@ 41359 An Invitation to the God of Wealth

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A:   看一看，瞧一瞧，新年到，財神到，財神一到鼓錢包。

kàn yi kàn, qiáo yi qiáo, xīnnián dào, cáishén dào, cáishén yī dào gǔ qiánbāo.

Take a look, come and see. The New Year is here. The god of wealth has arrived. Once he's here, your purse will be bursting with money.

B:   哎，你這財神像怎麼賣？

āi, nǐ zhè cáishénxiàng zěnme mài?

Hey, how much are you selling these god of wealth statues for?

A:   大姐，神像這東西怎麼能說賣呢，要說請。

dàjiě, shénxiàng zhè dōngxi zěnme néng shuō mài ne, yào shuō qǐng.

Miss, you can't say 'sell' for a statue of a god. You have to say, 'invite'.

B:   哦，對對對，那這怎麼請？

ò, duì duì duì, nà zhè zěnme qǐng?

Oh, yeah. That's right. How much do I need to 'invite' him for then?

A:   那邊是三百，這邊是兩百。

nàbiān shì sānbǎi, zhèbiān shì liǎngbǎi.

That one over there is 300, and this one here is 200.

B:   哎，你旁邊的這兩個怎麼不一樣？

āi, nǐ pángbiān de zhè liǎng ge zěnme bù yīyàng?

Hey, how come these two next to you aren't the same?

A:   那是一對，一千五。景泰藍的，工藝好。

nà shì yī duì, yīqiān wǔ. jǐngtàilán de, gōngyì hǎo.

Those are a pair. 1500. They're made of cloisonné enamel. Great craftsmanship.

B:   怎麼是兩個？

zěnme shì liǎng ge?

Why are there two of them?

A:   一個文財神，一個武財神啊。

yī ge wéncáishén, yī ge wǔcáishén a.

One is the cultural god of wealth. The other is the military god of wealth.

B:   文財神？沒聽說過。

wéncáishén? méi tīngshuō guo.

Cultural god of wealth? I've never heard of that.

A:   我們一般看到的關二爺是武財神，做生意有他保佑那是最好了。文財神呢，一般是讀書人請的。大姐一看就是個生意人，請一尊關二爺肯定沒錯。

wǒmen yībān kàndào de Guānèryé shì wǔcáishén, zuò shēngyi yǒu tā bǎoyòu nà shì zuì hǎo le. wéncáishén ne, yībān shì dúshūrén qǐng de. dàjiě yī kàn jiùshì ge shēngyirén, qǐng yī zūn Guānèryé kěndìng méicuò.

The Guan Erye is usually seen as the god of wealth and power. When doing business, it's best to have his blessing. The god of wealth and culture is ordinarily invited by people who are studying. Miss, I can tell right away you're a businesswoman. 'Inviting' a Guan Erye is definitely the way to go.

B:   我有個店正打算開張，而且明天又是初五，所以想請一尊財神回去。

wǒ yǒu ge diàn zhèng dǎsuàn kāizhāng, érqiě míngtiān yòu shì chūwǔ, suǒyǐ xiǎng qǐng yī zūn cáishén huíqu.

I have a shop that I'm about to open. Also, tomorrow is the 5th day of the lunar month, so I want to 'invite' a god of wealth back.

A:   那就請紅臉關二爺吧，生意肯定紅火。你看這尊，多威武啊！

nā jiù qǐng hóngliǎn Guānèryé ba, shēngyi kěndìng hónghuo. nǐ kàn zhè zūn, duō wēiwǔ a!

Then you should 'invite' the red-faced Guan Erye. Your business will definitely be prosperous. Look at this one. It's really powerful!

B:   就這個吧。便宜點啊。

jiù zhè ge ba. piányi diǎn a.

Just this one then. Give me a good price, OK?

A:   哎呀，大姐，這東西哪有還價的？心誠則靈。

āiyā, dàjiě, zhè dōngxi nǎyǒu huánjià de? xīnchéngzélíng.

Oh geez, Miss. How can you haggle for a thing like this? “Only if you are sincere will your prayers come true."

B:   好吧好吧，希望我新店生意興隆。

hǎoba hǎoba, xīwàng wǒ xīndiàn shēngyi xīnglóng.

OK, OK. Well, I hope business will be booming at the new shop.

A:   大姐，您鞭炮買了沒？我這兒有高升，還有一千響的，兩千響的鞭炮。初五早晨放吧。

dàjiě, nín biānpào mǎi le méi? wǒ zhèr yǒu gāoshēng, háiyǒu yīqiān xiǎng de, liǎngqiān xiǎng de biānpào. chūwǔ zǎochén fàng ba.

Miss, have you bought fireworks yet? I have the kind that shoot up and explode and I also have strings of one thousand and two thousand firecrackers. You can light them off on the morning of the 5th.

B:   拿個兩千響的吧。

ná ge liǎngqiān xiǎng de ba.

I'll take a string of two thousand.

A:   行，鞭炮給您打七折。對了，大姐，您這像請回去，怎麼放知道嗎?

xíng, biānpào gěi nín dǎ qī zhé. duìle, dàjiě, nín zhè xiàng qǐng huíqu, zěnme fàng zhīdào ma?

OK. I'll give you a 30% discount on the firecrackers. That's right. Miss, do you know how to set up the statue you're taking back?

B:   就那樣放著唄。

jiù nàyàng fàng zhe bei.

Just set it up like that.

A:   這個不能隨便放的啊，一定要放在供臺上。你看，我這裡大小供臺都有，您要哪一種？

zhè ge bùnéng suíbiàn fàng de a, yīdìng yào fàng zài gòngtái shàng. nǐ kàn, wǒ zhèlǐ dàxiǎo gòngtái dōu yǒu, nín yào nǎ yī zhǒng?

You can't set it up just any way. You definitely have to put it on an offering stand. I have both big and small stands here. Which kind would you like?

A:   我看看。

wǒ kàn kan.

Let me take a look.

B:   好的。大姐，您再看看我這裡的香燭吧，最低價給您。

hǎo de. dàjiě, nín zài kàn kan wǒ zhèlǐ de xiāngzhú ba, zuì dī jià gěi nín.

OK. Miss, take a look at our scented candles. I'll give you the lowest price.

A:   等買了供臺和香燭，我身上的錢都跑到你口袋了。

děng mǎi le gòngtái hé xiāngzhú, wǒ shēnshàng de qián dōu pǎodào nǐ kǒudài le.

After I buy scented candles and an offering table, all the money on me will be in your pocket.

B:   那就對了，我這裡財神最多嘛。

nā jiù duì le, wǒ zhèlǐ cáishén zuì duō ma.

That's right. This place has the most gods of wealth.

Key Vocabulary

財神 cáishén

鼓 gǔ

神像 shénxiàng

景泰藍 jǐngtàilán

工藝 gōngyì

文財神 wéncáishén

武財神 wǔcáishén

關二爺 Guānèryé

保佑 bǎoyòu

開張 kāizhāng

紅火 hónghuo

威武 wēiwǔ

心誠則靈 xīnchéngzélíng

生意興隆 shēngyi xīnglóng

高升 gāoshēng

一千響的鞭炮 yīqiān xiǎng de biānpào

鞭炮 biānpào

供臺 gòngtái

香燭 xiāngzhú

尊 zūn

初五 chūwǔ

Supplementary Vocabulary

雕像 diāoxiàng

迷信 míxìn

傳統 chuántǒng

《三國演義》 Sānguóyǎnyì

關羽 Guān Yǔ

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