Today an amusing incident popped into my mind.
Several years ago I was working as a programmer in a university lab. One day around lunchtime one of the Chinese masters students popped into the lab and handed me a jam sandwich on a paper plate. I accepted it with thanks, ate it and thought no more about it.
In retrospect I realised that she did exactly what one does when trying to entice an animal to be friendly, offer some food. 😃 Oh dear, maybe I should have made some conversation. I can be a bit dim. I hope she wasn't disappointed.
It illustrates though the importance of food in Chinese culture. While these days how are you is rendered as nǐ hǎo, between familiars (possibly above a certain age) a common phrase is chī le fàn ma meaning have you eaten (a meal). There is more concern for the listener's well-being compared to nǐ hǎo. For example a singer coming on stage would not ask the crowd if they had eaten.
Here's an explanation of the phrase. The writer talks about northern China, but the phrase is also used in the southern parts, e.g. Guangdong.
Several years ago I was working as a programmer in a university lab. One day around lunchtime one of the Chinese masters students popped into the lab and handed me a jam sandwich on a paper plate. I accepted it with thanks, ate it and thought no more about it.
In retrospect I realised that she did exactly what one does when trying to entice an animal to be friendly, offer some food. 😃 Oh dear, maybe I should have made some conversation. I can be a bit dim. I hope she wasn't disappointed.
It illustrates though the importance of food in Chinese culture. While these days how are you is rendered as nǐ hǎo, between familiars (possibly above a certain age) a common phrase is chī le fàn ma meaning have you eaten (a meal). There is more concern for the listener's well-being compared to nǐ hǎo. For example a singer coming on stage would not ask the crowd if they had eaten.
Here's an explanation of the phrase. The writer talks about northern China, but the phrase is also used in the southern parts, e.g. Guangdong.
