ChinesePod
@ 50352 人情消費
A 哎！
āi!
*Sigh*
B 怎麼了？今天一整天都唉聲嘆氣的。
zěnmale? jīntiān yīzhěngtiān dōu āishēngtànqì de.
What's wrong? You've been sighing all day long.
A 別提了，明天朋友結婚，請我去喝喜酒。
biétí le, míngtiān péngyou jiéhūn, qǐng wǒ qù hē xǐjiǔ.
I don't want to talk about it. A friend is getting married tomorrow and he invited me.
B 那不是好事嗎？嘆什麼氣啊？
nà bù shì hǎo shì ma? tàn shénme qì ā?
Isn't that a good thing? Why are you sighing?
A 可是喝了這杯喜酒，我這個月就只能喝西北風了。
kěshì hē le zhè bēi xǐjiǔ, wǒ zhè ge yuè jiù zhǐnéng hē xīběifēng le.
Because after going to this wedding, I'll be broke for the rest of the month.
B 有這麼誇張嗎？不就是送個紅包嗎？
yǒu zhème kuāzhāng ma? bù jiùshì sòng ge hóngbāo ma?
Is it really that bad? All you have to do is give a red envelope with cash inside, right?
A 你不知道，這個月我已經送出三個紅包了，大伯六十大壽一個，外甥滿月一個，鄰居的孩子考上大學一個，再加上前一段時間國慶節和中秋節，走親訪友也送了不少禮，我現在是天天靠吃方便麵過活呢，哎！
nǐ bù zhīdào, zhè ge yuè wǒ yǐjīng sòngchū sān ge hóngbāo le, dàbó liùshí dàshòu yī ge, wàisheng mǎnyuè yī ge, línjū de háizi kǎoshàng dàxué yī ge, zài jiāshang qiányī duàn shíjiān guóqìngjié hé zhōngqiūjié, zǒuqīnfǎngyǒu yě sòng le bùshǎo lǐ, wǒ xiànzài shì tiāntiān kào chī fāngbiànmiàn guòhuó ne, āi!
You have no idea-- I've already given three red envelopes this month. One was for my uncle who turned sixty, one for my nephew's first birthday, one for my neighbor's son who got into college. When you add in all the gifts I gave to friends and family when visiting them on National Day and Mid-Autumn festival, I'll be living on instant noodles!
B 那就少送一點嘛，重要的不是紅包的大小和禮物的多少，而是你對他們的心意。俗話說得好，“禮輕情意重”嘛。
nā jiù shǎo sòng yīdiǎn ma, zhòngyào de bù shì hóngbāo de dàxiǎo hé lǐwù de duōshao, érshì nǐ duì tāmen de xīnyì. súhuà shuō de hǎo, `` lǐqīngqíngyìzhòng" ma.
Then just give a little less. The most important thing is not the size of the red envelope or the number of gifts, it's your feelings toward the people. There's a saying that goes, ``The gift is light but the feeling is strong."
A 那是以前。現在可是“禮輕沒面子”。別人紅包都送一千兩千，我要是隻送五百，會被別人說小氣的。
nà shì yǐqián. xiànzài kěshì `` lǐ qīng méi miànzi" . biérén hóngbāo dōu sòng yīqiān liǎng qiān , wǒ yàoshì zhǐ sòng wǔbǎi , huì bèi biérén shuō xiǎoqì de.
That was in the old days. These days it's ``small gifts are a loss of face." If other people are giving envelopes with a couple thousand yuan, and you only give five hundred, people will say you're stingy.
B 那也不能“打腫臉充胖子”啊。
nà yě bùnéng `` dǎzhǒngliǎnchōngpàngzi" ā.
Don't go ``beating your face to make yourself look fatter and more successful."
A 沒辦法，就算不為面子，咱們中國人最講究“禮尚往來”，以前人家給我送禮的時候送得重，現在我送過去的禮能輕嗎？
méi bànfǎ, jiùsuàn bù wèi miànzi, zánmen zhōngguórén zuì jiǎngjiù `` lǐshàngwǎnglái" , yǐqián rénjiā gěi wǒ sònglǐ de shíhou sòng de zhong, xiànzài wǒ sòng guòqù de lǐ néng qīng ma?
There's nothing you can do about that. Even if it's not about face, we Chinese care most about reciprocity. If someone gave me a nice present in the past, how can I give them something small?
B 這倒也是，可是這樣一來，大家的禮都越送越貴，不是會成為一種負擔嗎？
zhè dǎo yě shì, kěshì zhèyàngyīlái, dàjiā de lǐ dōu yuè sòng yuè guì, bùshì huì chéngwéi yīzhǒng fùdān ma?
Well, you have a point. But if we do things that way, everyone's gifts will keep getting more and more expensive. Won't they become a burden?
A 誰說不是呢？可是沒辦法，如今人情已經成了一項必不可少的消費。紅白喜事都要“湊份子”，左鄰右舍、親戚朋友的子女滿月、生日、參軍、升學也少不了要給紅包。逢年過節要送禮，求人辦事更要送禮。禮要是送得輕，以後見面都不好意思打招呼。要是不送，就更是背上了“人情債”。所以我現在一收到喜帖，就像看到了“紅色罰款單”，頭疼啊。
shéi shuō bù shì ne? kěshì méi bànfǎ, rújīn rénqíng yǐjīng chéng le yī xiàng bìbùkěshǎo de xiāofèi. hóng bái xǐshì dōu yào `` còufènzi" , zuǒlínyòushě, qīnqī péngyǒu de zǐnǚ mǎnyuè, shēngrì, cānjūn, shēngxué yě shǎo bu liǎo yào gěi hóngbāo. féngniánguòjié yào sònglǐ, qiú rén bànshì gèng yào sònglǐ. lǐ yàoshì sòng děi qīng, yǐhòu jiànmiàn dōu bùhǎoyìsi dǎzhāohu. yàoshì bú sòng, jiù gèng shì bēi shàng le `` rénqíng zhài" . suǒyǐ wǒ xiànzài yī shōudào xǐtiě, jiùxiàng kàndào le `` hóngsè fákuǎndān" , tóuténg ā.
Who says it isn't? But there's nothing we can do. These days, there's no getting around spending money on these kinds of gifts. You have to chip in for weddings and funerals, and when your neighbors, friends and family have kids, celebrate birthdays, join the service, or advance in school. You have to give gifts on the New Year and on holidays, and even more when you ask someone's help in getting something done. If you don't give enough, you'll be embarrassed every time you see the person later on. If you don't give anything, then you owe them a kind of debt. So nowadays whenever I get an invitation, it's like a fine printed on red paper. What a headache.
B 其實我看收禮的人也未必沒有負擔啊。就說結婚吧，現在請客吃飯越來越講排場，現金禮品中的很大一部分都“貢獻”給了婚禮公司和酒店老闆。再說收了別人的紅包，這份人情將來也是一一要還的。以前送禮是為了促進人與人之間感情的交流，可是現在“禮”已經超越了“情”，成了一種無可奈何的消費。真不知道這樣的“送禮風”何時才能止一止？
qíshí wǒ kàn shōu lǐ de rén yě wèibì méiyǒu fùdān ā. jiù shuō jiéhūn ba, xiànzài qǐngkè chīfàn yuèláiyuè jiǎng pái cháng, xiànjīn lǐpǐn zhōng de hěn dà yībùfen dū `` gòngxiàn" gěi le hūnlǐ gōngsī hé jiǔdiàn lǎobǎn. zài shuō shōu le biérén de hóngbāo, zhè fèn rénqíng jiānglái yě shì yīyī yào huán de. yǐqián sònglǐ shì wèile cùjìn rén yǔ rén zhījiān gǎnqíng de jiāoliú, kěshì xiànzài `` lǐ" yǐjīng chāoyuè le `` qíng" , chéng le yīzhǒng wúkěnàihé de xiāofèi. zhēn bù zhīdào zhèyàngde `` sònglǐ fēng" héshí cáinéng zhǐ yi zhǐ?
Actually, I think the people receiving the gifts also have a kind of burden. Let's just take getting married as an example. These days, people care more and more about ostentation when inviting people for a meal. A big chunk of the cash is a ``contribution" to the wedding planners and the hotel manager. And furthermore, when you've accepted a gift from someone, you have to pay them back later on. In the past, giving gifts was a way of promoting close relations between people. But these days, the gift is even more important than the relationship. It's become a kind of unavoidable expenditure. Who knows when this fad for giving gifts will finally wind down?
Key Vocabulary
唉聲嘆氣 āishēngtànqì to heave deep sighs（of sorrow, frustration,etc)
喝西北風 hēxīběifēng to suffer from cold and hunger
走親訪友 zǒuqīnfǎngyǒu to visit relatives and friends
過活 guòhuó to live one's life
禮輕情意重 lǐqīngqíngyìzhòng a small gift with great feeling behind it
打腫臉充胖子 dǎzhǒngliǎnchōngpàngzi to act big
禮尚往來 lǐshàngwǎnglái courtesy requires reciprocity
人情 rénqíng human emotion
左鄰右舍 zuǒlínyòushè neighbors
未必 wèibì not necessarily
排場 páichang ostentation and extravagance
無可奈何 wúkěnàihé to have no choice
Supplementary Vocabulary
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