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htrain

Joined: 24 May 2007
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 9:40 pm Post subject: English Tattoos Becoming Popular Among Chinese |
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I was reading the other thread and I remembered an article about the increasing popularity of English tattoos in China. It seems to be mirroring the West's obsession with Chinese character ink.
Chinese Youths Crazy for English Alphabet Tattoos
By Jeff Lyons on Oct 1, 2005 in News
�The guy at the tattoo shop told me this means brave and proud warrior in English,� said beaming Beijing teenager Hao Tsang as he pointed to the letters GARF freshly inked onto his left bicep. �It�s perfect for me because I am very bold and confident, yet spiritual.�
Tsang�s friend Yuan Chi Hao also went under the needle for some English language characters. �Mine simply says FRUNK. The letters are so beautiful and flow so smoothly into each other. The word actually means old soul with young spirit in English. How cool is that?�
Apparently, very cool.
Throngs of Chinese youths are flocking to tattoo parlors looking to colorfully emboss their bodies with �meaningful� English language words.
�I couldn�t decide between CRYMPH or DLECH,� said Chengdu high school student Mingmei Lee. �I know they both mean beautiful flower dancing in the wind in American, but I can�t decide what looks prettier.�
This strange trend mirrors a popular body art movement in the US where many Americans � especially professional basketball players and young celebrities � get Chinese language characters tattooed on their bodies. Many believe the Chinese characters add an air of spirituality to their beings and help present them as enlightened individuals who respect and admire foreign cultures.
A.J. McLean of the man-band Backstreet Boys proudly displayed his fresh ink after leaving a popular LA tattoo parlor. �Check it out,� said the very excited singer as he pointed to the characters on his left forearm. �My man just hooked me up with some mad asian ink! He says it means wise wolf that guards the pack. That�s totally me dawg� I take care of my boys. Cool dat!�
Upon further investigation, the characters were found to actaully mean dog ass.
�Listen, these Hollywood hotshots come in here every night wanting something foreign and deep. I only know how to do about twenty Chinese characters and I have no idea what they mean. But who the hell cares? They just look neat. I make up meanings like precious gem floating in pond. Dumb chicks hopped up on ex really go for that one,� said burly ex-marine tattoo artist Jake McNaughton with a hearty laugh.
Beijing tattoo artist Johnny Chang echoed the sentiments of his American counterpart, �Kids are stupid. Funny nonsense tattoos make me laugh ha ha. I take letters from American soda cans and candy wrappers and rearrange them into words. GWIPO is my number one favorite. TWARP is also pretty lucky good!�
http://www.usedwigs.com/tattoos/ |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 9:49 pm Post subject: |
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| It's obviously satire, but well written nonetheless. |
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Bailsibub
Joined: 22 Dec 2006
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:13 pm Post subject: |
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This about says it all:
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Bailsibub
Joined: 22 Dec 2006
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:14 pm Post subject: |
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| oops! |
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genezorm

Joined: 01 Jul 2007 Location: Mokpo
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 11:02 pm Post subject: |
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this is solid...
in contrast to an earlier post filled with people complaining that korean people wear english t-shirts
| byunhosa wrote: |
Of course Koreans have a choice. They wear English t-shirts because they think it looks cool, and not because they have no alternatives. They could easily wear shirts with no logos or words on them, or someone, anyone, could actually print up t-shirts with Korean words on them (why this is not done, I have no idea).
Honestly, I do not think I have ever since a t-shirt with Korean words on them. Not one. I find that really odd. |
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=96965&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 |
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Funky Chunk
Joined: 29 Sep 2007 Location: Haebangchon, Seoul
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 6:18 am Post subject: |
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| LOL -- I guess you get what you get without proper research. I have a kanji but I pulled it from a dictionary and then re-checked it in a couple other dictionaries to be sure. As an additional precaution, I chose something that can easily be hidden, or changed to something else if I grew tired of the meaning. |
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whatever

Joined: 11 Jun 2006 Location: Korea: More fun than jail.
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 6:25 am Post subject: |
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OMFG! I can't wait until this hits the Korea!
"Superior Vintagee Quality You Love I Love Stick Together Tomorrow Come Sunshine Crew Another Victorious" |
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htrain

Joined: 24 May 2007
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 6:37 am Post subject: |
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I once saw a guy with 土 tattooed on his arm. I asked him what it meant pretending I didn't know. He said "brave warrior or soldier," which is actually 士. His said "land" or "dirt." It can also mean very country, an adjective describing someone who is a redneck.
I just said cool and then walked away. |
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Qinella
Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Location: the crib
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 6:57 am Post subject: |
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| htrain wrote: |
I once saw a guy with 土 tattooed on his arm. I asked him what it meant pretending I didn't know. He said "brave warrior or soldier," which is actually 士. His said "land" or "dirt." It can also mean very country, an adjective describing someone who is a redneck.
I just said cool and then walked away. |
That sucks. Probably the tattoo artist didn't realize a longer or shorter base can totally change the meaning. It's just a plus sign with a foot either way, right?
Anyway I wonder how many people read the article and thought it was real. Probably most everyone here who read it. |
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htrain

Joined: 24 May 2007
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 3:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Qinella wrote: |
| htrain wrote: |
I once saw a guy with 土 tattooed on his arm. I asked him what it meant pretending I didn't know. He said "brave warrior or soldier," which is actually 士. His said "land" or "dirt." It can also mean very country, an adjective describing someone who is a redneck.
I just said cool and then walked away. |
That sucks. Probably the tattoo artist didn't realize a longer or shorter base can totally change the meaning. It's just a plus sign with a foot either way, right?
Anyway I wonder how many people read the article and thought it was real. Probably most everyone here who read it. |
Yep, it can make a huge, huge difference. Even the slightest error can completely change the meaning. |
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Boodleheimer

Joined: 10 Mar 2006 Location: working undercover for the Man
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 3:08 pm Post subject: |
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http://www.hanzismatter.com/
have you seen the episode of House where some guy has a tat saying 'and' in Chinese? |
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htrain

Joined: 24 May 2007
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 3:11 pm Post subject: |
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| KWhitehead wrote: |
http://www.hanzismatter.com/
have you seen the episode of House where some guy has a tat saying 'and' in Chinese? |
Not yet, but I have seen that tattoo on some dude's tricep. Meaning number 6 or something in the dictionary is peace or harmony in old school Chinese. |
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