Cantonese through News Stories: Carrie Lam’s Apology

After the second huge protest march in Hong Kong on Sunday 16 June, Carrie Lam decided to make an apology “to every single resident of Hong Kong”. As the TVB reporter 張家灝 Jēung1 Gāa1 Houh6 makes clear, however, she stopped short of agreeing to that word of the moment, 撤回 chit3 wùih4 = to “withdraw”, preferring instead to replace it with 暫緩 jaahm6 wuhn6 = to postpone temporarily. But will this be enough?

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12 new words:

召開記者會 jiuh6 hōi1 gei3 jé2 húi6*2 = to call a press conference
（引起）爭議 (yáhn5 héi2) jāng1 yíh5 = (to spark) controversy
向 . . . 道歉 heung3 … douh6 hip3 = to apologize to (someone)
cf. 致歉 ji3 hip3 = to apologize
重啟 chùhng4 kái2 = to restart
問責團隊 mahn6 jaak3 tyùhn4 déui6*2 = accountability team
cf. 問責 mahn6 jaak3 = to call to account
反省fáan2 síng2 = to do some soul searching
紛爭 fān1 jāng1 = dispute; wrangle
書面致歉 syū1 mihn6 zi3 hip3= a written apology; an apology in writing
暫緩 jaahm6 wun6 = to postpone temporarily; to defer for the time being
重申 chùhng4 sān1 = to reaffirm; to reiterate; to restate
貿然 mauh6 yìhn4 = hastily; rashly; blindly
衷心 chūng/jūng1 sām1 = heartfelt

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(Introduction)

行政長官林鄭月娥召開記者會為修訂《逃犯條例》引起社會爭議向所有市民道歉。
The Chief Executive Carrie Lam called a press conference in order to apologize to all the people of Hong Kong for the controversy in society sparked by the amending of the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance.

佢話自己要負責最大責任，強調喺解決爭議前，絕對唔會貿然重啟修例。
She said that she must take the biggest share of the responsibility, and she emphasized that before the controversy is resolved, she will not rashly restart [any] amending.

佢又希望社會俾機會佢同問責團隊。
She also hoped that society would give her and her accountability team a[nother] chance.

Cold Spells

i. Ice Kate

I don’t mind cold — but your language positively frost-bites. From the vantage point of my island-table at Caffé Habitū, I watch you over coffee work out in the rink opposite, shaving — with the steel blades in your boots — crisscross scars in the dumb blue-freeze. Later, when you join me, exalted and re-dressed in shades of executive blizzard, it’s the blade of your tongue you share, chatterboxing my criminal lack of cut-throat chill, my laughably lukewarm hopes. It’s only in the aftermath — you having punctually departed for the next inhuman Everest — that your clinical gift of bruises comes slowly to my senses through the thaw, and I am returned so much tenderer to the world,

this world you don’t know.

 

ii. Snowtalk

I barely know snow first-hand.

I saw it once in hills, punched with foot-prints;
kids slid on it on an old car-door,
sopping wet. There was no sign then
of its pristine symbol. I taught a Chinese student
whose name meant “Reliant on Snow” and another
in the same class called “Ice Cold” — they were both women,
both wedded to snow and its human meanings
on their birthdays, long before they had any idea
what they meant. . . .
In a second-hand Stockholm,
I find the dirty city snow dispiriting —
all that it could evoke is so far from realized —
I am burnt with its yearning but not healed,
walking in circles over other people’s footsteps

impurely.

 

iii. Male Model in a Picture

Dressed in evergreen black, he duly outstands
Winter to the left of some European forest
clutching a brief case, as if in fact
he were on his way to a board-meeting of snowmen.
His tie must be stiff as a board. Ice-crystals form
between the long leather fingers of his gloves.
He cannot smile — his rugged,
pine-needle beard would only stab him if he tried
and he knows that blood (at best) in this world
can attract only business-like scorn. His mind
must be fourteen, fifteen degrees below by now,
but his thought never chatters. Come,
he invites, to my easy two dimensions,
to my hand-made, male cold. Come.

Gathering Concentration

I go out late in the afternoon to pick up sticks out of the thin forest floor. As the dog circuits rabbit and hare scents in the tussocks, I conscientiously fossick, keeping my eyes firmly fixed on small timber the wind or bigger birds all of a sudden broke free. The hum in my head talks on and on and on steadily — sometimes I wonder about this chatterbox I’ve kept my mind stuck in for the better part of a life. Why will it never shut up? Who holds the lid down? The dog on the periphery meanwhile tests his world by wandering, breaking new limits in fits before he comes galloping at full stretch when I call him back to the centre of attention. Before we know it, the green bucket is virtually pleasingly full, presenting a satisfying bristle of Chinaman Creek’s local woods. He suggests with his usual puppy playfulness that he pull the whole lot out so that I can start my patient gather once more from scratch. No, I tell him, as it matters. It’s getting late and we must be ready for the depth of Winter with this fragile tinder crackle that lets the first fire-sparks go.

Wumenguan/Mumonkan • Koan 4

• Bodhidharma Had No Whiskers / 《胡子無鬚》

I have no idea about the deeper meaning of this fourth koan, but I am struck by the word-play that seems to dominate it.

The noun 胡子 could mean “the barbarian”, since one of the basic meanings of 胡 hu2 = “3. (in ancient China) a general name of the northern tribes” (114), that also appears in compounds such as hu2 er2 = northern barbarians in ancient China (FE: 1115). According to Soothill, 胡子 = “Hun, or Turk, a term applied to the people west and north of China; a nickname for Bodhidharma” (312). (He also notes that the word 老胡 or “Old Hun” was used as a nickname for Buddha [DCBT: 312].)

Bodhidharma’s dates are 470-543. In Ernest Wood’s words, “An Indian Buddhist who went to China and there formally established the Buddha-Mind School, called also Ch’an and later, in Japan, Zen” (ZD: 18). Most images of Bodhidharma seem to show him with a full beard. Put all this together and it suggests that the obvious meaning of the title of this koan is “Bodhidharma Had No Beard”.

In modern Chinese, 胡子 also means “beard, moustache or whiskers” (HYCD: 284). Perhaps this meaning originates from the fact that male barbarians often had full beards, thus linking bearded-ness to foreign-ness. It may have also carried this meaning in Wumen’s day. Possibly then, the title could also mean “Beard without Whiskers”.

The character 鬚 xu1 has an interesting history. I am guessing here, but on the basis of other precedents, that this character was originally written 須 xu1, which is a pictograph made up of 彡 shan1, an element (known as a “radical”) used to show that the basic meaning of a character has something to do with “feathers, long hair, ornament” (ACC: 140) and 頁 ye4 = “head; page; man” (ACC: 41). Obviously “long hair on the head” could refer to facial hair of some kind.

Later, this same character was borrowed to write other words which were pronounced with the same sound. 須 xu1 has eight different meanings in FE, including “1. to have to; must; to need”,”2. necessary; proper” and “4. a beard” (1507). In the Wumenguan, 須 is used 15 times.

無門曰。參禪須透祖師關。(趙州狗子)
Wumen comments: [if you] search for truth by means of Zen meditation, you must pass through the barrier of the founder of the sect[, Bodhidharma] [祖師].

更須赤脚上刀山 (國師三喚)
?Then even more so [更] [you] must walk barefoot up a mountain of knives [刀山].

譬如十字街頭撞見親爺相似。更不須問別人。(他是阿誰)
It’s just like bumping into your own father at the crossing of two streets. There’s even less need to ask anybody else [who it is].

From a cursory review of these examples, it would appear that the character is almost always used with the meaning of “must” or “need to”.

To reduce the confusion, at some point, a new character was invented for the “beard” meaning of 須 xu1. This character is written with 髟 biao1 denoting “hair; shaggy hair or locks” (ACC: 215) on top; the old 須 character is added underneath to form 鬚.

The final potential pun is that the combination of two characters, 無須 wu2 xu1 can mean “unnecessary; not necessary; no need to” in some situations. FE lists one example, 無須解釋 = It’s unnecessary to explain it (832). Spoken aloud, this theoretically would have sounded the same as 無鬚 = not having a beard; without whiskers”. However, there is no use 無須of in the Wumenguan, so I remain doubtful about this.

It would appear, at this superficial level, that this text has something to say about the slipperiness of language.

Cantonese through News Stories: Hong Kongers Climb Mount Everest

While the Hong Kong people have scaled new heights recently in their determination to protest against encroachments on their way of life, a small team of unsung Hong Kong climbers made it all the way to the top of Chomolungma (Mount Everest) at the end of May. This fine piece from TVB reporter 陳金寶 Chàhn4 Gām1 Bóu2 showcases some essential parts of the mountaineering lexicon, as well as the wonderful four-character expression, 量力而為 leuhng6 lihk6 yìh4 wàih4. As it turns out, mountain climbing is not just physically hard but also psychologically very demanding.

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12 new words:

珠穆朗瑪峰 jyū1 muhk6 lóhng5 máah5 fūng1 = Chomolungma; Qomolangma; Mount Everest
登山 dāng1 sāan1 = to climb a mountain
攀登 pāan1 dāng1 = to climb; to clamber; to scale
目睹 muhk6 dóu2 = to see with one’s own eyes; to witness
屍體 sī1 tái2 = corpse
爬 pàah4 = 1. to creep; to crawl 2. to climb; to clamber
攻頂  = to charge; to assail (gūng1) + top; peak (déng2)
人龍 yàhn4 lùhng4 = a group of people standing in line
失溫 sāt1 wān1 = hypothermia (?) / lit. “loss of warmth”
量力而為 leuhng6 lihk6 yìh4 wàih4 = to know one’s limits; not to go overboard
巔 dīn1 = summit of mountain; mountain top
靚景 leng3 gíng2 = beautiful scenery

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(Introduction)

世界最高峰珠穆朗瑪峰今個登山季超過十個登山者死亡。
More than ten people died during this [year’s] mountain-climbing season [on] Chomolungma, the world’s highest peak.

Note: The character 今 gām1 can mean “this” with certain time expressions: 今個月 = this month.

Goose Pimples

The shine of setting sun proved stronger than the splatter
of rain, still only a distant ticking on a sheep farmer’s
tin-roofed shed. We could believe our eyes.
We did not believe our ears, when, on through the blind glare,
the sound of the downpour edged closer, no longer
a metallic type-written clatter but liquid inciting
the vocal retort of a dam. We knew then
that we had to stay put where we paused, perched
on the renewed awkwardness of stationary bikes.
With the rest of the dry world bathed in glow, the shower
barged helter-skelter in on our makeshift hide,
drenching us lightly through a ramshackle canopy
to give us our first goose bumps, hint of new Autumn
invisible by day in March’s postscript to Summer,
but apparent at once with the outbreak of night, like first stars.

Cantonese through News Stories: Police Use “Speed Dragons” on Umbrella-wielding Protesters

Hong Kong police’s Special Tactical Squad is popularly referred to as 速龍小隊 chūk1 lùhng4 síu2 déui6*2 or Speed Dragon Squad. These “men in black” made an appearance in the effort to clear crowds encircling the Legislative Council Building on Wednesday afternoon, and demonstrated for all the world to see just how superior the truncheon is to the humble domestic umbrella.

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12 new words:

防線 fòhng4 sin3 = line of defence
催淚彈 chēui1 leuih6 dáan6*2 = tear bomb; tear-gas grenade
布袋彈 bouh6 doih6 dáan6*2 = beanbag round/bullet
橡子膠彈 jeuhng6 jí2 gāau1 dáan6*2 = rubber bullet
驅散 kēui1 saan3 = to disperse; to break up
騷亂 sōu1 lyuhn6 = riot; disturbance; turmoil
衝擊 chūng1 gīk1 = to make an assault on
防暴警察 fòhng4 bouh6 gíng2 chaat3 = riot police
被擊中 beih6 gīk 1 jung3 = to be hit (by a bullet, etc.)
疏散 sō1 saan3 = to scatter; to disperse; to evacuate
催淚水劑 chēui1 leuih6 séui2 jāi1 = ?a tear-inducing liquid
胡椒噴霧 wùh4 jīu1 pan3 mouh6 = pepper spray

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晏晝唔少示威者衝破咗警方嘅防線，衝入立法會示威區。
In the afternoon, quite a large number of protesters broke through police lines and stormed into the protest area of the Legislative Council Building.

Note: The verb 衝 chūng1 means “to charge”, while 破 po3 means “to break” and indicates the result of the action. English typically uses a preposition for this purpose.