1. A Report on Culture Class Assignment
review of Chinese film, an idiom, the thing
like/dislike most in China
eport on Culture Class Assignment
review of Chinese film, an idiom, the thing
like/dislike most in China
Shameel Farhan (
PhD student in Materials Science & Engg.
Specialization in Composite Materials
Student Number 2013410005
eport on Culture Class Assignment- a
review of Chinese film, an idiom, the thing I
Shameel Farhan (夏明汉)
PhD student in Materials Science & Engg.
Specialization in Composite Materials
Student Number 2013410005

2. Chinese Culture
We are not born knowing how to dress,
what toys to play with, what to eat, which
gods to worship, or how to spend our money
and our leisure time.
Culture is opera, art and architecture, etc.
Culture is everything and everywhere.
CULTURE is a system of shared beliefs,
values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that
the members of a society use to cope with
their world and with one another, and that
are transmitted from generation to
generation through learning.
Chinese Idioms
成语, chéngyǔ are a type of traditional
Chinese idiomatic expressions, most of
which consist of four characters. Chengyu
were widely used in Classical Chinese and
are still common in modern Chinese writing
and in the spoken language today. There are
about 5,000 chengyu in the Chinese
language according to the most stringent
definition, though some dictionaries list
over 20,000. They are often referred to as
Chinese idioms or four-character idioms.
The first idiom that I like the most is as
following;
First idiom
一 无 所 有 yīwúsuǒyǒu
(in classical Chinese it means 全 or 都
["everything"]) + 无 (“not”) + 所有
(“have”)
Translation : To not own a thing in the
world.
Similar English Expression: To not have a
thing to one’s name.
Example:
如果你离开了我，我就一无所有。Rúguǒ
nǐ líkāi le wǒ, wǒ jiù yīwúsuǒyǒu. — If you
leave me, I’ll have nothing left.
Fig. 1 一无所有
A song containing this idiom
我曾经问个不休/wǒ céngjīng wèn gè bùxiū
I’ve asked (you) endlessly
你何时跟我走/nǐ hé shí gēn wǒ zǒu
When will you go with me?
可你却总是笑我/kě nǐ què zǒngshì xiào wǒ
But you always just laugh at me
一无所有/yīwúsuǒyǒu
(with) nothing to my name

3. 我要给你我的追求/wǒ yào gěi nǐ wǒde
zhuīqiú
I want to give you my dreams
还有我的自由/háiyǒu wǒde zìyóu
(and I) also have my freedom (to give you)
可你却总是笑我/kě nǐ què zǒngshì xiào wǒ
But you always just laugh at me
一无所有/yīwúsuǒyǒu
(with) nothing to my name
噢 你何时跟我走 / ō nǐ hé shí gēn wǒ zǒu
Oh! When will you go with me?
噢 你何时跟我走 / ō nǐ hé shí gēn wǒ zǒu
Oh! When will you go with me?
脚下这地在走 /jiǎo xià zhè dì zài zǒu
The ground beneath my feet is moving
身边那水在流 /shēnbiān nà shuǐ zài liú
The water beside me is flowing
可你却总是笑我/kě nǐ què zǒngshì xiào wǒ
But you always just laugh at me
一无所有/yīwúsuǒyǒu
(with) nothing to my name
为何你总是笑个没够/wèihé nǐ zǒngshì
xiào gè méi gòu
Why is your laughter never enough?
为何我总要追求 / wèihé wǒ zǒng yào
zhuīqiú
Why will I always search?
难道在你面前我永远/nándào zài nǐ
miànqián wǒ yǒngyuǎn
Could it be that before you I’ll forever…
是一无所有/shì yīwúsuǒyǒu
…have nothing to my name?
告诉你我等了很久/gàosu nǐ wǒ děng le
hěn jiǔ
(I’m) telling you I’ve waited a long time
告诉你我最后的要求 / gàosu nǐ wǒ zuìhòu
de yāoqiú
(So I’m) telling you my final request
我要抓起你的双手 / wǒ yào zhuā qǐ nǐde
shuāngshǒu
I want to grab you by the hands
你这就跟我走 / nǐ zhè jiù gēn wǒ zǒu
And then you’ll go with me
这时你的手在颤抖 / zhè shí nǐde shǒu zài
chàndǒu
This time your hands are trembling
这时你的泪在流 / zhè shí nǐde lèi zài liú
This time your tears are flowing
莫非你是正在告诉我/mòfēi nǐ shì zhèngzài
gàosu wǒ
Can it be that you are telling me
你爱我一无所有 /nǐ ài wǒ yīwúsuǒyǒu
You love me with nothing to my name?
噢 你这就跟我走/ ō nǐ zhè jiù gēn wǒ zǒu
Oh! Now you’ll go with me
Second Idiom
The second idiom is as following;
三 人 成 虎 – sān rén chéng hǔ
The translation is something like, "If three
people know something, it then becomes a
tiger." My understanding of this is that once
information gets to be known by three
people, it becomes a beast. That is “a rumor
can be taken if many people say so”.
This idiom was invented 2000 years
ago. Here is the story. A general was about
to attack a foreign country. Before he left
his own country, he asked the king, "If one
guy tells you there is a tiger in the

4. marketplace, will you believe it?" "No," the
king answered. "What if there are two
person saying so?" "Still not." "What if
there are three persons saying so?" "Well, I
guess I will believe it."
Then the general said, "It will take
months for me to march to the country I are
going to attack. However, there will
definitely be more than three persons
spreading rumors about me after I have left.
So please wisely check any information you
hear about me."
A review on a Chinese
movie-落叶归根
In 2005, I came first time in China
for studying MS in Materials Science. That
time was a golden period for me as we were
a few foreign students in NPU and were
treated as princes. My Chinese language
teacher gave me a movie to watch. I liked
this movie a lot and still remember it. The
name of the movie is a derivation from a
Chinese idiom- ye luo gui gen ( 叶落归根叶落归根叶落归根叶落归根)
means the falling leaves settle on the roots.
a person residing elsewhere finally returns
to his ancestral home. If the motherland
were a river, I would be a fish swimming
happily. If the motherland were a road, I
would be a car moving forward happily. If
the motherland were a tree, I would be a leaf
waving in the breeze happily.
Life is unpredictable, consisting of
ups and downs.Sometimes you may be in
high spirits, but at other times you can feel
very low. Sometimes you may meet very
good people, but don't forget villains do
exist. Sometimes you may bound forward
and run quickly, but you can be found
staggering along one night.
Luo ye gui gen (2007)
Fig. 2 The title cover
Director:
Yang Zhang
Writers:
Yao Wang, Yang Zhang
Stars:
Benshan Zhao, Qiwen Hong, Dandan Song
Zhao, a construction worker,
struggles to fulfill his dying co-worker's last
wish to be buried in China's Three Gorges
region. Setting out with his colleague's body
in tow, Zhao embarks on a journey that will
lead him to colorful adventures and
characters--as well as love in some unlikely

5. quarters. This comedy offers a powerful
commentary on human connectivity in
modern China.
After a dead leaf falls down, it is
absorbed by the soil and a new plant will
grow.The cycle of birth, growth and death
repeats itself, like the river in the last scene.
That's life...No matter how feeble and
helpless we may feel sometimes, human
beings will still struggle with the
environment and fate for an opportunity to
live. Ahead of us are lots of things to
experience, exciting and depressing.
Nevertheless, because of pain, we know
what pleasure is. (That's just like the
walking scenes in the movie. When the girls
working in the field, cars, cow and bicycle
pass by, we know how fast Old Zhao walks.
By the way, the audience may pay attention
to the symbolic meanings of different
vehicles in the movie, e.g. bicycles,
coaches, carts, private cars, trucks, buses,
etc.) If we were doomed to the sufferings,
what we are able to change would be the
way in which we interpret them. Be positive
and never give up! The movie ends
suddenly and the unfinished business may
puzzle some members of the audience.
However, I personally find it very
meaningful and symbolic. The ending
successfully upgrades this can-be-typical
road movie to an abstract motto. "Life is a
road comprising UPS and DOWNS. Do live
each day happily as it comes and enjoy life
to the full!" The ending (i.e. the river) also
symbolically implies that human beings
should not always emphasize the
importance of results. Instead, we should
pay attention to the process.
Those touching moments, black
humor, superb acting and the meaningful
ending make this road movie a unique and
impressive one causing catharsis. Moved to
tears and laughter, you may ponder on the
meaning of LIFE when you leave the
theatre. My favourite movie in 2007!!!
The film is both comic (with black
humor involving the transport and
preservation of a corpse) and sad. When the
film opens, Lao Zhao thinks his friend has
passed out at a cafe, but in fact he has died.
Fig. 3 The first scene of the movie
The main character is never daunted.
No matter what hardship he encounters en
route to getting his friend to his native
place, he perseveres. He feels joy in small
victories, such as beating a water buffalo in
a foot race or finding a tire that he can use.
Lao Zhao reminds one of a modern-day Ah-
Q, a fictional character by Lu Xun, one of
the most important Chinese writers of the
20th century.

6. "Getting Home" is entertaining and
good for understanding issues of
contemporary Chinese economy, society,
government, and culture, as well as for
gorgeous landscapes of rural China.
Fig. 4 my favorite scene
Fig. 5 Getting home
The thing I like about
Chinese
The first thing I see as a pro is they
respect their families and elders very much.
This is a trait similar to my culture. They do
work hard, the women do make terrific
mothers and wives, wives support their
husbands completely as long as the
husbands are good and supportive to their
wives. I think of the Chinese people as one
of the best people I have met, in general. I
try to be honest about these people and not
to say anything I think of as bad towards
them. I have the utmost respect for my
Chinese family and friends and would never
think bad of them.

7. Some English
mistakes
Fig.6 200 Chou vs 200 pumping!!
Fig. 7 The quality of ten years
Fig. 8 Yuan dian means a focal!!
200 Chou vs 200 pumping!!
The quality of ten years!!
means a focal!!
Fig. 9 Kai xin gou is a happy doy!!
Fig. 10 Red face dambiguous
Kai xin gou is a happy doy!!
Red face dambiguous