Art, says the people behind the Under the Bridge Art Project, should be a force in “connecting the community and comforting people”. In a worked entitled “Watching Waves”, landscape painter 黃進曦 Stephen Wong Jeun Hei sets out to do precisely this, encouraging Hongkongers to steer a course through the treacherous contemporary situation with the help of dexterity and faith.
Whoever worked as the sound technician for this video knew exactly what she was doing: Wong’s eloquent flow of speech comes through with great clarity, making it a delight to listen to. And the atmospheric piano soundtrack chosen to accompany his words complements it beautifully, without ever once drowning them out.
The grammar of the voice-over is straightforward, but there are a few points worth noting. Firstly, Wong uses the sentence-final double particle 嚟㗎 lèih4 gaa3 on several occasions to suggest emphasize something is, perhaps with a hint of “and this is what something is in essence”. He uses it first to define who he is for viewers — 我係一個風景畫家嚟㗎 = “I am a landscape painter” — and later to characterize his artwork “Watching Waves” — 係一個大浪嘅一個風景嚟㗎 = “is a vista with huge waves in it”.
Secondly, transformation in Cantonese is often handled by means of 做 jouh6 to form a link between the verb and the outcome of the transformation. For instance, “the spray magically transforming into birds” is expressed as 幻化咗做一啲雀仔, where 幻化 is the verb and 一啲雀仔 refers to the result of the change. I’ve noticed too that the idea of translation form one language into another is often rendered as 譯做.
In the vocabulary department, there are some wonderful things, especially an appearance by the verbs 冚埋 kám2 màaih4 = “to cover” and 搲 wé2 = “to seize” (although it has a number of other meanings as well). Other items for any Cantonese learner’s vocabulary list are: 情景 chìhng4 gíng2 = scene; 兇險 hūng1 hím2 = in a very dangerous state; critical; 仔細 jí2 sai3 = careful; 浪花 lohng6 fāa1 = spray (literally, “wave flowers”); 嚴峻 yìhm4 jeun3 = stern; severe; rigorous; grim; and the four-character phrase 屹立不倒 ngaht6 lahp6 bāt1 dóu2 = roughly, “to stand firm; to stand tall & unwavering”.
Please scroll down if you want the transcription, notes and English translation. Otherwise, you can view the video here(subtitles in Standard Written Chinese only). Since it is a YouTube video, you can slow down the playback speed if you wish: at 0.75 and 0.5, the sound quality is still good. And remember, if you want the standard jyutping romanization or to check any of the Chinese in the text, please consult the Sheik Cantonese on-line dictionary.
● 橋墩 kìuh4 dán2 = bridge pier; an earthen or stone structure under a bridge | ● 情景 chìhng4 gíng2 = scene; sight; circumstances
My name is Stephen Wong Chun Hei. I am a landscape painter. On this occasion, for the “Under The Bridge Art Project: Once Upon A Dragon Interchange” project, I have designed scenes [depicting] huge waves on two pillars [representing] bridge pylons. Each pylon features [係] a vista with huge waves in it. However, when people look at [the work], they really ought to be able . . .
● 壓迫 [ng]aat3 bīk1 = to oppress; to repress | ● 兇險 hūng1 hím2 = in a very dangerous state; critical | ● 仔細 jí2 sai3 = careful; attentive | ● 吹歪 chēui1 mé2 = cf. 吹 = to blow + 歪 = askew; crooked | ● 頂 déng2 = the top (part); here, “the crest (of a wave)” | ● 浪花 lohng6 fāa1 = spray | ● 濺起 jin3 (chín2?) héi2 = to splash (up) Note: Someone has commented in a forum on the Sheik Cantonese website about the colloquial pronunciation of 濺: “On reflection, I suspect chín2 is a pronunciation specific to HK, created by analogy from 淺.” | ● 幻化 waahn6 faa3 = to change magically | ● 嚴峻 yìhm4 jeun3 = stern; severe; rigorous; grim | ● 游走 yàuh4 jáu2 = roughly, “to swim away from” | ● 靈巧 lìhng4 háau2 = dextrous; nimble; skilful; ingenious | ● 穿梭 chyūn1 sō1 = to shuttle back & forth
. . . to get a sense of the oppressiveness of that huge wave, or a feeling of being in a very dangerous state. In [these paintings], apart from the huge waves, if you look more carefully, you should be able to see some small boats [一啲船仔], some small islands with a tree on [each one], bent crooked by the wind, and you should even be able to see, on the crest of the wave, when they spray splashes up, the spray magically transforming into birds. Actually, in my conception [of these images], now Hong Kong is in a situation where there is an epidemic and in this rather severe atmosphere, I really wanted people to be able to [act] like the small roles [小嘅角色] I have arranged [in my work] — oppressed by that enormous wave, like a boat, [they] ought to be able to move out of the way of the wave, and with great ingenuity, shuttle in and out [穿梭] . . .
● 翻騰 fāan1 tàhng4 = to seethe; to rise; to churn | ● 形勢 yìhng4 sai3 = situation; circumstances | ● 冚埋 kám2 màaih4 = roughly, to cover completely; to engulf” | ● 跳躍 tiu3 yeuhk6 = to jump; to leap; to bound | ● 堅守 = gīn1 sáu2 = to stick to; to hold fast to; to stand fast | ● 信念 seun3 nihm6 = faith; belief; conviction | ● 搲 wé2 = to seize | ● 泥土 nàih4/làih4 tóu2 = earth; soil | ● 屹立不倒 ngaht6 lahp6 bāt1 dóu2 = roughly, “to stand firm; to stand tall & unwavering” | ● 安心 = ōn1 sām1 = feel at ease; be relieved; to set one’s mind at rest
. . . of the seething aspect [嗰種翻騰嘅形勢] of the waves, or like flying birds you should — as the wave comes crashing down — gain a greater strength to jump out [from underneath], or even like the trees [growing] on those small islands, you should hold fast to your own beliefs. You should be able to grab hold of some earth that will enable you to stand firm, to stand tall. All these things, I get the feeling, are present at a time where there is an epidemic and everyone possibly feels a sense of helplessness or feels that they have no way of calculating just what their fate might be like tomorrow, perhaps [I’m not sure if I have understood the previous sentence correctly]. If everyone has faith in the way I have arranged it in this work, as I said just now, then this ought to be able to help us all to feel a bit more at ease [安心一啲] in facing this epidemic together.
彭靖 Pàahng4 Jihng6, an artist herself, currently works as a full-time nude model for those people passionate about life-drawing. This video from Apple allows us to get an inkling of the motivations and challenges that necessarily accompany this highly unusual human transaction, and Pang’s poise and candour add a strongly positive note to her presentation.
Interestingly, the original report began with a complementary section about male nude models, but their treatment could not have been more different: their faces were deliberated blurred out, their voices were distorted to avoid recognition, and they were referred to using pseudonyms rather than their real names. The way the activity of modelling is viewed by society in Hong Kong is starkly distinguished along gender lines, it would seem.
After the tragic demist of Apple, this video was removed from circulation, but back-ups can be found on YouTube, both a full version and the version given here, which deals only with Pang Jing. That is why you’ll find two sets of timings in the transcription.
The main language-highlight of the video is the adjective 𠮩𠹌 līu1 lāng1 = “odd; strange; rare”. The last time I came across it was in October 2019 in a TVB news report in which an older woman described the closure of MTR stations during the anti-extradition protests in the following terms: 而家都唔開，噉變咗𠮩𠹌 = “now they’re all closed and things have got strange”).
Please scroll down if you want the transcription, notes and English translation. Otherwise, you can view the video here(subtitles in Standard Written Chinese only). Since it is a YouTube video, you can slow down the playback speed if you wish: at 0.75 and 0.5, the sound quality is still good. And remember, if you want the standard jyutping romanization or to check any of the Chinese in the text, please consult the Sheik Cantonese on-line dictionary.
Pang Jing: [I] really like trying new things plus [I] have a strong curiosity. The first time was really quite a novelty [好新奇]. There was a set amount of time [計時]. And then, after a short post lasting a minute, [we] painted for 15 minutes. Actually, after painting for a while I felt curious, and so wanted to give it a try, to find out what it actually felt like.
Pang Jing: Earlier when I modelled, I was a fleshy, well-rounded [圓潤] kind of young woman. However, at the time I didn’t say to myself that, for instance, I mustn’t eat, getting myself thinner before I went [and modelled] — there was nothing like that.
● 共識 guhng6 sīk1 = a consensus; a common understanding | ● 寫生 sé2 sāang1 = to paint from life; to draw, paint or sketch from nature | ● 喝住 hot3 jyuh6 = (?) to shout loudly at sb. to make them stop doing sth.; to tell sb. off
Pang Jing: Because actually there is a common understanding between everyone, the understanding that when you’re sketching the human body, you can’t take pictures, record or take out your phone. The only time was around two, two and a half years ago. Someone was taking photos, so naturally I immediately told them to stop: “Hey, what do you think you are doing taking pictures?”
記者：畫之前可以同畫家商量一個姿勢可以維持幾耐
● 商量 sēung1 lèuhng4 = to consult; to discuss; to talk over
Reporter: Before the start, [the model] can discuss [the issue of] how long to hold a pose with the artists.
● 甫士 pōu3*1 sí6*2 = a pose | ●特登 dahk6 dāng1 = deliberately; intentionally; on purpose | ● 𠮩𠹌 līu1 lāng1 = odd, strange, rare | ● 器官 hei3 gūn1 = a [bodily] organ | ● 淫褻 yàhm4 sit3 = obscene; an obscenity
Pang Jing: All poses are decided by the model. For this reason, there is a sense of respect at work here [喺裏邊]. Posing is an active passivity — although you are drawing me, I get to choose the poses. What’s more, when I am modelling, I am actually also putting my experience of being a painter into [what I do]. Sometimes I will deliberately do a movement that is a bit strange, just to challenge them a bit. Some people really like to sketch a particular part. They [佢] are all just organs — whether you think they are obscene or not depends on [就好睇] what exactly is going on in your mind [你個腦]. I mean, [Just because] I can let other people see [my body], doesn’t mean [唔代表] I am willing to do so any time, any place, and nor does it mean I am completely indifferent [無所謂咁] to letting people see [me].
Caption: 裸體、性 | Nudity and Sex
彭靖：nudity 可以同 sex 冇關囉 | 啫，唔 nude 都可以有 sex 同埋慾望嘅出現㗎嘛，有時候 | 性其實你有接觸㗎嘛，你要有情感，無論身體上嘅交流 | 定係情感上嘅交流 | 都係同你裸露於人前係兩件事嚟㗎喎 | 其實我真係冇【6:00】任何包袱 | 亦都冇任何障礙需要跨過㗎
● 慾望 yuhk6 mohng6 = (n.) desire; wish; lust | ● 裸露 ló2 louh6 = uncovered; exposed | ● 包袱 bāau1 fuhk6 = usu. a load; a weight; a burden; perhaps “hang-up” in this context | ● 障礙 jeung3 ngoih6 = an obstacle | ● 跨過 kwāa1 gwo3 = to step across; to go beyond
Pang Jing: Nudity may be unrelated to sex. That is, sex and desire can appear when there is no nudity. With sex in fact there has to be contact, there are feelings. Regardless of whether it is a physical exchange or an emotional one, it is a different thing from being exposed [in front of] others. Actually, I really don’t have any hang-ups [包袱] and there are no obstacles that need to be got over.
● 神情 sàhn4 chìhng4 = an expression; a look | ● 赤裸 chek3 ló2 = (adj.) bare| ● 流露 làuh4 louh6 = to reveal; to betray; to show unintentionally | ● 捕捉 bouh6 jūk1 = to catch; to seize | ● 微細 mèih4 sai3 = very small; tiny
Pang Jing: As a matter of fact, [I] am very pleased, because . . . [there are] lots of different styles, different media, different settings [地方], and then [there are] my different expressions, but actually despite the significant differences [好唔同] they are all [still] me. When you are nude, [being] in this state where you a naked in both a physical and an emotional sense, it is easy to reveal, unintentionally, whether you are feeling happy or not in that moment. Later, the artists might be able to capture [what I am revealing], and after that when they have finished, [they might] ask, “Ah Jing, have you been feeling unhappy lately?” Then those artists who are able to observe those minute [changes] in those moods have become my friends.
● 分手 fān1 sáu2 = to art company; to say good-bye; to split up | ● 觸景 = ? cf. 觸景生情 jūk1 gíng2 sāang1 chìhng4 = the sight strikes a chord in one’s heart; recall old memories at the sight of familiar places | ● 慶幸 hing3 hahng6 = to rejoice
Pang Jing: It had never happened before. And then music can strike a chord [and bring up] painful feelings, and it made my sit there with two lines of tears streaming down my face. I think it’s OK to show your feelings. As a result, when the person in charge realized [what was happening], [she] asked me if I needed to take a break. They really understand; they have a good grasp of the situation [好明白]. [I] rejoice [at the fact that] the artists I have come across are all good people.
記者 Reporter：陳煥欣 | 煥 wuhn6 = shining; glowing 攝影 Photography：梁志恆、潘志恆 剪接 Editing ：陳曉筠 | 筠 wàhn4 = bamboo skin; gwān1 used as a place name in Sichuan province
Kiwi Chow has been in the news recently because of his new film, Revolution of Our Times. This 4-minute video about him was made by Ming Pao in May 2020. You can watch the videohere.
周冠威：《十年 ● 自焚者》係個問題 | 問香港人，你願意為香港 | 呢個家願意犧牲幾多？| Kiwi Chow: Ten Years, Self-immolator is a question | Asking the question, “How much are you willing to sacrifice for your home, Hong Kong?”
Caption: 文化後浪 | Cultural Successors
Caption: 唔好睇死香港 | 唔好睇死自己 Don’t Give up on Hong Kong | Don’t Give Up on Your Self
Caption: 周冠威 Kiwi Chow 執導《十年 ● 自焚者》| 近作：《幻愛》| 金像獎最佳導演提名 Kiwi Chow is the director of Ten Years, Self-immolator | Most recent film: Beyond the Dream | Nominated for the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director
Caption: 重睇《十年》唔好睇死香港 | After Watching Ten Years Again, I Don’t Give up on Hong Kong
● 防暴警察 fòhng4 bouh6 gíng2 chaat3 = riot police | ● 警棍 gíng2 gwan3 = a truncheon; a police baton | ● 撲 (or 㩧) bōk1 = to hit on the head | ● 攝影師 sip3 yíng2 sī1 = photographer; cinematographer | ● 爭辯 jāng1 bihn6 = argument | ● 可悲 hó2 bēi1 = sad; lamentable
Several years ago, I made Ten Years, Self-immolator. After a certain amount of time, I watched it again. What made a deep impression on me is the fact that the period was even worse than I had imagined. There is a scene in it dealing with some anti-riot police who are beating our main character with their truncheons. I even had some arguments with the photographer about this. Was it really necessary to film the scene so violently [咁誇張]? The sad thing is that when we look back over the past year, scenes of this kind have been constantly appearing in our news [programs]. Ten Years, Self-immolator is a question | Asking the question, “How much are you willing to sacrifice for your home, Hong Kong?”
● 意志 yi3 ji3 = will | ● 發聲 faat3 sēng1 = (?) | ● 抗衡 kong3 hàhng4 = to contend with | ● 法治 faat3 jih6 = rule by law | ● 鉗制 kìhm4 jai3 = to clamp down on; to suppress | ● 演藝 yán2 ngaih6 = the performing arts | ● 自大 jih6 daaih6 = self-important; arrogant
[During] the [protest] movement of 2019, I saw many people make sacrifices for Hong Kong and even to make a stand [走出嚟] with a stronger will than you could have imagined. You could take to the streets. You could speak out for the value of justice [or] contend for the truth. Many said that the reason these young people went out to struggle for fairness [爭去打平] was because they couldn’t afford to buy their own home or because their living conditions were not as good [as others]. That’s not true. In their eyes, the rule of law in Hong Kong was getting weaker and weaker, while freedom in Hong Kong was being clamped down on more and more. Our peaceful demonstrations were severely repressed. I have no idea what the future will be like, but I firmly believe that there are a great number of possibilities. [I say this] because I once gave up on myself. But I was wrong. I was once someone who went and studied at the Academy for the Performing Arts and whose results were far from ideal. I really wanted to study at the Film Academy, but I couldn’t manage to get in. I gave up on myself. My personal experience [taught me] that any person has many possibilities. You shouldn’t be so arrogant as to give up on yourself.
● séuhng5 tīn1 = to go up into the sky | ● 盼望 paan3 mohng6 = to hope; to wish
Don’t be so arrogant or you won’t reach the heights [上天]. Don’t give up on Hong Kong. When a person doesn’t give up on something, then you will feel that there is still hope.
Caption: 近作《幻愛》| 相信自己可以改 | His Most Recent Film Beyond the Dream | Believe that One Can Change
● 梳理 sō1 léih5 = (?) to put order into; to organize | ● 善良 sihn6 lèuhng4 = good and honest; kindhearted | ● 間接 gaan3 jip3 = indirect | ● 彌補 nèih4 bóu2 = to make up; to remedy; to make good | ● 探討 taam3 tóu2 = to inquire into; to probe into
What has happened in Hong Kong over the past year is I think as far as the whole is concerned [整體上] a collective post-traumatic disorder. Over the past year, we have released a great amount of emotion. We need to work through this [梳理] in the hope of reaching some degree of healing. I am a film director. Of course, I believe in the power of film. It is my hope that my films will spark kindheartedness in more people, and help us to work through our past. I hope the film Beyond the Dream can, indirectly, help to make good in this regard [呢個位置]. It is a love film and what is probed in it is that everyone has a past, has some emotions that need to be worked through. Only then can one walk a whole new path [更加新嘅路]. By mean of relationships with others one can heal oneself and the other. My emotions it turns out don’t belong to me alone — I am not alone. There are a lot of other people like me.
A person who had suffered from a mental illness and later recovered said to me after watching Beyond the Dream, “Watching this film has given me more hope”. This is the kind of feeling I am talking about. That is, I hope that watching this film will give people strength. I have no idea what will happen in the future. Don’t worry about whether the external environment is OK or not. Worry about what is right. I hope that by holding on to this sense of possibility I can continue to go on. You have values you pursue which you believe in: keep going then.
Caption: 不要看行不行，要看對不對 （《十年 ● 自焚者》）| It’s not a matter of whether it’s feasible. It’s whether it’s right
Pan was a rural god in ancient Greek belief, and an embodiment of the spirit of Nature. I think he would be proud of his contemporary incarnation in Hong Kong, 劉善鵬 Làuh4 Sihn6 Pàahng6, an environmental manager who goes by the English name of Pan, an able and self-deprecating fellow who likes to refer to himself as 煎 Pan or “Frying Pan”!
In this video, part of RTHK’s fascinating “Hong Kong Ecologists” series, we get an overview of the work that The Conservancy Association is doing in a place near 上水 Sheung Shui called 塱原 Long Yuen, a stretch of freshwater wetlands that grows rice and other crops as well as providing a habitat to a large number of birds and frogs. Management of this region, soon to become an environmental park, obviously involves a delicate balancing between the needs of agriculture and ecology.
The most interesting grammatical feature of Pan’s speech is his frequent use of the aspect marker 翻 fāan1 which, as I mentioned in my last post, often appears in unexpected contexts. Although the basic meaning is “again”, it often implies that an action has resumed after an interruption. This meaning is suggested in 喺〇九年都喺塱原種翻稻米 = “In 2009, we also planted a rice crop in Long Yuen again”. Sometimes, it seems to imply “restoration”, a taking back of things to an earlier state, as in 噉希望去維持翻塱原你原本好多嘅啲水田嘅環境 = “in the hope that [we] can preserve the place and bring back a large number of these paddy-field environments to the way they used to be”. Pan also uses it with verbs such as 調查 = to survey, 反映 = to reflect, 介紹 = to introduce and 關注 = to show concern for, suggesting that it has various other nuances that serious learners might like to ponder!
As for the vocabulary, there’s a delightful instance of the verb 抰 yéung2, which Sheik Cantonese defines as ① to unwrap; to display; to uncover ② to shake off; to jerk; to flick. The last time I came across it was in a Buddhistdoor interview with Queenie Chu, who used 抰走 to refer to flicking an insect off her clothing rather than squashing it. Here in 會成籃擺落去抰走啲泥沙、昆蟲呀咁先攞去賣嘅, it indicates the removal of soil and insects from basket loads of plants before they are taken off to market to sell.
Other items include: 現存 yihn6 chyùhn4 = extant; in stock; 農作物 nùhng4 jok3 maht6 = crops; 產卵 cháan2 léun2 / léuhn5 = to lay eggs; to spawn; 數據 sou3 geui3 = data; 求偶 kàuh4 ngáuh5 = (?) to look for a mate; 西洋菜 sāi1 yèuhng4 choi3 = watercress; 逗留 dauh6 làuh4 = to stop (at a place); 石屎森林 sehk6 sí2 sām1 làhm4 = a concrete jungle; 體驗活動 tái2 yihm6 wuht6 duhng6 = roughly, “activities for learning through practical experience”; 陣間 jahn6 gaan1 = soon; in a moment; in a while; 講解 góng2 gáai2 = to explain; 下旬 haah6 chèuhn4 = the last ten-day period of a month; 收割 sāu1 got3 = to reap; to harvest; to gather in.
Unfortunately, just as I was finalizing the text for this post, the video was removed from YouTube and the RTHK website.
If you want the standard jyutping romanization or to check any of the Chinese in the text, please consult the Sheik Cantonese on-line dictionary.
● 公頃 gūng1 kíng2 = a hectare | ● 現存 yihn6 chyùhn4 = extant; in stock | ● 完整 yùhn4 jíng2 = complete; integrated; intact | ● 農耕 nùhng4 gāang1/gāng1 = (?) to cultivate | ● 連接 lìhn4 jip3 = to join; to link | ● 長春社 Chèuhng4 Chēun1 Séh5 = The Conservancy Association | ● 不時 bāt1 sìh4 = frequently; often
Reporter: With an area of approximate 50 hectares, Long Yuen — which is located in North District of Hong Kong’s New Territories — is Hong Kong’s largest and most complete [最完整] fresh-water agricultural wetland [淡水農耕濕地]. It is made up of over 400 linked plots of farmland. Such a large place obviously [方當] requires administrative personnel. One of these is Lau Sin-pang, who is from [嚟自] the Conservancy Association. Apart from keeping in frequent communication with the farmers, he also conducts ecological surveys and, by means of different kinds of activities, introduce this place to the general public and to children.
Caption: 劉善鵬，長春社助理保育經理 | Lau Sin-pang, Assistant Environmental Manager with the Conservancy Association
● 香港觀鳥會 Hēung1 Góng2 Gūn1 Níuh5 Wúi6*2 = the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society | ● 生境 sāng1 gíng2 = habitat | ● 維持 wàih4 chìh4 = to keep; to maintain; to preserve | ● 水田 séui2 tìhn4 = paddy field | ● 引入 yáhn5 yahp6 = to lead into; to draw into | ● 農作物 nùhng4 jok3 maht6 = crops | ● 慈菇 chìh4 gū1 = arrowhead, katniss (Sagittaria sagittifolia) | ● 馬蹄 máah5 tái4*2/tàih4 = water chestnut | ● 稻米 douh6 máih5 = rice (crop) | ● 棲息 chāi1 sīk1 = to perch; to dwell | ● 保護對象 bóu2 wuh6 deui3 jeuhng6 = roughly, “the object of protection [efforts]” | ● 家族 gāa1 juhk6 = a clan; a family | ● 使用 sái2/sí2 yuhng6 = to make use; to use; to employ | ● 產卵 cháan2 léun2 / léuhn5 = to lay eggs; to spawn Note: According to Sheik Cantonese, léun2 is the standard reading for the character 卵, while léuhn5 is a variant | ● 繁殖 fàahn4 jihk6 = to breed; to reproduce
Lau Sin-pang: My name is Chin Pan (“Frying Pan”). I have been working in Long Yuen for roughly ten years. The organization I work for, the Conservancy Association, together with the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society, has been working together in Long Yuen with the local farmers since 2005. Together we have been doing some environmental management. This includes preserving some of the paddy fields. It also involves introducing [引入] some new paddy-field crops such as arrowhead [慈菇] and water chestnut. In 2009, we also planted a rice crop in Long Yuen again, in the hope that [we] can preserve the place and bring back a large number of these paddy-field environments to the way they used to be. Creatures of various kinds [動物] could then inhabit this place. In fact, there are two main kinds of creatures that are the object of protection [efforts] here in Long Yuen. First of all, birds. The other big family [大嘅家族] that [we] hope to protect are the frogs. As it turns out [原來], frogs make use of fresh-water wetlands for breeding. Now although these fields are under cultivation, there are many creatures inhabiting [棲息] them. [According to] the latest bird figures, there are 316 [different] kinds. This is more than 60% of the sum total for Hong Kong.
記者：作為管理員，煎 Pan 佢哋當然要知道喺厘塊土地上面生活緊嘅 | 除咗人以外，仲有咩動物 | 佢哋嘅數量有冇多到？| 厘啲數據可以話係佢哋嘅成績表 | 今晚佢就進行緊青蛙生態調查
● 數據 sou3 geui3 = data | ● 成績表 sìhng4 jīk1 bíu2 = ① school/academic report; student report card; school record ② table of results/scores
Reporter: As a manager, Chin Pan and his team [煎 Pan 佢哋] naturally need to know what is living here on this patch of ground. Apart from human beings, what other creatures are there and have their quantities increased? You could say that such data is their table of results. This evening, he is doing and environmental survey of frogs.
● 成效 sìhng4 haauh6 = an effect; a result | ● 雄性 hùhng4 sing3 = male | ● 求偶 kàuh4 ngáuh5 = (?) to look for a mate | ● 憑 pàhng4 = to go by; to base on; to take as a basis | ● 發覺 faat3 gok3 = to find; to detect; to discover | ● 微小 mèih4 síu2 = small; little | ● 洗菜池 sái2 choi3 chìh4 = roughly, “a pool for washing vegetables in” | ● 通菜 tūng1 choi3 = water spinach; Chinese spinach (also known as 蕹菜 ung3 choi3 and 翁菜 yūng1 choi3 | ● 西洋菜 sāi1 yèuhng4 choi3 = watercress | ● 抰走 yéung2 jáu2 = roughly, “to shake off” | ● 泥沙 nàih4 sāa1 = silt; soil; earth | ● 蝌蚪 fō1 dáu2 = a tadpole
Jin Pan: We will conduct a survey [to find out] whether the objects [of our protection efforts] [對象] are making use of the habitats we are managing. This patch of land is probably a rice paddy. We will find out [揾到] whether the numbers of certain species have gone up or down. This reflects whether in fact our fields are effective [有冇成效], in terms of the environment. A characteristic of frogs is that, in Summer, especially after a heavy shower of rain, the males will call in order to find a mate. On the basis of the sound, we judge the number of frogs on that piece of land and what species there are, because different frogs have different calls. Quite interestingly, we have found that that Long Yuen is basically [原來] an agricultural environment [and] many of the micro-habitats [within it] turn out to be agricultural facilities [設施], for instance, washing pools for vegetables. After the farmers have harvested [their] water spinach or [their] cress, they tip whole basket-loads [of vegetables into the ponds] to get rid of the dirt before taking them off to sell. We have found that as it turns out in Summer lots and lots of frogs will go into these ponds to reproduce, and there are lots of tadpoles. This is quite surprising. As it transpires, a habitat has been made for these creatures to make use of.
● 熄燈 sīk1 dāng1 = to put out the light; to turn off the light | ● 靜止 jihng6 jí2 = static; motionless; at a standstill | ● 澤蛙 jaahk6 wāa1 = literally, “pond frog” | ● 逗留 dauh6 làuh4 = to stop (at a place)
Jin Pan: We make a record based on? what we hear. First off all, we turn off our torch [熄燈]. Lamp-light has a [real] influence on frogs. [Then] we want to [想] stand still to allow [等] the frogs to get used to the night environment. Then we start to make a record. Just for the moment, [there is] a pond frog. We stay around for maybe for five minutes, listening out for what kinds of frog-calls there are.
● 落種lohk6 júng2 = (?) to plant seeds | ● 牽涉 hīn1 sip3 = to involve; to concern; to drag in | ● 石屎森林 sehk6 sí2 sām1 làhm4 = a concrete jungle | ● 體驗活動 tái2 yihm6 wuht6 duhng6 = roughly, “activities for learning through practical experience” | ● 陣間 jahn6 gaan1 = soon; in a moment; in a while | ● 落田 lohk6 tìhn4 = (?) to go into the fields | ● 除草 chèuih4 chó2 = weeding
Reporter: From planting to harvest, rice involves a large amount of human effort. Jin Pan and his team [煎 Pan 佢哋] conduct different kinds of hands-on activities [體驗活動] at different times for small children as well as adults from “the concrete jungle”, enabling everyone [who participates] to better understand the special features of the paddy fields. (Jin Pan speaks) Land cultivated for farming [農田] can provide many [different] spaces for a large number of birds and animals. Here they can live and have babies. In a moment, we will go down into the fields to do some weeding work.
● 講解 góng2 gáai2 = to explain | ● 休閒 yāu1 hàahn4 = ① to lie fallow ② to be not working; to have leisure; to be idle
Jin Pan: I can take that, such a big [piece of] dirt. By means of educational activities, we bring the children [down] here. [I] provide some explanation about some of the functions of the fields. Firstly, [it’s about] food: there are things to eat in the fields! The second thing is that it’s great fun: the fields are a fun, leisurely place. Thirdly, and the thing we feel is more important, is that we can introduce [children] to some small creatures such as birds and frogs. This enables them to learn that in the normal process of producing food, spaces are also provided for the creatures to live in.
● 秋收 chāu1 sāu1 = the Autumn harvest | ● 收成 sāu1 sìhng4 = a harvest; a crop | ● 豐收 fūng1 sāu1 = a bumper harvest
Jin Pan: Now, in November, that’s right, we [have] the Autumn harvest. Today we have spent half [our] morning harvesting a field. This year it has been very fine, this field. Our harvest has been a small bumper harvest.
Long caption: 塱原已於2019年12月下旬成為政府土地。由於塱原擁有生態價值，塱原濕地將會經過為期約三年的改善工程后，成為自然生態公園。
● 下旬 haah6 chèuhn4 = the last ten-day period of a month| ● 為期 wàih4 kèih4 = (to be completed) by a definite date
At the end of December 2019, Long Yuen became government land. Due to the fact that Long Yuen possesses ecological value, The Long Yuen Wetlands will become a Nature and Ecology Park after undergoing improvement works lasting approximately three years.
● 動用 duhng6 yuhng6 = to put to use; to employ; to draw on | ● 大朋友 daaih6 pàhng4 yáuh5 = adults (lit. “big friend”); I suspect that this is a humorous invention based on the word for “child”, 小朋友 (lit. “little friend”) | ● 收割 sāu1 got3 = to reap; to harvest; to gather in
Jin Pan: The process of growing rice is really quite interesting. You have to draw on a large number of people and “engage” many members of the public to take part. And so, [we] see so many “big friends” [that is, “adults”] as well as children come [out] today to help with the reaping. In the process [從中], we can give an introduction to what rice is, why it is planted — oh, so growing rice has a lot of ecological [aspects] to it! So that’s why Hong Kong’s history and culture is like that! We hope that more people will pay attention to our green environments and look out for them more.
Hong Kong writer 蔣曉薇 Jeung Hiu-mei’s new novel 《秋鯨擱淺》has been attracting widespread attention in recent months. The title roughly translates as “the beaching of Autumn whales”, and this image of Hong Kong (as it used to be) as a stranded whale seems to have captured the imagination of a number of commentators. In this video from Ming Pao’s 《文化後浪》 (roughly, “Cultural Successors”) series, she discusses the issues that arise from the novel, the big question being: is there any possibility that some form of intervention could rescue the Hong Kong from its life-threatening predicament?
There are three grammatical points that are worthy of the Cantonese learner’s attention. Firstly, there is a good example of the final particle 囉 lō1. According to Yuen-lam Tsang’s helpful guide Basic Sentence-final Particles in Hong Kong Cantonese (Greenwood Press 2020), the main function of 囉 lō1 is to inform the listener that what is being said is obvious and natural. When it is paired with 咪 maih6, we get what Yip and Matthews call “an obvious conclusion” (Intermediate Cantonese). Thus, 噉我咪執筆去寫囉 means something like “and so I picked up my pen and wrote”.
The second point involves住 jyuh6, a widely used aspect marker that indicates that the effects of a particular (one-off) action persist over an extended period of time. Jeung uses it in 係一個傷口裏面滲透住一啲東西出嚟嘅 = “some things that came seeping out from a wound”; 你面對住變化嘅時候 = “when we face up to changes”; and the classic use of with the wearing of clothing, since once the clothing is put on in a single act, it remains in that state (until another act comes along to change it): 好似披戴住一啲你好喜歡嘅作家佢哋嘅身影 = “it is like wrapping the images of the writers you really like around your shoulders”.
Thirdly, another aspect marker 翻 fāan1 is used on several occasions. Its basic meaning involves repetition or reconnection, but you often come across instances that seem a little counterintuitive! For example, the phrase 我都想寫翻發生喺香港嘅故事 seems to suggest getting stories that happen in real life (back) into writing. There’s also 呢個作品只不過係我想呈現翻當下香港一個離開或者留低擱淺嘅狀態, in which the marker indicates that the writer wants to “re-present” a certain condition affecting Hong Kong in her novel. In both cases here, there is a sense of transfer or translation from one realm to another.
As usual, there is plenty of useful vocabulary to take away from this video: 滲透 sām1 tau3 = to permeate; to seep; 無助 mòuh4 joh6 = helpless; 氛圍 fān1 wàih4 = atmosphere; 命題 mihng6 tàih4 = a proposition; statement; thesis; 手牽手 sáu2 hīn1 sáu2 = hand in hand; 挽救 wáahn5 gau3 = to save; to remedy; to rescue; 出身 chēut1 sān1 = one’s previous experience or occupation; 影視 yíng2 sih6 = film & television; 呢一輩 nī1 yāt1 bui3 = this generation; and 根基 gān1 gēi1 = a foundation; a basis.
Please scroll down for my transcription (again, it’s a bit ragged in places), English translation and notes. You can view the video here(subtitles in Standard Written Chinese only). Since it is a YouTube video, you can slow down the playback speed if you wish: at 0.75 and 0.5, the sound quality is still good. And remember, if you want the standard jyutping romanization or to check any of the Chinese in the text, please consult the Sheik Cantonese on-line dictionary.
● 灌溉 gun3 koi3 = usu. “to irrigate” | ● 脈絡傳承 mahk6 lok3 chyùhn4 sìhng4 = (?) to carry on in the same vein or tradition
I too would like to write about the streets here. I too would like to write the stories that have happened here in Hong Kong. So, I picked up my pen and wrote them, as if I were carrying on in the same tradition [好似一個脈絡傳承].
Caption: 用寫作留住香港 | To Stay in Hong Kong by Means of Writing
● 滲透 sām1 tau3 = to permeate; to seep | ● 焦慮 jīu1 leuih6 = feel anxious; have worries & misgivings | ● 無助 mòuh4 joh6 = helpless | ● 無力感 mòuh4 lihk6 gám2 = helplessness; perhaps also “powerlessness” | ● 正視 jing3 sih6 = to face up to (a difficult situation; reality)
When I first began to create, it actually felt to me like a wound out of which things came seeping. The wound was due to what I had been through; it also partly originated from changes in society. When you confront the changes, then there are in fact many misgivings, helplessness, powerlessness. However, writing can give [you] the ability to face up to [such things] anew. What exactly what is the source of one’s terror? Why does one feel so anxious about certain [一啲] changes?
● 悲哀 bēi1 ōi1 = grieved; sorrowful | ● 命題 mihng6 tàih4 = a proposition; statement; thesis | ● 源於 yùhn4 yū1 = to originate from; to stem from | ● 掙扎 jāng1 jaat3 = to struggle | ● 背負 bui3 fuh6 = to bear; to carry on the back
(Jeung Hiu-mei reads a passage from her novel) “[In] this world, there are times of sorrow. There are also times of beauty. This was the fine thing they were in the process of doing on the bodies of the whales (?), giving the beached whales sone small hope.” The original proposition was to do with staying, leaving and the state in-between the two. It also had its origins in a very great struggle. Why had so many people close to [me] left? To probe even more deeply into this issue, I asked myself whether I wanted to leave. [Assuming] that it were no easy matter, what are the things one would have to bear if one chose to leave?
● 尊重 jyūn1 juhng6 = to respect; to value; to esteem | ● 呈現 chìhng4 yìhn6 = to present (a certain appearance); to appear; to emerge | ● 當下 dōng1 haah6 = ① instantly; immediately; at once ② that very moment | ● 水漲 séui2 jeung3 = (of water) to rise; to go up | ● 時機 sìh4 gēi1 = an opportunity; an opportune moment | ● 外在 ngoih6 joih6 = external; extrinsic | ● 人為 yàhn4 wàih4 = artificial; human-made | ● 落返 lohk6 fāan1 = (?) to go back (into the sea) | ● 手牽手 sáu2 hīn1 sáu2 = hand in hand | ● 挽救 wáahn5 gau3 = to save; to remedy; to rescue | ● 付出 fuh6 chēut1 = to pay; to expend; in some contexts, it suggests “the effort you put into something” | ● 意願 yi3 yuhn6 = a wish; a desire; an aspiration | ● 無比 mòuh4 béi2 = incomparable; unparalleled; matchless | ● 信念 seun3 nihm6 = faith; belief; conviction
So, I went and asked myself this question in my writing. I respect each individual’s answer. This work is nothing more than my own wish to present that state of being stranded between leaving or staying in Hong Kong at this moment. At times of feeling stranded, [you] have no energy to go on [走落去], nor do [you] know how to go on. I can’t ever see a way forward. For instance, when a whale is beached, what it really needs is for the level of the water to rise [水漲呢個時機], so that it can return to the sea. It also needs some external force, I mean, I human-made effort to enable it to return to the sea. I mean, I think we’re all waiting for such a moment [when the sea-level rises], but who knows whether we can wait long enough for it to happen [等唔等到唔知嘅]. But my feeling is that the human-made effort is very important, that kind of output of energy [付出] where people go hand in hand to try together to save lives. That aspiration [according to which] one feels one can still save some lives at the present moment is of incomparable importance. At a time of being stranded, this belief is of incomparable importance.
Caption: 香港文學建構本土 | Hong Kong Literature Constructs One’s Native Place
● 出身 chēut1 sān1 = one’s previous experience or occupation | ● 影視 yíng2 sih6 = film & television | ● 本土bún2 tóu2 = one’s native land | ● 承傳 sìhng4 chyùhn4 = to inherit and pass on (Note: Subtitles have 傳承) | ● 呢一輩 nī1 yāt1 bui3 = this generation
I started out [出身] as a reader of literature. I read modern literature. Once you begin to read Hong Kong literature, you will find that the things that it writes about are [part of] your life [too]. In reading a large amount [of literature] or in watching some works for film and television, a local identity of a kind [一種本土嘅身份] is established, and gradually you come to discover — when you have read a lot — that one day you [yourself] get the desire to inherit this memory [that is, of Hong Kong] and to hand it on to others. This generation I belong to naturally has its own memories, too. I don’t stop there at the memories of Dung Cheung-kai or Hon Lai-chu or Chan Wai. My generation has its voices, too. I have my memories of the city, I have my experiences, and I too would like to write about the streets here. I too would like to write the stories that have happened here in Hong Kong. So, I picked up my pen and wrote them, as if I were carrying on in one and the same tradition [好似一個脈絡傳承]. It’s not right to break [this tradition] off. If we break off in our memories, our writings, then you have to [UNCLEAR] the voices of their memories of this city . . .
● 肩負 gīn1 fuh6 = to take on; to undertake; to shoulder; to bear | ● 披戴 pēi1 daai3 = (?) to wear draped over (or wrapped around) one’s shoulders | ● 身影 sān1 yíng2 = a person’s silhouette; form; figure | ● 承擔 sìhng4 dāam1 = to bear; to undertake; to assume | ● 擔子 daam3 jí2 = load; burden | ● 根基 gān1 gēi1 = a foundation; a basis
. . . and go and write the stories of this city. The things you have to shoulder are more numerous. It’s like wrapping the forms of your favourite writers around your shoulders, them as well as their [sense of] social responsibility, what they undertook in terms of literature, the literary roles they assumed. It’s as if this load has fallen to you [to shoulder]. You too have the responsibility to go and write, to express [yourself], to take over and pass on the foundation of a Hong Kong literature they took such pains to establish.
It’s a grotesque sight, watching the Chinese government criminalize genuine democracy while trying to uphold the terms of the Basic Law by introducing a system that means only approved candidates in full support of the government can ever get to hold power.
余慧明 Winnie Yu, already in detention with another 45 or so individuals for the “crime” of participating in a perfectly peaceful and legal primary election poll in 2020, sums up the matter with her usual incisiveness:
As long as you have voices [expressing] opposition, they will be repressed without exceptions. It’s as if this [legal] action wants to tell people “You must not have any [thoughts of] resisting”. If you do, then all you can do is wind up in jail”.
And she’s right. When they come to be sentenced, most of these individuals will probably be given lengthy prison terms.
This video from the Stand News team is entitled 《假如這是自由的最後一天》 or “If Today were the Last Day of Freedom”. Please watch it if you would like to understand more clearly what is going on in Hong Kong. It’s not a video to enjoy — although it is superbly made — but certainly one to remember. The colossal tragedy both in terms of the waste of human energy and potential and downright injustice will possibly move you to tears . . . But it is a timely reminder of the difficulties democracy everywhere is facing in an increasingly authoritarian world-climate.
Please scroll down for my transcription (it’s a bit ragged, but I’ve done my best), English translation and notes. You can view the video here(you are offered subtitles in both English and Standard Written Chinese). Since it is a YouTube video, you can slow down the playback speed if you wish: at 0.75 and 0.5, the sound quality is still good. And remember, if you want the standard jyutping romanization or to check any of the Chinese in the text, please consult the Sheik Cantonese on-line dictionary.
Update: 鄒家成 Owen Chow was granted bail on 22 June by High Court Judge Esther Toh. The 47 national security suspects are set to appear in a committal proceeding on July 8 2021.
Winnie Yu: When I got the phone call saying that I had to report [to the police station] early, at that moment the feeling I had was, in fact, that Oh, what had to come has come now.
Lucifer Ng: It was like everyone had made this atmosphere for themselves, that tomorrow was like [our] last [free] day ever.
Tiffany Yuen: Every night I fall asleep hugging him in my arms. When I go to prison, I won’t be able to hug him. So then tonight is the last night I will [get to] hug him.
…………………………………………………………………..
Caption: 假如這是自由的最後一天 | If Today were the Last Day of Freedom
● 見經如見佛 gin3 gīng1 yùh4 gin3 faht6 = roughly, “seeing a passage of scripture is equivalent to seeing Buddha himself” | ● 鎮定 jan3 dihng6 = clam; cool; composed; unruffled | ● 專注 jyūn1 jyu3 = to concentrate one’s attention on; to be absorbed in | ● 紋 màhn4 = cf. 紋身 = 1. a tattoo 2. to tattoo | ● 六字大明咒 luhk6 jih6 daaih6 mìhng4 jau3 = the Six-character Great Bright Mantra | ● 唵嘛呢叭咪吽 ám2 maa3 nī1 bāa1 māi1 (?) hūng1 = (the Chinese transliteration equivalent to) Om Mane Padme Hum | ● 撇除 pit3 chèuih4 = (?) to put aside; to eliminate; to remove; the subtitles have “other than work” | ● 修身齊家 sāu1 sān1 chàih4 gāa1 = to cultivate one’s moral character & put one’s family in order | ● MK = roughly, “Mong Kok counterculture” cf. MK仔 = Mong Kok guys (young people who embrace MK counterculture) [Sheik Cantonese] | ● 老套 lóuh5 tou3 = old stuff; old ways; the same old story
Owen Chow: There’s a saying that goes “To see some scripture is the same as seeing the Buddha”. [When] I go inside, maybe sometimes my feelings won’t be stable. Or perhaps there will be times when there’s nothing I can focus my attention on, maybe. Perhaps seeing this [tattoo] will calm me down a bit, so I had a tattoo done of the Six-character Great Bright Mantra Om Mani Padme Hum. If, as it happens, I am taken into custody immediately, and charged with the charge of violence, then [I] won’t be getting out [of prison] for ten years or more. [So I] wanted to get myself ready. I think whatever happens, I have to prepare myself. After I got the phone call, and found out [知道] that I only had a couple of days left, so apart from [撇除] a few work-related things I planned two things for myself: to see the film The Way We Keep Dancing and to get a tattoo done. I’ve spent more time with family and friends since 6 January. My relationship to my family has become closer. I’ve done everything I can to “cultivate my moral character & put my family in order”. Now I’m talking in cliches! A member of the Mong Kok counterculture and a cliche! At 24!
Jimmy Shum: Once when I came walking by here, she suddenly grabbed hold of me [捉住] [and asked:] “You’re Jimmy Shum, aren’t you?” Last time [after] I was detained [捉咗] for over 40 hours, when I got out the next day, the first thing I did was come and tell you [Shum refers to the woman here] “I’m back. Everything’s OK”. After that, she burst into tears again.
● 形勢 yìhng4 sai3 = situation; circumstances | ● 嚇怕 haak3 paa3 = (?) to frighten; to scare | ● 硬頂 ngaahng6 díng2 = to tough sth. out | ● 同路人 tùhng4 louh6 yàhn4 = a fellow traveller | ● 苦難 fú2 naahn6 = suffering; misery; distress
I’m inclined to think that were I frightened by the current situation, I would feel contempt for myself. To make myself into someone I [could] admire, I just have to tough it out. All the people in the world who are struggling for democracy are our fellow travellers. The suffering that we have been through is actually of no consequence [微不足道]. I am about to lose my freedom, and I have [this weird feeling] in my heart. I don’t want the people nearest to me to have to suddenly confront this.
Tiffany Yuen: If something does happen [to me], I won’t be able to watch this video. And then, I should wear this jacket tomorrow, because it will be cold. This jacket has no cords [繩] on it, so no one has to cut anything off it, cut any waistbands or anything like that. Now him, every night I fall asleep holding him in my arms. In prison, I won’t be able to hold him. Tonight is the last night we will hug, if something really does happen. I hope everything will be OK. Thank you! As far as the people of this neighbourhood are concerned, I am still very young. The most important thing is that they trust me to handle their problems or those of the whole area in a mature fashion. (Speaks to cat) Are you wanting to have a sleep, hmm? Why do you look so cute [咁冧]? You’ll have to look after yourself. You know that, don’t you?
● 鞋帶 hàaih4 daai3*2 = ? | ● 素色 sou3 sīk1 = roughly, “plain” | ● 襟著 kām1 jeuk3 = roughly, “durable” (of clothing), meaning that you can wear it for a long time before it wears out | ● 牽掛 hīn1 gwaa3 = a worry; a concern
Lee Chi-yung: It’s a bit different from the plain style I usually prefer. As long as they wear well, then it’s better than having to buy a new pair every one or two years. Actually, from the last time when I had the experience of spending the night [in detention], if my shoes had shoelaces in them, they [佢] would have made me remove the laces. It’s hard to walk in shoes without shoelaces. That’s why I wanted to but that [new] pair. Although a lot of people view recent developments as being unfair to me, no one could have foreseen that things would turn out like this. I have no concerns. My relations will keep an eye on my mother, and my daughter is no longer with us.
● 在囚 joih6 chàuh4 = in prison | ● 手足 sáu2 jūk1 = brothers (perhaps with the sense of “brothers in arms”) | ● 頂住 díng2 jyuh6 = to withstand; to shore up; to keep pushing against; to hang in there | ● 清算 chīng1 syun3 = to settle accounts; to expose & criticize | ● 心願 sām1 yuhn6 = cherished desire; aspiration; wish; dream
Hendrick Lui: Ah, you can write a letter to our brothers and sisters in prison, yes. [Tomorrow? What about tomorrow?] You could say that there is a group of people at the forefront and they are hanging in there. Again and again [不斷], some have made [significant personal] sacrifices, while others have been forced to leave Hong Kong. So, the squaring of [political] accounts with us, [a group of] 50 plus people, was just a bit slower in coming. I am more fortunate than a lot of other people. At least I can say goodbye to the people important to me. Or do the things I really wanted to do, some of them, yes. (Passer-by: “Will you collect the letters every week?”) Yes, you can take it home and write your letter first. Because in the coming days . . . After this Sunday, I don’t know whether I’ll have the chance to come out again. But our team will continue to do all they can.
…………………………………………………………………..
● 伍健偉 | Lucifer Ng Kin-wai | 20,525 Votes【5:47】
伍健偉：都希望喺最後嘅時間裏邊 | 去同街坊打招呼 [啦，係啦] | Gives instructions to a person on the street：一路行到幼稚園嗰條路 //) 【6:00】 | 啫 ，[譬如] // 上庭、還押 | 都係要剪頭髮嘅 [嘛] | 噉梗係 . . . 剪個好睇少少嘅入去呀，係咪？ | 同埋到時上到庭都靚仔啲吖嘛
● 年少無知 nìhn4 síu2 mòu4 jī1 = young and foolish/ignorant | ● 誇下咗海口 kwāa1 haah6 jó2 hói2 háu2 = ? cf. the subtitles have “made a huge promise”| ● 名份 mìhng4 fahn6 = a person’s status
Lucifer Ng Kin-wai: In this last bit of time I have, [I] hope to go and speak with the people of my neighbourhood. (Gives instructions: “Take that road that goes all the way to the kindergarten . . .”) If I have to in court or into detention, your hair gets cut short. So, of course I’ll get my hair cut a bit smarter-looking and go inside, won’t I? And then to boot, when I make my appearance in court, I’ll look handsome, of course.
Reporter: Now [that you are] counting down the free time you have left, what are you feeling?
Lucifer Ng Kin-wai: I tend to want . . . one more hour. Every time another hour goes by, I think: tomorrow’s getting a bit closer. . . I wish I could have another hour. Me, in the past, when I was young and foolish, I made a huge promise, that when I turned 25 I would marry her, we would get married. Of course, back in those days, I’m talking about 2019, I lacked the courage at a time like this to give that kind of status to her [that is, “wife of a criminal”]. When you think that for 10 or 20 years, you might only be able to see the husband you have just married on the other side of a pane of glass. Apart from saying “I’m sorry”, I don’t know what else to say.
● 度數 douh6 sou3 = number of degrees; reading | ● 規劃 kwāi1 waahk6 = 1. a programme; a plan 2. to map out a plan | ● 見證 gin3 jing3 = to witness
Ventus Lau: Because if [I] am taken into detention, then actually no glasses which have any metal in them can be worn. However, I am very short-sighted, so if they don’t let me wear my glasses, then I most probably [應該] wouldn’t even be able to see where I was going. I feel bad for my girl-friend [都唔好意思]. I mean, other guys, a normal guy, should as he heads for thirty be thinking about how he is going to plan his future. // seeing that I won’t have the status of a free individual, I won’t be there to witness the spectacle of Hongkongers taking to the streets again. This is quite a cause for regret.
● 宗旨 jūng1 jí2 = an aim; a purpose | ● 遺憾 wàih4 hahm6 = a regret; a pity | ● 快必 faai3 bīt1 = “Fast Beat”, nickname of Tam Tak-chi cf. 慢必 or “Slow Beat”, Raymond Chan’s nickname; 必 renders the English “beat” here | ● 收押 sāu1 [ng]aat3 = to take into custody; to detain
Raymond Chan Chi-chuen: In fact, playing volleyball is something we do every week. Because of the virus, it’s already been several months since we stopped. Despite the fact that I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, my aim is not to let the terror affect my day-to-day life. But there is one thing I didn’t manage to do — I didn’t get to visit my mum. I spoke with her on Thursday, before this thing happened. And so I didn’t get the chance to see her. [I] feel some regret about that. But I’m more worried about the people near to me. Some of our supporters felt very upset and sad — some even wept — the last time when “Fast Beat” (Taam Tak-chi) was detained, and they might be this time now that I could be taken into custody. [Please] don’t be too sad because we have lost our freedom for a certain time. It’s not as if we are going to die or anything. As long as our hearts don’t die, as long as the hearts of the Hong Kong people do not die, then we still have a chance.
● 一律 yāt1 leuht6 = all; without exception| ● 反抗 fáan2 kong3 = to revolt; to resist | ● 淪 lèuhn4 = 1. to sink 2. to fall; to be reduced to | ● 無名無姓 mòuh4 mìhng4 mòuh4 sing3 = lit. “no personal name no surname (?) = complete nobody; a person of no consequence| ● 勞力 lòuh4 lihk6 = usu. (n.) labour | ● 戰線 jin3 sin3 = battle line; battlefront; front | ● 無怨無悔 mòuh4 yun3 mòuh4 fui3 = roughly, “no complaints & no regrets”
Winnie Yu: As long as you have voices [expressing] opposition, they will be repressed without exceptions. It’s as if this [legal] action wants to tell people “You must not have any [thoughts of] resisting”. If you do, then all you can do is wind up in jail”. These [people] are what are known as “non-entities”. I feel that I have done my utmost and, with the greatest [possible] effort, gone and tried different battlefronts. This is what you could call having no complaints and no regrets.
David: Ah, usually, when you catch the lift up to the first floor, you want it to get there more quickly. When just now when [we] came up, [I] wanted it to go slower. I don’t know why. I don’t know whether that feeling . . . What I can’t handle is [the fact that] someone close to you, someone who has been there with you [同你行] for a year, suddenly, perhaps tomorrow, will not be there for you to go on sharing ideas with [再繼續交流], maybe for several years.
● 内疚 noih6 gau3 = compunction; a guilty conscience | ● 心痛 sām1 tung3 = to feel sad | ● 寧願 nihng4 yuhn6 = would rather; better
Ivan: I’ve had a guilty conscience about this all along. It’s as if [I] pushed you to the front [推咗你出嚟]. It’s very sad. As well, I really don’t want it to be like this. I would rather it be me who was in trouble [有啲咩事] rather than it be you, actually, really.
Winnie Yu: Because, actually, over the past year we really have put a lot of time into the union, so we never had much of a chance to have a good talk, to really get to know one another [了解到大家]. And now at this point in time, [I] actually don’t know whether [we] will still have the chance to say everything that we want to say, everything that is in our hearts. If I’m lucky, I will still have the opportunity afterwards, but if things don’t go my way, it may be that . . . I don’t know how many years it will be before [we can] meet again. And then, after so many years, actually, no one knows if it will change, or what it will be like. However, just like Ivan said, I believe that no one of us ought to forget this time when we were all fighters together.
If you’ve ever wondered why the Chinese character 藍 làahm4 meaning “blue” is written with the “grass” element, then now you know: it all goes back to indigo!
Actually, in the useful book Analysis of Chinese Characters (1934), the authors point out that the other part of the character is 監 gāam, “to watch” and that it is used purely to indicate the pronunciation (?), so “consequently has no logical explanation”. But after you’ve watched this video from Apple Daily, you’ll understand that it takes three days to dye garments properly with indigo, and that watchfulness is vital — 仲不時要 check 住染液嘅活躍程度, that is “you also have to check the dyeing liquid often for its degree of activeness”.
I first came across Indigo 11.50 in a story in the Zolima City Mag. This is how Christopher Dewolf introduces its founder:
“Five years ago, Max To was working as a cameraman when he began suffering from lower back pain. He took a long break in Taiwan, where he came across a traditional indigo dyeing workshop. That inspired him to return to Hong Kong, where he and three friends turned his family’s abandoned ancestral home into something similar.”
You can see beautiful examples of indigo-dyed clothing and accessories on Indigo 11.50’s Facebook page here.
There are no terribly difficult grammatical issues in the voice-over. There’s one instance of the fairly uncommon final particle 噃 bō1, which is similar, if not identical to 喎 wō1, but tends to indicate a slight level of surprise (contrary to expectations). You’ll also come across an example of a common particle of quantification, 嗮 saai3, placed after verbs. It neatly conveys the meaning of “all” in 只會啲人就會搬嗮出去 = then [everyone] will all move out.
As for the vocabulary, here’s just a brief sample: 質感 jāt1 gám2 = ① texture ② (of works of art) a feeling of reality; 祖屋 jóu2 ūk1 = ancestral home; 橡筋 jeuhng6 gān1 = rubber band; 溝成 kāu1 sìhng4 = roughly, “to mix (so as to form)”; and 節省 jit3 sáang2 = to economize; to save; to use sparingly.
Please scroll down for my transcription, English translation and notes. You can view the video here(subtitles in Standard Written Chinese only). Since it is a YouTube video, you can slow down the playback speed if you wish: at 0.75 and 0.5, the sound quality is still good. And remember, if you want the standard jyutping romanization or to check any of the Chinese in the text, please consult the Sheik Cantonese on-line dictionary.
● 數碼 sou3 máah5 = digital | ● 質感 jāt1 gám2 = ① texture ② (of works of art) a feeling of reality
Max To: In this digital age [of ours], I think, hand-dyed fabrics brings [with them] a feeling of reality [質感] that people usually don’t get from a computer.
Caption：80後，染出隱世一片藍 | Heading: Born in the 80s and Dyeing a Secluded World Indigo Blue
● 手作玩意 sáu2 jok3 wuhn6 yi3 = roughly “handicraft” Note: the term 玩意 means “thing; plaything” | ● 祖屋 jóu2 ūk1 = ancestral home | ● 藍染物 làahm4 yíhm5 maht6 = (?) indigo plants (lit. “blue dyeing crops”) | ● 四周圍 sei3 jāu1 wàih4 = all around | ● 門簾 mùhn4 lím4*2 = (?) door-curtain
Reporter: A trip to Taiwan last year brought Max into contact with indigo-dyeing. There, he discovered, indigo-dyeing was a simple handicraft [手作玩意] for primary school students. Later, he discovered that the natural environment all around his mother’s ancestral home was very suited to (?) the development of indigo. And so, he decided to bring this thing [that is, the art of indigo dyeing] back to Hong Kong, holding workshops from Tuesday to Sunday. He teaches people how to do [整] [small] handkerchiefs and door curtains. Actually, the dyeing process is not that complicated.
● 橡筋 jeuhng6 gān1 = rubber band | ● 滲透 sām1 tàuh4 = to permeate; to seep | ● 紥 jaat3 = to tie; to bind
Lee Ka-man (designer): All we have to do is use our fingers to get a piece of fabric ready [整起]. To make this, a sort of horn-shaped part [角位], you grab hold of one part [of the cloth] — this is the width you want for [your] circles. Then, [you] use a rubber band to begin to tie up that part [嗰個位], a part that will say undyed [留白]. The liquid dye will not seep inside. The other parts will turn blue.
● 細緻 sai3 ji3 = delicate; fine | ● 步驟 bouh6 jaauh6 = a step; a move; a measure
Lee Ka-man: The circle-pattern made by this [kind of] tying is rather large, [while] this one is finer. The reason lies in this: that this [was done] using a rubber band to do the tying up. Now if you want to make [紥出] a finer design, then you might like to choose sewing [the part with] thread to do this step.
● 無毒 mòuh4 duhk6 = (?) non-poisonous | ● 事前 sih6 chìhn4 = before the event; in advance; beforehand | ● 準備功夫 jéun2 beih6 gūng1 fū1 = roughly, “preparatory work” | ● 藍泥 làahm4 nàih4 = roughly, “indigo-plant mush” cf. 泥 = mashed vegetable or fruit | ● 原材料 yùhn4 chòih4 líu6*2 = raw & processed materials | ● 色素 sīk1 sou3 = pigment | ● 石灰 sehk6 fūi1 = lime | ● 溝成 kāu1 sìhng4 = roughly, “to mix (so as to form)” | ● 現階段 yihn6 gāai1 dyuhn6 = roughly, “the current stage/phase” | ● 善用 sihn6 yuhng6 = be good at using something
Reporter: If one wishes to make non-poisonous natural indigo clothing or other products, actually a lot of preparatory work is necessary beforehand. Indigo-mush is one of the materials used in the dyeing liquid [染液] and is composed of pigment from the indigo plant mixed with powdered lime. In [this] current phase, Max orders it from Taiwan, but he is good at using the excellent natural environment [好山好水] here, and has planted different kinds of indigo. His objective is to plant a thousand plants in the hope that, after three years, [he] will be able to produce his own home-made natural dyes.
● 酸鹼 syūn1 gáan2 = ? Note: 鹼 is alkali or soda |● 不時 bāt1 sìh4 = frequently; often | ● 活躍程度 wuht6 yeuhk6 douh6 = roughly, “degree of activeness” | ● 化學劑 faa3 hohk6 jāi1 = roughly, “chemical agent” | ● 熒光劑 yìhng4 gwōng1 jāi1 = ? cf. 熒光 = fluorescent + 劑 = a preparation; an agent
Reporter: With regard to the dyeing liquid, it is made up of these materials. When the alkali/soda [酸鹼度] you mix in [reaches] 11.5 degrees, [you] then have to [boil the material] for three days, and [you] also have to check the dyeing liquid often for its degree of activeness. As for the fabric, this must be first washed in water [to get rid of] chemical agents and fluorescent agents before it can be dyed. He tells everyone about all the other steps in the process [每一方面].
Caption: 藍泥、木灰水、米酒、蔗糖 | Indigo-plant Mush, Wood-ash in Water [木灰水], Rice Wine, Cane Sugar
● 柴火chàaih4 fó2 = firewood | ● 節省 jit3 sáang2 = to economize; to save; to use sparingly | ● 能源 nàhng4 yùhn4 = the sources of energy; energy resources | ● 歸隱 gwāi1 yán2 = to return to one’s hometown & live in seclusion | ● 田園 tìhn4 yùhn4 = fields & gardens; countryside | ● 充實 chūng1 saht6 = substantial; rich
Reporter: Apart from saving on gas, by using firewood to boil the liquid, one can naturally obtain [取之自然] wood-ash, another ingredient of the dyeing liquid. [When] Max returned to his home village in seclusion from the world, his family was at first opposed [to the idea] and friends had no idea what he was up to, but he [himself] felt that [such a way of life] was very rewarding [好充實].
● 遺忘 wàih4 mòhng4 = to forget | ● 荒廢 fōng1 fai3 = to leave uncultivated; to lie waste
Max To: If a village is forgotten, the longer it goes on, then [everyone] will all move out. In the end, the village will lie waste, abandoned [荒廢]. This is something I don’t want to see happen to my own village. It is only for this reason that I am working so hard at such things. I want the world to know [令到大家開始知道] what things of value this village possesses.
The incredible fusion of Chinese and Western culture in Hong Kong leads to some unexpected consequences. “What woman doesn’t want to wear a pure white Western-style wedding dress when she gets married?”, declares Winnie Lam of 冠南華 Koon Nam Wah, a company devoted to the creation of bridal wear. But as Barbara Ward points out in her book on Chinese festivals: “white is the traditional mourning colour in China and no Hong Kong bride would risk wearing anything so unlucky all the time. So at the wedding feast in the evening, when bride and groom circulate among the many round tables to toast and be toasted by their guests, she wears traditional red.”
Partly for this reason, and partly owing to tradition, the Chinese 裙褂 kwàhn4 gwáa3*2 outfit, which is made up of a long skirt and a jacket, continues to be very popular to this day. The intricate embroidery featured on the garment is also richly symbolic and so meant to bring blessings and good fortune to the newlyweds who, by the way, are referred to in this Kongstories video as 新人 sān1 yàhn4 or “new people”.
Since they voice-over is scripted, there is a conspicuous absence of initial and final particles. In addition, some of the vocabulary is quite literary. The main point of grammatical interest is the various uses of the aspect marker 咗 jó2. In Complete Cantonese, Hugh Baker notes that its basic function is “to show that the action has been completed” but, needless to say, the situation is a bit more complex in practice. Although I am still regularly bamboozled by 咗 jó2, it can help if you can also think of it as the realization of a certain action (has it actually taken place?). Something of the meaning is present in the English past perfect tense as opposed to the simple past tense: “Have you seen him?” is primarily asking about realization, I think, rather than completion.
As usual, there’s plenty of wonderful vocabulary. In the names of the two people featured in the video, the 臻 jēun1 in Tommy To’s Chinese name means “to attain to a high level”, while the 卓 cheuk3 in Winnie Lam’s name means “prominent; outstanding”. Oh, for a deeply meaningful Chinese name!
Other vocabulary includes 出嫁 chēut1 gaa3 = (of a woman) to get married (but watch out for 出家 chēut1 gāa1, which means “to become a monk or nun”!); 湮沒 yān1 muht6 = to fall into oblivion; 樞紐 syū1 náu2/láu2= a pivot; a hub; 輝煌 fāi1 wòhng4 = brilliant; splendid; glorious; 老土 lóuh5 tóu2 = old-fashioned; out of date; 睇小 tái2 síu2 = to underestimate; 排擠 pàaih4 jāi1 = to push aside; to ostracize; 任意 yahm6 yi3 = arbitrarily; 尺吋 chek3 chyun3 = measurement; 獨一無二 duhk6 yāt1 mòuh4 yih6 = unique; one of a kind.
Please scroll down for my transcription, English translation and notes. You can view the video here(you are offered subtitles in both English and Standard Written Chinese). Since it is a YouTube video, you can slow down the playback speed if you wish: at 0.75 and 0.5, the sound quality is still good. And remember, if you want the standard jyutping romanization or to check any of the Chinese in the text, please consult the Sheik Cantonese on-line dictionary.
● 出嫁 chēut1 gaa3 = (of a woman) to get married; to marry | ● 婚紗 fān1 sāa1 = a wedding dress | ● 裙褂 kwàhn4 gwáa3*2 = wedding dress | ● 產物 cháan2 maht6 = an outcome; a result; a product | ● 文革 Màhn4 Gaak3 = the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) | ● 一時 yāt1 sìh4 = a period of time | ● 湮沒 yān1 muht6 = to fall into oblivion; to be neglected | ● 洪流 hùhng4 làuh4 = mighty torrent; powerful current
Tommy To: When a girl gets married, wearing a [Western-style, white] wedding dress is the happiest part of it [最開心]. When it comes to the traditional Chinese kwan gwa wedding gowns, mostly this is a decision taken by the older generation. When all is said and done [畢竟], traditional Chinese kwan gwa wedding gowns seem to be the product of an earlier era there to satisfy elder family members [老一輩]. Due to the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 70s, the Dragon and Phoenix kwan gwa popular in China fell into to oblivion [with?] the feudal system in [that] mighty torrent of history . . .
● 樞紐 syū1 náu2/láu2= a pivot; a hub; a centre | ● 後世hauh6 sai3 = ① later ages ② later generations | ● 嫁娶 gaa3 chéui2 = marriage | ● 輝煌 fāi1 wòhng4 = brilliant; splendid; glorious | ● 始於 chí2 yū1 = roughly, “to come into being” | ● 存留 chyùhn4 làuh4 = to persist
. . . making the people of mainland China strangers to kwan gwa wedding gowns. Hong Kong has become the one and only centre enabling [俾] later generations to know that there was once this glorious page in the wedding culture of China. It started off in Guangzhou, and persists [存留] [here] in Hong Kong.
● 金融風暴 gām1 yùhng4 fūng1 bō1 = financial crisis | ● 大受影響 daaih6 sauh6 yíng2 héung2 = to be greatly influenced by | ● 老土 lóuh5 tóu2 = old-fashioned; out of date; traditional; unsophisticated; rustic; not hip; uncool | ● 當初 dōng1 chō1 = originally; at the outset; at that time | ● 睇小 tái2 síu2 = to underestimate; to look down on | ● 排擠 pàaih4 jāi1 = to push aside; to ostracize
Winnie Lam: In 1997, I wound up my own personal business. During the financial crisis, my family’s kwan gwa wedding gown business was greatly affected. [Because of this, and because] my father and mother were both getting on, that year they expressed the hope [佢哋希望] that I would go back and give them a hand. It had never occurred to me to take over the family business. Kwan gwa? The very word sounded terribly old-fashioned. What woman doesn’t want to wear a pure white Western-style wedding dress when she gets married? But my family needed me, so I steeled myself and went into a line of business that even I thought was well past its use-by date [過時]. At the outset, from knowing nothing and being looked down and excluded by the other employees, I gradually came to win approval [被肯定] .
● 忽略 fāt1 leuhk6 = to neglect; to overlook; to lose sight of | ● 祝福 jūk1 fūk1 = blessings; best wishes | ● 寓意 yuh6 yi3 = implied meaning; implication | ● 任意 yahm6 yi3 = arbitrarily; wilfully | ● 尺吋 chek3 chyun3 = measurement; dimension; size | ● 成品 sìhng4 bán2 = end product; finished product | ● 獨一無二 duhk6 yāt1 mòuh4 yih6 = unique; one of a kind | ● 新人 sān1 yàhn4 = newlywed (esp. a new bride) | ● 賀禮 hoh6 láih5 = a gift (as a token of congratulations) | ● 單 dāan1 = classifier for “a case” or “a matter” cf. 宗 jūng1 in Standard Written Chinese | ● 誠心 sìhng4 sām1 = sincere desire; wholeheartedness | ● 道謝 douh6 jeh6 = to express one’s thanks; to thank | ● 傳承 chyùhn4 sìhng4 = to inherit & pass on; to pass down
Many people only see the beauty of Western wedding gowns, overlooking the meaning of blessing behind the traditional Chinese kwan gwa. They don’t realize that the dimensions cannot be changed at will as with Western-style gowns: to change an inch would ruin the design. Every finished product is unique, and is the greatest gift of congratulations one can give to the bride. What makes [me] happy about the kwan gwa business is not just doing a job [for a customer] [做成一單生意] but also the sincere thanks [I get] from the newlyweds. I hope the generation after me will inherit and pass on [this tradition].
我叫林卓怡，我叫陶衍臻：香港土生土長 | 七百萬嘅故仔成就一個香 | 港故仔
My name is Winnie Lam Cheuk-yi, and I am Tommy To Hin-chun. We are both born and bred in Hong Kong. Seven million stories go to make up [成就] one [of the] Hong . . . Kong Stories.
Is love possible in an imperfect world, or must we turn to illusions to fulfil our yearnings? In this wonderful video by The Official Curry, we are treated to an exploration of this question, accompanied by images from the recent film 《幻愛》or “Hallucinatory Love” based on the novel by 蔣曉薇 Jeung Hiu-mei (but known in English by the title Beyond the Dream), together with a haunting-mesmerizing soundtrack.
The key words in the voice-over are “perfection” [完美 yùhn4 méih5], “love” [愛 ngoi3] and “hallucination” [幻覺 waahn6 gok3]. The last of these gave me a bit of trouble when in the English translation. Although basically a psychologically term in Cantonese, 幻覺 also seems to a have a more general application akin to the word “illusion” in English. Partly for this reason — and also to avoid too much repetition in the translation — I have used both “hallucination” and “illusion” for the one Cantonese noun. Bear in mind as you read that “illusion” here may carry a hint of “ill” in it . . .
There’s an interesting pronunciation issue too in this video. As Yip and Matthews point out in Basic Cantonese, the low falling tone “can often be recognized by a ‘creaky’ voice quality as the pitch reaches the bottom of the speaker’s voice range” (12). This phenomenon is particularly noticeable in the voice-over: listen out for it in words such as the often-repeated 完美 yùhn4 méih5, as well as 同時 tùhng4 sih4, 人 yàhn4, and 為 wàih4. But just to make life interesting, there seems to be a similar creakiness with 自己, officially pronounced as jih6 géi2. I can’t say why this is.
With regard to grammar, you won’t find anything too troubling or terrifying! One rather rare feature is the use of the expression 好比 hóu2 béi2, which means something like “could be compared to”. This crops up in the sentence 你就好比一個數學世界入便嘅正號去追求完美 = “You are comparable to a plus sign in a mathematical world heading off in search of perfection”. You’ll also notice some interesting uses of the aspect marker 住 jyuh6 to suggest an on-going after-effect: 缺乏住愛 = “to lack love”; 互相抵觸住 = “to be in conflict with one another”; 幻覺嚟拯救住你 = “being saved by illusions” (that is, “saved” as an on-going state”). The nuance expressed by 住 jyuh6 seems to lend itself to on-going states, but it takes a while to get the hang of it. Finally, the resultative 得一乾二净 makes an appearance in this video, with 一乾二净 (literally “one-dry-two-clean”) suggesting something comparable to “completely; utterly” in English. Typically, it is used with verbs of forgetting, but here it crops up with 蠶食 chàahm4 sihk6 = “to nibble”, in other words, the kind of eating [食] done by a silk-worm [蠶] (hence the presence of the two insect radicals 虫 at the bottom of the character!) . . .
Needless to say, there’s also plenty of useful vocabulary to expand your range: 驅使 kēui1 sí2 = to prompt; to urge; 抵觸 dái2 jūk1 = to conflict with; to contradict; 洗牌 sái2 páai4*2 = to shuffle cards; 抛棄 pāau1 hei3 = to abandon; 渴望 hot3 mohng6 = to thirst for; to long for; to yearn for; and 困局 kwan3 guhk6 = a predicament.
You can view the video here. Since it is a YouTube video, you can slow down the playback speed if you wish: at 0.75 and 0.5, the sound quality is still good. And remember, if you want the standard jyutping romanization or to check any of the Chinese in the text, please consult the Sheik Cantonese on-line dictionary.
You might also like to make use the Ekho Text to Speech Converter if you have trouble matching any part of the transcribed Chinese text to the spoken version. Just make sure you select “Cantonese” under the language menu before you paste cut and text into the relevant box.
● 終老 jūng1 lóuh5 = live out one’s years | ● 伴侶 buhn6 léuih5 = a companion; mate; partner | ● 不確定性 bāt1 kok3 dihng6 sing3 = roughly, “indefiniteness”; perhaps even here “indeterminacy” cf. 確定 = definite | ● 爭執 jāng1 jāp1 = to disagree; to argue | ● 永恆 wíhng5 hàhng4 = eternal; perpetual | ● 追求 jēui1 kàuh4 = to seek; to pursue | ● 幻覺 waahn6 gok3 = hallucination | ● 驅使 kēui1 sí2 = to prompt; to urge; to spur on | ● 言語 yìhn4 yúh5 = spoken language; speech | ● 嘗試 sèuhng4 si3 = to attempt; to try
The majority [of people] in the world hope that there could be a companion out there with whom they could live out their years. But owing to the indefiniteness [不確定性] of people, many unfortunate things get done: we argue, split up, get divorced. [These] things are happening every day, and they clearly tell us that love is not eternal, because human beings are imperfect. By nature, however, we are made to seek perfection [追求完美], and so we set off in pursuit of love. By the same token, however, the world is far from perfect and lacking in love. Love, it would seem, is an expression of perfection in real life. When are hallucinations or illusions real, and when are they unreal? According to most definitions, what exists in the actual world is real, while what [only] appears in the mind is false, a hallucination. Although some illusions do not exist in the space of reality [現實空間], they impel [驅使] people to give expression to their feelings, to speech, to actions. Hallucinations can attempt to make themselves [嘗試成爲] a part of reality . . .
● 造就 jouh6 jauh6 = to bring up; to train | ● 物種 maht6 júng2 = species | ● 抵觸 dái2 jūk1 = to conflict with; to contradict | ● 源自於 yùhn4 jih6 yū1 = roughly, “to originate from; to have (its) origins in | ● 真心 jān1 sām1 = wholehearted; heartfelt; sincere | ● 成就 sìhng4 jauh6 = to achieve; to accomplish | ● 一輪 yāt1 lèuhn4 = roughly, “a round” | ● 洗牌 sái2 páai4*2 = to shuffle cards | ● 重回 chùhng4 wùih4 = to return to | ● 平衡點 pìhng4 hàhng4 dím2 = cf. 平衡 = balance; equilibrium + 點 = point | ● 各自 gok3 jih6 = each; respective | ● 事物 sih6 maht6 = thing; object | ● 制定 jai3 dihng6 = to draw up; to formulate
. . . so that people’s experience can become perfect. At the same time, however, because human imperfection conditions [造就] all those behaviours [designed to] seek perfection, they are imperfect like people — this species which is by nature imperfect — and conflicts between people arise. His [that is, Ah Lok’s] hallucinations have their origins in his hope that there is someone who loves him, because it is only when someone gives him wholehearted love that he his world can get closer to perfection [可以變得更完美]. At the same time, [it means that] there is no need for him to live his life [過得] in pain and loneliness. But human beings are imperfect by nature, and this initially makes Yip Lan get close to Ah Lok without having a genuine liking for him. Although after this flawed beginning [she] achieves love, it is not a love the two of them both acknowledge and, in the end, it stops being love [變得不愛]. After a reshuffling of the cards [重新洗牌], the world goes back to that pivot-point [平衡點] of imperfection. Viewed from a different perspective, one could also say that, in order to obtain perfection, people have formulated different understandings of the thing, perfection (?).
● 妥協 tóh5 hip3 = to come to terms; to compromise | ● 整體 jíng2 tái2 = whole; entirety | ● 眼中 ngáahn5 jūng1 = lit. “in one’s eyes”, that is, “the way one sees/views sth. (in one’s mind)” | ● 大世界 daaih6 sai3 gaai3 = (?) the world at large (but perhaps with the implication of “the big wide world”, a world beyond one’s own personal sphere) | ● 抛棄 pāau1 hei3 = to abandon; to forsake; to cast aside | ● 白眼 baahk6 ngáahn5 = a supercilious look cf. 返白眼 = to roll one’s eyes | ● 渴望 hot3 mohng6 = to thirst for; to long for; to yearn for
Thus, by making compromises, one obtains an inner [psychological] balance. Nevertheless, in terms of the world or the bigger picture [整體] there is always [始終] this lack of true perfection, of true love. The perfection you see in your mind’s eye may be what other people think of as imperfection, [while] the love you see in your mind’s eye may be exactly what other people see as agony. And so, if you wish to live in the big wide world, the thing you can do [你可以做嘅] is to choose to accept [this state of affairs], or not accept this world that has neither love nor perfection in it. If you do accept it [接受嘅話], since no one is willing to love you, the only thing you have control over is yourself. You can try and make yourself more perfect, and to make yourself love yourself. You will always [永遠] be right there by your side, and whatever it is you feel like doing, you can keep yourself company in doing it together. Even less [你更加] can you abandon yourself. It is perfectly natural for people to give you disapproving looks, but because you have [already] accepted [the fact that] they are imperfect and without love, you will be even less inclined to long for love and perfection from them [喺佢哋當中].
● 困局 kwan3 guhk6 = a predicament; plight; dilemma | ● 正號 jing3 houh6 = a plus sign (+) | ● 負號 fuh6 houh6 = a minus sign | ● 正負得負 jing3 fuh6 dāk1 fuh6 = ? | ● 蠶食 chàahm4 sihk6 = to nibble | ● 何必 hòh4 bīt1 = there is no need; why; why is it necessary (used to form rhetorical questions)
If you don’t compromise, then there will be this predicament: the real world won’t change to fit in with you. All you can do then is to get help from illusions to re-establish a new world you can give your acceptance to [令到你接受]. You are comparable to a plus sign in a mathematical world heading off to find perfection: the world being an eternal minus sign lacking in love, in the end a positive multiplied by a negative [always] gives a negative [正負得負] and you’re liable to be nibbled away by a minus sign till there is nothing left. Finally, all you can do is rely on the absolute perfection of the plus sign [UNCLEAR], that is, being saved by illusions. But [by then] you have already lost control of yourself, so what’s the point of a refusing a love you couldn’t accept [anyway]? And so for this reason, there is no good or bad in anything. The crucial thing is: Can you accept that you have a mental illness? Can you accept the experiences you once had, experiences like those Yip Lam was subjected to? Can you accept yourself?
Every language has its rare species, words and phrases that only crop up once in a blue moon. The last time I heard the idiom 捐窿捐罅 gyūn1 lūng1 gyūn1 laa3 was in a TVB news report in 2019. There, it was described a small robot-like device that could operate “in any nook or cranny” [噉，好處係佢可以捐窿捐罅]. But here in this recent report from HK01, it has finally come back to me again, but the context is quite different: speaking out for democracy in Hong Kong.
According to 《香港粵語大詞典》, 捐窿捐罅 means “to go into each and every corner” [走遍每一個角落] while Sheik Cantonese has “[to sneak in and out of a hole] to search high and low for a place”. When Figo Chan calls on people to 捐窿捐罅去發聲, we can guess that he wants them to make their voices heard in whatever gaps or cracks they can find . . . This certainly adds to our understanding of the nuances of the expression. Of interest too is the fact that the video subtitles write it as 瓹窿瓹罅, using the rare character 瓹 gyūn1 which means “a hole in a basin to let the water out” [盆底之去水孔].
Although this report lasts for just over a minute, it contains a number of other very interesting things, including 較早前 = (?) “a while back; some time ago” and the two 4-character phrases 秋後算賬 = “to square accounts after the Autumn harvest” and 義無反顧 = honour permits no turning back.
You can view the video here. And remember, if you want the standard jyutping romanization or to check any of the Chinese in the text, please consult the Sheik Cantonese on-line dictionary.
● 泛民 faan3 màhn4 = pan-democratic | ● 開審 hōi1 sám2 = to hold a court hearing | ● 較早前 gaau3 jóu2 chìhn4 = ? cf. 較早時 = a while back; some time ago | ● 預告 yuh6 gou3 = to announce in advance | ● 認罪 yihng6 jeuih6 = to admit guilt | ● 嚟緊 làih4 gán2 = (forth)coming | ● 發聲 faat3 sēng1 = usu. “to make a sound”; here perhaps “to make a noise or “to make one’s voice heard” | ● 捍衛 hóhn5 waih6 = to defend; to guard; to protect | ● 公義 gūng1 yih6 = justice | ● 秋後算賬 chāu1 hauh6 syun3 jeung3 = to square accounts after the Autumn harvest, that is, wait until after a political movement is over to settle accounts with the leadership or the masses; bide one’s time to take revenge; wait until sth. is over to settle accounts with | ● 禁於牢獄 gam3 yū1 lòuh4 yuhk6 = (?) to be put in prison | ● 滅聲 miht6 sēng1 = (?) to extinguish all dissent cf. 滅 = to destroy; to extinguish | ● 義無反顧 yih6 mòuh4 fáan2 gu3 = honour permits no turning back; be duty-bound not to turn back | ● 初心 chō1 sām1 = beginner’s mind; original intention; first desire | ● 長存 chèuhng4 chyùhn4 = to live forever
A number of pan-democrats figures [泛民人士] were accused of organizing and taking part in an unauthorised assembly the year before last on 1 October. The case was heard at the District Court on Monday.
The ten people accused admitted to the charge [承認] of organizing an unauthorised assembly. Earlier, when they arrived at the court, they had already indicated that they would plead guilty.
Figo Chan: Regardless of whether it is 4 June or 1 July or any other forthcoming date, [we] hope that all of you can make a noise in any nook of cranny you are able to get into [捐窿捐罅] and that you can defend our freedom, our democracy, and our justice.
Albert Ho: Today, the government is engaged in settling political scores and will lock us up in prison. After that, dissent from ordinary people will be extinguished [滅聲]. However, I say to you all that we have no regrets and that in our case, absolutely, honour permits no turning back.
Richard Tsoi: Our original intention has not altered. Our faith will live forever.
