英语畅谈中国文化 50 主题 第 45 章 Chinese and Western Set Phrases 中国俗语和西方俗语A: Whenever I try to use some Chinese set phrases, people seem surprised. They not only marvel at my language capability but also treat me as one of them. Set phrases help close the gap between the listeners and me. Usually people will offer to teach me more such phrases.B: Set phrases can definitely reflect a person's life experience, as well as their attitude and value propositions. From such expressions you can see what people like and dislike. A: In the West, health-related phrases are usually based on people's understanding of a healthy lifestyle. Benjamin Franklin, co-author of the Declaration of Independence, wrote a book in 1732, titled Poor Richard's Almanac. The book was on the best-seller list for 25 years. It contains a lot of wisdom in its memorable phrases. I think I can say with confidence that it reveals the secrets of America's rise to success in a little over 200 years. Those secrets are hard work, frugality, fairness and kindness. The phrases in Poor Richard's Almanac are very similar to what we have in Chinese. For example, in Chinese we say "Carrots and cabbages can ensure a peaceful life. " In the Almanac a similar saying is "To lengthen your life, lessen your meals. " While we say "In order to keep fit, refrain from over stuffing your stomach and don't wear excessively thick clothes," the Almanac translates this as " Eat few suppers, and you'll need few medicines.B: Indeed, they all sound very similar. A: There are also other phrases with moral implications. For instance, we say "Mind what you say. "In the Almanac, it says "He that speaks much is much mistaken." Or the Chinese expression "Only the person who has come through hardships can stand out in a crowd. " That sounds very much the same as the Almanac's phrase "No man was glorious, who was not laborious."B: People share similar value propositions regardless of their background. This should help mutual understanding and communication and at the same time be good for social progress. In this regard, set phrases can even play the role of bridges between different cultures. A: I think more vivid metaphors and stories should be introduced into our daily language. A phrase as "The sleeping fox catches no poultry. Up up!" is colorful and friendly.
