Chinese Medicine Fights Heat Evils

Lam visits Baptist U's Chinese Medicine Telemedicine Centre

For those who are in the isolation facilities because they have tested positive for Covid-19, the Hong Kong government has packs of medicine for residents to use, but it's Chinese medicine.

While people should take Panadol or paracetamol when experiencing a fever or pain, they should not mix it with Chinese medicine.

Use this when lungs are assailed by "heat evils"

The authorities have issued a notice with three different kinds of Chinese medicine and how they should be used.

But how do you translate Chinese medicine into English?

For example, for Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang, under "nature and properties", it is described as: "Relatively cold in nature". What they really mean is "hon" or cooling.

When it comes to describing its functions it says: "To clear scourge, remove toxin, diffuse the lung and discharge heat".

And for its "indications", its description together with another Chinese medicine called Jinhua Qinggan Keli says: "These two proprietary Chinese medicines have similar functions, suitable for use in the case where conditions are caused heat evils assailing the lung, presented with symptoms including fever, cough, dry and sore throat, headache, etc."

Ah... heat evils that attack the lung!

Descriptions in actual government notice

The third medicine called Huoxiang Zhengqi Pian/Jiaonang, it is described to "remove dampness regulate Qi and harmonize the function of the spleen and stomach".

Under "indications" the note says: "Suitable for use in the case where conditions are caused by cold and damp evil, presented with symptoms including headache, lassitude, distention and distress in the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc".

Lassitude, I just looked up means, a state of physical or mental weariness, lacking energy.

One gets the feeling the English descriptions were just copied and pasted without anyone looking at it before it was disseminated.

Guess that's what happens when the government is in the midst of a full-on battle in the fifth wave and no one has time to fix the Chinglish...

Learning Chinglish

Hong Kong people like to make up new Chinglish slang all the time

Tonight some Chinese friends were having a lively chat over dinner and it's not uncommon for me to not understand a few words they're saying. But one pointed out that I might not know what they were talking about and they all laughed.

Turns out there is a Chinglish slang that uses "able" like "Instagram-able", but it's mostly used in a negative sense.

Instead of saying yong m doh (not usable), they say m yong-able.

Or ding m sun (can't stand it anymore), they say m ding-able.

Catch my drift?

I can't think of any other examples, but it's pretty funny how they meld Chinese and English together. Another I heard the other day in the lift was "dead m deadline may-ah?" or "has the deadline passed yet?"

Is this a sign that Hong Kong people's Chinese and English is getting worse? If anything it's hilarious...