China: Teahouse is threat to morality

[Moloch]

SHANGHAI, China - A Shanghai tea house whose name translates roughly as "Frog Keeps a Mistress" has been deemed a threat to public morality and told to get a new moniker, local media said Friday.

The "Qingwa Bao Ernai" shop was violating China's advertising law, the Shanghai Daily and other newspapers said, citing a local commercial bureau official, Xu Jun.

"The name is also against social morality and common ethics," Xu was quoted as saying, adding the change was needed to "purify the city's ad markets."

The shop had no listed phone number, although a manager identified in the reports only by his surname, Li, was quoted as saying the name was not meant to be risque.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070112/ap_on_fe_st/risque_teahouse

[jpgray]

1. Is "Frog Keeps a Mistress" a roughly translated "Froggie Went a Courtin'?"

[TechBear_Seattle]

3. You can get the oddest translations from English to Chinese and back again

When Coca-Cola entered the Chinese market in the late 20s, shopkeepers put out signs based on the phonetic sounds of the product. Among many different variations, these signs translated back into English as "female horse fastened with wax" or "bite the wax tadpole" or such. The official, registered name in Chinese characters adopted by the company translates back as "to allow the mouth to be able to rejoice" or, less literally, "something palatable from which one receives pleasure." (See http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/tadpole.asp)

I remember reading about one attempt at translating "Protestant Episcopal Church" for a news story that ended up as "Assembly of Kicking Bishops."

[DixieBlue]

5. Female horse fastened with wax?

Yummy!

[jakem]

6. And don't forget the Chinese Coke classic:

"we bring your dead ancestors back to life"
(coke adds life!)

[TechBear_Seattle]

Dupe

[TechBear_Seattle]

7. That reminds me of the retranslation of Microsoft's old slogan

Take "Where do you want to go today," translate it to Chinese, then back to English. The result was "Where do you want to get taken today?"

A more appropriate summary of Microsoft could not be made. :rofl:

[On the Road]

12. Speaking of Which, Here's Your Post Translated to Chinese and Back

Just for kicks:

You can again obtain the strangeest translation from English to Chinese and behind,

When the Coca-Cola entered the Chinese market in the 20s later period, the shop owner the symbol basis product pronunciation sound which invests. In many different variations, these symbols are translated return English to fasten as the "mare and wax" either "bite wax tadpole" or like this. Official, register adopts the translation and the "permission mouth in the Chinese character by the company can word by word happy" or, are less, which does the "delicacy matter accept the pleasure from. "(sees also http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/tadpole.asp)

I to record an on-campus about attempt is kicks bishop in translation" protestant Bishop church "as" the congress result the news report. "

[htuttle]

2. Well, so much for the idea of opening a Hooters in Beijing

:shrug:

[Mythsaje]

9. They have a Hooters in China...

It's called "The Owl Restaurant."

[htuttle]

10. LOL

[On the Road]

4. In the Chinese Bible,

the gospel of Matthew is literally "the lucky voice of the big horse."

[Coventina]

8. Well, glad to see that the US doesn't have a lock on Puritanical madness

Sex = bad

Violations of human / animal rights & raping the environment = good

:eyes:

[Porcupine]

11. Change it to "Coal tar leaps from the smoking cup"

That would be ok with the government of China. If they worried more about physical pollution and less about moral pollution they might stand a chance.