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What is ILVTOFU ? --- 「 流 芳 園 」 -- 對 中 國 人 的 侮 辱

PostPosted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 1:09 pm
by r.green
I just read one Tienzen's article "What is ILVTOFU ? --- 「 流 芳 園 」 -- 對 中 國 人 的 侮 辱 (at http://www.chinese-word-roots.org/text010.htm )". It claims that "The Huntington Library of California" is insulting Chinese people by naming its newly built Chinese garden as 「 流 芳 園 」 (Garden of Flowing Fragrance). What is your view on this?

Regardless of Tienzen’s argument of whether it is right or not, the article provides many references on the ancient writings which are not readily available in most libraries. It also gives some great examples on Chinese etymology.

Re: What is ILVTOFU ? --- 「 流 芳 園 」 -- 對 中 國 人 的 侮 辱

PostPosted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 1:15 pm
by mariaC
r.green, thanks for the info and the link.

「 流 芳 園 」 itself as a Chinese name for a Chinese garden without any reference to a particular deep meaning of a literature will be acceptable for most of Chinese people. However, when “The Huntington Library of California” has pointed out about its deep meaning arises from a particular literature, then the meaning of that literature must be examined and considered.


I received a forwarded email (written by Tim Nash, Victoria College Jersey).

The following is his email, “I find your "About ILVTOFU" article very interesting. It reminds me of a friend of mine who used to work for Wang Global, the electronics giant. In the late 1990s, when "customer care" became a buzz word for large corporations, Wang Global developed a worldwide customer care program from their US Headquarters. They spared no expense on the launch event in the UK and as the packed room waited with anticipation, the President bounded through the audience onto the stage and proudly announced "Welcome to Wang Care!" Instead of the rapturous applause he expected, the auditorium collapsed into hysterics because "Wang Care" sounded like "Wanker," which is an insult (meaning 'masturbator') in Britain - the very antithesis of what the President thought he was communicating.


I am intrigued to know who actually named the "China Garden" and whether they had any idea of the modern connotations of "Liu" and "Fang," let alone the context from which their literary illusion was taken. My starting assumption is that they are "ignorant" but thought they were being clever by pulling a couple of poetic sounding Chinese words from a dictionary.


Helping people of different cultures to understand how they might unintentionally cause offense is precisely the kind of task that interests me, because I think it requires a human broker. Google may soon come up with near perfect translation tools but technology cannot prevent people from falling into the very pitfalls you describe in your article. Accurate translation of the sentences is not the problem - accurate understanding of the connotations of the original is. That's the premise on which I am committed to trying to build my educational business.”

Re: What is ILVTOFU ? --- 「 流 芳 園 」 -- 對 中 國 人 的 侮 辱

PostPosted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 6:37 pm
by kenny
Tienzen’s article (「流 芳 園 」Garden of Flowing Fragrance --- an insult to Chinese people) is very interesting. I must admit that I agree with most of his points. But, I don’t believe that the Huntington Library will give a damn about those points as it is a very powerful institution.

Re: What is ILVTOFU ? --- 「 流 芳 園 」 -- 對 中 國 人 的 侮 辱

PostPosted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 12:53 pm
by Calista
kenny wrote:... (「流 芳 園 」Garden of Flowing Fragrance --- an insult to Chinese people) ... But, I don’t believe that the Huntington Library will give a damn about those points as it is a very powerful institution.



In the book "The Common Sense", Paine wrote, "Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages, are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason."


Truth is the most powerful institution of all. If the Huntington Library is wrong, it will eventually falls.