Genealogy reading was interesting...

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

I just got through reading the genealogy piece and I thought it was really interesting all that could be implied just from the rules of how to construct a family tree. Being a girl, I was (of course) surprised to see how blatantly patriarchal the authors were. It was interesting that females were not even mentioned if they were not married (:@).. and how these biographies were only constructed for males and females' biogrpahies would basically just be included through all the males in her life.

i was also surprised at the major emphasis to keep the family line "pure." It didn't really make sense to me why marrying someone or adopting someone of the same surname could mess up the family heritage that much....

You also got to see what the values of their society were and what was considered honorable (enough to get a mention in the family tree).

well I'm just wondering what everyone else's thoughts were on the subject.. hope to see your replies!!

(i'm hoping the font and color work out right.. it's supposed to be PINK :-D)

[Anonymous]

To continue the discussion about the genealogy rules, I can relate several old Chinese sayings that my mom brings up every now and then.
One phrase that I hear alot is "lose face" (Diu lian). If this was a strict translation, it would be "Throw face", but it the figurative meaning of the phrase signifies a situation where someone "loses face" and becomes embarassed, embarasses his/her circle of friends & family, and would probably not appear in the family lineage. I noticed that the family lineage was somewhat of a school yearbook with the "accomplishments" listed next the name. With respect to outside members with different surnames, women who died before marriage or who were not virtuous or from distinguished backgrounds, or children who died; the lineage is limited to the "good" aspects of the family in terms of accomplishments.
Any other interesting Chinese sayings? I love hearing them.

-Amy

[Anonymous]

I like the Chinese idiom I guess you would call it that refers to porridge. Its a cantonese proverb I believe. The proverb or idiom says, the pooridge has already been cooked. Meaning that the rice was already turned into pooridge meaning that it cannot be made into something else. I like this proverb and use it with some of my Chinese friends when referring to situations that have already happened and there is no changing them. Similiar to saying "what's done is done" I suppose. Who likes porridge by the way. I like pooridge. Teo-chew style.

[Anonymous]

I just thought of one my relatives always tell me, rough transation "you aren't big, you aren't small" meaning you aren't old enough to do your own thing without consulting your parents or at least letting them know and you aren't young enough to get away with the situation. Basically it just means you are being disrespectful because you have somehow violated a notion by speaking out perhaps in an attitude people weren't happy with. Or you just said something that you aren't old enough to say. I wonder if anyone has heard any of these that I know before. I've heard of the whole loose face thing. But my interpretation is a little different. It still has the concept of do not embarass the family or what not. But it also means that perhaps someone has done something bad and now therefore cannot show his face in public or in front of others because he/she has done something so humiliating or embarassing which has caused that person to lose face.

[Anonymous]

i thought the genealogy reading was really interesting because my family actually has something like it that's been passed down from generations to generations... it was traditionally passed down to the eldest son but before my grandpa passed away, he actually made a copy of it for each of his children... however I think it's sad that since most of our family have immigrated here to America, that tradition will most likely be lost on account of the fact that most of my generation do not practice writing in Chinese. My younger brother cannot even read most words beyond one, two, three, mouth, person. love....

[Author]

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