法 [Méi bànfǎ].
So, any question that you ask somebody, like“Can you do this?”
“No, no, it's out of my hands.
No, I can't do it, 没办法 [méi bànfǎ],I can’t".
And I remember buying a train ticket, yearsago in the train station, you would say “I
want a second class train ticket to Nanjing”or something.
(24:00):
And they would say “No, sorry, sold out”.
And you would be “OK.
So is there another train?”
And then you would start, you know, rearrangingyour whole trip.
And then you just realise that they don'tsay “No, the tickets are sold out, but you
could get a first class, or a third classticket, or a standing ticket, if you really
want to go to Nanjing”.
Nobody said that.
OF (24:20):
Yes.
I can't explain that.
But you are right.
And I've been in Asia now for 16 years, notjust in China.
And I've experienced that same thing whereyou ask a closed question, they'll give you
a closed answer, yes or no.
WS (24:33):
Yes.
OF (24:34):
There isn't this culture of “No, but how about that?”
WA (24:36):
Yes.
Exactly.
OF (24:38):
I find like, how do I describe that?
How do I attribute that to something?
But yeah.
WS (24:42):
Now I've learnt to ask my questions differently.
You know, “But maybe you can do it likethis?
Or like this?”
And you kind of give them options, how toanswer things.
And then you get a lot more done.
[Voiceover]OF: Casey Hall, the fashion journalist from
Episode 22.
[Clip]CH: So I think for a lot of foreigners, a
(25:02):
phrase that would be very frustrating is ‘没办法[méi bànfǎ]’.
OF (25:05):
没办法 [Méi bànfǎ].
CH (25:06):
Which means 'there's no way, no method, no way of doing something’.
And I have - in a few times in my life - comeacross someone who, instead of saying “没办法
[Méi bànfǎ]” says "我想一个办法[Wǒ xiǎng yīgè bànfǎ]”, ‘I'll think
of a way’.
It's happened to me a few times where youwould expect someone to shrug their shoulders
and say “没办法 [Méi bànfǎ]” butthey've gone the other way, and really surprised
(25:27):
me.
And so I think it's because it pops up inthese situations where I'm least expecting
it that it’s my favourite favourite phraseto hear.
The first time I ever came across it was,I was trying to park my bike in a crowded
bike parking space.
And I looked at the bike parking attendantbasically like “Is there a way I could do
this?”
And he said “我想一个办法 [Wǒ xiǎngyīgè bànfǎ].”
And I said “Thank you”.
OF (25:47):
Oh, wow, I want to hug that guy.
CH (25:49):
He was a wonderful man.
OF (25:51):
Yeah.
[Outro]OF: I said at the beginning that today’s
compilation most accurately highlights allthe different personalities of the individuals
who took part in the last 30 episodes.
So I hope you’ve enjoyed the sassy, andthe philosophical; the polite, and the rude;
the thoughtful and the funny; the inspirational,and the silly; the intelligent, and the humble;
(26:16):
the pragmatic and the cool voices of the Mosaicof China Season 02.
Mosaic of China is me, Oscar Fuchs, with artworkby Denny Newell.
I may include another special bonus episodebetween now and the launch of Season 03, so
watch this space.
Until then, stay healthy and stay happy.
(26:37):
[Clips]SW: Thank you very much.
JB (26:40):
Thank you, it’s been a pleasure.
CC (26:42):
My pleasure.
KW (26:43):
Thank you so much.
C (26:44):
Oh hey, thanks.
LR (26:46):
Thank you very much.
ZY (26:47):
Thank you.
JZ (26:48):
Thank you.
SH (26:49):
It’s been a pleasure.
DJ (26:50):
Thank you.
AS (26:51):
Thank you.
WS (26:52):
Thank you.
VD (26:53):
Thanks.
NB (26:54):
Thank you.
DT (26:55):
Thank you.
CC (26:56):
Thank you.
BD (26:57):
Hehe, thank you.
JM (26:58):
Thank you very much.
SH (26:59):
My pleasure, thanks.
MQ (27:00):
Thank you.
AJ (27:01):
Thanks a lot.
CH (27:02):
Thank you.
BO (27:03):
Thank you very much.
SC (27:04):
Thank you.
MK (27:05):
Thank you.
CM (27:06):
Thank you.
VF (27:07):
Thank you so much.
ZH (27:08):
Thank you for having me.
MK (27:09):
It was my pleasure.
J (27:10):
Thank you so much.
[Trailer]ZHAO Huiling: So I consider myself as 前浪
[qiánlàng].
OF (00:06):
You do?
ZH (00:07):
Yes!
OF (00:08):
If you’re 前浪 [qiánlàng] then what the hell am I?
[Intro]OF: Welcome to Mosaic of China, a podcast
about people who are making their mark inChina.
I’m your host, Oscar Fuchs.
We’ve finally made it, we’ve reached thefinal of these ten compilation episodes from
Season 02, and it’s the one on Chinese wordsand phrases.
(00:29):
I’ve always been a firm believer that learninga language is the best and most fun way to
get to the heart of another culture, so insome way this compilation represents the epitome
of what I’m trying to achieve with Mosaicof China.
But more than that, it seems to be the questionthat most accurately highlights all the different
personalities of the individuals who tookpart in the last 30 episodes.
(00:52):
So please enjoy this final chance to hearall these voices together.
Thanks once again to all the guests, and thanksto you of course for listening.
Not for the first time, I’m recording thisintro at a time where world news is oppressively
bad, and I don’t quite know what the situationwill be in the short time between recording
this intro and the episode being released.
(01:15):
So I feel a bit duplicitous putting on thischeerful voice when inside my heart is aching.
I can justify it by repeating to myself - andto you - that sometimes, you just need something
to cheer yourself up, and I hope this is it.
And I’ll continue to keep spreading a littlebit of joy and entertainment with this podcast
for as long as I can.
(01:36):
Speaking of which, I have been keeping busythese last few weeks and I’m almost ready
to launch Season 03 later in the Spring.
The main delay at this point is that thereare a few interviews I need to record outside
of Shanghai, and travel has been very hardto plan.
But I’m just about to hit the road againto finish up these final recordings, so fingers
(01:56):
crossed I should be back on your feed withthe next 30 great episodes before too long.
Make sure you’re subscribed to the show,wherever you’re listening to this today,
and also follow me on social media, I’mat @oscology on Instagram and YouTube, or
at @mosaicofchina on WeChat and Facebook.
Now, on with the show.
(02:16):
[Main][Voiceover]
Cocosanti, the drag performer from Episode 05.
[Clip]C: OK, are you ready for this?
说曹操曹操就到 [Shuō Cáocāo, Cáocāojiù dào] or 说曹操曹操到 [Shuō Cáocāo,
Cáocāo dào], which means like…
Hang on, 曹操 [Cáocāo] is the famous guy from history.
C (02:32):
Yes.
OF (02:33):
OK.
So hang on, 说曹操曹操知道 [Shuō CáocāoCáocāo zhīdào]?
C (02:35):
就到 [Jiù dào].
So it's like the Chinese version of saying“Speak of the devil, the devil will come”.
OF (02:41):
Right.
C (02:42):
Right.
All right, so it's really great because it'slike, it just kind of rolls off the tongue
really fun.
And you could always just say like “Oh,说曹操 [shuō Cáocāo],” like when someone
enters a room and you're like, "Oh, this **** ishere.”
That's what you can use.
I had a teacher in Beijing who used it veryoften.
And I was like “Oh, OK, you’re a sassyteacher!”
So it was really bad.
But I love that phrase, I don't know why.
OF (03:03):
That's great.
[Voiceover]OF: Vladimir Djurovic, the brand naming expert
from Episode 13.
[Clip]VD: The one I like is a story I heard from
my teacher, when I was in my second year ofChinese learning.
It's a story about a character 是 [shì],to be.
(03:24):
The interesting story is that if you lookat it, you have 人 [rén] on the bottom,
that is a person.
And somehow he seems to be walking into somethingthat is an obstacle.
And then there is a horizontal bar, and abovethat you have the sun.
So the story could be like “You are, whenyou meet a problem, and when you’ve faced
(03:47):
a difficulty, and when you start to see thelight.
And I like the story, this 是 [shì] character.
Right, it’s almost like Descartes, right?
I think therefore I am.
VD (03:57):
Exactly.
OF (03:58):
“I run into obstacles under the sun, therefore I am”.
VD (04:01):
I think resonance with Descartes was probably part of why I was so impressed by that story,
yeah.
OF (04:07):
There you go.
I actually met you on your level, I can'tbelieve it.
VD (04:10):
Thank you.
[Voiceover]OF: Vittorio Franzese, the lawyer from Episode
27.
[Clip]VF: Relating to my personal experience, I
would say 中国梦 [zhōngguó mèng], theChinese dream.
This is a country that I found out can bea country of opportunities, where you can
grow your dream.
(04:31):
And that’s exactly what happened in my firstfour years here.
I realised that I was growing very fast.
And I was already where I imagined I wouldhave been in 10 or 12 years.
[Voiceover]OF: Crystyl Mo, the fine dining expert from
Episode 26.
[Clip]CM: A phrase that I love is 麻烦你 [máfan
(04:53):
nǐ], which is a very polite way of saying“So sorry to trouble you”.
And Americans don't really say this, we wouldn'toff the cuff kind of say “Oh, I'm so sorry
to trouble you”.
But in Chinese, that's very common.
Like when you ask somebody to do a favour,or when someone just does something nice for
you, can say 麻烦你 [máfan nǐ], I'm sosorry to trouble you.
And it's just a very kind and generous recognitionof someone doing something for you.
(05:17):
[Voiceover]OF: Murray King, the public affairs leader
from Episode 29.
[Clip]OF: 厉害 [Lìhài], because it's a word
that's both positive and negative.
You know, somebody who is 很厉害 [hěnlìhài] can be really strong.
And it can be pejorative, it can be quitenegative.
You know, “His attitude is 太厉害 [tàilìhài]”, he's too strict, he’s too strong,
(05:39):
he's not flexible enough.
Or his personality.
But, you know, you can also describe someonewho's 厉害 [lìhài] as really good at something,
who’s really got great competency or skill.
It can be very different meanings dependingon the context.
OF (05:54):
Yeah.
Which 厉害 [lìhài] are you, do you think?
MK (05:56):
If you asked one of the people who works with me, they might say the negative one.
I like to think that I'm both.
And neither.
That I'm just me.
OF (06:06):
Yeah.
[Voiceover]OF: Noxolo Bhengu, the African community organiser
from Episode 14.
[Clip]NB: 可以 [Kěyǐ].
It means ‘I can’, right?
Yeah, if you're asking somebody if they canmake something for you, or deliver something
at a particular time, then they say “可以[Kěyǐ]”.
It has like, kind of like “Yeah, coming right up!”
NB (06:27):
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
OF (06:28):
“I can do it for you.”
NB (06:30):
Yeah, exactly.
OF (06:31):
It’s always got a positive connotation, really.
NB (06:33):
True.
[Voiceover]OF: Chang Chihyun, the humanities professor
from Episode 03.
[Clip]CC: Especially in mainland Chinese, there
are a lot of terms that we don't use in Taiwan.
给力 [gěilì], ‘to give power’.
And the first time I heard this, I simplydon't understand.
(06:55):
But it's so vivid.
OF (06:56):
Okay, let’s unpick that, so what does it actually mean then, in what context?
CC (07:00):
奥斯卡，给点力吧 [Àosīkǎ, gěidiǎn lì ba], do the homework better, for God's
sake, 给力 [gěilì].
OF (07:05):
Oh, right.
So is it like a 加油 [jiāyóu], is it?
CC (07:08):
Yeah, yeah.
But it's more rough.
OF (07:10):
OK.
CC (07:11):
You can see I'm quite a rough person, right?
[Voiceover]OF: Ajay Jain, the car designer from Episode
21.
[Clip]AJ: A lot of my car designer friends are gonna
go crazy when they hear this.
It’s a word called 大气 [dàqì].
Literally, every foreigner who comes hereto design cars is told by his boss “I want
(07:32):
大气 [dàqì].”
And 大气 [dàqì] is something like ‘prestigious’or ‘grand’ or ‘premium’ or…
And this word drives all the car designersabsolutely bonkers.
Because a lot of the time, the CEO of thecompany will say 大气 [dàqì].
“No, this is not 大气 [dàqì] enough,you need to be 大气 [dàqì]”.
And it's like “What is 大气 [dàqì]?”
(07:52):
And it's this word that doesn't translate.
It's a word that doesn't seem to have anyspecific meaning.
But it's just something where basically, “Yourdesign’s not good enough for China,” you
know, “It's not good enough for me, andyou’ve got to do better.
It's not 大气 [dàqì] enough".
OF (08:10):
Your everyday bane of your life is something I've never even heard of.
So that just shows that there are differentlives being led here in China.
AJ (08:17):
Yeah.
[Voiceover]OF: Katherine Wong, the Peruvian healer from
Episode 04.
[Clip]KW: 旅途愉快 [Lǚtú yúkuài], which
is ‘Have safe travels’.
The first time I heard it, I found it funny.
And then I kept using it, not knowing whatit means.
Until I asked my father what it means.
And yeah, it makes sense.
I love to travel.
OF (08:37):
Nice.
And did you learn that in Peru?
Or did you learn that in China?
KW (08:41):
I learned that in China.
OF (08:42):
Oh how funny, so he never taught that to you when you were small?
KW (08:46):
No, actually, he never talked to us in Chinese when we were small.
OF (08:50):
Really?
Is he happy now that you can speak some Chinese?
KW (08:53):
He’s proud.
[Voiceover]OF: Alex Shoer, the clean energy entrepreneur
from Episode 11.
[Clip]AS: It's actually a really simple one, but
for me summarises very nicely China, whichis 一步一步来 [yībù yībù lái].
You know, ‘one step at a time’, basicallyone step one step.
I just…
It answers so many questions.
(09:14):
And if I had known that from the beginning,it would have probably been a lot easier.
OF (09:18):
So do you think nowadays you are more 一步一步来 [yībù yībù lái]?
AS (09:22):
I'm definitely more 一步一步来 [yībù yībù lái].
But you know, that's only by experience, notby nature.
My nature is definitely the other way around,right.
Just trial by fire, test it, and see how itworks.
And, you know, I never did well learning byreading, you know, I had to learn by doing.
[Voiceover]OF: Stéphane Wilmet, the head of consumer
(09:45):
insights at L'Oreal from Episode 01.
[Clip]SW: I want to quote a poet from the Tang Dynasty,
his name is 白居易 [Bái Jūyì], wherehe tries to express his perplexity about another
philosopher, 老子 [Lǎozi].
And it’s written in classical Chinese, sovery hard to understand, but the title of
(10:05):
his poem is “Reading 老子 [Lǎozi]”.
He’s quoting (10:07):
“言者不如知者默 [Yán zhě bùrú zhì zhě mò], 此语吾闻于老君
[Cǐ yǔ wú wén yú lǎo jūn], 若道老君是知者[Ruò dào lǎo jūn shì zhì zhě], 缘何自著五千文
[Yuánhé zìzhe wǔqiān wén].
Those who speak don't know.
And those who know, don't speak.
(10:28):
This I have heard from 老子 [Lǎozi].
But if we say that 老子 [Lǎozi] is someonewho knows, why did he himself write a book
of 5000 characters?”
OF (10:39):
The paradox.
SW (10:40):
China, the Chinese culture, is always a source of questioning, of looking beyond
what you see or what you read.
OF (10:48):
Very nice.
[Voiceover]OF: DJ BO, the DJ from Episode 23.
[Clip]BO: My favourite one is related to a big passion
of mine.
And it is the Chinese name of Elvis Presley.
Are you familiar with what it is?
I can't wait.
BO (11:07):
It’s 猫王 [Māo Wáng], the Cat King.
OF (11:09):
Oh, OK.
BO (11:11):
And I just love that sort of characterisation of Elvis.
OF (11:15):
Yeah.
BO (11:16):
He’s someone I love, such a fascinating person, 猫王 [Māo Wáng].
I mean, it's very 50s slang, ‘cat’.
You know, he was that Memphis cat, and he'sthe king of rock and roll.
OF (11:24):
Exactly.
BO (11:25):
And that's what it's about.
[Voiceover]OF: Jo McFarland, the product sourcing leader
from Episode 18.
[Clip]JM: Well, 帅哥 [shuàigē].
So it basically means ‘handsome man’.
So, when I first learnt Chinese and they toldme that, I thought “Ooh, handsome man”.
And 美女 [měinǚ] means, like, ‘prettylady’.
(11:46):
But then I realised, it's used to say like“Hello, mate”.
So like, if you want to call a waiter in therestaurant or anything, you’d go “帅哥
[shuàigē].”
OF (11:55):
Yeah.
JM (11:56):
And I kind of like that.
It's a nice word.
And it's friendly.
And it's fun.
And when I say it everyone laughs.
Maybe it’s just because I’m saying itwrong.
OF (12:02):
I think it’s ‘帅哥 [shuàigē].’
JM (12:04):
帅哥 [Shuàigē], yeah.
OF (12:05):
But yeah, because when you translate it, you're saying “Oi handsome!
Come here!”
“Oi pretty lady!”
Ah.
[Voiceover]OF: Zhao Huiling, the Africa travel vlogger
from Episode 28.
[Clip]ZH: 后浪前浪 [Hòulàng qiánlàng].
前浪 [Qiánlàng] literally translates to‘waves that came before’.
(12:26):
And then 后浪 [hòulàng], it translatesto ‘waves that came after.’
It describes the millennials.
So I consider myself as 前浪 [qiánlàng].
You do?
ZH (12:36):
Yes.
OF (12:37):
Oh god.
ZH (12:38):
Because because the kids who are considered 后浪 [hòulàng] are basically 18 by now.
He's talking about a particular way of dressingor an underground culture that I don’t understand.
He might just finish the conversation saying“啊，你是前浪 [A, nǐ shì qiánlàng]!”
So that's just something funny that's beentrending on Chinese social media.
OF (12:56):
Oh man.
If you’re 前浪 [qiánlàng] then whatthe hell am I?
I must be, like, in the middle of the ocean.
There's no wave involved.
ZH (13:04):
No.
Didn’t make the wave.
OF (13:06):
Internet culture, it’s terrible everywhere around the world.
ZH (13:10):
This was made famous by 哔哩哔哩 [Bìlībìlī].
OF (13:12):
Ah yeah, right.
ZH (13:13):
哔哩哔哩 [Bìlībìlī], so they made a marketing video for their platform, to position
themselves as a platform for the millennials.
Yes, the young kids.
OF (13:22):
OK, that's why I'm not on 哔哩哔哩 [Bìlībìlī].
I bet you have an account there.
ZH (13:26):
I do.
Because in my head I'm like “I'm still eighteen”.
OF (13:31):
Yeah.
[Voiceover]OF: Louise Roy, the childbirth and lactation
specialist from Episode 06.
[Clip]LR: I think that actually 舒服 [shūfú]
is one of my favourite words.
Oh yeah.
LR (13:43):
舒服 [Shūfú] is just.. it sounds 舒服 [shūfú]
OF (13:48):
That's so…
It does sound cosy, 舒服 [shūfú].
LR (13:50):
It does, doesn’t it?
OF (13:51):
Yeah.
LR (13:52):
舒服 [Shūfú] sounds 舒服 [shūfú].
And 不舒服 [búshūfú], when I feel 不舒服[búshūfú] it perfectly explains…
like, I don't have to diagnose exactly whatI'm feeling right now, I just feel 不舒服
[búshūfú].
[Voiceover]OF: Jamie Barys, the street food expert from
Episode 02.
[Clip]JB: Yes.
So my favourite word or phrase is 吃撑了[chīchēngle], which…
(14:13):
A lot of times when people want to say thatthey're full, they'll say 吃饱了 [chībǎole].
OF (14:17):
Right.
JB (14:18):
But I have found, especially when I'm working with my vendors and things like that,
we oftentimes are doing tastings at a lotof different places, and if I don't finish
what they put in front of me, I can offendthem.
But I can usually get out of it really easily.
Because I used to like “吃饱了，吃饱了[chībǎole, chībǎole]” and they'd be
like "Oh, just have a little more”.
And then I found out about 吃撑了 [chīchēngle],which is like “I have eaten so much, it
is coming out of me” like "I am so full,it is up to my neck.
(14:43):
I cannot put anything else”…
And it's not very commonly used, and so theyjust crack up and they're like “OK, that's
fine”.
And so it kinda gets me out of a lot of thingswhere I'm like, “I literally can't eat anymore.
Please stop feeding me”.
OF (14:53):
That’s brilliant.
JB (14:54):
I know OF
‘I am full to the point of bursting’.
OF (14:57):
I love it.
[Voiceover]OF: Michael Kinsey, the fire engineer from
Episode 25.
[Clip]MK: 拍马屁 [Pāimǎpì].
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
拍 [Pāi], OK, 马 [mǎ], OK.
Is that to do with a horse’s fart?
MK (15:13):
拍马屁 [Pāimǎpì] is ‘stroke the horse’s arse’ or ‘pat the horse’s
arse’.
OF (15:17):
OK.
MK (15:18):
So it literally means sucking up.
OF (15:19):
Oh.
MK (15:20):
So quite often, when I meet people and you use just a few words of Chinese, they
go “Woah, 哇塞 [wasāi], your Chineseis amazing”.
And I say “No, 不用拍我马屁 [bùyòngpāi wǒ mǎ pì].”
OF (15:29):
Oh wow.
MK (15:30):
You don't need to stroke my horse’s arse, you don’t need to suck up.
OF (15:33):
OK.
I think I have to have a warning now on thisepisode.
I can't believe you've talked about horses’arses, Michael.
You're supposed to be a gentleman.
We’re representing the Brits here.
MK (15:43):
I apologise.
[Voiceover]OF: Michelle Qu, the improvisational comedian
from Episode 20.
[Clip]MQ: 己所不欲，勿施于人 [Jǐsuǒ bùyù,
wùshī yúrén].
Don't impose the thing you don't want ontoothers.
And also, don't impose the thing you loveonto others”.
(16:03):
I think at least we should give respect toeach other, to give enough space to everybody.
[Voiceover]OF: Salome Chen, the investor and developer
from Episode 24.
[Clip]SC: 舍身处地 [shěshēn chǔ dì], which
means ‘put yourself in someone else's shoes’.
OF (16:23):
Right.
SC (16:24):
It's very easy to be judgmental.
I'm very judgmental.
But you have to put yourself in other people'ssituations and try to understand.
This makes you have a much wider world.
It’s my moral standard.
Yeah.
OF (16:42):
Yeah.
[Voiceover]OF: Sean Harmon, the beer company CEO from
Episode 09.
[Clip]SH: I think the one I really like is, it's
a phrase (16:52):
车到山前必有路 [Chē dào shān qián bì yǒu lù].
Before the car reaches the mountain, theremust be a road.
Which I think is really relevant here, becausethings are often not that easy, but if you
do keep pushing and you keep going for it,usually you will find a way.
It really spoke to me when I first heard it.
And it's simple Chinese.
I mean, it's not complicated.
(17:14):
It's not like one of these four-character成语 [chéngyǔ]s which you have to really
know the story behind it.
It's very direct, and it speaks to me, soI love that one.
OF (17:23):
Yeah.
And is it fatalism, where the road will suddenlyappear?
Or is it that you have to make the road?
SH (17:28):
To me it says “just keep going”.
If you just keep driving, you keep going,the road we'll go through.
OF (17:34):
I like it, thanks so much.
Never heard it, I'm going to use it.
SH (17:40):
Please do.
[Voiceover]OF: Jiyoung, the transgender teacher from
Episode 30.
[Clip]J: I like that 同志 [tóngzhì] is the term
for ‘gay’, because it's a communist termfor ‘comrade’.
And I love - I absolutely love - how that'sbeen reclaimed as a secret term.
OF (17:55):
Yes.
Yes, it's like a delicious anachronism, nowthat you can go back and look at previous
things where 同志 [tóngzhì] just meant‘comrade’…
J (18:01):
Yeah.
OF (18:02):
… and imagine them to mean ‘gay lover’.
J (18:04):
Yes.
[Voiceover]OF: Seth Harvey, the education coach from
Episode 19.
[Clip]SH: In Chinese, there's a word in Mandarin,
it would be like 没事 [méishì].
And that means, like ’It's nothing, don'tworry about it’.
And in the Shanghainese dialect, it wouldbe like ‘méisì’, like they don't really
do the ‘SH’, it’s just like ’S’.if you throw a little Shanghainese dialect
(18:26):
in there, man, it just really opens peopleup.
[Voiceover]OF: Zhang Yuan, the performance art exhibitor
from Episode 07.
[Clip]ZY: 马马虎虎 [Mǎmǎhǔhǔ].
OF (18:38):
You're the first person to say that.
ZY (18:40):
Really.
OF (18:41):
But that's normally a phrase that foreigners know, more than Chinese.
I never hear Chinese people say that.
ZY (18:46):
Oh really?
OF (18:47):
Yeah!
ZY (18:48):
Oh that's kind of my favourite.
OF (18:49):
Can you explain it?
ZY (18:50):
I don't know why, because 马马虎虎 [mǎmǎhǔhǔ] literally means ‘horse horse
tiger tiger’.
It means ‘Not doing it well.
Not doing it too badly.
Something in between’.
So I think it’s more like the Chinese.
There’s something in the genes that we don'twant to be precise.
To push ourselves too hard.
(19:12):
It is not bad, so it still kind of qualifies.
But the reason I like this is the characters.
‘Horse horse tiger tiger’, I don't seea thing about why it is ‘not something great
or something not too bad’.
OF (19:27):
So where does it come from, do you know?
ZY (19:30):
No.
I would like to keep it a mystery.
OF (19:35):
Right.
[Voiceover]OF: Jovana Zhang, the handicrafts designer
from Episode 08.
[Clip]JZ: 差不多 [Chàbuduō].
That's your favourite?
JZ (19:44):
Must be.
OF (19:45):
Now do you know why I'm reacting like that?
JZ (19:49):
Why?
No.
OF (19:51):
Because Noah, who was the one who referred you, that's his least favourite.
JZ (19:55):
Ah no!
Because everything is 差不多 [Chàbuduō],everything, everything.
I must say that it was pissing me off in thebeginning, because it's just…
Something you get is not good enough, whichis something you were hoping to get.
Everything.
But if you have it the other way around, thenit's a blessing.
(20:19):
[Voiceover]OF: Douglon Tse, the island businessman from
Episode 15.
[Clip]DT: My favourite word is 应酬 [yìngchóu].
OF (20:25):
What actually is the 汉字 [Hànzì]?
Oh, 应该的应 [yīnggāi de yīng], andthen what's that one?
DT (20:29):
酬 [Chóu], 应酬 [yìngchóu].
OF (20:31):
Oh, it's 酬 [Chóu], OK.
DT (20:32):
应酬 [Yìngchóu] is kind of a business engagement, that happens quite often.
And I think understanding that culture reallyprogressed my business.
Once you enter the door, first know (20:43):
the person who's sitting across from the door is probably
the most important person, and paying.
OF (20:49):
Right.
DT (20:50):
And first thing when everyone gets seated is
Usually a speech in between each drink.
And then you take your cup, and your decanter,and you go around the table cheering every
single person.
That's if you're new.
OF (21:06):
If you're doing one little glass of 白酒 [báijiǔ] each time then it does add up,
right?
DT (21:11):
Yeah, but I've been to places where they've changed it to red wine.
And the problem is they fill the red wineto the brim.
And then you have to 干杯 [gānbēi] a wholefull glass of red wine instead of 白酒 [báijiǔ].
OF (21:20):
Oh man.
DT (21:21):
Yeah, that's much worse than 白酒 [báijiǔ].
OF (21:23):
Yeah.
DT (21:24):
I’m like “You guys, I’ve only got, like, three of these in me.
So right after this, I’m going home.”
[Voiceover]OF: Cassandra Chen, the heavy metal bar owner
from Episode 16.
[Clip]CC: 苦尽甘来 [Kǔjìn gānlái], “after
suffering comes happiness”.
OF (21:40):
Nice.
CC (21:42):
Most peoples lives have this growing experience, learning experience.
And they turn into the person that they wantto be.
OF (21:54):
Right.
[Voiceover]OF: Danma Jyid, the Tibetan social enterprise
leader from Episode 10.
[Clip]DJ: I would say 四海为家 [sìhǎi wéijiā].
OK, 四海 [sìhǎi] is like ‘the four seas’.
DJ (22:08):
Yeah.
为家 [wéijiā] means, like ‘make yourhome.’
OF (22:10):
OK so ‘four seas like home’?
DJ (22:12):
Wherever you travel to is your home.
Because like, I want to be a traveller aswell, you know.
And also because of work, I have to live inShanghai as my home.
That will make me feel more comfortable tolive here.
OF (22:28):
Lovely.
When someone asks me “Where is home?”
I don't quite know how to answer.
So maybe I'll just say 四海为家 [sìhǎiwéijiā].
DJ (22:36):
Yes.
OF (22:37):
Nice.
Yes.
[Voiceover]OF: Björn Dahlman, the Swedish clown from
Episode 17.
[Clip]BD: 太好了 [Tài hǎole], ’too good’.
太 [Tài] is the same word as in Tai Chi,meaning ‘too much’.
It refers to this whole Daoist theory of 阴[yīn] and 阳 [yáng], when something becomes
too much of one thing, it turns into its opposite.
So 太 [tài] would be the black dot in thewhite field of the 阴 [yīn] and 阳 [yáng]
(23:02):
symbol.
And you see these things all the time.
I very much like this expression.
It has this aspect of very every-day speaking,but there's also this very, very deep philosophical
meaning of it.
Like, you feel the depth.
[Voiceover]OF: Wendy Saunders, the architect from Episode
(23:23):
12.
[Clip]WS: I think everybody has the same, no?
没办法 [Méi bànfǎ].
没办法 [Méi bànfǎ], interesting.
That's the first time in two seasons it'sbeen said.
WS (23:31):
Ah OK, no I find that it used to be said all the time to me.
OF (23:35):
Can you first explain what it means?
WS (23:37):
Oh, it's like, you know “You can't do anything about it”.
It's like “It's how the cookie crumbles”,right?
没办法 [Méi bànfǎ].
So, any question that you ask somebody, like“Can you do this?”
“No, no, it's out of my hands.
No, I can't do it, 没办法 [méi bànfǎ],I can’t".
And I remember buying a train ticket, yearsago in the train station, you would say “I
want a second class train ticket to Nanjing”or something.
(24:00):
And they would say “No, sorry, sold out”.
And you would be “OK.
So is there another train?”
And then you would start, you know, rearrangingyour whole trip.
And then you just realise that they don'tsay “No, the tickets are sold out, but you
could get a first class, or a third classticket, or a standing ticket, if you really
want to go to Nanjing”.
Nobody said that.
OF (24:20):
Yes.
I can't explain that.
But you are right.
And I've been in Asia now for 16 years, notjust in China.
And I've experienced that same thing whereyou ask a closed question, they'll give you
a closed answer, yes or no.
WS (24:33):
Yes.
OF (24:34):
There isn't this culture of “No, but how about that?”
WA (24:36):
Yes.
Exactly.
OF (24:38):
I find like, how do I describe that?
How do I attribute that to something?
But yeah.
WS (24:42):
Now I've learnt to ask my questions differently.
You know, “But maybe you can do it likethis?
Or like this?”
And you kind of give them options, how toanswer things.
And then you get a lot more done.
[Voiceover]OF: Casey Hall, the fashion journalist from
Episode 22.
[Clip]CH: So I think for a lot of foreigners, a
(25:02):
phrase that would be very frustrating is ‘没办法[méi bànfǎ]’.
OF (25:05):
没办法 [Méi bànfǎ].
CH (25:06):
Which means 'there's no way, no method, no way of doing something’.
And I have - in a few times in my life - comeacross someone who, instead of saying “没办法
[Méi bànfǎ]” says "我想一个办法[Wǒ xiǎng yīgè bànfǎ]”, ‘I'll think
of a way’.
It's happened to me a few times where youwould expect someone to shrug their shoulders
and say “没办法 [Méi bànfǎ]” butthey've gone the other way, and really surprised
(25:27):
me.
And so I think it's because it pops up inthese situations where I'm least expecting
it that it’s my favourite favourite phraseto hear.
The first time I ever came across it was,I was trying to park my bike in a crowded
bike parking space.
And I looked at the bike parking attendantbasically like “Is there a way I could do
this?”
And he said “我想一个办法 [Wǒ xiǎngyīgè bànfǎ].”
And I said “Thank you”.
OF (25:47):
Oh, wow, I want to hug that guy.
CH (25:49):
He was a wonderful man.
OF (25:51):
Yeah.
[Outro]OF: I said at the beginning that today’s
compilation most accurately highlights allthe different personalities of the individuals
who took part in the last 30 episodes.
So I hope you’ve enjoyed the sassy, andthe philosophical; the polite, and the rude;
the thoughtful and the funny; the inspirational,and the silly; the intelligent, and the humble;
(26:16):
the pragmatic and the cool voices of the Mosaicof China Season 02.
Mosaic of China is me, Oscar Fuchs, with artworkby Denny Newell.
I may include another special bonus episodebetween now and the launch of Season 03, so
watch this space.
Until then, stay healthy and stay happy.
(26:37):
[Clips]SW: Thank you very much.
JB (26:40):
Thank you, it’s been a pleasure.
CC (26:42):
My pleasure.
KW (26:43):
Thank you so much.
C (26:44):
Oh hey, thanks.
LR (26:46):
Thank you very much.
ZY (26:47):
Thank you.
JZ (26:48):
Thank you.
SH (26:49):
It’s been a pleasure.
DJ (26:50):
Thank you.
AS (26:51):
Thank you.
WS (26:52):
Thank you.
VD (26:53):
Thanks.
NB (26:54):
Thank you.
DT (26:55):
Thank you.
CC (26:56):
Thank you.
BD (26:57):
Hehe, thank you.
JM (26:58):
Thank you very much.
SH (26:59):
My pleasure, thanks.
MQ (27:00):
Thank you.
AJ (27:01):
Thanks a lot.
CH (27:02):
Thank you.
BO (27:03):
Thank you very much.
SC (27:04):
Thank you.
MK (27:05):
Thank you.
CM (27:06):
Thank you.
VF (27:07):
Thank you so much.
ZH (27:08):
Thank you for having me.
MK (27:09):
It was my pleasure.
J (27:10):
Thank you so much.
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