An essay from Chinese lit diva Zhang Ailing about a scene of police brutality she witnessed in Shanghai in the 1940s. HSK 6 and up.
在外滩看见一个警察打人，没有缘故，只是一时兴起，挨打的是个十五六岁的穿得相当干净的孩子，棉袄棉裤，腰间系带。警察用的鞭，没看仔细，好像就是警棍头上的绳圈。“呜！”抽下去，一下又一下，把孩子逼在墙根。孩子很可以跑而不跑，仰头望着他，皱着脸，眯着眼，就像乡下人在田野的太阳里睁不开眼睛的样子，仿佛还带着点笑。事情来得太突兀了，缺乏舞台经验的人往往来不及调整面部表情。
我向来很少有正义感。我不愿意看见什么，就有本事看不见。然而这一回，我忍不住屡屡回过头去望，气塞胸膛，打一下，就觉得我的心收缩一下。打完之后，警察朝这边踱了过来，我恶狠狠盯住他看，恨不得眼睛里飞出小刀子，很希望我能够表达出充分的鄙夷与愤怒，对于一个麻风病患者的憎怖。然而他只觉得有人在注意他，得意洋洋紧了一紧腰间的皮带。他是个长脸大嘴的北方人，生得不难看。
他走到公众厕所的门前，顺手揪过一个穿长袍而带寒酸相的，并不立即动手打，只定睛看他，一手按着棍子。那人于张惶气恼之中还想讲笑话，问道：“阿sir是为仔要我登牢子?”
大约因为我的思想没受过训练之故，这时候我并不想起阶级革命，一气之下，只想去做官，或是做主席夫人，可以走上前给那警察两个耳刮子。
在民初李涵秋的小说里，这时候就应当跳出一个仗义的西洋传教师，或是保安局长的姨太太（女主角的手帕交，男主角的旧情人。）偶尔天真一下还不要紧，那样有系统地天真下去，到底不大好。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 外 | wài | outside; in addition; foreign; external |
| 滩 | tan | beach; rapids; classifier for liquids: pool, puddle |
| 看见 | kàn jiàn | to see; to catch sight of |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 警 | jíng | to alert; police |
| 察 | Chá | short name for Chahar Province 察哈爾|察哈尔[Cha2 ha1 er3]; variant of 察[cha2] |
| 打 | dá | (loanword) dozen; Taiwan pr. [da3] |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 缘 | yuān | cause; karma; predestined affinity; hem; along |
| 故 | gù | happening; instance; reason; cause; intentional; former; old; friend; therefore; hence; (of people) to die, dead |
| 只是 | zhǐ shì | merely; only; just; nothing but; simply; but; however |
| 一时 | yī shí | a period of time; a while; for a short while; temporary; momentary; at the same time |
| 兴起 | xīng qǐ | to rise; to spring up; to burgeon; to be aroused; to come into vogue |
| 挨 | ai | in order; in sequence |
| 打的 | dǎ dī | (coll.) to take a taxi; to go by taxi |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 个 | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4] |
| 十五 | shí wǔ | fifteen; 15 |
| 六 | lìu | six; 6 |
| 岁 | suì | variant of 歲|岁[sui4], year; years old; classifier for years (of age); year; year (of crop harvests) |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 穿 | chuān | to bore through; to pierce; to perforate; to go through (e.g. a tunnel); to cross (e.g. a street); to thread; to string together; to wear; to put on (clothes, shoes etc.); verb com… |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 相当 | xiāng dāng | equivalent to; appropriate; considerably; to a certain extent; fairly; quite |
| 干净 | gān jìng | clean; neat |
| 孩子 | hái zi | child |
| 棉 | ||
| 袄 | ||
| 裤 | kǔ | trousers; pants |
| 腰 | yao | the waist and lower back; the waist of trousers or a skirt; (bound form) the middle section of an upright object (mountain, bottle etc) |
| 间 | jiān | between; among; within a definite time or space; room; section of a room or lateral space between two pairs of pillars; classifier for rooms |
| 系带 | xì dài | (anatomy) frenulum |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 鞭 | biān | whip or lash; to flog; to whip; conductor's baton; segmented iron weapon (old); penis (of animal, served as food) |
| 没 | méi | (negative prefix for verbs) have not; not |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 仔 | zái | careful (in 仔细); young (of animals, in 仔猪); a child (dialect, zai3) |
| 细 | xì | thin or slender; finely particulate; thin and soft; fine; delicate; trifling; (of a sound) quiet; frugal |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (… |
| 像 | xiàng | to resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait; image under a mapping (math.) |
| 就是 | jìu shì | exactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if |
| 棍 | gǔn | stick; rod; truncheon |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 绳 | shéng | rope; CL:根[gen1] |
| 圈 | quan | to confine; to pen in |
| 呜 | ||
| 抽 | chōu | to draw out; to pull out from in between; to remove part of the whole; to inhale (esp. smoke); (of fabric etc) to shrink; (of certain plants) to sprout; to bud; to whip; to thrash;… |
| 下去 | xià qù | to go down; to descend; to go on; to continue; (of a servant) to withdraw |
| 一下 | yī xià | (after a verb) a bit; a little (indicating brief duration, or softening the tone, or suggesting giving sth a try); all at once; suddenly |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 逼 | bi | to pressure |
| 墙 | qiáng | variant of 牆|墙[qiang2]; wall (CL:面[mian4],堵[du3]); (slang) to block (a website) (usu. in the passive: 被牆|被墙[bei4 qiang2]) |
| 根 | gēn | root; basis; classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings; CL:條|条[tiao2]; radical (chemistry) |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good |
| 跑 | páo | (of an animal) to paw (the ground) |
| 而 | ér | and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast) |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 仰 | yáng | to look up; to admire; to rely on; to face upward; surname Yang |
| 望 | wàng | full moon; to hope; to expect; to visit; to gaze (into the distance); to look towards; towards; 15th day of month (lunar calendar); old variant of 望[wang4] |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 皱 | zhòu | to wrinkle; wrinkled; to crease |
| 脸 | liǎn | face; CL:張|张[zhang1],個|个[ge4] |
| 眯 | mi | to blind (as with dust) |
| 着眼 | zhuó yǎn | to have one's eyes on (a goal); having sth in mind; to concentrate |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 乡 | xiang | country or countryside; home village or town |
| 下人 | xià rén | (old) servant; (dialect) children; grandchildren |
| 田野 | tián yě | field; open land; CL:片[pian4] |
| 太阳 | tài yang | sun; sunlight; sunshine; temple (on the side of the human head) (abbr. for 太陽穴|太阳穴[tai4 yang2 xue2]) |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 睁 | zheng | to open (one's eyes) |
| 开眼 | kāi yǎn | to open one's eyes; to widen one's horizons |
| 睛 | jīng | eye; eyeball |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 子 | zǐ | son; child; seed; egg; small thing; 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat; viscount, fourth of five orders o… |
| 仿 | fǎng | to imitate; to copy; variant of 仿[fang3] |
| 佛 | fū | Buddha; Buddhism (abbr. for 佛陀[Fo2 tuo2]) |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 带 | dài | band; belt; girdle; ribbon; tire; area; zone; region; CL:條|条[tiao2]; to wear; to carry; to take along; to bear (i.e. to have); to lead; to bring; to look after; to raise |
| 点 | diǎn | to touch briefly; to tap; to mark with a dot; to check off (on a list); to order (food etc); to select; to mention; to bring up (a topic or person); to hint at; to imply; to admini… |
| 笑 | xiào | old variant of 笑[xiao4]; to laugh; to smile; to laugh at |
| 事情 | shì qing | affair; matter; thing; business; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1] |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 太 | tài | highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely |
| 突 | tū | to dash; to move forward quickly; to bulge; to protrude; to break through; to rush out; sudden; Taiwan pr. [tu2] |
| 兀 | Wù | surname Wu |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 缺乏 | quē fá | to lack; to be short of |
| 舞台 | wǔ tái | (lit. and fig.) stage; arena |
| 经验 | jīng yàn | experience; to go through; to experience |
| 往往 | wǎng wǎng | usually; in many cases; more often than not |
| 及 | jí | and; to reach; up to; in time for |
| 调 | diào | to transfer; to move (troops or cadres); to investigate; to enquire into; accent; view; argument; key (in music); mode (music); tune; tone; melody |
| 整 | zhěng | (bound form) whole; complete; entire; (before a measure word) whole; (before or after number + measure word) exactly; (bound form) in good order; tidy; neat; (bound form) to put in… |
| 面部 | miàn bù | face (body part) |
| 表情 | biǎo qíng | (facial) expression; to express one's feelings |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 向 | Xiàng | surname Xiang; to tend toward; to guide; variant of 向[xiang4]; variant of 向[xiang4]; direction; orientation; to face; to turn toward; to; towards; shortly before; formerly |
| 少有 | shǎo yǒu | rare; infrequent |
| 正义 | zhèng yì | justice; righteousness; just; righteous; (in the titles of traditional commentaries) correct interpretation |
| 感 | gǎn | to feel; to move; to touch; to affect; feeling; emotion; (suffix) sense of ~ |
| 愿 | yuàn | honest and prudent; variant of 願|愿[yuan4]; (bound form) wish; hope; desire; to be willing; to wish (that sth may happen); may ...; vow; pledge |
| 意 | yì | (bound form) idea; thought; meaning; sense; (bound form) intention; feeling; inclination; state of mind; (bound form) Italy (abbr. for 意大利[Yi4 da4 li4]) |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 有本事 | yǒu běn shi | to have what it takes; (coll.) (often followed by 就[jiu4]) (used to challenge sb) if you're so clever, ..., if she's so tough, ... etc; Example: 有本事就打我[you3 ben3 shi5 jiu4 da3 wo3]… |
| 看不见 | kàn bu jiàn | cannot see; cannot be seen; invisible |
| 然而 | rán ér | however; but; yet |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 回 | Huí | Hui ethnic group (Chinese Muslims); to curve; to return; to revolve; variant of 迴|回[hui2] |
| 忍 | rén | to bear; to tolerate |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay; to stop; to cease; (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state) |
| 屡 | lv3 | time and again; frequently |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 气 | qì | gas; air; smell; weather; to make angry; to annoy; to get angry; vital energy; qi |
| 塞 | sai | to plug; to stop up; to stuff in |
| 胸 | xiong | chest; breast; bosom; mind |
| 膛 | tāng | (bound form) hollow space |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 心 | xīn | heart; mind; intention; center; core; CL:顆|颗[ke1],個|个[ge4] |
| 收 | shōu | to receive; to accept; to collect; to put away; to restrain; to stop; in care of (used on address line after name) |
| 缩 | suo | to withdraw; to contract; to reduce; also pr. [su4] |
| 完 | wán | to finish; to be over; whole; complete; entire |
| 之 | zhī | (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]); him; her; it |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 朝 | Cháo | abbr. for 朝鮮|朝鲜[Chao2 xian3] Korea |
| 这边 | zhè biān | this side; here |
| 踱 | duó | to pace; to stroll; Taiwan pr. [duo4] |
| 恶 | ě | used in 惡心|恶心[e3 xin1] |
| 狠狠 | hěn hěn | resolutely; firmly; ferociously; ruthlessly |
| 盯 | dīng | to watch attentively; to fix one's attention on; to stare at; to gaze at |
| 恨 | hěn | to hate |
| 不得 | bù dé | must not; may not; not to be allowed; cannot |
| 眼睛 | yǎn jing | eye; CL:隻|只[zhi1],雙|双[shuang1] |
| 飞出 | fēi chū | to fly out |
| 小刀 | xiǎo dāo | knife; CL:把[ba3] |
| 希 | xī | to hope; to admire; variant of 稀[xi1] |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 够 | gòu | enough (sufficient); enough (too much); (coll.) (before adj.) really; (coll.) to reach by stretching out |
| 表达 | biǎo dá | to express; to convey |
| 出 | chū | to go out; to come out; to arise; to occur; to produce; to yield; to go beyond; to exceed; (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result); classifier for…; variant of 出[chu1] (classifier for plays or chapters of classical novels) |
| 充 | chong | sufficient; full; to serve as; to act as |
| 分 | fēn | to divide; to separate; to distribute; to allocate; to distinguish (good and bad); (bound form) branch of (an organization); sub- (as in 分局[fen1 ju2]); fraction; one tenth (of cert… |
| 鄙 | bí | rustic; base; to despise |
| 夷 | yī | non-Han people, esp. to the East of China; to wipe out; to tear down |
| 与 | yú | variant of 歟|欤[yu2] |
| 愤 | fěn | indignant; resentment |
| 怒 | Nù | Nu ethnic group |
| 对于 | duì yú | regarding; as far as (sth) is concerned; with regard to |
| 麻风病 | má fēng bìng | leprosy; Hansen's disease |
| 患 | huǎn | to suffer (from illness); misfortune; danger |
| 者 | zhě | (after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ...; (after a noun) person involved in ...; -er; -ist; (used after a number or 後|后[hou4] or 前[qian2] to refer to sth mentioned previously);… |
| 憎 | ||
| 怖 | bǔ | terror; afraid |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 有人 | yǒu rén | someone; people; anyone; there is someone there; occupied (as in restroom) |
| 注 | zhù | (bound form) to pour into; to flow into; to inject; (bound form) to focus (one's spirit, gaze etc) on a single point; to concentrate; (bound form) stake (in gambling); classifier f…; to annotate; to provide explanatory notes on a written text; an annotation; an explanatory note; (bound form) to put on record; to register |
| 得意 | dé yì | proud of oneself; pleased with oneself; complacent |
| 洋洋 | yáng yáng | vast; impressive; self-satisfied; immensely pleased with oneself |
| 紧 | jǐn | tight; strict; close at hand; near; urgent; tense; hard up; short of money; to tighten |
| 皮带 | pí dài | strap; leather belt; CL:條|条[tiao2],根[gen1] |
| 长 | cháng | long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte; (bound form) to be good at; (literary) surplus; spare (Taiwan pr. [zhang4]) |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 嘴 | zuǐ | mouth; beak; nozzle; spout (of teapot etc); CL:張|张[zhang1],個|个[ge4] |
| 北方 | běi fāng | north; the northern part a country; China north of the Yellow River |
| 生 | shēng | to grow; to give birth; to produce; to be born; to arise; to occur; to light (a fire); to live; to be alive; life; raw; uncooked; unprocessed; unfamiliar; strange; (bound form) stu… |
| 难看 | nán kàn | ugly; unsightly |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form… |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 公众 | gōng zhòng | public |
| 厕 | cě | toilet; lavatory (in 厕所) |
| 所 | suǒ | actually; place; classifier for houses, small buildings, institutions etc; that which; particle introducing a relative clause or passive; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 门前 | mén qián | in front of the door |
| 顺手 | shùn shǒu | as an incidental action while doing sth else; while one is at it; in passing; smooth; easy; without difficulty |
| 揪 | ||
| 袍 | pāo | gown (lined) |
| 寒酸 | hán suān | wretched; poverty-stricken; unpresentable (for clothing, gifts etc) |
| 相 | Xiāng | surname Xiang |
| 并 | bìng | and; furthermore; also; together with; (not) at all; simultaneously; to combine; to join; to merge; to combine; to amalgamate; short name for Taiyuan 太原[Tai4 yuan2]; variant of 並|并[bing4] |
| 立即 | lì jí | immediately |
| 动手 | dòng shǒu | to set about (a task); to raise a hand to hit sb; to touch; to handle (typically used in cautioning sb *not* to touch sth) |
| 定睛 | dìng jīng | to stare at |
| 一手 | yī shǒu | a skill; mastery of a trade; by oneself; without outside help |
| 按 | ǎn | to press; to leave aside or shelve; to restrain; to check or refer to; in the light of |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 于 | Yú | surname Yu; (of time or place) in; at; on; (indicating any indirect relation) to; toward; vis-à-vis; with regard to; for; (indicating a source) from; out of; (used in comparison) than; (used i… |
| 张惶 | zhāng huáng | variant of 張皇|张皇[zhang1 huang2] |
| 恼 | náo | to get angry |
| 之中 | zhī zhōng | inside; among; in the midst of (doing sth); during |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 讲 | jiǎng | to speak; to explain; to negotiate; to emphasize; to be particular about; as far as sth is concerned; speech; lecture |
| 笑话 | xiào hua | joke; jest; to laugh at; to mock; ridiculous; absurd |
| 问道 | wèn dào | to ask the way; to ask |
| 阿 | ā | prefix used before monosyllabic names, kinship terms etc to indicate familiarity; used in transliteration; (bound form) Afghanistan (abbr. for 阿富汗[A1 fu4 han4]); (bound form) Alban… |
| 为 | wéi | as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為|为[wei2] |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 登 | dēng | to scale (a height); to ascend; to mount; to publish or record; to enter (e.g. in a register); to press down with the foot; to step or tread on; to put on (shoes or trousers) (dial… |
| 牢子 | láo zǐ | jailer (old) |
| 大约 | dà yuē | approximately; probably |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 思想 | sī xiǎng | thought; thinking; idea; ideology; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 受过 | shòu guò | to take the blame (for sb else) |
| 训 | xǔn | to teach; to train; to admonish |
| 练 | liàn | to practice; to train; to drill; to perfect (one's skill); exercise; (literary) white silk; to boil and scour raw silk |
| 这时 | zhè shí | at this time; at this moment |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 不想 | bù xiǎng | unexpectedly; to one's surprise |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta… |
| 阶级 | jiē jí | (social) class; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 革 | gé | animal hide; leather; to reform; to remove; to expel (from office) |
| 命 | mǐng | life; order or command |
| 一气 | yī qì | at one go; at a stretch; for a period of time; forming a gang |
| 之下 | zhī xià | under; beneath; less than |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 官 | Guān | surname Guan |
| 或是 | huò shì | or; either one or the other |
| 主 | zhǔ | owner; master; host; individual or party concerned; God; Lord; main; to indicate or signify; trump card (in card games) |
| 席 | xī | mat; seat; banquet; (classifier) |
| 夫人 | fū ren | lady; madam; Mrs.; CL:位[wei4] |
| 上前 | shàng qián | to advance; to step forward |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 两 | liǎng | two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jin1] (old) |
| 耳 | ěr | ear; handle (archaeology); and that is all (Classical Chinese) |
| 刮 | guā | to scrape; to blow; to shave; to plunder; to extort; to blow (of the wind) |
| 民 | Mín | surname Min |
| 初 | chū | (bound form) at first; initially; (bound form) first; early; (bound form) (in lunar calendar dates, before numerals 1–10) days 1 to 10 of a month, as in 初三[chu1 san1] "the third" |
| 李 | lí | plum; surname Li |
| 涵 | hān | to contain; culvert |
| 秋 | Qīu | surname Qiu; old variant of 秋[qiu1]; used in 鞦韆|秋千[qiu1 qian1] |
| 小说 | xiǎo shuō | novel; fiction; CL:本[ben3],部[bu4] |
| 应当 | yīng dāng | should; ought to |
| 跳出 | tiào chū | to jump out; fig. to appear suddenly |
| 仗 | zhǎng | weaponry; to wield; to depend on; battle |
| 义 | Yì | surname Yi; (Tw) Italy (abbr. for 義大利|义大利[Yi4 da4 li4]) |
| 西洋 | Xī yáng | the West (Europe and North America); countries of the Indian Ocean (traditional) |
| 传 | chuān | to pass on; to transmit; to transfer; to conduct (electricity) |
| 教 | Jiào | surname Jiao |
| 师 | Shī | surname Shi |
| 保 | báo | Bulgaria (abbr. for 保加利亞|保加利亚[Bao3 jia1 li4 ya4]) |
| 安 | An | surname An |
| 局长 | jú zhǎng | bureau chief; CL:位[wei4],個|个[ge4] |
| 姨 | yī | mother's sister |
| 太太 | tài tai | married woman; Mrs.; Madam; wife; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 女主角 | nu:3 zhǔ jué | female lead; female protagonist |
| 手 | shǒu | hand; (formal) to hold; person engaged in certain types of work; person skilled in certain types of work; personal(ly); convenient; classifier for skill; CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 帕 | pǎ | to wrap; handkerchief; pascal (SI unit) |
| 交 | jiāo | to hand over; to deliver; to pay (money); to turn over; to make friends; (of lines) to intersect; variant of 跤[jiao1] |
| 男主角 | nán zhǔ jué | male lead; male protagonist |
| 旧情 | jìu qíng | old affection |
| 偶 | óu | accidental; pair |
| 尔 | ěr | variant of 爾|尔[er3]; thus; so; like that; you; thou |
| 天真 | tiān zhēn | naive; innocent; artless |
| 不要 | bù yào | don't!; must not |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 系 | xì | to connect; to relate to; to tie up; to bind; to be (literary); system; department; faculty; to tie; to fasten; to button up |
| 统 | tóng | to gather; to unify |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 底 | dí | (equivalent to 的 as possessive particle) |
| 不大 | bù dà | not very (clear, far away etc); not too; not often; infrequently |
On the Bund, I saw a policeman beating someone, for no particular reason, it was just momentary thrill. The person being beaten was a 15 or 16-year-old cleanly-dressed kid, in a cotton coat and cotton pants, with a belt tied about his waist. The policeman used a whip, and though I couldn’t see clearly, it appeared to be the round strap on the end of his baton. Wu, [the whip] came down, again and again, forcing the child up against the base of a wall. The kid could have run but he didn’t, just lifted his head and looked up at the policeman, scrunching his face, squinting, like a villager in the countryside who cannot fully open his eyes beneath a bright sun, it was almost as if he was wearing a small smile. It happened too suddenly, and those who lack experience on the stage had no time to adjust their expressions.
I’ve rarely ever had a sense of justice. Anything I’m unwilling to see, I’m able to not see. But this time, I couldn’t help but look back again and again, by breath caught in my chest, and as each strike came down, I felt my heart constrict. When the beating was finished, the policeman strolled my way, and I fixed him with an evil stare, wishing daggers would fly from my eyes, and I wished I could express the fullness of my disdain and fury, my abhorrence of such a leper. But the policeman was only [gratified by] the attention, and triumphantly tightened his leather belt. He was a long-faced, big-mouthed northerner, not un-handsome.
He walked to the door of the public restroom, and casually grabbed a shabby man wearing a long robe, but didn’t immediately begin hitting him, rather fixed his eyes upon him, one hand pressed to his cudgel. The man, though flustered, still [managed] to crack a joke, asking: “Are you staring at me like that because you want me to go sit in jail?”
Perhaps because my thinking hasn’t been properly trained, at this moment I thought nothing at all of the class revolution, in my anger, I just wished I was an official, or the Chairman’s wife, and could walk over and give that policeman two slaps in the face.
If this was an early Republic of China-era novel by Li Hanqiu, this is when a righteous western missionary, or the Chief of Police’s concubine (the female protagonist’s best friend, the male protagonist’s old lover) would jump out [onto the scene and save the day]. But [though] occasional [forays] into such naive thinking is no cause for concern, continual systematic naivety is no good at all.