Apr 16, 2013 03:35
11 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Chinese term
作官最容易﹐“哼哈二将”而已
Chinese to English
Art/Literary
History
The text is talking about 官僚主义, and says there used to be a joke in China: 作官最容易﹐“哼哈二将”而已
What does the joke refer to? Does it mean you hire good men to do all the work? Or that you have men at the door to stop anyone bothering you? Or what?
不一定要翻译，解释这句话的意思就可以，谢谢大侠！
What does the joke refer to? Does it mean you hire good men to do all the work? Or that you have men at the door to stop anyone bothering you? Or what?
不一定要翻译，解释这句话的意思就可以，谢谢大侠！
Proposed translations
9 mins
Selected
Snap crackle pop
Technically, what I am offering about isn't quite the same, but I wonder if put into the right context you can make that above phrase work. Essentially, I interpret this sentence as "it's easy to be one of the big guys; say yes here, shake your head there, nod here, tell someone off there, and there you have it". It's basically saying that the head honchos don't do much and does their job right by doing next to nothing (going "hmpf" and "uh huh").
A "nicer" version could be "just smile and nod"?
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Note added at 11 mins (2013-04-16 03:47:23 GMT)
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I also think there's a different interpretation to this: "get your minions to do your thing". And these people will take care of business for you at the snap of their fingers. After all 哼哈二将 are "佛教守护庙门的两个金刚力士"....working for Buddha himself... ;) Just a thought.
A "nicer" version could be "just smile and nod"?
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Note added at 11 mins (2013-04-16 03:47:23 GMT)
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I also think there's a different interpretation to this: "get your minions to do your thing". And these people will take care of business for you at the snap of their fingers. After all 哼哈二将 are "佛教守护庙门的两个金刚力士"....working for Buddha himself... ;) Just a thought.
Reference:
Note from asker:
| Oh, I see, so it's not really about the Buddhist gods/statues at all, it's just borrowing their names to mean "含糊应答"? That makes sense, thanks! |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you everyone, this was a very interesting discussion. At the moment I'm using this: There used to be a joke that being a bureaucrat is the easiest job in the world. You just need to be able to say two things: "yes, boss" and "right, boss".
Further comments would be very welcome."
52 mins
It's easy being an official. All you need is to open your mouth...
"哼" and "哈" being onomatopoeic expressions of not much action... ;)
+1
4 hrs
Sharon Toh, MITI MCIL
Singapore
Singapore
Native in Chinese
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English
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Culturally Attuned CHI/ENG Solutions™
Native in: English (Variant: Singaporean) 
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Works in: Chinese to English, English to Chinese, English, and 1 more.
Being an official is the easiest. All you have to do is to keep up appearances.
IMHO, it means that all you need is to be superficial as in look good, regardless of whether you have the substance or not.
Perhaps, to sum it up, you can say that all you have to do is to keep up appearances.
哼哈二将 are 守门神
So you just have to 守门, i.e. 撑门面; therefore, keep up appearances.
作官最容易﹐“哼哈二将”而已
Being an official is the easiest. All you have to do is to keep up appearances.
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Note added at 4 hrs (2013-04-16 07:45:03 GMT)
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Underlying concept: 只需要把“门”顾好或守好就行了
This is what 哼哈二将 are supposed to do anyway.
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Note added at 4 hrs (2013-04-16 07:50:49 GMT)
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Also, "门" or 门面 is synonymous to appearances.
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Note added at 4 hrs (2013-04-16 08:04:21 GMT)
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做官最容易，撑门面而已
Perhaps, to sum it up, you can say that all you have to do is to keep up appearances.
哼哈二将 are 守门神
So you just have to 守门, i.e. 撑门面; therefore, keep up appearances.
作官最容易﹐“哼哈二将”而已
Being an official is the easiest. All you have to do is to keep up appearances.
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Note added at 4 hrs (2013-04-16 07:45:03 GMT)
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Underlying concept: 只需要把“门”顾好或守好就行了
This is what 哼哈二将 are supposed to do anyway.
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Note added at 4 hrs (2013-04-16 07:50:49 GMT)
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Also, "门" or 门面 is synonymous to appearances.
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Note added at 4 hrs (2013-04-16 08:04:21 GMT)
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做官最容易，撑门面而已
Note from asker:
| That's also very useful, thank you |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
lawliu
: I agree with Sharon. That's what stepped into my mind right the first time.
24 mins
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Thanks
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Discussion
The original legend refers to these two mythic figures for their supernatural power to subdue emenies by just exhaling and humming.
Later, its original sinificance has shifted, especially in modern times, to the derogative sense that you don't have to do much to make things done other than mere puffing and humming. Just "socializing," "being a yesman," "paying lip services," or--to use a local idiom "打哈哈" will make you survive in the official circle.
The 门神 that we see and use at our doors are a modern (localization)version of 哼哈二将. They partake of the supernatural meaning of original figures and are even given different names based on legend of Tang dynasty.
To go back to Phil's instance here, I would say Shang and Oceanwide have the points. "Keeping appearance" may be a little off the mark.