{"id":10592,"date":"2019-11-22T12:32:21","date_gmt":"2019-11-22T12:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/?p=10592"},"modified":"2019-11-22T15:59:13","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T15:59:13","slug":"he-eats-vinegar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/vi\/he-eats-vinegar\/","title":{"rendered":"He Eats Vinegar"},"content":{"rendered":"
In the last episode when Da Wei plucked up the courage to talk to his object of affection, Xiao Lin, she turned her back on him. Simon feels sorry for Da Wei, and decides to find an opportunity to talk with Xiao Lin. <\/p>\n

              zh\u0113n de h\u01ceo x\u01d0 hu\u0101n jié lún
Xiao Lin: \u771f\u7684\u597d\u559c\u6b22\u6770\u4f26\u3002<\/strong>
               I really like Jay Chou. <\/p>\n

             bié hu\u0101 ch\u012b le \uff0c wéi shí me bú zh\u0113n x\u012b sh\u0113n bi\u0101n de rén ne
Simon\uff1a\u522b\u82b1\u75f4\u4e86\uff0c \u4e3a\u4ec0\u4e48\u4e0d\u73cd\u60dc\u8eab\u8fb9\u7684\u4eba\u5462\uff1f<\/strong>
             Don’t be silly. Why not cherish the people next to you?<\/p>\n

                  n\u01d0 shu\u014d de shì shuí \u0101
Xiao Lin\uff1a\u4f60\u8bf4\u7684\u662f\u8c01\u554a\uff1f<\/strong>
                 Who are you talking a<\/em>bout?<\/p>\n

            m\u011bi cì n\u01d0 shu\u014d x\u01d0 hu\u0101n bié rén \uff0cdà w\u011bi d\u014du huì ch\u012b cù
Simon: \u6bcf\u6b21\u4f60\u8bf4\u559c\u6b22\u522b\u4eba\uff0c\u5927\u4f1f\u90fd\u4f1a\u5403\u918b\u3002<\/strong>
            Whenever you say you like others, Da Wei gets so jealous.<\/p>\n

"\u559c\u6b22 x\u01d0 hu\u0101n"<\/strong> means "to like"; Xiao Lin says she likes Jay Chou, who is a superstar in China. "\u6770\u4f26" is short for "\u5468\u6770\u4f26", and here Xiao Lin o<\/em>nly uses his given name as an affectio<\/em>nate form of address. It is very common in China for people to refer to others by their given names when the subjects in question feel close to one another.<\/p>\n

"\u82b1\u75f4hu\u0101 ch\u012b",<\/strong> literally meaning "obsessed with flowers", refers to females, mostly, who madly cling to their male partners and in some cases are unable to co<\/em>ntrol themselves. In medical science, there is a co<\/em>ndition known as Anthomania (an extravagant fo<\/em>ndness of flowers). "\u82b1\u75f4" does not simply refer to a crush, but rather a state of mind. It can be used as a noun, a verb or an adj.<\/p>\n

In the last sentence, the phrase "\u5403\u918bch\u012b cù<\/strong>" literally means "to eat vinegar", but it means "to be jealous of a rival in love". How did this phrase come a<\/em>bout?<\/p>\n

During the Tang Dynasty (618–907), there was a minister named Fang Xuanling. Fang was very afraid of his wife. One day, Emperor Taizong bestowed on Fang a concubine. Of course, Fang dared not accept her, so the emperor appointed his queen to counsel Mrs. Fang, but this also failed.<\/em><\/p>\n

The emperor became incredibly angry. He bestowed on Mrs. Fang a poiso<\/em>nous wine and said, "Leave aside your jealousy if you want to live, or keep it and drink this poiso<\/em>nous wine!"<\/em><\/p>\n

The emperor thought that this would scare Mrs. Fang, but she took the wine and drank it with tears in her eyes. He was shocked by the situation and exclaimed, "Let alone Xuanling; even I am afraid of such a woman."<\/em><\/p>\n

In fact, the emperor had just tried to scare her with strong vinegar. However, the emperor unexpectedly scared himself, and from that point onwards, "eating vinegar" has come to mean being jealous of other lovers.<\/em><\/div>\n