Gourds & Melons in Mandarin Chinese (series); Don't Arouse Suspicion 『冬』南西北瓜 Dong-Nan-Shi-Beei Gua; 瓜田李下 gua tyan lii shiah

wentong-syhhae (50)in #cn • 6 years ago (edited)

In Mandarin Chinese, cucumbers, papayas, and pumpkins are are types of melons/gourds, just like watermelons, winter melons, and bitter gourds.

Here is a non-exhaustive selection of such names:
冬瓜 dōngguā / donggua “Winter gourds/melons”
黃瓜 huángguā /hwanggua “cucumbers, [literally] yellow G/Ms”
苦瓜 kǔguā / kuugua “bitter G/Ms”
木瓜 mùguā / muhgua “papayas, [literally] tree melons”
南瓜 nánguā / nangua “pumpkins, [literally] “southern melons”
西瓜 xīguā / shigua “watermelons, [literally] “western melons”

Since we are talking about melons, a very common Chinese idiom referring to melons is: 瓜田李下 guā tián lǐ xià / gua tyan lii shiah “[literally] in a melon patch, under a plum tree”, which is an allusion to classical literature.

This four-character expression is understood to mean: “When a gentleman (a well-bred person) is walking through a melon patch or standing under a plum tree, to avoid even the hint of impropriety, he does not pull at his shoes or adjust his hat.”

蔡先生曾與同事共同編輯高職國文課本，但堅持不在任教學校採用，避免瓜田李下之嫌，令人敬佩。

Cài Xiānshēng céng yǔ tóngshì gòngtóng biānjí gāozhí guówén kèběn, dàn jiānchí bù zài rènjiào xuéxiào cǎiyòng, bìmiǎn guā tián lǐ xià zhī xián, lìng rén jìngpèi.

Tsay Shiansheng tserng yeu torngshyh gonqtorng bianjyi gaujyr gwowen kehbeen, dann jianchyr buh tzay rennjiaw shyueshiaw tsaeyonq, bihmean gua tyan lii shiah jy shyan, linq ren jinqpey.

Together with his colleagues, Mr Tsay compiled Chinese Literature textbooks for vocational high schools, but in order to avoid any suspicion of impropriety, he always insisted on not using any of these books in the schools where he was teaching, an attitude that is worthy of great respect.

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