感恩节快乐 ！ Gan3 en1 jie2 kuai4 le4. Happy Thanksgiving!
On this day of Thanksgiving, let’s learn a meaningful Chinese proverb!!
Chinese proverb – wise proverbs – How to say “While there’s life, there’s hope” or “Where there’s life, there’s hope” in Chinese: 留得青山在，不怕没柴烧。Liu2 de2 qing1 shan1 zai4, bu2 pa4 mei2 chai2 shao1. Liu2 ( 留 verb, to preserve, to keep, to remain) de2 (得 a particle, usually follows a verb) qing1 shan1 (青山 adjective + noun, blue mountain), zai4 (在 used as a complement word for liu to indicate the continuing status – keep *＊青山 qing1 shan1** remaining), bu2 (不 negative prefix for verbs) pa4 (怕 verb, fear) mei2 (没 mei2, here is mei2 you3 for short, don’t have) chai2 （柴 noun, wood) shao1 (烧 verb, to burn).
Literally, this proverb means: As long as you keep the blue mountain remaining, you don’t have to worry about that you will be running out of burning wood. Sometimes, we encountered some setbacks, but, as long as we are still alive with a healthy body, then we will be able to achieve what we want to achieve. So, this proverb conveys the meanings : While there’s life, there’s hope.
Some people might say 青山 qing1 shan1 means green mountain, however, I would like to say it is blue mountain. Mountains are green in spring in summer, but, when autumn or winter come, and when you see the mountains from far away, they can be a deep shade of blue or a bit of black and gray. When I was in school, in my middle school years, my Chinese teacher told me that 青 qing1 is the color between green and blue. There is a Chinese phrase called 青山绿水 qing1 shan1 lu4 shui3 (blue mountain green water), but neither those are the exact color though. Next time when you go out to the nature, pay attention to the hues, the colors of mountains and rivers, and tell me what color they are:) Those answers might differ depend on what season you go or what time of the day too.
Besides using as a complement word with 留 liu2 to signify the continuing status of something, 在 zai4 has some other usages and functions:
1. Preposition word — When 在 zai4 is put in front of a place, it is used as a preposition word.
Wo3 –zai4– fang2 jian1 kan4 shu1. 我在房间看书。 I am in the room reading.
Ta1 –zai4 — jia1. 他在家。 He is at home.
To negate, just put bu2 不 in front of zai4 在.
Wo3 — bu2 zai4– fang2 jian1 kan4 shu1. 我不在房间看书。 I am not in the room reading.
Ta1 — bu2 zai4 — jia1. 他不在家。 He is not at home.
To change the statement into a question, just add a 吗 ma1 at the end of sentence.
Wo3 –zai4– fang2 jian1 kan4 shu1 –ma1–. 我在房间看书吗？ Am I in the room reading?
Ta1 –zai4 — jia1 –ma1–. 他在家吗？ Is he at home?
2.Continuing Action – Zài 在 is to show that an action is occurring at the present moment. Zài is placed before the verb it modifies:
Yi1 sheng1 zai4 kan4 ping4 ren2. 医生在看病人。The doctor is examining the patient.
Lao3 shi1 zai4 gai3 kao3 juan4. 老师在改考卷。 The teacher is correcting (scoring) the test sheets.
The following video — how many times the sunset turns red— is a theme song from a Taiwanese TV drama, my mom and I used to watch long ago. The lyrics are poetic and meaningful, and the melody is very exquisite too. If you want to learn how to sing it, you will find the English translation along with lyrics and pinyin under Chinese songs category. In the song, it goes: 青山依旧在，几度夕阳红 the blue mountains remain, and how many times the sunset turns red?
Enjoy!