Egas Moniz Bandeira ᠡᡤᠠᠰ ᠮᠣᠨᠢᠰ ᠪᠠᠨᡩ᠋ᠠᠶᠢᠷᠠ
@egasmb.bsky.social
Intellectual history @SinologieFAU & @mpilhlt.bsky.social 曩昔 @ceao_uam. PhD @tohoku_univ & @UniHeidelberg. 東亞政法史を硏鑽し、言語学についての豆知識を多く呟いとる。'Too much in love with my primary sources.'
I was thinking of examples in modern Sinitic langs of 非常 being used as an adjective ('extraordinary)' rather than adverb ('very'), and one example that came to my mind is a Taiwanese song, hui-siông lú 非常女 ('extraordinary woman'), which is also the name of a character in puppet theatre 😍
November 25, 2025 at 4:30 PM
I was thinking of examples in modern Sinitic langs of 非常 being used as an adjective ('extraordinary)' rather than adverb ('very'), and one example that came to my mind is a Taiwanese song, hui-siông lú 非常女 ('extraordinary woman'), which is also the name of a character in puppet theatre 😍
This is a fascinating chapter in a fascinating book, downloadable for free! Highly recommended 🤩! And now I know why @chiaweilin.bsky.social produces such interesting stuff that crosses several disciplines - there are several Chia-Wei Lins after all! XD
November 25, 2025 at 12:06 PM
This is a fascinating chapter in a fascinating book, downloadable for free! Highly recommended 🤩! And now I know why @chiaweilin.bsky.social produces such interesting stuff that crosses several disciplines - there are several Chia-Wei Lins after all! XD
From the series ‘historical Chinese passports’ 護照: Here’s an exit passport (!) issued by Cai Yuanpei 蔡元培, president of Academia Sinica, to a German scholar in 1932 🤯🤯
November 23, 2025 at 9:19 PM
From the series ‘historical Chinese passports’ 護照: Here’s an exit passport (!) issued by Cai Yuanpei 蔡元培, president of Academia Sinica, to a German scholar in 1932 🤯🤯
I always love these little orthographic variations you encounter when reading Ming/Qing novels. ‘Haipa’ (to be scared) is now mostly written 害怕 (harm - scared), but there’s also 駭怕 (scare - scared). Still a valid variant today, though more common in the past 😁
November 20, 2025 at 1:52 PM
I always love these little orthographic variations you encounter when reading Ming/Qing novels. ‘Haipa’ (to be scared) is now mostly written 害怕 (harm - scared), but there’s also 駭怕 (scare - scared). Still a valid variant today, though more common in the past 😁
Just came across this republican-era "passport" 護照 from 1925 - fascinatingly, it's the same format as the late Qing "passports". But while the Qing laissez-passer was for a German guy to travel to China, the ROC passport was for a Yunnanese guy to travel to Burma😀
November 17, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Just came across this republican-era "passport" 護照 from 1925 - fascinatingly, it's the same format as the late Qing "passports". But while the Qing laissez-passer was for a German guy to travel to China, the ROC passport was for a Yunnanese guy to travel to Burma😀
Por acaso, encontrei esta foto interessantíssima de uma festa na embaixada da China* no Rio de Janeiro em 1925, nas vésperas do Dia da Independência (06 de setembro)
*Mais precisamente, a legação da República da China
*Mais precisamente, a legação da República da China
November 6, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Por acaso, encontrei esta foto interessantíssima de uma festa na embaixada da China* no Rio de Janeiro em 1925, nas vésperas do Dia da Independência (06 de setembro)
*Mais precisamente, a legação da República da China
*Mais precisamente, a legação da República da China
Here's Times Square 1941
November 3, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Here's Times Square 1941
Calling capitals "Country-jing 京 (capital)" was common in Chinese until the mid-20th ct. Here's a photo of the British Museum in Ying-jing 英京 London from 1906. "English Capital" (Yingjing 英京) sounds funny now because in Mandarin it is very close to "penis" (yinjing 陰莖) 😅
November 3, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Calling capitals "Country-jing 京 (capital)" was common in Chinese until the mid-20th ct. Here's a photo of the British Museum in Ying-jing 英京 London from 1906. "English Capital" (Yingjing 英京) sounds funny now because in Mandarin it is very close to "penis" (yinjing 陰莖) 😅
Therapist: Late Qing Putin isn‘t real, Late Qing Putin can‘t hurt you
Late Qing Putin:
Late Qing Putin:
November 2, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Therapist: Late Qing Putin isn‘t real, Late Qing Putin can‘t hurt you
Late Qing Putin:
Late Qing Putin:
Here‘s a “passport” 護照 (actually more like a visa today) of the Daqing Empire, issued by the legation in Berlin to a German guy wishing to visit Nanjing and other places.
Notice how Berlin is titled Dejing 德京, ‘capital of Germany,’ which was common practice back then. 😁
Notice how Berlin is titled Dejing 德京, ‘capital of Germany,’ which was common practice back then. 😁
November 2, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Here‘s a “passport” 護照 (actually more like a visa today) of the Daqing Empire, issued by the legation in Berlin to a German guy wishing to visit Nanjing and other places.
Notice how Berlin is titled Dejing 德京, ‘capital of Germany,’ which was common practice back then. 😁
Notice how Berlin is titled Dejing 德京, ‘capital of Germany,’ which was common practice back then. 😁
It‘s “Retain the Vital Jing” November
November 1, 2025 at 10:46 AM
It‘s “Retain the Vital Jing” November
The oldest recorded use of the word "pizza" in any language is in a Latin document from 997, from the city of Gaeta, where they talk about "12 pizzas" (duodecim pizze) 🍕🍕
It's in the Codex Diplomaticus Cajetanus (edition from 1887).
It's in the Codex Diplomaticus Cajetanus (edition from 1887).
October 31, 2025 at 1:31 PM
The oldest recorded use of the word "pizza" in any language is in a Latin document from 997, from the city of Gaeta, where they talk about "12 pizzas" (duodecim pizze) 🍕🍕
It's in the Codex Diplomaticus Cajetanus (edition from 1887).
It's in the Codex Diplomaticus Cajetanus (edition from 1887).
Has anyone ever attempted a Mandarin transcription system alignment chart? 🍿
October 30, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Has anyone ever attempted a Mandarin transcription system alignment chart? 🍿
O malaio tem algumas palavras fantásticas de origem portuguesa. Por exemplo: "bomba", que significa "bombeiros" 🧑🚒🧑🚒
October 30, 2025 at 1:27 PM
O malaio tem algumas palavras fantásticas de origem portuguesa. Por exemplo: "bomba", que significa "bombeiros" 🧑🚒🧑🚒
(...*) Senhor nosso! Tira-nos desta cidade, cujos habitantes são opressores. Designa-nos, de Tua parte, um protetor e um socorredor."
*A primeira linha está difícil de ler, o restante corresponde ao versículo 4:75 do Alcorão
*A primeira linha está difícil de ler, o restante corresponde ao versículo 4:75 do Alcorão
October 29, 2025 at 10:04 PM
(...*) Senhor nosso! Tira-nos desta cidade, cujos habitantes são opressores. Designa-nos, de Tua parte, um protetor e um socorredor."
*A primeira linha está difícil de ler, o restante corresponde ao versículo 4:75 do Alcorão
*A primeira linha está difícil de ler, o restante corresponde ao versículo 4:75 do Alcorão
From the series ‘English loanwords in contemporary Mandarin’: 嗨 hāi, < ‘high’, ‘in high spirits,’ ‘exhilarated’… can also be used as a verb: 去嗨, ‘go have fun’, 嗨起來 etc. 😁
October 25, 2025 at 1:12 PM
From the series ‘English loanwords in contemporary Mandarin’: 嗨 hāi, < ‘high’, ‘in high spirits,’ ‘exhilarated’… can also be used as a verb: 去嗨, ‘go have fun’, 嗨起來 etc. 😁
Tai languages in Vietnam are also written in Brahmic scripts related to Thai; here‘s a specimen of Chữ Thái Việt Nam 😍
October 19, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Tai languages in Vietnam are also written in Brahmic scripts related to Thai; here‘s a specimen of Chữ Thái Việt Nam 😍
The history of the Chinese name for Vientiane, Wanxiang 萬象, is *fascinating* 😍 - it's apparently not Mandarin, but Vietnamese (Vạn Tượng)! Here it is in a 1834 map. It then entered PRC usage in lieu of Canto-based Wing5 Zan1 永珍 via the Vietnamese News Agency in the 1950s.
October 14, 2025 at 8:48 AM
The history of the Chinese name for Vientiane, Wanxiang 萬象, is *fascinating* 😍 - it's apparently not Mandarin, but Vietnamese (Vạn Tượng)! Here it is in a 1834 map. It then entered PRC usage in lieu of Canto-based Wing5 Zan1 永珍 via the Vietnamese News Agency in the 1950s.
The capital of Laos, Vientiane (Wīang chan ວຽງຈັນ), has two beautiful Chinese names😀:
永珍 Wing5 Zan1 ('perpetual treasure') is Canto-based; the Mandarin phonetics are way off
萬象 Wanxiang ('myriad elephants'): the Mandarin-based PRC name is a semantic match for the Lan Xang ລ້ານຊ້າງ ('million elephants')
永珍 Wing5 Zan1 ('perpetual treasure') is Canto-based; the Mandarin phonetics are way off
萬象 Wanxiang ('myriad elephants'): the Mandarin-based PRC name is a semantic match for the Lan Xang ລ້ານຊ້າງ ('million elephants')
October 13, 2025 at 8:37 AM
The capital of Laos, Vientiane (Wīang chan ວຽງຈັນ), has two beautiful Chinese names😀:
永珍 Wing5 Zan1 ('perpetual treasure') is Canto-based; the Mandarin phonetics are way off
萬象 Wanxiang ('myriad elephants'): the Mandarin-based PRC name is a semantic match for the Lan Xang ລ້ານຊ້າງ ('million elephants')
永珍 Wing5 Zan1 ('perpetual treasure') is Canto-based; the Mandarin phonetics are way off
萬象 Wanxiang ('myriad elephants'): the Mandarin-based PRC name is a semantic match for the Lan Xang ລ້ານຊ້າງ ('million elephants')
Mongolian has some wild Eurasian etymologies! 🥰 My favourite one is nom ᠨᠣᠮ ('book'), from Greek νόμος, via Sogdian and Old Uyghur. The semantic shift 'custom, law' > 'scripture' > 'book' is lovely.
Btw nomos also has a Syriac > Arabic result, nāmōsā ܢܳܡܘܿܣܳܐ > nāmūs ناموس 😀
@kebuhcah.bsky.social
Btw nomos also has a Syriac > Arabic result, nāmōsā ܢܳܡܘܿܣܳܐ > nāmūs ناموس 😀
@kebuhcah.bsky.social
October 12, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Mongolian has some wild Eurasian etymologies! 🥰 My favourite one is nom ᠨᠣᠮ ('book'), from Greek νόμος, via Sogdian and Old Uyghur. The semantic shift 'custom, law' > 'scripture' > 'book' is lovely.
Btw nomos also has a Syriac > Arabic result, nāmōsā ܢܳܡܘܿܣܳܐ > nāmūs ناموس 😀
@kebuhcah.bsky.social
Btw nomos also has a Syriac > Arabic result, nāmōsā ܢܳܡܘܿܣܳܐ > nāmūs ناموس 😀
@kebuhcah.bsky.social
There are two ways to write 'Germanium' in Chinese. The older one is 鈤, composed of 'metal' 金 and ri 日, short for Ri'erman 日耳曼 ('Germanic'). The newer way of translating it doesn't show the national/ethnic link and has 者 (zhe) as phonetic element for Ger-: 鍺 /
October 10, 2025 at 8:37 AM
There are two ways to write 'Germanium' in Chinese. The older one is 鈤, composed of 'metal' 金 and ri 日, short for Ri'erman 日耳曼 ('Germanic'). The newer way of translating it doesn't show the national/ethnic link and has 者 (zhe) as phonetic element for Ger-: 鍺 /
So our Chinese students call Zhang Junmai 張君勱, one of the most important constitutionalists of the Republic of China, Zhang Jun Shaomai 張君燒賣. 🤣 Since Zhang was from Jiading 嘉定, I am sure he was (like me) a fan of Shanghai-style Siu Mai with sticky rice filling! 😋
October 9, 2025 at 6:54 AM
So our Chinese students call Zhang Junmai 張君勱, one of the most important constitutionalists of the Republic of China, Zhang Jun Shaomai 張君燒賣. 🤣 Since Zhang was from Jiading 嘉定, I am sure he was (like me) a fan of Shanghai-style Siu Mai with sticky rice filling! 😋
新文章頗有趣
李富鹏，「欽定憲法大綱」 的禮儀淵源, 清史研究 5 (2025): 131-44.
李富鹏，「欽定憲法大綱」 的禮儀淵源, 清史研究 5 (2025): 131-44.
October 8, 2025 at 12:29 PM
新文章頗有趣
李富鹏，「欽定憲法大綱」 的禮儀淵源, 清史研究 5 (2025): 131-44.
李富鹏，「欽定憲法大綱」 的禮儀淵源, 清史研究 5 (2025): 131-44.
Sinograph and Hokkien/Taiwanese word of the day: tháu 敨, ‘to open’ 😍, often also written 透. Apparently it’s cognate to Cantonese tau2, meaning ‘to breathe; to rest’ and mostly written 唞.
早唞啦大家！
早唞啦大家！
October 2, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Sinograph and Hokkien/Taiwanese word of the day: tháu 敨, ‘to open’ 😍, often also written 透. Apparently it’s cognate to Cantonese tau2, meaning ‘to breathe; to rest’ and mostly written 唞.
早唞啦大家！
早唞啦大家！