Please, Be Civilized!
Here's something you would ordinarily never see translated into English: 迎奥运，讲文明，树新风. This phrase is all over Beijing, posted on billboards, in the subways and even on TV commercials, so why wouldn't it be translated into English? I smile whenever I read these signs, knowing that many non-Chinese reading tourists are missing out on a good laugh. The first piece is straightforward enough, (迎Ying2)(奥Ao4)( 运Yun4) means to welcome the Olympics. (迎Ying2) is simply the second half of the word (欢huan1)(迎ying2) which means to welcome. Similarly, 奥运 is the first two characters of (奥ao4)(运yun4)(会hui4) which means the Olympic Games. The first character (奥ao4) is supposed to sound like the beginning of the English word, "Olympics." (运Yun4) is half of the word for athletics or sports, "(运yun4)(动dong4)." And (会hui4) means generally any kind of meeting, or party or event. But on to the funny part, the second piece of the slogan means, "Please Be Civilized," followed by the kicker, "Turn Over a New Leaf." Now it should be clear why the sign is not in English, people might take it the wrong way if you started telling them to turn over a new leaf by acting more civilized. To understand the Chinese, we can break it up word by word: (讲jiang3) is part of the word (讲究jiang3jiu) meaning to place a special importance on something. For example, at a hospital they really (讲jiang3), or stress the importance of sanitation. The word (文wen2)(明ming2) literally means civilization or civilized, either a noun or an adjective. As we can now see, 讲文明 is an indicative telling people to place greater emphasis on being civilized. The last part reads, (树shu4)新xin1)(风feng1), "Turn Over a New Leaf." This clearly indicates that being civilized would be like a change for some people out there. Again, to understand the Chinese, we break it up. The word (树shu4) is literally just a tree, but it is also part of the word (树shu4)(立li4), meaning to erect or set something set, like how a tree stands straight up in the ground. The word (新xin1) means new, easy enough, and (风feng1) is part of the word (风feng1)(尚shang4) which means, ‘social trends,' or ‘societal customs.' Thus 树新风 is easily translated as, "erect new social trends," or simply put ‘turn over a new leaf.'