Is ink expensive?

“爸爸，墨水很贵重吗？”“啊，不。你怎么会这样想呢？”“因为我洒了一点点墨水在地毯上，妈妈就像非常痛心似的。”

"Daddy,is ink expensive?" "Ah,no.Why would you think of such a thing?" "Because I accidentally spilled some ink on to the carpet,and Mommy looked very heartbroken."

Landing on the Sun

爸爸说：“科学技术发展的很快，人类已经实现登上月球的愿望。”洋洋听了说：“将来我长大了，要登上太阳。”爸爸说：“太阳上非常热，人根本上不去。”洋洋笑了起来：“爸爸真傻，难道我不会晚上去吗？”

Daddy said, "Science and technology have developed really fast,the human race already landed on the moon."Yang Yang heard and said, "In the future, when I grow up,and land on the sun."Daddy said, "The sun is very hot,humans can't land on it no matter what."Yang Yang started laughing, "Daddy is so stupid,can't I even go there at night?"

Millionaire and Fisherman

一个百万富翁在海滩度假时，看到一个渔夫懒洋洋地躺在那里晒太阳。富翁对渔夫说﹕“这样好的天气，你应该赶紧 工作，别躺在这里浪费时间。”渔夫问﹕“赶紧工作是为了什么呢﹖”富翁说﹕“这样，以后你会很有钱，等你老了以后，就可以像我这样，到海滩度假，自由自在地晒晒太阳。” 渔夫说﹕“可是，我现在不是已经这样了吗﹖﹗”

While a millionaire was on vacation at the beach,he saw a fisherman lying lazily on the beach, basking in the sun.The millionaire stated to the fisherman, "With this fair weather,you should hurry and fish,and not be lying on the beach wasting your life."The fisherman inquired, "What am I hurrying to work for?" The millionaire replied matter-of-factly, "This way,and later on you can earn a lot of money,and when you're old,you can be like moi,and go to the beach for vacations,and bask in the sun without a care in the world."The fisherman then responded, "But,aren't I doing this right now?!"

The legend of Kua Fu

Hi. Kids, dehyration kills! Don't get dehyrated if you want to embark on any long distance endurance sport, such as chasing the Sun. Seriously, you don't need to chase the Sun, just sit tight and let the Sun come to you.

炎帝 的 后代 中 有 一个 叫 夸夫 的 人，他 力气 很大，走路 像 风一样 快。
有 一次 他 决定 和 太阳 比赛，看 谁 走得 更快。于是 他 向 太阳 追去，在 将 接近 太阳 的 时候，他 感到 非常 口渴，于是 就 奔到 黄河 边上，一下子 把 黄河 里面 的 水 都 喝完了。但是 他 仍然 感到 口渴，又 奔到 渭水 边上，把 渭水 里 的 水 也 喝完了。最后 他 想 去 北方 的 大湖 找 水 喝。可是 他 还 没有 到达 北方 的 大湖，就在 半路 上 渴死了。

One of Yan Di's descandents was called Kua Fu,he was very strong,and he could walk as fast as the wind.One time he decided to have race with the sun,and wanted to see who could walk the fastest.so he chased after the sun,and once he neared the sun,he was very thirsty,so he ran to the Yellow River,and drank all the water.But he was still very thirsty,so he ran to another water source,and drank it dry.and lastly he went to the north to drink water.But he didn't even make it to the north,and along the way died of thirst.

The legend of Shen Nong

I've been on business trips like crazy, so haven't spent as much time on this blog as I wanted. Indigo has been great to tolerate my nagging :-).

I found Shen Nong's reasoning is fancinating. If aninmals don't die as human's, then what animals eat must have some kind of medicinal effects. Is it a fact or a myth? You gotta ask some questions, kids.
1) Horses are so big and strong. Could human become that big and strong by eating grasss?
2) The epidemic went away was a fact. It could be the herbs killed all those viruses, but it could also be the result of the strongest survived.

远古的 时候，有 一个 时期 流行 瘟疫，地上 的 人 死掉了 很多。

于是 一个 叫 神农 的 人 决心 寻找 治病 的 方法。他 看到 鸟兽 并 没有 传染到 人类 的 疾病，就 想 可能 鸟兽 吃 的 植物 里面 有 治病 的 东西。于是 他 就 亲自 去 品尝 各种各样的 植物，每种 植物 从 根 到 叶子、再 到 花、果，不管 甜、酸、苦、辣、咸，全部 都 尝过了，最后 发现了 一万 六千 种 草药。

他 把 这些 草药 记录在 一本 叫《本草经》的 书 中，介绍给 人们。终于 阻止了 瘟疫 的 流行。

A long time ago,there was a period where an epidemic occured,and a lot of people on earth died.So a person called Shen Nong determinedly set out for a cure.He saw other animals that seemed to be alright,and thought that maybe what the animals ate could cure the disease.So he went by himself to gather the plants and herbs,and every plant from roots to leaves and from flowers, fruits,and no matter be they sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, or salty,he tasted them all,until he had discovered 160,000 different kinds of herbs.He recorded all these herbs into a book called Herb Book, and presented it to people.And they finally cured the epidemic.

The legend of Yi

The Yao is not the bball player "Yao" in Houston ;-)

So Chang E flew to Moon in order to save her husband Yi. But who is that wine maker Wu Gang dude on the Moon? I couldn't find where he came from and how he ended up on the Moon. Anyone knows the story, please send it to me, so I can tell my girl Indigo about it! Thanks in advance.


在 尧 治理 天下 的 时候，有 一个 时候 天空 突然 出现了 十个 太阳，把 大地 烤得 裂了 开来，树木、花草 都 枯死了。

于是 有 一个 叫 羿 的 英雄，他 用 箭 把 天上 的 太阳 一个 一个 地 射了 下来，最后，只 留 一个 太阳 在 空中，让 它 给 大地 光明 和 温暖。

后来 羿 娶了 嫦娥 为 妻，再后来，嫦娥 为 救 羿 就 飞到 月亮 上 了。

During the time when Yao was ruling the land,there was a time when there were ten suns in the sky,and it burned so great that the earth fell apart,the plants and flowers withered away.So there was hero named Ying,and he used his arrows to knock off the suns in the sky,and in the end,there was only one sun left,and allowed it to give sunshine and warmth on to the land. Later on Yi married a woman named Chang E, and afterwards, Chang E flew up to the moon in order to save her husband.

The legend of Chi You

Ok, Huang Di defeated Yan Di and took over his tribe. This dude Chi You wanted to challenge Huang Di, and got crashed and his tribe was blanded with Huang Di's tribe. Hmmm, why the Chinese don't call themselves of decendants of Chi-Yan-Huang?

蚩尤 是 南方 一个 部落 的 首领，据说 那个 部落 的 人 身体 像 野兽，有 四只 眼睛，牙齿 很长 并且 很硬，能够 把 沙子、石头 当 饭 吃。

蚩尤 想 争夺 黄帝 的 领袖 地位，就 向 黄帝 的 部落 发动了 进攻，但是 最后 失败了，于是 蚩尤 的 部落 也 合并进了 黄帝 的 部落。

Chi You is the leader of a southern tribe,and it was rumored that the tribespeople had bodies like animals, who had four eyes,and with super long teeth that were very hard as well,and could eat sand and stones. Chi You wanted to take the place of Huang Di,and attacked Huang Di's tribe,but he was defeated,so Chi You's tribe was put together with Huang Di's tribe.

Is it in your brain or your stomach?

The Chinese medicine was so "advanced", it stipulates that your stomach holds the most important life "ingrients". Your thought process and your thinking is all done inside the stomach. You don't think with your brain, you think with your heart, and you plot or scheme with your stomach. After all, the stomach holds everything you eat. They had no idea what a brain was :-).

So when you hear the Chinese say that so-and-so doesn't have anything in his stomach, it doesn't mean that he is hungry, it means he can't write well or articulate his thoughts.

一个秀才准备去考试，成天唉声叹气。他的太太说﹕“看你这样害怕考试，真像我们女人害怕生孩子一样。”秀才说﹕“你不知道，这比生孩子难多了。你生孩子前肚子里已经有孩子了。可是我肚子里根本没有文章。”

A scholar was preparing to take a test,and was sighing all day long.His wife stated, "Looks like you're very nervous about the test,just like us women afraid of having children."The scholar replied, "You don't know the half of it,this is more complicated than having children.when you're having a child your stomach already has the child.but my stomach doesn't even have an essay."

The legend of HuangDi and YanDi

Well, if Huang Di defeated Yan Di and absorbed his tribe, shouldn't the Chinese themselves "decendants of Huang Yan" instead of "decendants of Yan Huang"?

黄帝 和 炎帝 是 兄弟，他们的 父亲 叫 少典，母亲 叫 有蟜氏。黄帝 在 姬水 边上 长大，所以 姓 姬。炎帝 在 姜水 边上 长大，所以 姓 姜。两个 人 之间经常 发生 战争。

最后的 决战 发生在 涿鹿 的 大原野 上。双方 的 军队 打了 几个 月，打得 天昏地暗。结果，黄帝 战胜了 炎帝。于是 两个 部落 合并，成为 形成 中华 民族 的 主流。

所以 现在 的 中国人 常 自称 “炎黄 子孙”。

Huang Di and Yan Di were brothers,and their father was called Shao Dian,the mother Jiao ShiHuang Di grew up by the River of Ji,so his last name is Ji.Yan Di grew up by the River of Jiang,so his last name is Jiang.They fought a lot of battles.their last fight occurred in the vast grasslands of Zhuo Lu.Both sides fought for several months,they fought so hard the sky turned dark.In the end,Huang Di beat Yan Di.so both of them amalgimated,and formed a Chinese Nation.so this is why the Chinese are referred to as "Yan Huang's descendants."

The legend of Nv Wa

This is a Chinese version of how creatures on earth were created. The creator was Nv Wa! Interesting!? But how did she come into being?

女娲是 大地 的 女儿，她的 上半部 像 人，下半部 像 蛇。她 在 大地 上 一个 人 游玩，时间 长了，感到 很 孤独，就 用 泥土 造出了 人类 的 祖先，以及 各种 动物。人类 渐渐 繁殖 增加，大地-上 变得 热闹起来 了，女娲 看了 很 高兴。

可是，有 一天，天空 突然 破了，大地 也 裂了 开来，于是 整个 世界上 都是 从 天-上 落下来 的 烈火 和 地下 冒出来 的 洪水。人类 的 生活 变得 很 痛苦。女娲 看到 人类 的 痛苦，感到 十分 难过，于是 决定 去 修补 天空 和 大地。她 把 彩色的 石头 溶化了，用来 修补 天空，用 泥土 去 填平 地下 的 裂缝。她 又 砍下了 海洋 里 的 神龟 的 四条 腿 去 支撑 天空。这样，世界 又 恢复了 平静，人类 又 开始 过 安定的 生活。

Nu Wa is the Earth's daughter, Her top half was that of a woman, and her bottom half was that of a snake. She was playing by herself on the earth but as time passed, Nu Wa was feeling very bored and alone, so she made the humans' ancestors out of mud, as well as all sorts of different animals. The human race slowly began to multiply, and the earth was becoming very noisy indeed, and Nu Wa was very happy about this. However, one day, the sky suddenly burst open, and the earth also cracked open, so the whole universe was filled with raging fire that fell from the sky and floods from the earth. The human race became filled with sorrow and anguish. Nu Wa saw the human races' pain, and felt really sad, so she resolved to fix the sky and earth. So she melted various color rocks, and used them to patch up the sky, and used mud to fill up all the earth's fissures. She also chopped off the turtle deity's four legs (with her magical ninja sword) and used them to hold up the sky. With this, she universe returned to normal, and the human race lead very peaceful lives. (that is, until the badass-marshmallow-eating-dinosaurs came from Jupiter...)

Is 热闹 noise? Or is it "full of excitement"? Methinks it's better to translate it as "full of excitement".

The legend of Pan Gu

Ok, this is not a joke. It's a Chinese version of how the world was created.

These days youngsters don't pay a great deal of respect of the legend. In her translation, Indigo actually questioned the validity of the legend and kind of made fun of some parts of the legendary story. Sigh!

最初，宇宙 是 一团 混沌的 气体，像 一个 巨大的 鸡蛋。这个 鸡蛋 的 中心 孕育着 一个 天神，他的 名字 叫 盘古。

盘古 在 鸡蛋-中 昏昏沉沉地 睡了 一万 八千 年，终于 有 一天 醒了 过来。他 看见 周围 是 漆黑的 一片，感到 十分 烦闷，就 挥动 手中 的 斧子，打破了 鸡蛋。于是 鸡蛋 中 轻的 物质 慢慢 上升，变成了 蓝色的 天空，鸡蛋 中 重的 物质 就 慢慢 沉下去，成为 一片 大地。

为了 不 让 天 和 地 重新 合并，盘古 用 他的 双手 托住了 天空。天空 渐渐 升高，盘古 的 身体 也 随着 长高。又 过了 一万 八千 年，盘古 的 身体 长到了 九万 里 高。

他 感到 天 和 地 再 也 不会 合并了，并且 自己 也 很累 了，于是 倒下来 死去了。他的 呼吸 变成了 风 和 云，他的 声音 变成了 雷，他的 左眼 变成了 太阳，右眼 变成了 月亮，身体 变成了 山，毛发 变成了 森林、花草，血液 变成了 河流，牙齿 和 骨头 变成了 石头 和 矿物，汗水 变成了 雨水 和 露水。盘古 的 死 换来了 一个 美丽的 世界。

In the beginning, the universe was just a swirling pile of gases, (P.U.!) and was like a very big egg. Inside this egg lived a god, called Pan Gu. Pan Gu slept deeply in the egg for 18,000 years, and finally woke up one day. He looked 'round at his surroundings only to find pitch-black blackness, and felt very bored and irratated indeed, so he waved his ax wildly around his head shouting the Mongol war-cry, and sliced the egg open. (where he got the ax is beyond me) And so the gases in the egg slowly rose up in the inky air, and turned in to the blue sky we now know today, and the more opaque-y-ish substances slowly sank down, and became a piece 'a land. and because he didn't want the earth and sky to merge together again, Pan Gu held up the sky with both hands. (now answer me this: how the hell is he suppose to hold up something that's entirely made out of gases?!?!) The sky slowly crept upwards, and Pan Gu's body stretched upwards as well. Another 18,000 years past, (how time flies!) Pan Gu's body was now 90,000 meters long. and he felt that the earth and the sky would never merge together now, but he also felt very tired, and fell down dead. His breath became the wind and the clouds, his voice became thunder, his left eye was now the sun, his right eye the moon, his body turned into mountains, his hair forests and flowers, his blood became rivers, his teeth and bones became rocks and minerals, and his sweat turned into rain and dew. And so, because Pan Gu died, we have a beautiful world. (so you're saying that if someone dies then the world would be a better place? sweeeeet...)