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I 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

I 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 ago
  Yes 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 ago
    I 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.
vidarh 11y ago
Play with intonation and pauses. When I moved to the UK was the first time I was introduced to "how are you doing?" followed by someone walking straight past me without waiting for a reply. It took me months of replying after someone and getting annoyed at how rude they were before it sunk in that "how are you?" in the intonation commonly used, is not a question but a greeting, and that it was most certainly not an invitation to start a conversation. Basically you can't tell without considering intonation whether these utterances are just pleasantries, or heartfelt statements and questions. I found it very enlightening to play with intonation a few years back when talking to shop assistants. You can give a flat "how are you?" that everyone interprets as a greeting, and just keep talking. But just a slight intonation change followed by a pause, and suddenly you get near total strangers pouring their heart out to you about their day. Same thing goes for things like "take it easy". Throw it out, and it's just a bland pleasantry. Pause and go "take it easy" and pause again while looking at someone, and it totally changes character. I think that delivery matters much more than the actual words.
- alextgordon 11y ago
  People in London don't talk to strangers. So if a stranger does say anything to you, even just "Hi", it's deeply concerning, bordering on alarm.
  - vidarh 11y ago
    I was talking about going up to strangers unmotivated, but co-workers etc. or shop staff, or in social settings. But even in London you'd be surprised at how friendly reactions you can get when approaching total strangers as long as you're to the point about why you're approaching and particularly makes it clear you don't want to sell anything (or collect money). Your downfall if approaching strangers in London would be if you think you can do it slowly and casually and start with pleasantries, because perversely that has come to imply you're trying to butter people up prior to a sales pitch, whereas genuine approaches now are forced to be direct and straight to the point. That works, and gets friendly reactions.
coupdejarnac 11y ago
It's pretty much the exact same as "take it easy". Source: lived in Beijing for a year and a half.

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 ago
Yes 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 ago
  I 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.

vidarh 11y ago

Play with intonation and pauses. When I moved to the UK was the first time I was introduced to "how are you doing?" followed by someone walking straight past me without waiting for a reply. It took me months of replying after someone and getting annoyed at how rude they were before it sunk in that "how are you?" in the intonation commonly used, is not a question but a greeting, and that it was most certainly not an invitation to start a conversation. Basically you can't tell without considering intonation whether these utterances are just pleasantries, or heartfelt statements and questions. I found it very enlightening to play with intonation a few years back when talking to shop assistants. You can give a flat "how are you?" that everyone interprets as a greeting, and just keep talking. But just a slight intonation change followed by a pause, and suddenly you get near total strangers pouring their heart out to you about their day. Same thing goes for things like "take it easy". Throw it out, and it's just a bland pleasantry. Pause and go "take it easy" and pause again while looking at someone, and it totally changes character. I think that delivery matters much more than the actual words.

alextgordon 11y ago
People in London don't talk to strangers. So if a stranger does say anything to you, even just "Hi", it's deeply concerning, bordering on alarm.
- vidarh 11y ago
  I was talking about going up to strangers unmotivated, but co-workers etc. or shop staff, or in social settings. But even in London you'd be surprised at how friendly reactions you can get when approaching total strangers as long as you're to the point about why you're approaching and particularly makes it clear you don't want to sell anything (or collect money). Your downfall if approaching strangers in London would be if you think you can do it slowly and casually and start with pleasantries, because perversely that has come to imply you're trying to butter people up prior to a sales pitch, whereas genuine approaches now are forced to be direct and straight to the point. That works, and gets friendly reactions.

coupdejarnac 11y ago

It's pretty much the exact same as "take it easy". Source: lived in Beijing for a year and a half.