Travel in Chinese Lesson 58 Hutong 2

人豪：今天天气真好，我们一家人有很长时间没有一起出来玩儿了吧。

雪梅：这里的风景不错，而且靠近水边，空气也很好。

小杰：爸爸，我们一会儿找个地方放风筝吧。

人豪：行啊。小杰啊，你不是一直嚷嚷着要看后海吗？这就是。

小杰：是吗？这一片都是后海吗？

人豪：来，你看，这是银锭桥。桥的这边是什刹海，又叫后海，那边是前海。

雪梅：这桥可真够秀气的。

人豪：你别看它小，从前这儿还是一景呢，叫银锭观山，都说从这儿能看到西山。

小杰：是吗？西山在哪儿？

人豪：现在你看不到了。

小杰：爸爸，我觉得北京的地名儿很奇怪。

人豪：为什么呢？

小杰：北海呀、什刹海呀，就是一个湖，为什么要叫它们“海”呢？

雪梅：我也觉得很奇怪，是不是古人觉得它们特别大，像海洋似的，就管它们叫海了？

人豪：你们都很善于发现问题，不过不是这个原因。

小杰：那是什么原因呢？

人豪：什刹海的“海”是“海子”的意思。

雪梅：这两个词不是一个意思吗？

人豪：不，“海”是“海”，“海子”是“海子”，海子是满语，是湖泊的意思。

小杰：原来是这样啊，爸爸你知道的真多。

雪梅：人豪，你看，这里还有很多酒吧，到了晚上一定很热闹。

人豪：是啊，在这儿既可以喝酒，又可以欣赏美景，一举两得。

雪梅：而且这里风景优美，闹中取静，住在这儿也肯定不错。

人豪：对，历史上有很多名人都住在这儿，清朝就有好几王爷住在这儿。

小杰：王爷？那他们的房子现在还在吗？

人豪：有啊，就拿恭亲王府来说吧，保存得就很完整。

雪梅：除了恭王府，还有其他的吗？

人豪：还有醇王府，后来变成了宋庆龄故居了。

醇王府.雪梅：宋庆龄？也很有名嘛。

人豪：这什刹海周围啊，可以说到处都有故事，说上三天三夜也说不完。

小杰：到处？在哪儿呢？（低头作寻找状）

雪梅：小杰？你在这儿折腾什么呢？

小杰：找故事啊。

人豪：哈哈，走，我这就带你们找故事去。
 

Translation:

Father: It’s a good day today. The family hasn’t been sightseeing for a while.

Mother: The scenery here is beautiful and the air is fresh by the waterside.

Daughter: Dad, let’s find a place to fly our kites.

Father: Ok. Xiaojie, this is the Houhai area you’ve always wanted to see.

Daughter: Yes? All this area is Houhai?

Father: Come over here. You see, this is the Yinding Bridge. On this side of the bridge, it’s Shichahai, also known as Houhai, and over there it’s Qianhai.

Mother: This bridge is quite delicate.

Father: It may be small, but it was a famous sight before, known as “Mountain Scene at the Yinding Bridge”. It’s said that you could see the West Mountain from here.

Daughter: Really? wher is the West Mountain?

Father: You can’t see it now.

Daughter: Dad, I find the place names in Beijng rather strange.

Father: Why?

Daughter: Beihai, Shichahai, are they just lakes? Why call them seas?

Mother: I find the same. Could it be that people in ancient times thought that they are as big as a sea and named them seas afterwards?

Father: You’re good at finding problems. But that’s not the reason.

Daughter: Then what is?

Father: The “hai” in Shichahai is actually “haizi”.

Mother: Do these two words mean the same?

Father: No. “Hai” is “sea”, while “haizi” is not. “Haizi” is Manchu for lake.

Daughter: Oh, I see. You’re really knowledgeable, Dad.

Mother: Renhao, look, so many bars here. The nightlife here must be pretty lively.

Father: Yeah. You can have a drink here and at the same time appreciate the beautiful scenery, killing two birds with one stone.

Mother: What’s more, with the beautiful scenery, you can enjoy the solitude among all the excitement here. It must be a good place to live

Father: Right. Many celebrities lived here before in history. In the Qing dynasty, even some princes lived here.

Daughter: Princes? Are their residences still around now?

Father: Yes. Like Prince Gong’s Mansion, it’s well preserved.

Daughter: Besides his, any others?

Father: Prince Chun’s Mansion is also around this area and is now the old residence of Song Qingling.

Mother: Song Qingling? That’s a big name.

Father: There are stories all around the Shichahai area. You could spend more than three days and three nights on them.

Daughter: All around? wher are they?

Mother: Xiaoijie, what are you looking around for?

Daughter: Stories.

Father: Haha. Let’s go and find some stories.
 

Bookmarks
 

1)善于 to be adept at, to be good at

例）他比较善于表达自己的想法。

He's relatively good at expressing his own ideas.

例）他很善于演讲。

He's very good at public speaking.

2）一举两得 to achieve two things at once

例）一边旅游一边学中文，边玩儿边学，真是一举两得。

To travel while learning Chinese, and to have fun while studying really is killing two birds with one stone.

例）每天游泳，既放松又对身体有好处，真是一举两得。

To swim every day not only can you relax but it’s also good for your health. That really is killing two birds with one stone.

3）折腾 to do sth over and over.

例） 他折腾了半天，还是没把电脑修好。

He fiddled with it for a long time, but he still was not able to fix the computer.

例）别在那儿折腾你的破收音机了，早点儿睡吧。

Quit fiddling around your stupid radio. Go to bed early.

Sign Posts

Hutong 2

Let’s talk a little bit more about hutongs, the narrow alleyways in old Beijing. Many of these have interesting names, based on different kinds of criteria. Some merely reflect the name of their most prominent occupants, like 赵堂子胡同, which would be wher the Zhao family lived. Others have more mysterious names like龙须沟胡同 Dragon Whiskers Ditch hutong. Not sure wher that name came from. Other names are very practical, reflecting the dominant trades that would go on in these neighbourhoods, such as 干面胡同 dry flour hutong. One hutong is humorously called 一尺大街. 尺 is a traditional Chinese measurement, like a foot in English. 大街 is the name of a boulevard or major street, but this is simply a hutong that is approximately 10 m long. Note that not all hutongs are actually called “hutong” in their formal name.

Each hutong has its own personality. Few are simply straight lines. The most winding hutong is probably 九道弯, literally 9 turning ways, which actually has over 20 twists and turns. If you come out of that and still know which way is north, you’re doing very well. In Chinese, 找不着北 to not be able to find north, is an expression to indicate that you are completely lost and confused.

Some of the hutongs are now major streets, others are so narrow they’re not only unpassable by car, some people would have trouble squeezing through. Little Trumpet hutong 小喇叭胡同 is only 50 centimeters wide at one point. The most narrow is probably 钱市胡同, literally money market hutong, which narrows to only 40 cm at one point.

The oldest hutong is probably 三庙街, which has a history of over 900 years. Another hutong, 砖塔胡同 the brick tower hutong has a history of over 700 years. We know this because it is actually mentioned in ancient operas from the Yuan dynasty. Despite the huge changes in Beijing, you can still find these hutongs today.

Substitution and Extension

句型：

1）A…是…A，B…是…B two things are not comparable

例)面条是面条，米粉是米粉，看起来很像，味道却不同。

Noodles are noodles. Rice noodles are rice noodles. They look similar but they taste different.

例)北京是北京，上海是上海，虽然都是大城市，但风格却完全不同。

Beijing is Beijing. Shanghai is Shanghai. Although they are both large cities, they have very different characters.

2) 拿......来说吧 take something as an example

例)拿豆汁儿来说吧，现在已经很少有年轻人喜欢喝了。

Take fermented bean curd drink as an example, nowadays very few young people like to drink it.

例)拿全聚德来说吧，北京人几乎没有不知道的。

Take Quanjude as an example, almost all Beijingers know about it.