Emperor Cuckoo: Human interest in China

A broken-finger five-mao dispute
一场弄断了手指五毛钱的纠纷 Yī chǎng nòngduàn le shọ̌uzhǐ wǔ máoqián de jiūfēn

As a salesperson in Nanjing's Confucian Temple store was taking money from a woman customer, perhaps because the salesperson didn't quite catch it, a five mao coin fell into the counter.  The salesperson asked the customer to pay another five mao, but the customer said she wanted to use a broom to sweep it out.  So the two got into a heated argument, and unfortunately the woman's finger was broken, and the salesperson was forced to pay the woman's medical expenses, which amounted to more than 4,000 RMB [$635.00]. 
南京夫子庙一家商店营业员在收女顾客钱的时候，或因营业员没接好，一枚5角的硬币掉进柜台里。营业员遂要求女顾客再支付5毛，而女顾客表示想用扫帚扫出来。结果双方为此发生争执，女顾客的手指不慎被掰断，营业员不得不赔偿伤者医疗费等费用四千多元。
Nánjīng Fūzǐ Miào yījiā shāngdiàn yíngyèyuán zài shōu nǚ gùkè qián de shíhou, huò yīn yíngyèyuán méi jiē hǎo, yī méi 5 jiǎo de yìngbì diàojìn guìtái lǐ. Yíngyèyuán suì yāoqiú nǚ gùkè zài zhīfù 5 máo, ér nǚ gùkè biǎoshì xiǎng yòng sàozhou sǎo chūlai. Jiéguǒ shuāngfāng wèicǐ fāshēng zhēngzhí, nǚ gùkè de shọ̌uzhǐ bùshèn bèi bāi duàn, yíngyèyuán bùdébù péicháng shāngzhě yīliáofèi děng fèiyong sìqiān duōyuán.

[Cartoon:  Pay another five mao!  再给五毛！Zài gěi wǔ máo!]

Because of a dispute over 5 mao [eight cents], one side got a broken finger, and one side had to pay 4,000 RMB, which is 8,000 times the five mao.  For even a slight advantage, some people will stand on principle, "stake their reputation on it," defy death to defend that principle, never hesitating to get into a free-for-all that brings about disastrous consequences, while people looking on think it's all pretty silly.
为五毛钱的纠纷，一方弄断了手指，一方赔偿4000元，即五毛钱的8000倍。对些微小利，许多人常会上升到原则的高度，“人活一口气”，誓死捍卫，不惜大打出手，引发灾难性后果，让旁人看了觉得无聊。
Wèi wǔ máoqián de jiūfēn, yī̠fāng nòngduàn le shọ̌uzhǐ, yī̠fāng péicháng 4000 yuán, jí wǔ máoqián de 8000 bèi. Duì xiēwēi xiǎolì, xǔduō rén chánghuì shàngshēng dào yuánzé de gāodù, “rén huó yī̠kǒuqì”, shìsǐhànwèi, bùxī dàdǎchūshǒu, yǐnfā zāinànxìng hòuguǒ, ràng pángrén kànle juéde wúliáo.

On the internet, the "five mao" incident has one side hurling insults at the other; in reality, the five mao have brought about a tragedy, because people on the internet hear the news and rush to criticize:  "In China, five mao can cause trouble" ... If the posts had stopped here, it would have been fine, but they are growing more and more crooked, and this is developing into prejudice against people from Nanjing, then people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, then people from all of the south of China ... Sometimes, the disputes on the internet over "five mao" are more boring than the dispute in real life.
“五毛”还是网络互殴中一派对另一派的辱称，现实中五毛钱引发了悲剧，网友们便闻讯赶来，评道：“在中国，五毛就是能生事”。仅此倒也罢了，可后面的楼越建越歪，演变成了针对南京人，进而针对全体江浙人及所有南方人的地域歧视———有时，网络的五毛纠纷比现实中的五毛纠纷更无聊。
 “Wǔ máo” háishi wǎngluò hù'ōu zhōng yī pàiduì lìngyī pài de rǔ chēng, xiànshí zhōng wǔ máoqián yǐnfāle bēijù, wǎngyǒu men biàn wénxùn gǎnlái, píng dào: “zài Zhōngguó, wǔ máo jiùshì néng shēngshì”. Jǐn cǐ dàoyěbàle, kě hòumian de lóu yuè jiàn yuè wāi, yǎnbiàn chéngle zhēnduì Nánjīng rén, jìn'ér zhēnduì quántǐ Jiāng-Zhè rén jí suọ̌yǒu nánfāngrén de dìyù qíshì———yǒushí, wǎngluò de wǔ máo jiūfēn bǐ xiànshí zhòngdì wǔ máo jiūfēn gèng wúliáo.

Source:  tianjinwe.com 2012-01-05 online

Tianjin's Health Bureau: When eating out, try your best not to choose a restaurant that doesn't display a "smiley face" symbol
天津市卫生监督所： 就餐尽量不要选择无“笑脸”标识的餐馆
Tiānjīn shì wèishēng jiāndū suǒ: jiùcān jǐnliàng bụ̀yào xuǎnzé wú “xiàoliǎn” biāozhì de cānguǎn

Yesterday the reporter learned from the Tianjin Health Bureau that in 2012, all establishments with licenses to serve food and beverages, including restaurants, bars, fast-food stores, snack stands, soft drinks vendors, will have their safety conditions graded by the Health Bureau according to four categories, "excellent," "good," "passable" and "below standard," and there will be posted in an eye-catching place in the entranceways to these establishments different kinds of "smiley faces."  Citizens who are eating out can check the establishment's "smiley face" symbol, and will be able to identify those places where the safety of the food products on average is guaranteed.  
记者昨天从本市卫生监督部门获悉，2012年本市卫生监督部门将对市内所有持有《餐饮服务许可证》的餐馆、酒楼、快餐店、小吃店、饮品店的卫生状况进行打分，评出优秀、良好、及格和不及格四个等级，并在餐饮单位门前醒目位置张贴不同的卡通“笑脸”。市民就餐时可以查看餐饮单位的“笑脸”标识，凡有标识的餐馆食品安全均有保证。
Jìzhě zuótiān cóng běnshì wèishēng jiāndū bùmén huòxī, 2012 nián běnshì wèishēng jiāndū bùmén jiāng duì shìnèi suọ̌yǒu chíyǒu 《Cān-yǐn fúwù xụ̌kězhèng》 de cānguǎn, jiǔlóu, kuàicān diàn, xiǎochīdiàn, yǐnpǐn diàn de wèishēng zhuàngkuàng jìnxíng dǎfēn, píng chū yōuxiù, liánghǎo, jígé hé bù jígé sì gè děngjí, bìng zài cān-yǐn dānwèi mén qián xǐngmù wèizhi zhāngtiē bùtóng de kǎtōng “xiàoliǎn”. Shìmín jiùcān shí kẹ̌yǐ chákàn cān-yǐn dānwèi de “xiàoliǎn” biāozhì, fán yǒu biāozhì de cānguǎn shípǐn ānquán jūn yǒu bǎozhèng.

Cui Chunming, associate director of Tianjin's Health Bureau, told the reporter that in-line with efforts to promote confidence in food products, every entranceway will have posted a "cartoon smiley face" ensuring the safety of food and beverages businesses.  To be rated safe, businesses must have a clear and verifiable method of selecting food, beverages and raw materials, and must meet five other requirements, including choosing "safe meats" designated by the Department of Commerce; giving priority to dairy products that have passed quality inspections; selecting vegetables that have been recommended by relevant authorities; displaying QS [Quality Safety] weight and packaging for edible oils; clearly stating what kinds of additives the foods contain; and complying with usage rules and usage periods; and this will guarantee the safety of the food products -- only the "degree of safety" will differ.  
天津市卫生监督所副所长崔春明告诉记者，放心食品工程启动后，凡在门口公示栏中张贴“卡通笑脸”的餐饮单位都是放心餐馆。放心餐馆采购使用的食品及原料来源渠道必须清晰，索证索票齐全，同时符合五项要求。包括采购使用商务部门推荐的“放心肉”；优先采购使用质检部门推荐的“放心乳制品”；优先采购使用有关部门推荐的供货渠道的蔬菜；采购使用具有QS [Quality Safety] 认证标识的定型包装食用油；采购使用具有许可证明或标识、注明可用于食品的食品添加剂，并按照规定的用途、用量使用，因此在食品安全上都有所保证，只是“安全度”不同。
Tiānjīn shì wèishēng jiāndū suǒ fùsuǒzhǎng cuī chūn míng gàosu jìzhě, fàngxīn shípǐn gōngchéng qǐdòng hòu, fán zài ménkǒu gōngshì lán zhōng zhāngtiē “kǎtōng xiàoliǎn” de cān-yǐn dānwèi dōu shì fàngxīn cānguǎn. Fàngxīn cānguǎn cǎigòu shǐyòng de shípǐn jí yuánliào láiyuán qúdào bìxū qīngxī, suǒ zhèng suǒ piào qíquán, tóngshí fúhé wǔ xiàng yāoqiú. Bāokuò cǎigòu shǐyòng shāngwù bùmén tuījiàn de “fàngxīn ròu”; yōuxiān cǎigòu shǐyòng zhìjiǎn bùmén tuījiàn de “fàngxīn rǔzhìpǐn”; yōuxiān cǎigòu shǐyòng yǒuguān bùmén tuījiàn de gōnghuò qúdào de shūcài; cǎigòu shǐyòng jùyǒu QS [Quality Safety] rènzhèng biāozhì de dìngxíng bāozhuāng shíyòngyóu; cǎigòu shǐyòng jùyǒu xụ̌kě zhèngmíng huò biāozhì, zhùmíng kěyòng yú shípǐn de shípǐn tiānjiājì, bìng ànzhào guīdìng de yòngtú, yòng liàng shǐyòng, yīncǐ zài shípǐn ānquán shàng dōu yọ̌usuǒ bǎozhèng, zhǐshì “ānquán dù” bùtóng. 

A "laughing face" will be safest; then a "smiling face," then a "regular face," and customers can choose from among these which establishment they want to eat at.  In contrast, places serving food and beverages that don't display a "cartoon smiley face" are not considered safe, their safety conditions did not meet the basic requirements, so these establishments are not safe, and it is recommended that customers not choose to eat at places that don't have "smiley faces."
“大笑”最安全，其次“微笑”，再次“平脸”，消费者从中可自主选择就餐。相反，没有“卡通笑脸”的餐饮单位都是不放心餐馆，他们的卫生状况未达到餐饮服务食品安全的基本要求，在此就餐不安全，建议消费者尽量不要选择无“笑脸”标识的餐馆就餐。
“Dàxiào” zuì ānquán, qícì “wēixiào”, zàicì “píng liǎn”, xiāofèizhě cóngzhōng kě zìzhǔ xuǎnzé jiùcān. Xiāngfǎn, méiyǒu “kǎtōng xiàoliǎn” de cān-yǐn dānwèi dōu shìbu fàngxīn cānguǎn, tāmen de wèishēng zhuàngkuàng wèi dádào cān-yǐn fúwù shípǐn ānquán de jīběn yāoqiú, zàicǐ jiùcān bù ānquán, jiànyì xiāofèizhě jǐnliàng bụ̀yào xuǎnzé wú “xiàoliǎn” biāozhì de cānguǎn jiùcān.

Source: 《每日新报》2012-01-05 第B1版："今后进餐馆 吃饭前先看'脸色'” online 

Save the baby!  
["dealing with each case on its own merits"  酌情处理  zhuóqíng chǔlǐ]

The headline for this news item is  "Cabby willingly accepts penalty in order to save a life"  的哥为救人甘愿受罚  Dīgē wèi jiùrén gānyuàn shòufá, and the story is a dramatic mix of the need to save an infant's life balanced against breaking the law ... 

On a recent morning at rush hour, a cabby was hailed by two women who were trying desperately to get a two-month-old child to the emergency room, it seems they'd given the baby sweet ginger water to treat diarrhea, and either the baby was having a reaction to the medicine, or else was choking on the water, but in any event he had gone into shock, and his face had already turned blue, the situation was critical 原来，两个月大的婴儿拉肚子，家人刚刚给他喂药时， 孩子呛了姜糖水，导致休克，脸色发紫， 十分危险。Yuánlái，liǎng ge yuèdà de yīng'ér lā dùzi，jiārén gānggāng gěi tā wèi yào shí， háizi qiāng le jiāng tángshuǐ，dǎozhì xiūkè，liǎnsè fāzǐ， shífēn wēixiǎn.

 ... 
The driver alerted the police, then "stepped on it" and got the baby to the hospital within 15 minutes, mainly by running all the red lights ... The baby's life was saved ... Afterwards, the cabby was cited for  running six red lights and fined 200 yuan (about $32.00) ... No doubt the cabby got off without much of a fine, though, because the reporter notes that the Traffic Bureau, having considered all the factors in the case, "dealt with this case on its own merits" (酌情处理 zhuóqíng chǔlǐ)...

The cabby said: "I am a father myself, the baby's life was the most important thing, and if I have to accept a fine in order to rescue someone, it's worth it!" : “我也是一名父亲，孩子的生命比啥都重要，为救人挨罚，值得！”  “Wǒ yěshì yī míng fùqin，háizi de shēngmìng bǐ shá dōu zhòngyào，wèi jiùrén áifá，zhíde!”

Source: 《新晚报》20110924 第A06版：“的哥为救人甘愿受罚”

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The Four Essences  (四种精神 sì zhǒng jīngshén)
It's possible that the above article about an ordinary cabby's readiness to save a life is meant to illustrate the city of Harbin's recent adoption of "the four essences" of an ideal community: loyalty, courage, self-sacrifice, and pragmatism  忠诚， 果敢， 牺牲， 务实 zhōngchéng, guǒgǎn, xīshēng, wùshí  ... These "essences" are reported in the same edition as the cabby story, which does seem to highlight self-sacrifice, since the cabby risked his own life by running traffic lights, and he knew he was breaking the law and would have to pay fines, but he ignored the risks and consequences in order to get the baby to the hospital as quickly as possible ...

Note: The formulation "four essences" may be modeled on the ancient writer’s traditional "four essentials": brush, ink, paper and ink stone 湖笔、徽墨、宣纸、端砚 Húbǐ, Huīmò, Xuānzhǐ, Duānyàn, that is, a brush made in Huzhou, ink produced in Huizhou, paper from Xuancheng (Anhui), and an inkstone from Duanyan, in Duanxi (Guangdong) ... The decline in interest in the traditional arts, especially writing by hand and calligraphy, prompted a reader to complain in a different newspaper that the writer’s "four essentials” are disappearing and are being replaced by "four new treasures": cell phone, copier, fax and computer  文房四宝”逐渐减少，取而代之新四宝: 手机, 复印, 传真和电脑 wénfángsìbǎo zhújiàn jiǎnshǎo，qǔ'érdàizhī xīn sì bǎo, shǒujī, fùyìn, chuánzhēn hé diànnǎo ...

Source: 《新晚报》20110924 第A03版：“弘扬四种精神提升城市软实力” 

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"Can't have that to go!"  (不让打包 Bù ràng dǎbāo)

Also reported in the same edition of the New Evening Post《新晚报》is a news item that appears to go directly against the spirit of the above-mentioned "four essences":  A customer in a local Harbin restaurant, having ordered the boiled fish in spicy oil soup, decided to take home what he could not finish eating ... But the waiter refused, saying he couldn't even sell the leftovers to the customer, because they are given to the staff as meals “你就是花钱也不能卖你，剩的油汤给我们服务员做伙食饭呢……”“Nǐ jiùshì huāqián yě bùnéng mài nǐ，shèng de yóu tāng gěi wǒmen fúwùyuán zuò huǒshi fàn ne ”  ... Astounded, the customer argued that he'd paid for the meal, so it was his ... But the waiter still refused,  so the customer notified his family and the newspaper, and the reporter contacted the Food Safety Bureau ... Then he and his family (armed with a video camera), the reporter and the authorities descended on the restaurant, where the manager confirmed that the customer had not been allowed to take home the leftovers for that particular dish ... The manager admitted that "preventing Mr. Sun [the customer] from taking the leftovers away was wrong" and he attributed the error to "inadequate training of the staff“ 承认服务员禁止孙先生将水煮鱼剩汤打包的做法不对，是酒店对服务员培训不到位。Chéngrèn fúwùyuán jìnzhǐ Sūn xiānsheng jiāng shuǐ zhǔ yú shèng tāng dǎbāo de zuòfǎ bùduì，shì jiǔdiàn duì fúwùyuán péixùn bù dàowèi... 
...
On inspection, though, it was discovered that the restaurant is able to recycle the leftover oil for about 16 cents a pound ... 

Source:  《新晚报》20110924 第A08版：“‘沸腾鱼乡’忒霸道吃饭剩汤不让打包“


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