How do you cure a blocked urinary tract?

In 1455 A.D. a petition was submitted to the Ceremonies Board of Joseon's State Council requesting that a list of people be recognized for their filial piety, among other things. First on the list was a student named Lee Hyo-saeng, who definitely went above and beyond the call of duty for a devoted son. Here is the LINK, and here is his story:

Chinese Text:

議(의)政(정)府(부)據(거)禮(예)曹(조)呈(정)啓(계): “京(경)畿(기)竹(죽)山(산)縣(현)學(학)生(생)李(이)孝(효)生(생), 事(사)父(부)母(모)盡(진)孝(효), 晨(신)夕(석)不(부)廢(폐)定(정)省(성), 有(유)所(소)得(득)必(필)獻(헌)。 母(모)死(사)三(삼)年(년)不(부)輟(철)悲(비)哀(애), 父(부)病(병)小(소)便(변)不(불)通(통), 吮(전)而(이)通(통)之(지)。

English Translation:

Petition to the Ceremonies Board of the State Council (議政府據禮曹呈) reported (啓):

“Lee Hyo-saeng, a student from the village of Juksan in Gyeonggi Province (京畿竹山縣學生李孝生), served (事) [his] parents (父母) with the utmost (盡) filial piety (孝). In the morning (晨) [and] the evening (夕), without fail (不廢), [he] checked on them (定省). [If he] had (有) income (所得), [he] invariably (必) gave (獻) it (之) [to them]. [When his] mother (母) died (死), [for] three years (三年) [he] didn’t (不) stop (輟) grieving (悲哀). [When his] father (父) was sick (病) [and] had no urine flow (小便不通), [he] sucked (吮), and (而) cleared (通) it (之).

Korean Translation:

“경기(京畿)의 죽산현(竹山縣) 학생(學生) 이효생(李孝生)은 부모(父母)를 섬기는 데 효도를 다하여 아침 저녁으로 혼정 신성(昏定晨省) 을 폐하지 아니하고 음식을 얻으면 반드시 이를 바쳤고, 어미가 죽자 3년 동안 비통하고 애통하기를 그치지 않았으며, 아비가 병들어 소변(小便)이 통하지 않게 되자 이를 빨아서 통하게 하였습니다.

HERE is a link to an interesting MBC Radio broadcast that mentions the above story.

What does 見他失便, 便說他過 mean?

In the old Chinese text "Tractate of the Most High One on Actions and Consequences (太上感應篇)," there is a list of several actions that are considered wicked. Among those actions was listed the following:

Sentence

(見(견)他(타)失(실)便(변), 便(변)說(설)他(타)過(과)

Vocabulary

• 見 -- to see
• 他 -- another; others
• 失 -- to lose
• 便 -- to be comfortable; urine, feces; then
• 說 -- to speak
• 過 -- to pass; mistake

Translation

"[Someone who] sees (見) another (他) lose (失) [control of his] urine or feces (便) [and] then (便) speaks (說) [to] others (他) [about] the mistake (過)."

Explanation 

I have seen 失便 (실편) translated as "lose convenience" or "to be in temporary difficulties," but that does not make sense to me. I think the intended meaning was "lose control of one's bladder or bowels," which would mean it should be pronounced in Korean as 실변 since 便 is pronounced as either 편 or 변 depending on its intended meaning. I am sure that even in old China people pooped or peed their pants every once in a while, especially many of the older people who probably suffered from fecal or urinary incontinence. Consider the following sentence from the medical text 奇效良方:

失便 病患不覺, 大小便自出者, 乃是大小腸無氣也, 後日必死, 慎勿刺之.

Besides, if a person told others that someone accidentally peed or pooped his pants, that person would be wicked, indeed.

How do you translate 祭虎以爲神 into English?

 Sentence:

祭(제)虎(호)以(이)爲(위)神(신).

Vocabulary:

• 祭 (제) -- to sacrifice
• 虎 (호) -- tiger
• 以 (이) -- to take
• 爲 (위) -- to be
• 神 (신) -- god

 Translation:

Sacrifice (祭) [to] the tiger (虎) [and] take [it] (以) to be (爲) a god (神).

Explanation:

 “以 + N¹ + 爲 + N²" is used when you want to say “take N¹ to be N²,” where N¹ and N2 are two different nouns. For example, 以虎爲神 would translate as “take (以) the tiger (虎) to be (爲) a god (神),” which could also be translated as “regard (以) the tiger (虎) as (爲) a god (神).” However, in the sentence here there was no N¹ between 以 and 爲 because 虎 (the tiger) had already been mentioned in the previous clause that said "sacrifice (祭) [to] the tiger (虎)," so the pronoun 之 (it) was used instead to refer back to the tiger.

Now you might be wondering where the 之 is? Well, one of the more interesting grammar rules in liiterary Chinese is that it does not allow you to write a 之 after 以, so when we translate 以爲, we just have to assume there is a 之 between the two characters. Therefore, 以爲 can be translated as “take it (以) to be (爲)” or “regard it (以) as (爲).” If the preceding noun were plural, then, of course, it would translate as “take them (以) to be (爲)” or “regard them (以) as (爲).”

How should you see good? How should you hear evil?

Today I came across the following Chinese expression that I thought was clever enough to post.

見善如渴, 聞惡如聾
견선여갈, 문악여롱

"See good as if thirsty; hear evil as if deaf."

See (見) good (善) as if (如) thirsty (渴); hear (聞) evil (惡) as if (如) deaf (聾).

How can you slow down aging?

一笑一少, 一怒一老
일소일소, 일로일로

약간 웃으면 약간 젊어지고, 약간 화나면 약간 늙어진다. 

A little (一) laugh (笑), a little (一) younger (少); a little (一) anger (怒), a little (一) older (老).

一 can mean "one" or "a little," which in Korean is 약간.
笑 can mean "smile" or "laugh."
少 can mean "few" or "young."
怒 means "anger."
老 means "old."

Notice the wordplay in the Korean pronunciation. 一怒一老 can also be written as 일노일로, but then you lose some of the wordplay, so I would write it as 일로일로 or 일노일노.



세상사 스무고갯길 좋은날만있을까
이왕이라면웃으며살자 말처럼쉽지 않아도
일소일소 일노일노 얼굴마다 쓰여저
감출수가 없는데 한치앞날모르는것이 인생인것을
그게바로인생인것을 웃다가도 한세상이고
울다가도한세상인데 욕심내봐야 소용없잔아
가지고 갈것 하나없는데

인생사구비구비 길 힘든날만있을까
마음하나를 내려놓는데 말처럼쉽지않아도
일소일소 일노일노 얼굴마다쓰여저 감출수가없는데
한치앞날모르는것이 인생인것을 그게바로 인생인것을
웃다가도 한세상이고 울다가도 한세상인데
욕심내봐야 소용없잖아 가지고갈것하나없는데

일소일소 일노일노 얼굴마다쓰여저 감출수가없는데
한치앞날모르는것이 인생인것을 그게바로 인생인것을
웃다가도 한세상이고 울다가도 한세상인데
욕심내봐야 소용없잖아 가지고갈것하나없는데

What does 衣欲新, 人欲舊 mean?

Last night I came across the following Chinese expression that I thought was quite clever.

衣欲新, 人欲舊
의욕신, 인욕구  

"[For] clothes (衣), [one] wants (欲) new (新); [for] people (人) [one] wants (欲) friends (舊)."

舊 (구) can mean both "old" or "friend," as in 친구 (親舊), so the writer used 舊 to make a pun since the sentence could also be translated as follows:

"[For] clothes (衣), [one] wants (欲) new (新); [for] people (人) [one] wants (欲) old (舊)."

Here is another clever Chinese expression.

朋友有舊 

붕우유구

A friend (朋友) is (有) a friend (舊).

Friends (朋友) are (有) old (舊).

Friends (朋友) have (有) friends (舊).

朋友 [means] 有舊.

Concerning the last one, 朋友 (붕우) means 친구 (親舊), which means "friend," but one of the meanings of 有 (유) is  친 (親), so 有舊 (유구) and 親舊 (친구) essentially mean the same thing.

How did Korean children learn to read literary Chinese in the early 20th Century?

This text is entitled "Beginning Level Literary Chinese for Children" (蒙學漢文初階), published in 1907. It is composed of 213 lessons, which are essentially just 213 simple sentences or short paragraphs written in progressively more difficult sentences. For more information on the text, visit Kuiwon's site HERE.

How do the Barberettes promote their new CD?

Here is how:

Has anyone translated the "Annals of King Taejo" into English?

Yes, Honam University Professor Choi Byong-hyon has just published an English translation of "The Annals of King T'aejo, Founder of Korea's Choson Dynasty," a 4-year project. This is the first time this 600-year-old history has ever been translated in English. The book is 1000-plus pages, which includes an index and a glossary of terms.

(The photo to the left comes from THIS KOREAN ARTICLE.)

The book is well formated, and the translation seems good, but the binding of my hardcover version seems a little weak. I suspect the book will be coming apart before I get to the end of it, so some people may prefer to get the Kindle version since it is also being sold HERE on Amazon.

I would not buy the NOOK version of the book, even though it is about $9 cheaper than the Kindle version, because NOOK does not display Chinese characters. You do not need Chinese characters to read the English translation, but some characters are used in the footnotes, and there are almost 100 pages of glossaries in back of the book that list Chinese characters. If Chinese characters are not that important to you and you have a NOOK, then save $9 and get the NOOK version.

UPDATE: The Kindle version is now selling for $33.49, which is a good deal.

The "Annals of King Taejo" include entries on matters both  trivial and interesting. For example, here is what was entered on the First Day of the Fourth Month in the Year 1394, a date I picked by just randomly opening the book.

1st Day (Kyŏngo)

There was frost. 

The king ordered to recruit the people in the town who were good at stone fights to make a military unit and named it "Stone-Throwing Army" (ch'ŏksŏkkun).  

The Censorate and the Board of Punishments jointly submitted a memorial urging the king to eliminate members of the Wang royal clan. The king replied, "Gather various members of the Wang clan at one place and protect them well. Wang U, Lord of Kwiui, who lives in Majŏn County to sacrifice to his ancestors, should be excepted in discussions of the matters related to the Wang clan.

As you can see, some of the expressions may be a little awkward, but it is still pretty good English. Also, this day in Korean history seems to have been a little boring, but I suspect there will be much more excitement on other days.

Imagine reading a Korean history written 600 years ago. I am very excited.

Who are the Barberettes?

I don't know, but I like their style.



Here is another one I like.



사랑해, I love you / 그러니까 쿠커리츄 /  사랑해, I love you / 쿠커리츄 사랑의 주문.

일, 이, 삼, 사, 오, 육, 팔 / 마음이 열리는 시간 / 이젠 smile, 행복해져라 / 웃어라 내게 와라.

간절히 원하면 / 안되는게 하나도 없죠 /  온 세상이 도와준대 /  오늘은 서쪽에서 / 내일은 동쪽에서 / 그대를 기다리네 / 쿠커리츄 내 맘을 알아줘요.

어색해? I love you / 그러니까 쿠커리츄 / 부끄러? I love you / 커리츄 비밀의 주문.

빨주노초 파남보 /  마음이 열리는 색깔 / Lucky style, 행운을 줘라 / 빛나라 날개를 달아.

간절히 원하면 / 안되는게 하나도 없죠 / 온 세상이 도와준대 /  오늘은 북쪽에서 / 내일은 남쪽에서 / 그대를 기다리네 / 쿠커리츄 내 맘을 알아줘요.

Here is another good one.



조그만 가시내들이 /  모여서 노랠 부르면 /  온동네 청년들은 마음 설레어 하네 /  가시내들 노래 들으러 오네.

When little girls gather / and sing their [little] songs, / excited local boys / all come out to hear them.

꽃 피는 봄날이 오면 /  어여쁜 새 옷을 입고 /  새로 만날 나의 님 맞을 준비를 하네 /  가시내들 마음 설레어 오네.

When spring flowers appear, / excited little girls / in pretty, new dresses / come out to seek romance.

아아 나는 몰라 정말로 몰라 / 다가와 말을 걸면 / 아아 볼엔 새빨간 꽃물이 들고 / 머리는 엉클어지네

I don't know, truly don't know, / why my cheeks turn bright red, / why my thoughts get tangled / when they come to greet me.

아아 나는 몰라 정말로 몰라 / 다가와 웃어주면 / 아아 바람소리는 노래가 되고 / 마음은 일렁거리네.

I don't know, truly don't know, / why the wind sounds like song, / why my head starts bobbing, / when they walk up smiling.