Useless InformationDid you know that crabs wee through their eyes? That maidenhair moss is so called because Anglo-saxons thought it looked like pubes? That Albanians have 17 different words for moustache? Astound us with your utterly useless and obscure knowledge.
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chthonic, Thu 17 Mar 2005, 14:48)
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Can you tell I work there?""iv) The English name for the capital of China is 'Peking'. Beijing is an attempt at making our pronunciation sound more like Mandarin, whereas Peking is from the Cantonese name for it. Posh important people spoke Mandarin though, and plebs spoke Cantonese. Tells you what you need to know about the old Chinese view of Westerners, eh..."
In Mandarin:
Bei - North
Nan - South
Jing - Capital
(I can't be arsed with pinyin accents before anyone tries babelfish)
Beijing - Northern Capital.
Nanjing - Southern Capital.
(I currently live in Nanjing)
(, Mon 21 Mar 2005, 14:57, Reply)
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