Did you know: "Ten Chinese words" borrowed from English

Did you know: "Ten Chinese words" borrowed from English (1) Silk silk China is a big country of sericulture and the hometown of silk. Porcelain and silk have always been ancient...

(1) Silk silk China is a major sericulture country and the hometown of silk. Porcelain and silk have always been top-secret technologies and prized commodities in ancient China's foreign trade. Until the Opium War, the pianos imported from Britain to Guangzhou could not match the jeweled silk. The pronunciation of "silk" is obviously a Chinese transliteration. This word represents China's superb craftsmanship and trade strength. Even now, silk still serves as a symbol of grace, elegance and nobility in modern life. (2) The word tea was stolen by the British from the difficult-to-pronounce Hokkien dialect. Tea, along with silk and porcelain, was the flagship product of ancient China's foreign trade. At present, tea tasting represents a way of life and cultural taste. Chinese people’s thinking about life can almost be found in the curls of tea cigarettes. According to Xiao Qian's "Tea in Britain": "Tea seems to have been introduced to Europe by the Portuguese in the early 17th century. British tea was first introduced from Xiamen by the East India Company. In the 1640s, the British began to experiment with growing tea in the Indian colonies. At that time, they may have developed the habit of adding sugar to tea." It is said that even in a period of material scarcity like the "World War II", the French rationed coffee, while the British wanted tea and a little sugar. Tea has become the "backbone" of Europeans, and they can only follow the fragrance of tea intoxicatedly. This is not the local history and inheritance; it is the conquest and assimilation of foreign cultures. In the 18th century, Lord Chesterton simply wrote in "Books from the Family": "Although tea comes from the East, it smells like a gentleman after all; while cocoa is a ruffian, a coward, and a rough beast." (3) Shangrila (Xanadu), the paradise of paradise, are two synonyms. They all have the meaning of paradise. "Shangrila" comes from the legendary land of Shangri-La in Tibet, and "Xanadu" refers to the Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia. If you want to express "Xanadu", the word "Xanadu" is usually used. It seems that Thoreau, an American writer who regarded himself as a worldly man, spent so long as a "hermit" beside Walden Pond in vain. The Chinese are the well-deserved originators of the philosophy of "paying attention to mountains and rivers and transcending things outside". (4) Feng Shui Feng Shui Feng Shui is still a transliteration. It embodies the collective wisdom of ancient China in terms of residences for the living and cemeteries for the dead. Although some people denounce Feng Shui as feudal superstition under the banner of so-called "science"; however, being superstitious about so-called "science" and being complacent is another kind of superstition. The overall principle of Feng Shui is "seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages", which is also the minimum tenet for safe survival. In recent years, Feng Shui has become very popular in the United States. The syllables emanating from the lips and teeth of Chinese people have become a knowledge that contemporary people urgently need to explore. (5) Refreshment dimsum As soon as you hear the pronunciation, you will know that this slightly bourgeois word comes from Fujian and Guangdong. British people have the habit of drinking afternoon tea, which consists of several cups of Indian black tea and often just a plate of dessert. English originally has words for cakes and snacks, but we don’t use them. We insist on using a rare word from Chinese. I'm afraid there is a certain sense of superiority in being in line with fashion and keeping pace with the East. China is the hometown of tea, and tea snacks have also become an English loanword that enters the home. (6) Runningdogs Chinese English aptly expresses a kind of "lower three bad things" that are driven by others and are driven by others. There is no way to verify whether it was the Chinese or the British who first used this word; the important thing is that the English-speaking world accepted the "dog" and cultivated this "foreign word" with Chinese thinking. While accepting the vocabulary, I also implicitly accepted the Chinese values. (7) paper tiger This is the most unforgettable and proud new word. The founder should be the great national hero Mao Zedong! He was a erudite poet, a brilliant politician, and a strategizing military genius. Are the Americans tough? Are the Soviets awesome? Are the atomic bombs powerful? In his eyes, they are all "paper tigers" who are fierce in appearance but soft in heart. As long as I go against the Chinese, I will have to fight hard to see who is in charge of the world. "U.S. imperialism" in the 1950s and "Soviet revisionism" in the 1960s and 1970s have all become the "paper tigers" that Mao Zedong ridiculed. This spirit of contempt for powerful enemies and constant self-improvement is of course the Chinese people's contribution to world civilization. A word was coined in the chatter and laughter, which is enough to make China's opponents hide in the corner and tremble. (8) Tycoon, a tycoon. This term has only become popular in recent years. It refers to a wealthy and powerful businessman or entrepreneur. The traditional Chinese term is "big shopkeeper". It was taken away by English and became the transliteration of the land of Fujian and Guangdong. It can be seen that before the Opium War, Chinese merchants were well-known. The East described by Marco Polo in his book was full of goods and people, and the land was paved with gold. A visit to China is like a visit to Las Vegas by some "fake foreign devils" nowadays. (9) Casino The word Casino seems to be an authentic Western import. The pronunciation "Casino" is actually a transliteration of Fujian dialect. However, why does English use it to mean "casino"? It is said that a long time ago, Fujian migrant workers who immigrated to the United States received a meager salary, so when they were bored, they gathered together to gamble and try their luck. Every time the game starts, people will shout: "It's begun! It's begun!" Unexpectedly, a strange combination of circumstances gave English a modern word. (10) Tips, money reward Cumshaw is a Hokkien word. It means giving someone a little reward, and it means something on the banknote. The English-speaking world also likes "money" and longs for the rich word "Cumshaw". Although Chinese people do not have the habit of tipping, they are not generous with their money and are even more generous than Westerners. The Europeans who stole the "egg character" "Cumshaw" must have seen how the Chinese used to spend money like water. In fact, there is no essential difference between the East and the West when it comes to money.