Yesterday, I visited the Peranakan Museum, and I came across this interesting Hokkien poem, which describes the attributes a woman is expected to have upon marriage. Today, it would have been labeled sexist, and I absolutely agree, but this poem is from a bygone era after all, and it reflects the ideals and mindsets people had in the past.
The Original Text:
” Tek Gar Kee, Mor Hor Chee
Choe Lung Sim Poo But Toe Li
Um Um Khoon, Char Char Khi
Say Thau Buah Hoon Thiam Ean Chee
Lip Chow Khar, Say Wah Tee
Lip Tua Thniah, Cheng Tok Ee
Lip Pang Lai, Siew Chiam Chi
Oh Lo Hnia, Oh Lo Tee
Oh Lo Chin Keh Chneh Emh Gow Kaw Si “
The Translation Given:
“Dried beancurd, sweet flour cakes
A daughter-in-law must know how to behave
Goes to sleep late, rises early
Combs her hair, powders her face, applies lipstick
Upon entering the kitchen, washes the dishes
Upon entering the hall, dusts the furniture
Upon entering the room, picks the embroidery needle
She speaks well of her elders and juniors
Praises to our in-laws for having brought her up so well”
The person who had documented and provided this poem is a “Mr Raymond Kwok”, who is a Peranakan man (“Baba”) from Penang, and a simple search on Google reveals that he has written numerous books about Perankans and the langauges they spoke – Baba Malay and Hokkien. For more information about him and where to get these books, click here.
However, as I’ve seen an American language enthusiast on Facebook accurately point out, this type of transliteration is designed for English speakers in the UK or the Commonwealth, and I agree with him that “forcing Hokkien into the confines of English phonology is never a good idea”. If we really want to protect and spread our language, it must be transliterated systematically, in a way which does not require the reader to guess and approximate the Hokkien pronunciation but rather making it possible to read out the intended Hokkien word accurately at first glance. Indeed, systems like the Taiwanese Romanisation System (Tai-lo) are perfect candidates to document and write in Hokkien, and if you are interested in learning how to speak or write in Hokkien, I highly recommend that you learn Tai-lo.
I have tried to transliterate the poem with Tai-lo, staying as close to the original intended pronunciation as possible, as well as add the Chinese characters:
—–
Tek-gá-ki
Tek-gá-ki, mô·-hon-tsí
tsò lâng sim-pū bat tō-lí
Àm-àm khùn, tsá-tsá khí
Se-thâu buah-hún tiám ian-tsi
Li̍p tsàu-kha, sé uánn-tī
Li̍p tuā-thian, tshéng toh-í
Li̍p pâng-lāi, siù tsiam-tsí
O-ló hian, o-ló tī
O-ló tshin-ke tshen-ḿ gâu kà-sī
—–
竹仔枝
竹仔枝，毛呼子
做人新婦捌道理
暗暗睏，早早起
梳頭抹粉點胭脂
入灶跤，洗碗箸
入大廳，筅桌椅
入房內，繡針黹
呵咾兄，呵咾弟
呵咾親家親姆爻教示
