opinios

Kanji Saves My Arse

I am so glad that I put in so many hours studying Japanese over the past couple of years, it actually really helped me in China.

So many Chinese characters and Japanese kanji are identical or at least similar, so even if I wasn't able to speak a damn word, I could at least make out the meaning of road signs, buildings, street names, and much more. Some were a little different, but there really is a lot of overlap. I guess it is analogous to the cultural differences between English-speaking countries: if an American was to ask for a drug store in Australia, people would probably chuckle a little but know what you meant, and then direct you to the nearest chemist.

The interesting thing about the Japanese kanji characters is that they are more Chinese than Chinese. It's true - the Japanese kanji were adopted from the Chinese, but after that happened the Chinese went and simplified a lot of their characters. On several occasions when I was trying to communicate something I would get a smirk from the Chinese person I was showing it to, because it was an "old-fashioned" character that isn't in use in China any more.

As Kim mentioned, in China I used the ability to communicate by writing to make a few friends, but more importantly: being able to write kanji really saved my arse, in more than one predicament.

Kanji Saved My Arse #1
Kim and I were in Datong, starving, and keen to get us some Mongolian Hot Pot action. The staff of the restaurant we wandered into were a bit perplexed about how to deal with a couple of foreigners, and in true Chinese fashion were not shy about revealing their disgust at our inability to communicate, with an impatient sigh and a roll of the eyes.

But when I convinced them to show us a menu, I was at least able to recognize that some of the options were beef, chicken, lamb, pork or vegetables, and with a bit of pointing we soon had ourselves a delicious boiling feast in front of us. Yum.

Kanji Saved My Arse #2
The Great Wall at Huang Hua was spectacular. But getting there was actually rather difficult.

After a trying combination of taxis, public buses and uncomfortable toilets, we still had to negotiate with the local minibus drivers hanging around the station in Huairou how to get out to the wall. Of course, that bit was easy enough, the only reason foreigners go to Huairou is to go and see the wall. But we wanted to deviate from the regular request - Kim had a headache, and after a week of rice we were craving some KFC. With a bit of kanji I was able to jot down our requirements (listed in the order that we required them)

1. Pharmacy
2. KFC
3. Great Wall

and negotiate a price. And off our driver took us to the pharmacy for some Tylenol. Problem solved.

Kanji Saved My Arse #3
The biggest saving of gluteus maximus occurred when I left my glasses case on the train after an overnighter from Beijing to Qing Dao. Inside that case was also a memory stick for the digital camera (those things sometimes cost more than a camera itself). But do you think I could come up with simple enough English or combination of gestures to describe this fact to the station staff? Lost Property? Left Luggage? Forgotten Bag? My Case. Is In The Train. Nope, she didn't understand any of it. And wouldn't let me back on the train as the cleaners were going through it.

I was really sweating here, until I jotted down the equivalent in Japanese (wasuremono). The word is obviously something quite different in Chinese, but it was close enough for her to frown at it for a few seconds before going "Ohhhh" as the penny dropped, and five minutes later she returned with my case and asked "Is this yours?"

Thank god for kanji. Well, thank the Chinese, actually. You know what I mean.