Of Opening Door for Strangers
We have some very interesting kid songs that teach the kids about how to behave and what to do when unusual situations arise. I feel that in this regard, Chinese songs have much more cautionary tales than its English counterparts. Almost every single Chinese kid song says something along the line of "behave yourself and you will be liked by adults". Some sort of Confucianism "be obedient and ye shall be rewarded" kind of life philosophy.
Among those kid songs, off my head I can remember two songs regarding opening door for strangers. Just what do we teach our kids what to do when some strangers knock on the door when no adult is around? The ancestors have two tales to tell through the classics:
《老虎叫门》 "A Tiger Knocking on the Door"
小孩子乖乖，把门儿开开，
Little obedient children, please open the door,
快点儿开开，我要进来。
open it faster, I want to come in.
不开不开不能开，
No, no, I am not opening,
母亲不回来，谁也不能开！
before mum comes back, I am not opening the door for anyone!
小兔子乖乖，把门儿开开，
Little obedient rabbits, please open the door,
快点儿开开，我要进来。
open it faster, I want to come in.
不开不开不能开，
No, no, I am not opening,
母亲不回来，谁也不能开！
before mum comes back, I am not opening the door for anyone!
小羊儿乖乖，把门儿开开，
Little obedient goats, please open the door,
快点儿开开，我要进来。
open it faster, I want to come in.
不开不开不能开，
No, no, I am not opening,
母亲不回来，谁也不能开！
before mum comes back, I am not opening the door for anyone!
《客人来》 "A Guest"During our time, the second song is taught as a basic courtesy to our guests. However, in the modern society, if our kids emulate the kid in the song, there would have been great danger that awaits their family. The guest could have been anyone disguising as a friendly visitor.
客人來，看爸爸，
A guest is here, to see my father,
爸爸不在家，
but father is not around,
我請客人先坐下，再敬一杯茶。
I invite the guest to sit down, and serve him a cup of tea.
So, would you open the door for a stranger? The answer is, we should heed the songs' advice. If mother is not around, don't open for anyone. If father is not around, invite the guest in. If both are not around, serve the tea without opening the door. :P
Ka Lip, I know you must be going =.=" now. I know it. Probably I should not write something so lame. It was actually quite funny when I was role-playing with Xuan Ni and our little soft toy about the two songs. I should write about maths instead.
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4 comments:
Hahaha! Nice one. :P
Now now, why can't I recall the twisted version of 客人来? Hehe. Oh yeah, instead of "我請客人先坐下", we should "我請客人先回家". Wahahahaha~
Haha,I suppose I do become a tad predictable when almost every post of mine contains a =.=* or some variation.
I actually quite enjoyed those old Chinese poems. My =.=* this time was at "If both are not around, serve the tea without opening the door. "
Maybe it might be a good idea to get one or two of those old books. I'm quite sure I still have a few lying around in Ipoh somewhere
I'll help pad Ka Lip's emoticon roll with another =.=*
Day-dreamer: Evil la. :P
Ka Lip: You are indeed predictable in areas like =.=* or na na na na na or whoosh. :P
Bluez: =.=*
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