4 ms·
The writing in this article is very difficult to understand. >"At a restaurant with friends, a delicate choreography will have one person carefully select a fe
by joenathan 11y ago
The writing in this article is very difficult to understand.
>"At a restaurant with friends, a delicate choreography will have one person carefully select a few choice morsels from the common bowl and place them on a neighbor’s plate. It is a small, perfect gesture."
A "perfect gesture"? What does that even mean?
And this paragraph:
>"Take, for instance, the Beijing tradition of man zǒu. Man means “slowly” and zǒu means “walk,” or colloquially “walk slowly.” Man zǒu is the tender goodbye offered from every small shopkeeper I have visited in Beijing. It is usually spoken in a quiet voice, and somehow sounds so much more sincere than “Have a nice day.” Sometimes I will make the trip to my neighborhood laundry with a single shirt for cleaning, just as an excuse to hear the “man zǒu” when I leave the shop."
What is "man zǒu"? A spoken farewell? If so what is the significance of saying "walk slowly"?
- dr_zoidberg 11y agoFrom the description, I understand is something like the shopkeeper slowly walking behind you as you go out of the shop. Not sure if that's what is meant, but I've seen that in some shops in Argentina. It's like an unspoken goodbye? But here, depending on the kindness and general attitude of the shopkeeper, it can be seen as anything between polite and creepy.
- song 11y agoNo, "man zou" is what the shopkeeper says, it's basically the equivalent of "take care"
- awalton 11y ago> A "perfect gesture"? What does that even mean? It means "read the sentence again, this time from a figurative perspective." From my perspective, the whole sentence is a play on how the meal is a delicate dance, and how this act is like a perfectly executed move. > What is "man zǒu"? >> Man zǒu is the tender goodbye offered from every small shopkeeper I have visited in Beijing. It is usually spoken in a quiet voice, and somehow sounds so much more sincere than “Have a nice day.” I mean it's literally right there, I'm not sure how you missed it. It sounds similar to how American English speakers would use "Take care."
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- dnr 11y agoA better colloquial translation of "man zǒu" would be "take it easy".
- glifchits 11y agoI like this, but I also think the author did a good job of describing how the Chinese is much more heartfelt than the Western "take it easy". Maybe because its actually providing a recommendation instead of a vague directive.
- jschwartzi 11y ago"Take it easy" isn't particularly vague to me. Consider "it." What is "it?" Whatever it happens to be, there are many alternative ways to take it. You could take it hard, or grudgingly, or angrily. The directive is instead to take it easy.
- glifchits 11y agoYes but there's no advice on how to take it easy. It's just saying to do so, which is pretty unoriginal advice. Why recommend that someone take it hard, grudgingly, or angrily? It feels less sincere because there's no personalization to it. Maybe "vague" wasn't the right word, instead I'd call it "generic".
- derefr 11y agoI see "take it easy" to mean something like "try to live your life in such a way that you can still be productive/effective/whatever without stressing out about things in ways that would raise your blood pressure unnecessarily. If something is important, feeling anxious about it doesn't make you any more able to accomplish it. You can think about something to plan it; and you can think about something while you're doing it—but outside of these productive uses of your mental energy, you should never let anything weigh on, or especially linger in, your mind. This will make you live longer, which will make me happy as I won't have to see you die before I do." Of course, most people don't really know what they mean when they say it—but their intent usually lines up with the paragraph above.
- perfTerm 11y agoWalking slowly is a metaphor for living a fulfilling life where you enjoy the things in front of you to the fullest. After all, when you are walking slowly, you can enjoy the sounds of the birds, the feel of the grass and land beneath your feet, and the smell of the lilacs. But when you rush, your mind is elsewhere, busy, concerned, away from the moment you are truly in. Any one who wishes the former upon me is a good friend of mine.
- rakoo 11y agoIt's funny, because every time I've heard it it was when I was leaving a restaurant; my first understanding was that the owner/waiter was wishing me to go home slowly after having eaten well so I can enjoy my meal a little bit more.
- derefr 11y agoI figured it just meant "take care in each step so you don't trip and fall", because it certainly originated before well-maintained pedestrian walkways existed. "Don't slip on ice", "don't step in dung", and "don't break your hip, uncle" sound analogous to me.
- thaumasiotes 11y ago"Don't be in a hurry to leave." 走 zou can mean "walk", but it's the normal way to say "leave". 慢走 is just the opposite of 快走 "get out!"
- barnasha 11y agoThis is always how I think of 慢走. "Oh really? leaving so soon? It was good to see you" - this kind of sentiment.