Words passed down from grandmas and grandpas: 

    They are the catchy bywords and sayings of the townsfolk 

    with much wisdom and philosophy of life.

       We consulted the elders and collected many bywords 

    and sayings which we found beautiful and interesting.  

    Why don¡¦t we have a dialect lesson?






Sayings about ¡§Lugang¡¨:



Half of the Lugang residents are dead.  No, it means Shih, the big surname of Lugang has the sound in Taiwanese which one would associate with the meaning of death .


You will be frightened to hear one of Lugang¡¦s sayings:  ¡§Half of Lugang residents are dead.¡¨  But this is wrong because you mistook ¡§£ª¡¨for¡§Shih¡¨.  ¡§£ª¡¨does not mean ¡§death¡¨although it sounds like death in Taiwanese.  Actually it means the big surname Shih of Lugang.  Almost half of Lugang residents are surnamed Shih.





Lugang residents fear death the most and they receive glutinous rice in exchange of their slop.


Most Lugang residents do not plow while countryside farmers need to collect slop to be used as fertilizer and periodically clean up the slop pits of Lugang residents.  Moreover, they give the glutinous rice they harvest as a gift, the origin of  this saying.





Lugang residents fear for being taken advantage of while farmers fear for being got caught by the policemen.


Lugang residents are said to be a bit stingy.  If visitors come, they don¡¦t want to buy too much while they don¡¦t to be criticized as stingy either.  So they often have a headache when giving a feast.

There are two sayings about farmers for fear of being caught.  One is that they fear going to the government offices because they are frightened when they hear the policemen.  The other is that the farmers raise a lot of livestock and they fear that the livestock are taken away.





Women surnamed ¡§Shih, Huang, Syu¡¨are said to be untamed; if one happens to wed a wife with one of the surnames, one should respect her with awe. 


Shih, Huang and Syu are the major surnames in Lugang.  If one happens to wed a wife with any of the three surnames, one should respect her with awe like a god.  Otherwise, her relatives would give you a good spank.





Lugang residents speak in different ways.


Over 90% of Lugang residents are from Cyuan Prefecture of Fuchien Province and they speak Taiwanese with heavy accent.





Sayings about weather:



It rains in a row between the beginning of summer and grain full, the two solar terms.


Between the beginning of summer and grain full is the plum season with a lot of rain.





If it fogs on one of spring mornings, it¡¦s a sign of a very hot day; if it fogs on one of summer mornings, it¡¦s a sign of a rainy day.


Weather is predicted based on whether it¡¦s foggy.

If it¡¦s foggy on a spring morning, it¡¦ll be a hot day; if it¡¦s foggy on a summer morning, it¡¦ll be a rainy day.





Look at the mountain in spring and look at the sea in late winter.


In the west of Taiwan, it depends on looking at the mountains in the east in spring and looking at the sea in the west in winter.  If it¡¦s overcast, it¡¦s a sign of bad weather.





Do not put away winter clothes before the Dragon Boat Festival.


This is because the weather changes drastically before the Dragon Boat Festival.  Only past the Dragon Boat Festival is really summer.





A shower would stop before one reaches the other side of the field.


This describes showers come and go fast, the speed of which also describes a person when doing something with short-lived enthusiasm.





If fogs get too heavy to dispel when the sun comes out, be sure to have kids grazing the cattle put on a coir raincoat.


This happens on a rainy day morning so kids should bring a coir raincoat when going out to work.





If it thunders on the 2nd day of lunar February, it¡¦s a sign that the farmers will have a good harvest.


This is because the 2nd day of lunar February is the birthday of the Gnome.





Sayings about agriculture:



Do not fear toils.  Take them as cows tow.


Do not fear toils which we should take as cows should tow.





One can expect a change next year if the harvest is poor this year.  However, if one marries an unfit wife, it would last for a life.


This gives advice to men to be cautious not to marry an unfit wife.





One can not make differences between a yam and a potato.


This saying describes a person who knows nothing of a trade.





A cane can¡¦t be sweet at both ends.


This compares things in the mundane world which are not perfect.





Too many cows; little dung is seen. 


This saying points to things which cannot get done if many people are involved.





Slow walking cows accumulate heavy dung.


This describes a person who dillydallies on the job.





Buffaloes intimidate each other with their horns before they start fighting.


This describes a threatening action to frighten the counterpart away before a fighting starts.





The superior controls the surbordinates as the hoe does a dustpan.


This points to a hierarchical system; the person on the top vents his/her anger on the subordinates.





A blind chicken unexpectedly pecks a worm.


This describes a dope and his/her good fortune encountered by a chance.





The hen does not lay an egg but only shits.


This describes a person who does nothing good but only causes trouble for others.





Thunders do not frighten ducks.


This describes those who do not understand what they hear.





There is a will; there is a way.


This likens to a drop of dew for a straw.  As long as one works hard, one will find his/her place in the world. 





A blind cow


This likens to an illiterate.





Just let it be.


Just let things be the way they are.





One does not smell when one carries the manure.


This describes one does not know what a mistake one makes in bad environments.





Sayings about life:



Even a straw has a drop of dew to enjoy.


This means that everyone has a place in the world.





The same kind of rice feeds all kinds of people.


This means that a variety of people eat the same kind of rice.





A stinger makes the most of a dollar.


This describes a very calculating person who tries to make the most of a dollar to avoid any waste.





Boats sail in the favorable direction of the wind.


Judge the circumstances before taking favorable actions.





The duck is going to be sacrificed, yet it does not know it.


This ironically implies that people should watch out the circumstances where they are.





Parents feed children at any cost and children calculate every serving to parents.


Parents do not calculate the cost of raising children while children calculate the cost of every serving to parents.





It'll do to serve countryside relatives with a meal to the full.


This implies that it¡¦s easier to entertain countryside relatives who do not need polite formalities and that one does not know manners who leaves right after the meal.





Those who do not return home on Tomb Sweeping Day are those without ancestors and those who do not return home on Chinese New Year are bachelors.


This implies that those who do not have ancestors to worship are equal to bachelors without wives who do not return home on the Chinese New Year's Eve.







Special Thanks

Thanks for the following names for their accepting our interview 

and providing the information on Dec. 6, 2003:

Mr. Cing-Po Chen

Mr. Di Chen

Ms. Hsiu-Chuen Huang


References:

Deng, Dong-Bing. The Philosophy of Managing Taiwan Proverbs. 

Taipei: Cheng Jheng, 1992.

President Enterprise Co. Taiwan Proverbs. Tainan: President 

Enterprise Co.