We will leave for now the heavenly army besieging the mountain and the Great Sage at rest. Let us turn instead to the compassionate savior of the suffering and distressed, the Goddess of Mercy, Bodhisattva Guanyin1 of Mount Putuoluojia of the South Sea, who was invited by the Queen Mother to attend the Immortal Peach Festival.Continue reading “Journey to the West – Chapter 6.1”
Author Archives: mengshagong
New word: Milk!
Baby Ro has just turned 1, and his babbling has become much more diversified in the last few weeks. We can only decipher one new word though: 奶 (milk), which he consistently says when he’s hungry. In the way of babies, he doubles this word into 奶奶 (paternal grandmother). However, it’s been six months sinceContinue reading “New word: Milk!”
Journey to the West – Chapter 5.5
The Steward of Order, in accordance with the edict, completed a detailed investigation and returned to report: “The one who wreaked havoc in Heaven is none other than the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven.” He gave a full recounting of the incidents. The Jade Emperor was furious. He commanded the Four Heavenly Kings, together withContinue reading “Journey to the West – Chapter 5.5”
Baba wins over dada
About 2 weeks after Baby Ro first started saying mama/妈妈, he also started saying baba/爸爸. I have seen some signs that he knows what mama and baba mean, but there are also definitely times when he says them to himself just for fun too. It’s interesting to see that he picked baba instead of dada,Continue reading “Baba wins over dada”
First word!
Baby Ro is nine months old. He has been babbling for a while now, but the other day he looked me straight in the face and said mama! I’d always heard that bilingual children can be late talkers, but mama is pretty much the same in Chinese and English, so it probably doesn’t matter. OnContinue reading “First word!”
Journey to the West – Chapter 5.4
Suddenly, full of pearls and sober, he said to himself, “Shit, that’s bad.1 This time the trouble I’ve caused is bigger than heaven, if the Jade Emperor hears of this that’ll be it for me. I’ve gotta get out of here.2 I might as well go be king down below!” He ran out of DoushuaiContinue reading “Journey to the West – Chapter 5.4”
Journey to the West – Chapter 5.3
Look at them all, their hands going slack, their heads drooping, their eyes closing. One by one they all fell asleep. The Great Sage took his choice of delicacies and tidbits went into the hallway. He settled down next to the urns of wine and ate and drank himself silly. After a while he was full and very drunk.
Two Chinese Americans walk into a bar
I started another project, and this one is one that will last a lifetime. We had a baby! And we are trying to raise him English/Chinese bilingual. Everything I’ve read about raising bilingual children recommends one of two strategies: One Parent One Language, or Minority Language at Home. The problem is that my husband andContinue reading “Two Chinese Americans walk into a bar”
Journey to the West – Chapter 5.2
One morning, the Queen Mother of the West threw open the Treasure Pavilion to host a banquet for the Immortal Peach Festival at the Turquoise Pool. The red, white, blue, black, purple, yellow, and green-gowned maidens, each bearing her basket atop her head,1 were sent to the Immortal Peach Orchard to pick peaches for theContinue reading “Journey to the West – Chapter 5.2”
Journey to the West – Chapter 5.1
Short posts are better than no posts! No matter what else he may be, the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven was a monkey.1 He didn’t know what officials’ ranks meant and he didn’t care about salary. He only cared that his title had changed. In the Great Sage Residence, immortals of the two offices attendedContinue reading “Journey to the West – Chapter 5.1”
Etymology Adventures 