宝船 Bao3 Chuan2, 灵药 ling2 yao4, and 灵舟 Ling2 Zhou

[Altair]

In my study of Chinese, I have used a cassette and book called 宝船 bao3 chuan2. In this material, there are a few phrases that puzzle me. The first is the title. It is translated as "The Magic Boat," rather than as "The Treasure Boat." Is "magic" implied in the Chinese phrase, or is this just a "cultural" translation, rather than a literal one? In the story, the boat starts off as a toy boat that can be held in the hand, but if one says the magic words, the boat can grow to giant size and carry a lot of people.

Another phrase that puzzled me is when two or three of the characters in the story (人物) (e.g., 蚂蚁 王 ma3yi3 wang2 "Queen Ant") describe their families or households beginning with a phrase that sounds like "shou3 jia1 you3" or "xiu3 jia1 you3." From the context, they seem to be saying that their "humble household consists of" such and such. What could be the actual Chinese words in this case? Unfortunately, the accompanying transcription does not include these phrases.

Lastly, I am curious as to the exact meaning of the phrase 灵药 ling2 yao4, which occurs in the story. Three possibilities would be something like "magic herb/potion," "effective remedy," and "wonder drug." These three English phrases imply very different views of the world, and I find it hard to believe that 灵药 can mean each of these indifferently. The context of the story could allow for any of the three meanings, since it is not clear what the origin of the medicine is. Could it simply be that traditional Chinese culture simply did not accept the same division between magical things and ordinary things that Western culture makes?

Similarly what does 灵舟 ling2 zhou1 mean? "Divine Vessel"? "Spirit Vessel"? "Really Good Boat"? I think this is the name given to China's recently launched spaceship.

If 灵means "divine" in this case, this implies a contradiction with the mainland's generally atheist position on things or else a tolerance for a little "superstition." If 灵 means "spirit," this would seem to be a more ambiguous term, perhaps implying that the ship had a life and soul of its own. If 灵, just means "effective" in this case, it would seem to be quite a scientific assertion, but hardly very poetic. Any thoughts?

By the way, would 神舟 shen2 zhou1 mean something very different from 灵舟?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Quest]

It is translated as "The Magic Boat," rather than as "The Treasure Boat."

宝 from 宝贝, 法宝. It means something very valuable or something very useful as to performing wonders or magics. I guess it's a cultural translation. Treasure Boat is a 藏宝船.

Shou3 jia1 you3?? I dont know about this one.

Could it be the Queen referring to herself as 哀家?

灵药 from 灵丹妙药 is the effective drug, so effective it's almost like magic. But nowadays, people use 有效 and 无效。

灵舟 to me would mean a spirited vessel.

神灵 is the term to denote Gods and supernatural beings. They are poetic names given to ships that sail into the heavens.