The following proverbs, colloquial sayings and nursery rhymes were told by Fay Hing Lee Wong to her children and grandchildren. They were collected and submitted to us by her daughter Linda Huang. Most are wise, many funny, more are wry, and a few are very earthy.
Fay Hing Lee Wong (1917-2000), recited them to Linda and her brothers and sisters, and their children, giving them, and us, a lifetime of loving wisdom. Her husband Voy Wong brought Fay to America in 1947, and, together with their children, they operated the Chungking Restaurant in Riverside for many years. The sayings, nearly 100 of them, are mostly accompanied by audio in Hoisan and English. You can click the audio button to hear the sayings in Linda’s Hoisan-wah. Here are Fay’s sayings, Nos. 87 to 96. Or click here to enjoy all 96.
87.-Ngot sui, soi swun.
Against current, steer boat.
(Doing it the hard way)
88.-Han ban, A ban.
Heaven change, Earth change.
See nyan, goi ban.
Time changes.
(Everything changes)
89.-Ngui heck sui heung ga thoi chut.
Fish eat water towards the gill go out.
(The money comes from the family anyway.)
90.-Uk naan hei, foo naan lei.
House hard to build, (like) pants hard to drop.
(Difficult to move, start over again, like dropping your pants in public)
91.-Gah lei yiu tan geem,
Family inside have 1,000 gold (precious family members),
Mong yeet ngeet jan yeet mun.
Five (prosperous) generations, one day left one penny (will still have a generation left.)
92.-Heng gah, m’heng ai.
Listen price, don’t listen product.
93.-Wah ga ngin, dee wah song fi-dee, yeah.
Extra person, is (only) extra pair of chopsticks.
(When inviting someone to stay for dinner who is politely refusing.)
94.-Mo thlee, moh seng ai thlee.
No problem, touch complete (made) big problem.
(Make a mountain out of an ant hill.)
95.-Wu-hop jong sui, moh seng ai fung-gu.
Taro leaves hold water, touch complete (made) big wind.
(Storm starts small, becomes a hurricane).
96.-Yiu hai, mo mei.
Have head, no tail.
Yiu hai, yiu mei.
Have head, have tail.
(Fish is cooked with head and tail, always has a beginning and end.)
