# Bare-chested masters



## Sicahunt Lagahoche

你们好。

In an article I just read - http://old.chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2002/07/11/biz_347850.shtml - I have found an English translation of what is supposedly a common slang term in Beijing for shirtless men: "bare-chested masters". My Mandarin/Chinese is not good enough to backlate this term, but in the article I'm writing (on social attitudes towards male shirtlessness, incidentally), I would like to be able to cite the actual Mandarin term, rather than (what I suspect to be) a somewhat arbitrary translation.

If anyone can help out, that would be greatly appreciated. 谢谢了很多。


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## SuperXW

http://news.bbc.co.uk/chinese/trad/hi/newsid_2110000/newsid_2119000/2119006.stm
According to the report above, "bare-chested masters" are "膀爷", which can also be literally translated as "shoulder grandpa".
But I wonder whether the word was ever popular. I was from Beijing but I don't think I've known the saying.

By the way, for "thank you very much", you should say 非常感谢 instead of 谢谢了很多.


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## Sicahunt Lagahoche

Is it possible that "膀爺" is a different term from "bare-chested master"? Because, in the English-language article, it also makes separate mention of "Grandpa Shoulder" - and also it seems as though it would be difficult to render "膀爺" as "bare-chested master".

And thanks for the information re: "thank you"! Or rather, 非常感谢。


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## SuperXW

Comparing your English news with my Chinese resources, I would say "bare-chested master" was also translated from 膀爷, and "grandpa shoulder" should be "shoulder grandpa", which is a literal translation of the same Chinese word.
The English reporter/editor might not be sure about the word, so he mixed up the translations.

膀爷 can be rendered as "bare-chested master" considering the flexibility of the two Chinese characters.
膀 basically means "shoulder". However, in Beijing dialect, the word 光膀子 "bare-shouldered" is understood as "bare-backed" and "bare-chested".
爷 can be "grandpa", or to call any male who is in a superior position, so "master" is possible (although neither "master" nor "grandpa" is accurate for 膀爷).

One other thing, Beijing uses simplified characters 膀爷, while you and the BBC report were using traditional characters. You can use my version if you need the "original word".


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## Skatinginbc

加拿大溫哥華的夏天也常見"膀爺"街頭閒晃,  就怎麼沒聽過有人抱怨"不文明", "羞恥", "難堪", 或"視覺騷擾"呢? 看了些北京"膀爺"的照片, 想了想, 突然意識到溫哥華的"膀爺"多數是肌肉發達, 練過健身的, 有的還刺龍畫虎, 以袒胸露背為傲. 相對而言, 那些身材差沒本錢露的, 自覺羞慚, 不好意思當"膀爺" (打赤膊的大爺).  我想說的是: "bare-chested master"可能是正面的, 也可能是負面的.  北京的"膀爺"一詞一定是負面的含義 (connotations)嗎?


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## SuperXW

从字面上说，“膀爷”不含贬义，毕竟我们对senior的人才叫声“爷”，也符合master的意义。实际的感受就因人而异了。


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## Skatinginbc

SuperXW said:


> 毕竟我们对senior的人才叫声“爷”，


真的??  受教了.


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## SuperXW

Skatinginbc said:


> 真的??  受教了.


不是一直这样用的吗？对年长的、地位高的、武力强的男人，才尊称一声“爷”啊。像什么“大爷”、“老爷”、“爷们儿”、“相爷”、“佛爷”、“贝勒爷”、“财神爷”，姓赵的帮主叫“赵爷”，结拜兄弟排行老五称“五爷”，所以我想被某些人翻译成master也不足为奇吧。


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## Skatinginbc

我會錯意了, 我還以為senior指的是聖誕老公公那樣的senior citizens.


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## retrogradedwithwind

感觉就和美女这样的词一样，起先是形容真美女的，后来就用来形容所有人了。爷这字也差不多，本来是尊称，后来是人即爷，比如兔爷。


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## SuperXW

Skatinginbc said:


> 我會錯意了, 我還以為senior指的是聖誕老公公那樣的senior citizens.


也包括年長的啊~


retrogradedwithwind said:


> 是人即爷，比如兔爷。


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## Skatinginbc

SuperXW said:


> 也包括年長的啊~


毕竟我们对senior的人才叫声“爷”，


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