The power of the word

"Of all the powerful weapons of destruction that man has invented, the most terrible – and the most cowardly – is the word."- Paulo Coelho

I enjoy reading quotes; they are usually precise and influential.

To me, word is:














...and many more.

What made the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination against race, colour, sex, religion and national origin related to voting, employment and public services throughout America?

It was because of a young American pastor believed that all men were created equal, and publicly dreamt about his four little children would one day live in a nation where they would not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.

What brought down the Berlin Wall? It was by an unintentional, yet powerful mistake. On 9 November, 1989, Günter Schabowski was asked by a reporter at the end of a press conference that when a new law permitting GDR citizens more freedom of travel would take effect. Without being informed in advance, he assumed that it would be on the same day of the regulation notes being handed, he then said,"As far as I know effective immediately, without delay."

Later the same night, thousands of East Berliners rushed to the Wall and tried to climb over it, left the guards with on choice but to open the gate to let the people into West Berlin.

What cost Chinese human right activist Tan Zuoren 5 years in jail? He was accused of "inciting subversion of state power" after publicly questioning why so many schools collapsed in 2008 Sichuan earthquake-while other buildings around them remained standing. Many speculated that the poor construction of the schools was because of corruption.

Imprisonment is probably one of the best ways to shut a powerful vocal critic up.

All the above people, including the words they said, have had great impacts on history and our society.

Now then, what about the powerful words in our daily life? They are usually simple, yet striking and magical.

A person who once meant a lot to me had a problem that many of us have in common-being reluctant to apologise with saying "I am sorry".

The only time when I heard it, my heart was melted in an instant, and tears were running down from my eyes. (was it implying that the effectiveness of words has something to do with its frequency of usage?)

What words in daily life are the most powerful to you?

It's just ketchup

One day, I was interested in writing a post about English words of Chinese origin. I remembered it was a typhoon night, I went to consult this professor who lived across the street from me. I heard her playing mahjong with her friends when I pressed the doorbell.

When she finally opened the door, she was wearing a yellow silk cheongsam with pink lychee patterns on it, holding a cup of Oolong and said,"Chop-Chop! Come on in!"

"Sorry to bother you this late but I just want to ask you about..."I noticed that there was a blood stain on her collar, so I asked,"did he beat you again?" She checked it with a mirror but then quickly said,"oh, no, no...it is just ketchup, I was eating chips the other day..."

Poor lady, she was probably brainwashed by her conservative mother that all ugly truth of the family should be kept as secrets. "So, what brings you here again?"



I know, what a strange story! Please try to find the words that you think are from Chinese.

Highlight here to make the answers visible!

Did you find 9? Excellent!

1. Typhoon
2. Mahjong
3. Silk
4. Cheongsam
5. Lychee
6. Oolong
7. Chop Chop
8. Ketchup
9. Brainwash

Hand Gestures

Home Sweet Home.

I am back.

In Italy, I was trying to speak with an Italian family, but after failing to hold a conversation in Italian for more than 3 minutes, I switched to sign language; yes, the famous Italian hand gestures.

...and it worked.

I even bought a book called Supplemento al dizionario italiano (Supplement to the italian dictionary) to understand this interesting culture better.

Here are a few unforgettable gestures taught by the book:

1. Che vuoi? (What do you expect?)





Shake your hand up and down, depends on how impatient you are!



2. Bere (A drink)






3. Che peso! (What a bore!)

Tap your hand slowly against your chest to show that the thing or the person is boring enough to cause indigestion!

In Chinese culture, people don't use hand gestures as much as Westerners; but we do have hand gestures for number 1-10: