20180227-Michael Chugani 褚簡寧：What’s in a name?
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧：What’s in a name?
2018/02/27 08:41:25
Whenever people ask me which is my favorite quote by Shakespeare, I always tell them the quote I like best is from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The full quote is: “What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.” People nowadays shorten this quote by saying: “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. It means even if you call a rose by another name, it would smell just as sweet. You can change this quote in many ways if you want. You can say: “Red wine by any other name would taste just as good”. Shakespeare’s famous quote simply means a name is not always important.
I thought about this quote after mainland netizens (people who often use the internet) angrily criticized China’s supermodel (very successful model) Liu Wen for using “Lunar New Year” instead of “Chinese New Year” on social media. Netizens accused her of insulting Chinese people and asked her if she still considered herself Chinese. Liu Wen quickly replaced “Lunar New Year” with “Chinese New Year” on social media. To me, what happened to her was an unacceptable case of cyberbullying. The word “cyberbullying” is a new word that originated in the early 2000s when social media became popular. It means using the internet to bully or unfairly criticize a person.
It’s no big deal that Liu Wen used Lunar New Year instead of Chinese New Year. If Shakespeare were alive today he would say a New Year by any other name would still be a New Year. I am sure Liu Wen did not mean to insult anyone when she said Lunar New Year instead of Chinese New Year. In fact, Lunar (referring to the moon) New Year is more common around the world than Chinese New Year because many other countries celebrate the festival too. It is called Tet in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea. Vietnamese and Koreans are not Chinese. That’s why the international name is Lunar New Year instead of Chinese New Year. Mainland netizens who try to be too patriotic are giving China a bad name.
每當人問我最喜歡的莎士比亞名句是哪一句時，我總是告訴他們，我最喜歡的名句出自《羅密歐與茱麗葉》，全句是：「名稱有甚麼關係呢？玫瑰不叫玫瑰，仍是一樣芳香。」今天人們會將句子簡約成：“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”意思就是即使你替玫瑰換了個名字，它仍是一樣芳香。你亦可以隨意用各樣的方式改寫這句子。你可以說：「紅酒不叫紅酒，依然醇香味美。」莎士比亞這句名句簡而言之，就是名稱不一定重要。
當內地網民（netizens）怒轟中國名模（supermodel）劉雯，在社交媒體上用了“Lunar New Year” （農曆新年）而非“Chinese New Year”（中國新年）之後，我就想起這句名言來。網民（netizens）指責她侮辱中國人，又問她是否還視自己為中國人。劉雯火速在社交媒體上將“Lunar New Year” （農曆新年）換了做“Chinese New Year”。於我而言，在她身上發生的事根本就是令人無法容忍的網絡欺凌（cyberbullying）。Cyberbullying 是個新字，源於千禧年代初期、社交媒體興起的時候，其意就是在網絡上欺凌或不公地抨擊某人。
劉雯用農曆新年（Lunar New Year）而不用中國新年，根本就沒甚麼大不了。若莎翁今天還在世，他會說新年換了個名字，依舊是新年。我肯定劉雯說農曆新年（Lunar New Year）而不說中國新年時，根本無意侮辱任何人。事實上，農曆（lunar是指按照月亮運行計算的陰曆）新年比中國新年在世界各地更為普遍，因為許多其他國家也有慶祝農曆新年。越南的農曆新年叫Tet ，韓國則叫做Seollal。越南人和韓國人都不是中國人，因此國際叫法是農曆新年（Lunar New Year）而非中國新年。想表現愛國情懷的內地網民（netizens），倒是令中國背上壞名聲了。
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
2018/02/27 08:41:25
Whenever people ask me which is my favorite quote by Shakespeare, I always tell them the quote I like best is from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The full quote is: “What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.” People nowadays shorten this quote by saying: “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. It means even if you call a rose by another name, it would smell just as sweet. You can change this quote in many ways if you want. You can say: “Red wine by any other name would taste just as good”. Shakespeare’s famous quote simply means a name is not always important.
I thought about this quote after mainland netizens (people who often use the internet) angrily criticized China’s supermodel (very successful model) Liu Wen for using “Lunar New Year” instead of “Chinese New Year” on social media. Netizens accused her of insulting Chinese people and asked her if she still considered herself Chinese. Liu Wen quickly replaced “Lunar New Year” with “Chinese New Year” on social media. To me, what happened to her was an unacceptable case of cyberbullying. The word “cyberbullying” is a new word that originated in the early 2000s when social media became popular. It means using the internet to bully or unfairly criticize a person.
It’s no big deal that Liu Wen used Lunar New Year instead of Chinese New Year. If Shakespeare were alive today he would say a New Year by any other name would still be a New Year. I am sure Liu Wen did not mean to insult anyone when she said Lunar New Year instead of Chinese New Year. In fact, Lunar (referring to the moon) New Year is more common around the world than Chinese New Year because many other countries celebrate the festival too. It is called Tet in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea. Vietnamese and Koreans are not Chinese. That’s why the international name is Lunar New Year instead of Chinese New Year. Mainland netizens who try to be too patriotic are giving China a bad name.
每當人問我最喜歡的莎士比亞名句是哪一句時，我總是告訴他們，我最喜歡的名句出自《羅密歐與茱麗葉》，全句是：「名稱有甚麼關係呢？玫瑰不叫玫瑰，仍是一樣芳香。」今天人們會將句子簡約成：“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”意思就是即使你替玫瑰換了個名字，它仍是一樣芳香。你亦可以隨意用各樣的方式改寫這句子。你可以說：「紅酒不叫紅酒，依然醇香味美。」莎士比亞這句名句簡而言之，就是名稱不一定重要。
當內地網民（netizens）怒轟中國名模（supermodel）劉雯，在社交媒體上用了“Lunar New Year” （農曆新年）而非“Chinese New Year”（中國新年）之後，我就想起這句名言來。網民（netizens）指責她侮辱中國人，又問她是否還視自己為中國人。劉雯火速在社交媒體上將“Lunar New Year” （農曆新年）換了做“Chinese New Year”。於我而言，在她身上發生的事根本就是令人無法容忍的網絡欺凌（cyberbullying）。Cyberbullying 是個新字，源於千禧年代初期、社交媒體興起的時候，其意就是在網絡上欺凌或不公地抨擊某人。
劉雯用農曆新年（Lunar New Year）而不用中國新年，根本就沒甚麼大不了。若莎翁今天還在世，他會說新年換了個名字，依舊是新年。我肯定劉雯說農曆新年（Lunar New Year）而不說中國新年時，根本無意侮辱任何人。事實上，農曆（lunar是指按照月亮運行計算的陰曆）新年比中國新年在世界各地更為普遍，因為許多其他國家也有慶祝農曆新年。越南的農曆新年叫Tet ，韓國則叫做Seollal。越南人和韓國人都不是中國人，因此國際叫法是農曆新年（Lunar New Year）而非中國新年。想表現愛國情懷的內地網民（netizens），倒是令中國背上壞名聲了。
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
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