A Somewhat Dodgy Chinese Translation!
Some time ago in the 1980s when I was somewhat shapelier, I decided to go to Sydney for a night out. The idea was to have some fun. Nothing outrageous, just a laugh and a meal.
We all decided to meet up and go to a Chinese Restaurant in the Chinese Quarter. The meal was great, the whole evening relaxed and we were all having a great time. On this occasion, I happened to be wearing black jeans and a jumper. the jumper had some white Chinese calligraphic writing across the chest. Words the meaning of which I did not have a clue about.
i could have been for all I knew, promoting something nefarious or even of a dubious nature —sending out an unknown message to all and sundry.
So, I decided that while I was at the restaurant, I would take the opportunity to ask the very nice, young Chinese waiter to translate for me.
He obligingly checked out my chest, taking a most prolonged and serious look; he then pronounced that the words translated to “Space between the Mountains”.
it wasn’t until I got back to Canberra a couple of days later that I realized that he had certainly played on my gullibility.
Space between the mountains indeed!
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