User Comments - changye
changye
Posted on: Valentine's Special
February 13, 2009 at 8:34 AMHi monica5
Looks like you know more about Japan than I do. I didn't know 逆チョコ (reverse-choko, i.e. men-to-women chololate) at all. Sales strategies of chocolate manufactures are just amazing.
Incidentally, did you know "White Day" (March 14, an answer day to Valentine's Day) in Japan? It's another sales strategy conceived by a Japanese confectionery maker 30 years ago......sigh
Posted on: Valentine's Special
February 13, 2009 at 7:57 AMHere is a Chinese saying that is suitable to learn today.
情人眼里出西施。
qing2ren2 yan3li3 chu1 xi1shi1
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Posted on: Valentine's Special
February 13, 2009 at 6:38 AMHi mikenotinjubei and monica5
Haha, I understand very well how you western guys feel about Valentine's Day in Japan. I wish you would also enjoy (observing) the highly localized/Japanized event. Just like Christmas or Halloween, western religious festivals often end up being merely a nationwide sales campaign in east Asian countries.
You might know the Japanese word "giri-choko" (義理チョコ), obligatory chokolates for friends and coworkers, which is an important lubricant in Japanese society. Women buy "real" Valentine's Chocolate at a famous department store, but "giri-choko" at a convenience store or the hallways of a train station, for example.
Posted on: Valentine's Special
February 13, 2009 at 3:36 AMSome Chinese guys have taken to the streets in Changsha (长沙) and appealed to boycott Valentine's Day. I fully support them, haha!
Posted on: 中国崛起
February 13, 2009 at 2:41 AMHi miantiao
我讨厌漂亮的废话，所以请原谅我很坦率地表白自己的看法。
我很同情你的爷爷，不过我个人没有任何罪疚感。我对日本过去的行为感到有点不好意思，但是不瞒你说，我这个人一点罪恶感都没有。我愿意承认我是一个很不讲道德的人。好好想一想，这世上有的是像我这样的无耻人。你怎么样？
其实这种“缺德”的想法也有个好处，就是说，我对自己要求不高的同时，也对别人的要求很不严格。
比如说，我中国朋友同事们都对自己国家负面的历史（包括对外侵略）很不关心，当然没有反省，有的甚至却为国家辩护，可是他们说什么我都满不在乎，根本不介意。我就知道我没有资格批评，哈哈！这样才能叫“平等互惠原则”，对不对？
Posted on: Buying on Taobao
February 12, 2009 at 11:26 PMHi cassie
哈哈，没错儿。我在当当网主要买历史和语言方面的书。中国不愧是汉字王国，网上书店“书架”上摆满各种词典字典和工具书。不过，网上买书也有个不方便的地方，就是说，货到了之后才能知道字体大小。这对中老年人来说是一个很关键的问题！
Posted on: Buying on Taobao
February 12, 2009 at 1:18 PMHi cassie
我经常在当当网买书。网上书店商品丰富又很便宜。比较贵的书，我绝对不在新华书店买！
Posted on: 学术抄袭
February 12, 2009 at 1:06 PM我有一个中国朋友，是日语老师。我以前看过他学生写的一篇很精彩的日文作文。用词恰当，语法准确，尤其是内容很动人，让我感到很佩服。这篇文章这么说，我小时候妈妈去世了，后来爸爸一个人抚育我，我很感谢爸爸，我为了报父亲恩努力学习等等。不过我朋友对我说，“确实写得相当到位。但很可惜，有一个小小的问题，就是说，这个学生的妈妈还活着呢！” 总之，这篇文章不是“纪录片”而是一种“故事片”。听说在中国这样的事情比较多。
Posted on: Simple Electrical Stuff
February 12, 2009 at 6:57 AMGuys, I'd recommend you buy expensive and quality sockets in China. Otherwise, you'll certainly regret.
P/S. Hi giant, I have a 公牛 socket!
Posted on: Drinking Alone Under the Moon 月下独酌
February 13, 2009 at 9:56 AMI've come across a very intriguing news article about a famous Tang poem 《静夜思》 by 李白. It has long been known that there are two different versions of the poem in China and Japan. And a Chinese junior high school student who lives in Japan has found that the one in Japan is more close to the original poem. Here is the link to the article, and you can see a news video about it there.
http://history.news.163.com/09/0128/15/50OO9LL800011229.html
The news says 《静夜思》 was a bit modified in China after Ming dynasty (明朝) for some reasons, probably to promote sales of poetry anthologies, and the older version remains unmodified in Japan. In short, the Chinese version is based on 《唐诗三百首》 (清朝, 1765), and Japanese one 《唐诗选》 (circa 1600). The anthology 《唐诗选》 is very popular in Japan, but not in China.
As far as I can see, in fact, this "discovery" seems to be already relatively well known among Japanese researchers, but anyway, it's worth noting that you can see a "more close to original" 《静夜思》 in countries other than China, just like ancient Chinese words and pronounciations are still well preserved in China's southern regions and some neighboring countries.
Version (a) based on 唐诗三百首
床前明月光
疑似地上霜 (or 疑是地上霜?)
举头望明月
低头思故乡
Version (b) based on 唐诗选
床前看月光
疑是地上霜
举头望山月
低头思故乡
The version (a), one well known in China, includes two same words "明月", which is usually not regarded as appropriate in making a classical poem. So I also think that version (b) is more close to the original poem by 李白, probably. Which do you like better?
I love the Chinese student's inquiring mind.