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Thread: Popular chinese sayings/lines in wuxia. List them!

  1. #1
    Senior Member Yeung Gor's Avatar
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    Default Popular chinese sayings/lines in wuxia. List them!

    We know chinese that is spoken in Wuxia is much different than the modern chinese. And there have been dozens of popular sayings or classic lines used throughout wuxia films that I simply love because they are filled with metaphors or simply blunt funny. Let's list them in english and see if others can recognize them.

    I'll start:

    Pretend to be a pig to eat a tiger.
    Water descends, rock emerges.
    See you ill, take your life.
    Does your body have feces?

    Sometimes I find myself use these lines to my english speaking friends, and they would be like wtf are you talking about? haha
    Last edited by Yeung Gor; 03-17-05 at 03:24 AM.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Candide's Avatar
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    Either they are from wuxia adaptations written on TVB's toilet papers, or your translation sucks. I can't recognise any of them. Actually when translated into English, most of those sayings sound funny and out of place.
    "Anything you can't say NO to is your MASTER, and you are its SLAVE."

    "I disapprove of what I say, but I will defend to the death my right to say it."

  3. #3
    Senior Member Ian Liew's Avatar
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    What he's trying to say:-

    Ban Zhu Chi Lao Hu
    Shui Luo Shi Chu
    Chen Ni Bing, Luo Ni Ming
    Ni Di Shen You Fen



    The last two seem to be more Cantonese sayings than Mandarin, though.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Yeung Gor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Candide
    Either they are from wuxia adaptations written on TVB's toilet papers, or your translation sucks. I can't recognise any of them. Actually when translated into English, most of those sayings sound funny and out of place.
    What???? Candide you couldn't even guess one? I dont think my translation is that bad, you just suck!

    I agree that when translated into english they sound funny and out of place, that's why I love saying them in english

  5. #5
    Junior Member GottschalkievBrahms's Avatar
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    suo tou wu gui wan ba dang's used a lot, it's kinda cool because it calls someone the egg of a turtle (one of the worst animals you can be in chinese) with his head stuck in his shell (one of the worst places for your head to be with respect to a shell in chinese) the additional implication is something about both you and your father not being able to father a son and thus you are the second generation of a line of humiliating failures.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Yeung Gor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GottschalkievBrahms
    suo tou wu gui wan ba dang's used a lot, it's kinda cool because it calls someone the egg of a turtle (one of the worst animals you can be in chinese) with his head stuck in his shell (one of the worst places for your head to be with respect to a shell in chinese) the additional implication is something about both you and your father not being able to father a son and thus you are the second generation of a line of humiliating failures.
    yea great line. You should just list it in english first, and see if anyone can guess it though that's the point of this thread hehe

  7. #7
    Senior Member Yeung Gor's Avatar
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    Here is another line:

    Take a piss, and look at the reflection of your face.

  8. #8
    Junior Member GottschalkievBrahms's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yeung Gor
    What???? Candide you couldn't even guess one? I dont think my translation is that bad, you just suck!

    I agree that when translated into english they sound funny and out of place, that's why I love saying them in english
    Heh no they're not bad just extremely literal.

    I used to use wuxia references in outside conversations too but mostly as in-jokes like "I see your five dollars and raise you one Northern Beggar" when I play poker (which means that i put my hand on the dude's head and he says something like wtf.) and stuff like that but i got tired of them.

  9. #9
    Junior Member GottschalkievBrahms's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yeung Gor
    yea great line. You should just list it in english first, and see if anyone can guess it though that's the point of this thread hehe

    Oh ok nvm I missed the point of the thread.

  10. #10
    Moderator Suet Seung's Avatar
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    Hmm....I'm a little puzzled with the literal translation too.
    I just love how you Captivate My Mind

    Self reminder - Update blog more often and continue editing/writing for TOV fanfic.

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    Senior Member babyblues's Avatar
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    Toad Wants to eat Swan's Meat

    Man Talented Woman Beautiful

    Green Plum Bamboo Horse?

    Shock Sky Shake Earth

    Don't enter Coffin Don't Drop Tear

    Forget Kindness Betray morals

    Don't take respected wine, take punishment wine

    Move Earth on Mount Tai

    Guts Big Cover Sky

    PS: I could go on forever but have fun over these first

  12. #12
    Junior Member Tan's Avatar
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    lai ha ma xiang chi tian e rou
    nan cai nu mao
    qing mei zhu ma
    jing tian dong di
    bu jian guan cai bu liu lei
    wang en fu yi
    jing jiu bu chi, chi fa jiu
    dan da bao tian

    Phew!

    Forgot what 'Move Earth on Mt.Tai is'...
    Good people are Bad people who don't get caught.

  13. #13
    Senior Member Yeung Gor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yeung Gor
    Here is another line:

    Take a piss, and look at the reflection of your face.
    Hey, still no one has guess this one yet.

  14. #14
    Senior Member qiaofeng's Avatar
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    yuan yuan xiang bao he shi liao

    fang xia tu dao li di chen fo

    shang tian you hao shen zi de

    kong ji shi se, se ju shi kong(whatever that means)
    Last edited by qiaofeng; 03-17-05 at 11:36 AM.

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    mm pa yut mon pa mon yut...

  16. #16
    Senior Member Yeung Gor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by qiaofeng
    yuan yuan xiang bao he shi liao

    fang xia tu dao li di chen fo

    shang tian you hao shen zi de

    kong ji shi se, se ju shi kong(whatever that means)
    it must be in mandarin cuz I can't make out any of it. haha

  17. #17
    Senior Member Yeung Gor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Monkey King
    mm pa yut mon pa mon yut...
    yup, that's a popular one too. What is it in english?

  18. #18
    Senior Member Ian Liew's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tan
    lai ha ma xiang chi tian e rou
    nan cai nu mao
    qing mei zhu ma
    jing tian dong di
    bu jian guan cai bu liu lei
    wang en fu yi
    jing jiu bu chi, chi fa jiu
    dan da bao tian

    Phew!

    Forgot what 'Move Earth on Mt.Tai is'...
    Not Mount Tai - Grand Marshal. Tai Sui, not Tai Shan.

    Tai Sui Tou Shang Dong Tu, I think

    The reflection one is purely Cantonese TVB, I think... Or Tuk Liu Jiu Har - a phrase I regretfully use a fair bit sometimes =)

  19. #19
    Senior Member Ian Liew's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yeung Gor
    yup, that's a popular one too. What is it in english?

    means being absolutely prepared even for the unexpected... "not afraid of 10,000, but afraid of 10,001"

    The four qiaofeng posted were very buddhist/taoist in nature..

    yuan yuan xiang bao he shi liao

    Wrongs avenging each other - when will it end? (forgive)


    fang xia tu dao li di chen fo

    Drop your sword and immediately become a Buddha (stop fighting)


    shang tian you hao shen zi de

    Heaven has love for all life (be merciful)


    kong ji shi se, se ju shi kong(whatever that means)

    not sure what the exact words are, but seems like "colourful is blank, blank is colourful" - meaning everything is the same to the monk, I think.
    Last edited by Ian Liew; 03-17-05 at 12:08 PM.

  20. #20
    Senior Member qiaofeng's Avatar
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    yup those stuff i posted are mostly buddhist in nature. usually spoken by monks. its ironic cus most monks dont practice what they preach. they're petty n vindictive.

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