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A monk and a monkey walk into a bar
http://www.ecns.cn/learning-Chinese/2013/04-02/57103.shtml
Apr 2nd 2013, 07:51
2013-04-02 16:51 The World of Chinese Web Editor: yaolan
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It's tempting to imagine people in long gone centuries writing war poems beneath a cherry blossom or love poems in a lonely cabin, but these folks needed a laugh just like we do today. Well, for the literature of laughter, we can turn to Xiaolin Guangji (《笑林广记》, lit., Extensive Gleanings from the Forests of Laughter), a book that transports you back in time hundreds of years and gives a concrete quality to the humor and life of the age.
Compiled in the Qing Dynasty (1616-1912), the joke book is divided into twelve volumes, containing original jokes as well as classics from various texts from the early Qing and Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The compiler was a rebellious scholar, one who took the trouble to collect texts that were regarded as lowbrow at the time, but, unfortunately, his real name remains a mystery. He called himself the "Master of Games" (游戏主人 Yóuxì Zhǔrén) and his editor had the funny bone as well, with the moniker, "Householder of Laughers" (粲然居士 Cànrán Jūshì).
These jokes took aim at everyone, from the poor to the Imperial academy and from monks to merchants. However, corruption was a particular prominent theme, and officials were mocked for their avarice and injustice. Focusing on satire, these jokes can make you laugh, but they also have very sharp teeth. In one trial based joke, the plaintiff bribes the presiding official with 50 taels (2,500g) of gold without realizing the defendant paid double that amount. When court is in session, the official immediately condemns the plaintiff to harsh punishment. At a loss, the plaintiff opens his palm to remind the official: "My lord, I have rights." The official then reaches out his palm and replies, "Minion, you are right." Then he turns his hand over and says, "But the defendant had more rights than you."
And it wasn't just officials that got the hatchet; students trying to seek their fortune in officialdom through imperial examinations were also ridiculed for their ignorance and incompetence. One joke says that when a student crashed a monastery under the guise of hitting the books, he spent all of his time just messing around every day. One afternoon, he returned to his study and asked his servant to bring a book. When the servant brought Selections of Refined Literature, the student said: "too low". When he saw Records of the Grand Historian, he said "too low" again. He said the same of the Book of Han. A nearby monk was baffled and asked: "A person is regarded as wise if they were familiar with just one of these books. Why do you consider them low?" The student replied: "I need a nap, and none of them are high enough for my pillow."
Besides social problems, many jokes were simply aimed at the average family life. These jokes provide a unique glimpse into ancient lives, one that is not as conservative as you might assume. In one gag, a bride gives birth to a baby boy at her wedding ceremony. Her mother-in-law is severely ashamed, so she scoops up the baby and hides it away. The bride mistakenly says, "Mom, I didn't know you loved children so much; hurry up, someone please go and get my two elder sons."
As a matter of fact, there were quite a few blunt and vulgar jokes that led to the book being banned at one point. In 1868, Ding Richang (丁日昌), Governor of Jiangsu Province, came up with a list of 268 books he thought were obscene, including Xiaolin Guangji. With government funds and donations from country lords, Ding bought up these works from booksellers to destroy. It obviously did not work. Today, modern booksellers are proud to brand the joke book "banned" just to sell more copies.
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