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Chinese Idiom of the week #2

见死不救 jiàn sǐ bù jiù- Do nothing as you watch someone die.

见死不救 jiàn sǐ bù jiù- Do nothing as you watch someone die.

A bit morbid this week I admit.

Maybe, "Hang out to dry" would be a little less dark. But the first translation is more literal.

This week's idiom comes from Yuan Dynasty. Also known as the Mongolian Dynasty. Gengis Khan and his successors took over basically all of Asia and parts of Eastern Europe in the 12th century. After the Great Khan's death the Mongolian empire kept growing. Gengis' grandson Kublai Khan was the leader of one of the clans took leadership over the area that was formally China and named himself the emperor. His reign began what we call today the Yuan dynasty. While the Mongolian conquests are something that defy all sorts of norms in the history of civilization, we are going to focus on just the area know as the Yuan Dynasty.

The Mongolian Expansion

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Today's focus is on Guan Hanqing. He was the often considered the greatest dramatist of the Yuan Dynasty. This quote, although known by almost all Chinese people, comes from one of his lesser known Comedies. Guan Hanqing influence is still felt today in China. He has sometimes been considered the "Asian Shakespeare" because of his portrayal of complicated characters in his plays are unparalleled to anyone from his period. His most famous work Injustice to Dou E (感天動地竇娥冤 Gǎn Tiān Dòng Dì Dòu É Yuān) is considered one of the 10 great classical tragedies in China.

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Formally working in the medical department for the royal family, Guan Hanqing became disalusioned with the medical profession and turned his creativity towards writing plays. His ability to portray the plight of the common man in all it's cruelty and pain made him very popular among the masses. Unlike many playwrights who often wrote to the nobility Guan's target audience was the average man.

Today's idiom gives a good example of the harsh realities that Guan often portrayed in his plays. Usually it is easier to look the other way and say it isn't my business. Some call this a syndrome of living in a city or a place with a large population. I believe the story of the good Samaritan asks its listener a similar question. Will we go out of our way to help those in need?

A question asked almost a thousand years ago in two different cultures seems to still ring true in everyday modern life.