Lu Posted October 9, 2008 at 04:40 PM Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 at 04:40 PM It's from a puppetry piece called Zhong Kui Gets Drunk 钟馗醉酒. At some point, Zhong Kui says: 淫妇偏立贞节坊 禄蠹从来貌岸然 可恼呀 'A loose woman pretending to be honourable A ludu??? that always looks solemn/serious It's terrible/bad' Anyone know what 禄蠹 is? I found it in Baidu but don't understand the explanation there. Thanks for any help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jialihai Jiejie Posted October 9, 2008 at 05:25 PM Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 at 05:25 PM 禄蠹 = One who cares about fame and wealth. Jialihai Jiejie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vampire Posted October 9, 2008 at 05:31 PM Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 at 05:31 PM corrupt officials or something like that the first two lines are talking about the same thing -- bad guys usually pretend they are good guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeyah Posted October 9, 2008 at 06:36 PM Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 at 06:36 PM 两位都对 禄蠹 means: person who is after position and wealth ( 追求功名利禄的人) ambitious & greedy 岸然 is from 道貌岸然 meaning hypocrite, one who assumes the guise of a man of integrity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted October 10, 2008 at 01:25 PM Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 at 01:25 PM Thanks all. In the end, I translated: A loose woman who pretends to be virtuous A profiteer who pretends to be upright I can't bear it (I wanted to translate 淫妇 as slut but resisted the urge :-) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chenpv Posted October 10, 2008 at 03:09 PM Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 at 03:09 PM (edited) I second vampire's understanding. '禄'，salary here is used to refer to 'officials' in general in the same way that 'cop/ copper button' for 'police officers' in English. '蠹' is worms. The worms of all officials, namely, dirty officials, who can be either morally corrupted, or sexually loose, or cruel to the people, or bribed etc. etc. all kinds of them, not exclusively related to money. Btw, being 'after fame and wealth' is not all a crime per se, but what Chinese government is promoting since 1978, isn't it? If those who are 'after fame and wealth' are considered as "禄蠹"，can anybody even imagine 1.3 billion of them in a nation? No way, not a chance. We have chinese characteristic, not deviation in route. Edited October 10, 2008 at 03:36 PM by chenpv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted October 10, 2008 at 03:30 PM Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 at 03:30 PM being 'after fame and wealth' is not all a crime per seActually that is mostly what I didn't understand in the dictionary explanation: how is it bad to strive for success and money? don't we all? But from the context it's clear that 禄蠹 is supposed to be a very bad thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted October 11, 2008 at 02:21 PM Report Share Posted October 11, 2008 at 02:21 PM how is it bad to strive for success and money? See the recent milk problem for one reason how striving for money above other things can be bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HashiriKata Posted October 11, 2008 at 02:48 PM Report Share Posted October 11, 2008 at 02:48 PM "禄蠹" may be the ancient equivalent of the modern corporate " rats"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted October 11, 2008 at 05:49 PM Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2008 at 05:49 PM And so a centuries-old Fujianese puppet theater can suddenly take a very modern meaning :-) So the not-for-actual-use-in-supertitles translation would be: A slut who pretends to be virtuous A corporate rat who pretends to be upright I can't bear it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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