4/03/2015

Officialdom and fortune making升官发财





My learned friend reminded me of this old adage, 官发财. This is a tradition in old dynastic China where the ambition of scholars, except the daft and idealistic ones, was to get an imperial appointment and get promoted or . With promotion came the opportunity to become wealthy, ie 发财.


When the ambition of官发财 was fulfilled, the scholar would have power and wealth, ie got and also got , or got官财.  The two words, 官财 put together, read together, have another meaning, ie coffin.


This can be interpreted as the ability to buy and be buried in a coffin, a rare privilege of the rich and powerful. In another view, it is the end for the corrupt and powerful, they will meet their 官财 sooner, a matter of time. There is another saying, 不见官财不流泪, meaning many evil doers would not weep until they have seen their官财 or coffin, or after they have become officials and made their fortune, presumably from improper ways.


Chinese words are very meaningful in the ways they are written and combined in usage. A lot of wisdom from the ancient sages.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Chinese words are very meaningful in the ways they are written and combined in usage."
-------------
Very true.
But when it comes to choosing their government.
Chinese people make piss poor decisions.
After 5,000 years and we are still slaves.

Anonymous said...

发发发 发发发

According to Simon, some people
were very lucky to strike the 4D
first prize on 1 Apr 15.

The first prize number:

91发发!

Cheers.

The said...

宫字两个口 which seems to be the case with most officials speaking from both sides of their mouths - double standards, doublespeak and hypocrisy.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

@ RB:

>> Chinese words are very meaningful in the ways they are written and combined in usage.

Every language is like that lah. All language uses symbolic representations of the physical world, and abstractions of the mental world. Words aka symbols have sounds and meaning.

Humans being a clever and entertaining species often play with words---both sounds and meanings---to come out with combinations which result lots of "funny" ideas and sayings.

>> A lot of wisdom from the ancient sages.

...and also alot of stupidity. "Ancient sages" were non other than comedians of the day. Thankfully, we don't have sages anymore, but we do have many brilliant comedians who turn on the spotlight and poke fun at the quirkiness of human nature.

I mean, consider the example: apart form the rare exceptions, who the fuck doesn't want lots of money, a nice house even if they have to get them by "corrupt" means?

Wisdom? No lah. Just human nature. However if you make it "funnily true" by combining the meaning and sounds of words, voila, you are immortalized as a "sage".

It's comedy. It's entertainment. That's us: the human species.

Goh said...

Thought the correct word should be written as 官.
My ah kong want me to study hard and become Tua Kow.
My ah Mma said it can make me a millionaire if I become cheng hu larng if I know how. Both debate cos Ah Kong believe Cheng hu karng cannot become Tua Poo Ong unless I eat kopirui...
Now proved my Ah Mma can see further.No need kopirui oso can become wealthy.


Your 不见棺材 不掉泪 has got nothing to do with evil lah.
I want to have more concubines to produce more babies.
My daft Sinkie la kopi kaki always use that idiom on me. Always says its not cheap to bring up baby and its a sin to make them suffer here.Claiming me 不见棺材不掉泪whenever he sees me.


Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Goh said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
patriot said...

As a Chinese, I feel ashame for my command of the Mother Tongue.
'他妈的', '他娘的' are pretty decent. That's the Advantage of Madarin, as most are aware by now; the Hokkien and Cantonese Menfolks use all the Vulgarities to greet each others. Lately, if one does not get to hear all these vulgarities in public transport and public places, your luck is on the way. There seems to be competitions amongst these folks to see who uses the most vulgar at the highest volume. I take this as a sign that tha angst and frustration have reach its peak or are peaking. Eve ladyfolks are using words like fuck and 'lanjiao' like those words are their favourite dishes.
Pardon me if I am wrong; I think the UPBRINGINGS OF THE PEOPLE HAVE GONE AWRY. Got to figure out the Reason though spontaneously '上樑不正, 下樑歪 naturally comes to mind.in translation, it means slanted beam caused by crooked pillar meaning to say those guided or led by crooks will be mischievous and lack propriety, since the Elders and Leaders are poor examples.

There could be other underlying problems which I lack the intelligence to decipher.

My apology

patriot

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

@ patriot:

Language is simply the use of symbols---written in specific code or enunciated in specific sounds---to communicate ideas.

The ideas are made in the brains of the transmitters and the receivers. so you have to "interpret" the words you hear or read.

The magic of the human brain is that it forms abstractions, so meanings and perceptions are infinitely flexible. Hence, what is considered "profane speech" can be used as BOTH terms of (1) endearment or (2) derision, or simply (3) neutral outbursts with no meaning at all---just sound as an emotional outburst.

e.g. (1) Greetings between good friends: "Nabeh cheebye, hobo?" Translated: "How are you my very good friend?"

(2) Scolding the driver who just cut you off: "Diu leh ma fa hai!" Translated: "Why did you have to do that, and cause me to brake suddenly to avoid an accident and piss me off?"

(3) Exclamation as you stub your toe (a very painful experience) : "Fucking cheebye jesus christ!!" Translation: Completely meaningless string of words. No one is harmed. No one is verbally abused.

So relax lah. Words, are just words. It is YOU the recipient who has to decipher the meanings and the contexts the words are used in, and what the purposes are, or having no purpose at all.

Shou Out I support Amos Yee's right to free speech and online expression. You can view and download a full size image of my current avatar HERE

patriot said...

@Matilah Singapura
and Many Others;

I am still not able to understand the Slightest bit how the use of the Word jesus could get anyone offended.
is it due to my comprehension problem or is poor Amos being selectively picked by a few for bullying? I DONT KNOW AND I DONT KNOW THAT HE CAN BE CONSIDERED TO HAVE HURT or HARMED ANYONES' FEELING. Mybe those whose names are jesus do have grounds to get the Police to deal with the Teen.

Anyway, I will maintain that it is not wise to 'pray pray' the Big Shots whether they are dead or alive.

Everyday, I hear small people fucking around everywhere using their fathers, mothers and parents of others as in blogs, public places and in public trsnsports. Who dare to be policeman if what they said are all against the Law?

Very tired with so much about poor Amos in Cyberspace, hope I will not think much about ir anymore. There are so many other things that to do.

Btw, Matilah Singapura; your Avatar is very well done, hope others like it too.

Good nite All.

patriot

Anonymous said...

"Job Hopping - The Fastest Way To earn More Money

SOURCE:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/job-hopping-fast-way-earn-040400494.html

How about voting Opposition?
Is that the fastest way to squeeze more goodies from a stingy government?

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

@ patriot:

>> I am still not able to understand the Slightest bit how the use of the Word jesus could get anyone offended.

Try here, to help you. A shorter explanation can be found here.

>> is poor Amos being selectively picked by a few for bullying

Applying Occam's Razor: "Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate" English: "Plurality is not to be posited without necessity", aka "lex parsimonae" aka "The Law Of Parsimony". The Occam's Razor principle means that you shouldn't add assumptions or hypotheses unnecessarily, when the simplest explanation---with the LEAST assumptions---is sufficient.

There were numerous police complaints made against Amos. All the complainants claimed that they were "harmed" (in their mind) and "offended" (also in their mind), and under to the new harassment law, these complainants have legitimates claim against Amos.

The govt has no choice. They have to act and ENFORCE the law, which is THE fundamental job and duty of any respectable government.

To assume that the govt is "bullying" or "evil" or whatever are unnecessary steps in the reasoning, and impossible to prove. So using Occam's Razor, these assumptions can be , and should be discarded.

Anonymous said...

Everyone has to see 棺材 one day whether you 升官 or 发财 so you might as well 升官 and 发财.