I haven’t posted any chengyu [idioms] for a while. Here’s one which I’ve heard a couple of times in reference to myself: 乐不思蜀 (lèbùsīshǔ). It’s used to describe someone who is having so much fun abroad that they forget about their country and family back home. Could be especially relevant to expats staying in China over Christmas.

Shu (蜀) refers to Shu Han (蜀汉), one of the Three Kingdoms (220–280 AD). When Shu was defeated by Wei, the last emperor Liu Shan (刘禅), also known as A Dou (阿斗 – a word that has come to mean a weak and incompetent person) lived comfortably ever after in the Wei capital, where he claimed not to miss his old kingdom at all. And so the idiom was born. Almost two thousand years later, people are still saying it.

Home is where the yolk is – by Bradley Wayburne

THIS STORY ORIGINALLY APPEARED ON BANANA WRITERS

I define an Egg as a person of European descent with their hearts pumping to Asia’s rhythm. But it takes more than a rapt fascination with Asia, or part of it, to earn the title of Egg. Authentic Eggs, like myself, are a confused bunch – not complete egg white, nor totally yolk. But like a nutrient-filled, deliciously poached yolk, the heart of the Egg is what sets them apart.

I was born and raised in a little place called Hong Kong, an island under China that you may have heard of. Many would call me an expat brat, and to some extent that is true. Even I believed it. But here’s the difference:

Just because you know it, doesn't mean you can say it

You’ve likely read about this scooter mook, who earlier in the month cut across two lanes of traffic and slammed into a middle aged lady. He got into an argument with her and used some horrific Chinese – in both senses of the phrase – including “f* your mother” and shabi, which I translate below the break. She, in turn, ripped his coat and clung to his scooter somewhat hysterically, obviously angling after compensation. Neither came across particularly well, but it was the foreigner who lost all my sympathy when he opened his gob. (Although it’s a tough break to be deported for it.)

Here’s a personal vignette that illustrates what I think about this. It doesn’t reflect well on me. It’s about when I called a taxi driver a shabi.

The Chinese expression for “strike while the iron is hot” is more or less exactly the same: 趁热打铁 (chènrèdǎtiě).

There has been heavy snow in Harbin lately, and apparently people were taking advantage of the situation to charge drivers whose cars had become stranded on icy roads 30-50 yuan to help push them out of trouble. This behaviour was described as 趁雪打劫 (chènxuědǎjié), replacing 热 (hot) with 雪 (snow) and 打铁 (strike iron with 打劫 (rob/plunder/loot). The result could be translated as “Steal while the snow falls.”

The 28 contributing authors of Unsavory Elements ("Stories of Foreigners on the Loose in China"), last did an AMA – Ask Me Anything – session on Reddit over the weekend. It's a window into the lives and writing of some folk who've been in China a long time, and is worth skimming in full. There were questions and answers across a wide range – from cross-cultural dating to toasting baijiu – but I've selected a few of them here that relate most generally to the expat experience. Enjoy.