81 Shanghai-- Old City God Temple snacks 上海——城隍庙小吃
Hi, everybody, 大家好, 欢迎收看今天的成长汉语. Thanks for joining us for today’s episode of Growing up with Chinese.
Now 小明 and Mike are out and about in 上海 today taking in the sights and sounds of that fabulous city. So before we get into details let’s check in with the two of them and see what they have lined up for today.
小明：茜茜，我们都玩儿了大半天了。又累又饿。带我们去吃点儿上海小吃吧。
堂妹：才刚吃过早饭，你又饿啦？ 我看是馋了吧！
小明：好不好嘛？
堂妹：好吧，我带你们去“城隍庙”吧。
Mike：“城隍庙”？ 我们不是要去吃饭吗？ 怎么又要去庙里拜佛了呢？
小明：哈哈，麦克，这么说吧。“城隍庙”是庙，但又不完全是庙。
Mike：什么“是庙又不是庙”呀？ 听着像绕口令。都把我说糊涂了。
堂妹：哈哈，还是我给麦克解释吧。“城隍庙”原来的确是个庙，但是，在我看来，现在的“城隍庙”成为了上海非常有特色的一个景点。不管是国内游客还是国外游客都会来“城隍庙”看看。尝尝上海小吃，逛逛上海老店，可有意思啦。
Mike：这么有意思啊，远不远？
堂妹：不远，顺着这条路，马上就到了。快走吧！Mike：哇，原来这里就是城隍庙啊，真热闹，人山人海的。我特别喜欢这儿的建筑，真有中国特色。
小明：这儿的老字号真多，老上海大饭店、南翔馒头店、绿波廊……
堂妹：是啊，总而言之，你在这儿可以吃到各式各样的上海小吃。你们不是饿了吗？ 我现在就让你们尝尝我最爱吃的灌汤包。Mike：光闻着就这么香啊。我的口水都快流下来了。我先尝尝啊。
堂妹：慢点儿慢点儿。吃“灌汤包”要先把包子咬开一个小口，让热气散出来，然后才能大口吃，否则很容易被包子里的热油烫伤的。
Mike：好的，好的，我试试啊。
小明：味道怎么样？ 好吃吗？
Mike：味道真是好极了！
All right so not only are Mike, 小明 and 茜茜 exploring 城隍庙, they’re also trying some of 上海’s famous snacks. Now have you guys noticed a pattern yet with snacks in China? Every area has its own special famous snacks. And trying these specialities wherever you go is always an important part of any trip. OK, now let’s take a look at some specifies that came up in today’s clip.
Now first let’s take a look at 绕口令. Mike said 什么“是庙又不是庙”, 听着像绕口令, 都把我说糊涂了. 绕口令 is how you say tongue twister in Chinese and I have to say 是庙又不是庙 does kind of sound like a tongue twister. It’s a temple but it’s not a temple. Now indeed 城隍庙 is a temple but it’s also a whole lot more. 都把我说糊涂了. What you’ve said has made me confused.
小明：茜茜，我们都玩儿了大半天了。又累又饿。带我们去吃点儿上海小吃吧。
堂妹：才刚吃过早饭，你又饿啦？ 我看是馋了吧！
小明：好不好嘛？
堂妹：好吧，我带你们去“城隍庙”吧。
Mike：“城隍庙”？ 我们不是要去吃饭吗？ 怎么又要去庙里拜佛了呢？
小明：哈哈，麦克，这么说吧。“城隍庙”是庙，但又不完全是庙。
Mike：什么“是庙又不是庙”呀？ 听着像绕口令。都把我说糊涂了。
堂妹：哈哈，还是我给麦克解释吧。“城隍庙”原来的确是个庙，但是，在我看来，现在的“城隍庙”成为了上海非常有特色的一个景点。不管是国内游客还是国外游客都会来“城隍庙”看看。尝尝上海小吃，逛逛上海老店，可有意思啦。
Now I think no matter where you come from, there are always some brands that have been around for a long time. Famous brands. Now, there was a candy store in the town I used to live in the States and it had been around since the eighteen hundreds. So it was our famous, local, old candy store.
Now in China these time-honored*1 store have a specific name. They are called 老字号. 小明 said 这儿的老字号真多. Now it makes sense that such a historical area like 城隍庙 would have its share of old famous stores. Now, if you see 老字号 on the store sign in China, you know for sure that the brand has been around for a long time.
Mike：哇，原来这里就是城隍庙啊，真热闹，人山人海的。我特别喜欢这儿的建筑，真有中国特色。
小明：这儿的老字号真多，老上海大饭店、南翔馒头店、绿波廊……
堂妹：是啊，总而言之，你在这儿可以吃到各式各样的上海小吃。你们不是饿了吗？ 我现在就让你们尝尝我最爱吃的灌汤包。
When something tastes good, in English we usually say it tastes really good. Or we might say it tastes like a specific something. A flower or it tastes like burnt piece of toast or something like that.
Now in China 香, which is translated as fragrant is used to describe something that tastes good. But the good we’re talking about here is a special kind of unique good. 好吃 and 香 do not mean the exact same thing. So Mike said 光闻着就这么香. The smell alone is really fragrant. So food can be 香, a smell can be 香, a drink like tea for example can also be described as 香. They can be all fragrant right?
Mike：光闻着就这么香啊。我的口水都快流下来了。我先尝尝啊。
堂妹：慢点儿慢点儿。吃“灌汤包”要先把包子咬开一个小口，让热气散出来，然后才能大口吃，否则很容易被包子里的热油烫伤的。
Mike：好的，好的，我试试啊。
小明：味道怎么样？ 好吃吗？
Mike：味道真是好极了！
All right it’s time now to take a look at today’s vocabulary, so let’s begin.
- 馋 greedy, gluttonous. chán
- 老字号 store or shop of long standing. lǎo zì hào
- 咬 to bite, take a bite out of something. yǎo
Spotlight
If you’re ever in 上海城隍庙, commonly known in English as City God Temple is a must see. Now just like 茜茜 said in today’s skit, while there’re still a temple there, 城隍庙 is a microcosm*2 of shops, eateries*3, parks and buildings that date back hundreds of years.
Now it was originally a temple dedicated to the spirit of 金山 or gold mountain, which is an island off the coast of 上海. But during the reign of 永乐 in the 明 dynasty, so we are talking early fifteenth century, it was converted into the City God Temple.
Now when you get a chance to visit 上海’s City God Temple, Yu Garden or 豫园 is a place you will want to see for sure. Now many people say it’s one of the nicest most lavish*4 gardens of the region. And having been there myself, I have to agree.
It was first established in the mid sixteenth century as a private garden. Someone by the name of 潘允端 decided to build it for his aging father. Nice guy huh?
In any case, plan on spending time walking through the City God Temple complex and Yu Garden. And don’t forget to pick up some snacks while you are there and also stop for a couple of tea. There’s nothing quite like it.
Primer
OK everyone it’s time to take a look at our language points of the day, and to begin with we have 在我看来.
Now 在我看来 functions as a parenthesis and can be used at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. It essentially means “in my opinion,” or “as I see it.” So today 茜茜 said 在我看来, 城隍庙是上海非常有特色的一个景点. In my opinion the City God Temple is one of 上海’s very unique scenic spots. Now you could also say 上海, 在我看来, 比北京热闹多了. 上海, in my opinion, is way more bustling than 北京. Now, just so you all know in colloquial Chinese you might hear 照我看 or 依我说 instead of 在我看来. Let’s look at some more examples.
- 在我看来，上海话和北京话完全是两种语言。／呵呵，它们的发言是不太一样。
- 在我看来，北京比上海更有中国味儿。／当然了，北京是皇城嘛。
总而言之. 总而言之 means in brief, in short, to sum up or to make a long story short. So just like in English, you wouldn’t use this expression at the begging of a paragraph. You’d use it towards the end to sum things up. So today after 小明 gave a list of some of the snack stores in the area, 茜茜 concluded for him by saying 总而言之, 你在这儿可以吃到各式各样的上海小吃. In short, you can find all kinds of special 上海 snacks right here. And just so you all know, you can say 总之 instead of 总而言之 if you prefer.
- MIKE，你觉得上海怎么样？／很漂亮，比如：外滩、浦东、世博园都很有特色。总而言之，我很喜欢上海。
- 兰兰，你暑假想去哪儿旅游？／新疆、西藏、海南、云南……总而言之，没去过的地方我都想去。
And finally let’s take a look at 否则. 否则 is a conjunction that means otherwise. Now typically you see it used at the beginning of the second phrase in a sentence. So today 茜茜 was teaching Mike how to properly eat his soup dumpling. And concluded her sentence by saying 否则很容易被包子里的热油烫伤的. Otherwise, it’s really easy to be burnt by the hot oil in the dumpling. Now you could also say 他一定有急事, 否则不会一直给你打电话. He must have an urgent issue to discuss otherwise he wouldn’t be calling you so incessantly*5. Now in spoken Chinese you often hear 否则的话. The meaning doesn’t change at all, but if you use 否则的话, you need a slight pause after it. 他一定有急事否则的话, 不会一直给你打电话. OK, let’s take a look at some more examples.
- 小明，你吃面包吗？／我不吃。睡觉前最好别吃东西，否则会长胖的。
- 明天我们早点儿出发，否则会堵车的。／好，听你的。
好了, 我们今天剩的时间不多了. We’ve just about run out of time for today. Now I hope you all enjoyed seeing more of 上海. And don’t forget to visit our website if you want to review anything or watch today’s episode again. And while you are at it, leave us comments or sending any questions. It’s always great to hear from you. All right, I will see you all next time. 大家, 加油, 下次见.
