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Ten misrepresented slang terms

Source:Shaoyang International CultureWriter:SlangTime:2014-09-29Clicks:

1. If married to a cock, follow it; if married to a dog, follow it too.
Originally, the saying was “If married to a beggar, follow him; if married to an elderly, follow him too.” which means that if one gets married to a man who is very poor or old she has to live with him all her life. As time goes, the slang changed to “If married to a cock, follow it; if married to an dog, follow it too.” because the Chinese characters “qi”(meaning beggar) and“sou” (meaning elderly) have similar pronunciations to those of “ji” (meaning cock) and “gou” (meaning dog) in Chinese. Anyhow they mean the same.
 
2. Three cobblers are equal to a Zhuge Liang ( who is said to be a man with military wits in the Three-kingdom period of ancient China)
In fact “pijiang” (cobbler) is the homophone of “pijiang” (deputy general) in Chinese. The saying means that wisdom of three deputy generals put together is equal to that of Zhuge Liang. In the process of its being spread in history, “three deputy generals” was changed into “three cobblers”.
 
3. One, though he has eyes, does not recognize gilded jade.
The original term used to be “one, though he has eyes does not recognize Jinshan jade”. Jinshan was a mountain situated in Chu Kingdom in ancient China. Jinshan jade, which is mispronounced as “jinxiangyu”, is the jade found in on Jinshan Mountain,
 
4. He who does not reach the Yellow River will not lose heart.
Originally, the saying is “He who does not reach the Black River will not lose heart”. The black River was a river where Emperor Xiang Yu killed himself when he was defeated by King Liu Ban, who finally established Han Empire. It remains unexplained to this day why “the Black River was replaced by “the Yellow River”. Maybe the Yellow River is better known to Chinese people than the Black River.
 
5. One can not catch a wolf without the risk of his child as a bait.
 Actually, it was that one can not catch a wolf without strong shoes because catching a wolf requires a lot of walk. As in Sichuan accent, “xiezi” (shoe) is pronounced as “haizi” (child). If one really uses his child as a bait to catch a wolf, it would be terrible.
 
6. A dog’s wind has no passage through.
This idiom comes from the term “A dog’s skin has no passage through”. A dog’s skin has no sweat gland, so in hot summer, it has to disperse its body heat inside through its tongue. This feature is expressed by the team “A dog’s skin has no passage through”. In Chinese, “goupi” (a dog’s skin) said with a rising tone is pronounced almost the same as “goupi”(a dog’s wind) said with a falling tone. Thus the initial term changed in meaning, which indicates that what is said is nonsense and not logical.
 
7. A soft-shelled turtle’s egg.
This slang is used to abuse people. As a matter of fact, it originates from “Forget eight virtues”. They are “filial piety”, “brotherly love”, “loyalty”, “honesty”, “etiquette”, “friendship”, “cleanness” and “sense of shame”, which is the foundation of being a man and can never be forgotten. “Forget eight virtues” was said to be “a soft-shelled turtle’s egg” by mistake due to their similar pronunciations.
 
8. A person without cruelty is not a manly one.
The initial was “a person without tolerance is not a manly one”. “A person without cruelty is not a manly one” is strongly against the noble principle of ancient people. A noble person should be tolerant and broad-minded. Owing to the similar pronunciation the initial was changed.
 
9. Punishment should not be given to high officials and nor should courtesy be given to ordinary people.
In fact, the original expression is “A high official shall not be freed from punishment because of his high position and nor shall an ordinary person be excluded from courtesy because of his low status”. In Chinese, “shang” and “xia” have the same meanings as “give” or “add to” while “zun” and “bei” mean “respect” and “despise” respectively. The original expression and the changed one mean the same despite the different characters.
 
10. No businessman is not evil.
It comes from “No measurement is without a raised part”. In old days in a grain shop, the shop would have the measurement level not just be as even as but higher than the rim of a container when measuring grain like rice or wheat so that a little more was given to the buyer in order to get future deals from him. This act shows that the businessman is good. However, the Chinese character “jian” (meaning pointed or raised) has the same pronunciation as another character “jian”(meaning evil).Thus, the changed one means just opposite to the original. 
(translate by Yi Daoqun)