Translated excerpts from a PostShow blog post entitled "the 12 Taboo Ways of Using Chopsticks":
1. 三长两短 Three long two short [an idiomatic expression that translates to "an unexpected misfortune"].
This refers to before or during meals, when a pair of chopsticks is not neatly put together with its ends matching. This is not lucky…
9. 定海神针 The Needle That Stopped the Sea
Sticking a chopstick into the food in a bowl, this is no good, this is understood to be humiliating towards the others at the table. Doing this during a meal is like sticking up your middle finger within a group of Europeans, this is no good.
Link to original post with all twelve ways!
P.S. Image from ShanghaiBlog: four german students in shanghai.
The “original post” was probably not the person original author of the list. From his picture of a Japanese style pointy chopsticks I can guess he’s not very authoritative about Chinese chopsticks culture.
Yet the post is the No. 1 hit on google. I guess it’s the only one that has a picture. Go figure.
Randomness#54x
Still alive! Too much working and reading, not enough writing.
- All the cool stuff happens after I leave. Chicago now has a Festival of Maps. Thats a small version of a 17th century Map of the Nile on the site. Big version here.
- Detailed sat…