Good Characters, Inc. Blog

MSNBC reported that a New York City Japanese eatery, Hakata Tonton, boasts that eating collagen-rich pig’s feet is the key to youthful skin.

How do you get Americans, especially New Yorkers, to eat pig’s feet? By calling it by its exotic-sounding Japanese name, Tonsoku, and emphasizing the collagen-rich food’s (or foot’s) potential anti-aging benefits.

What’s in a name? That which we call pig’s feet—yuk!—the Japanese call Tonsoku—much more appealing!

In a Japan Times interview, Himi Okajima, chef and owner of Hakata Tonton, called Tonsoku “the next sushi.” He claims that Americans will adjust to this cuisine just as they now enjoy sushi and the once unappealing notion of raw fish. Today sushi is part of mainstream American dining and it is readily available even in supermarkets. Okajima says that promoting Tonsoku’s health and beauty benefits will open Americans to the idea of eating pig’s feet.

But the underlying question is Are Americans ready to eat pig’s feet? Would you eat them?

To tell you the truth, I grew up eating Tonsoku! In Taiwan, a birthday celebration traditionally includes a meal of noodle soup with pig’s feet. The idea is that because a pig’s feet are huge and strong enough to withhold its large body, eating pig’s feet brings health and strength. And the long noodles in the soup are associated with living a long life. The traditional birthday wish is to live a healthy and long life, so Tonsoku is the perfect birthday dish. People also have a bowl of pig’s feet noodle soup to get rid of bad luck.

Links

• Are pig’s feet the secret to good skin? (MSNBC Video)
  A New York City Japanese eatery boasts that eating collagen-rich pig’s feet is the key to youthful skin.
   
• Will pig’s feet step in where sushi left off in NY? (Japan Times)
  What will New Yorkers crave next? Is Tonsoku the next sushi?
   
• Ma Ying-Jeou Eating Pig’s Feet Noodle Soup (Chinese)
  Ma Ying-Jeou is the Kuomintang candidate in the 2008 Republic of China (Taiwan) presidential elections. He was photographed eating a bowl of pig’s feet noodle soup. It’s symbolic of a wish for a good start.
  馬英九繼續其南下的行程 台南吃豬腳麵線
   
• Collagen (Wiki)

As China gears up to host the Olympic Games, it has created five mascots. They are cartoon figures of a fish, a panda, a Tibetan antelope, a swallow, and the Olympic flame. They represent five features of nature: sea, forest, fire, earth, and sky. Each mascot has a two-syllable name in English, and combining the first syllables from all five produces the greeting “Beijing Huan Ying Ni,” which means “Beijing welcomes you.” They seemed the perfect characters for the international event.

But what to call them collectively in English? The Olympic committee settled on the name “Five Friendlies” for the friendly little creatures. But the name caused confusion and negative feelings. “Friendly” is a word in English, but “friendlies” is not. It sounds like “friendless,” something no one wants to be. And when written, it looks like “friend lies,” something no one wants his or her friend to do.

So the Olympic committee renamed the mascots “Fuwa.” Combining “fu,” good fortune, with “wa,” baby, the word means a good and fortunate child. It is a popular expression in southern China. Fuwa may not mean “friendly,” but it is certainly a more user-friendly term for five very cute mascots.

Links:

• Olympic Friendlies Come Under Fire
• Mascots Renamed “Fuwa”
• Chinese Olympic Mascots Renamed as Transliterated Pinyin Name Fuwa (Chinese)
  奥运福娃改译名 传递信息更丰富

The first place East meets West for many Chinese is in their personal names. At one time, only the very few Chinese who had influence among foreigners had English names. Today, however, college students are being required to choose English names for themselves. And they want those English names. As China moves farther and faster onto the world stage, young Chinese are readying themselves for the leap forward into the Westernized international marketplace.

Traditionally, choosing a name in China is a long and involved process. One needs to consider the sounds, the meanings, the associations with ancient literature and historic figures. In the 19th century, choosing an English name involved family, English tutors, foreign friends, and Chinese sages. Today’s young people, however, are often bypassing this tedious route. They are simply selecting English names that either sound like or have meanings similar to their Chinese names. So, Di chooses Eddy for the sound similarity, Chao translates his name literally as Super, and Wentao calls herself Wendy.

The English names are easier for Westerners to say and remember. Chinese youth use them because they want to establish rapport and good will among their Western friends and clients. They use them as a bridge between East and West. The bridge goes two ways. Westerners who want to experience the good will and win the respect of their Chinese associates would do well to consider having a Chinese name.

Link:

• English names catch on among Chinese
  Young bridging a gap with West