About Tattoo with Chinese Characters

剛剛看完一篇有關外國人在自己身上刺上中國字的文章，藉此疏發一下我對諸如此類的感受。
I’ve just read an article describing the phenomenon that some westerners like to put various tattoos of Chinese characters on their own bodies. That inspires me to put down some thoughts about what I feel and what I’ve seen.

從我搬離台灣以來，在歐洲看到不少「中國風」的東西，其中當然包括外國人喜歡繡在衣服上或刺在身上斗大的中國字或日本字，讓人笑岔了氣的例子，實在不勝列舉，也只能對周圍的朋友諄諄告誡，千萬不要輕易就做出這樣的決定，以免成了笑話而不自覺。
After I moved to Europe, I’ve discovered that “Chinese flavor” is becoming widely diffused, including tattoos of Chinese or Japanese characters that some people like to put on their clothes or their own skin. I’ve seen too many funny examples, and since then I’m always telling my friends not to make such decision before thorough consideration, so they won’t become “jokes” themselves without knowing it.

我向來都有個習慣，走在街上總是會不經意地看看周圍的路人，也因此看到不少有趣的畫面。外國人在身上刺中國字，總是脫不了自己的生肖、名字，或是一些他們覺得很酷的字眼。與人閒聊時做做國民外交，幫人把姓名翻譯成中文，這已經是稀鬆平常的事情，可是到目前為止，還是無法理解為什麼有人喜歡把這些文字刺在身上。
It’s my habit to look around when I walk on the street, and I can always get some fun out of it. The tattoos of Chinese characters are always related to Chinese zodiac, names or some though-to-be cool phrases. I am quite used to receive requests from foreign friends, asking to write down their names in Chinese characters. However, I still cannot understand why some people want to use them as “pictures” for tattoos.

曾經有一次，走在街上時眼睛習慣性地亂瞟，看到一名女子，在臂膀上刺了大大的「雞」字，當時沒有另作聯想，只是覺得有些奇怪，不過今天看了他人大作以後，才猛然驚覺這個字另外隱含的意義，那名女子也許只是很高興地把自己的生肖刺在身上，殊不知中文裡，這個字也可以代表著其他特殊意˙˙˙
One time, I was looking around on the street as I always did. There’s a woman with a big Chinese character of “chicken” on her arm. I didn’t really think too much about it, but just felt a bit strange. It’s not until today when I read the article on another web site that I realized that this character also carries another “special” meaning. That woman was probably putting her own Chinese zodiac as a tattoo, not knowing it can also refer to “prostitute” in the Chinese language.

在我的諄諄告誡之下，許多義籍友人總是會把家裡的掛幅或身旁友人的刺青，拿來向我請教一番。這個夏天，信箱裡就收到一張照片，向我詢問某女腳踝上的刺青是否有誤。打開檔案，差點沒笑岔了氣，原本的「天堂」，不小心在「天」上面突出了那麼一點點，成了「夫堂」，自己在往天堂的路上跌了一跤，硬要解釋，啟不成了男子尋歡做樂的對象？
My Italian friends are always careful after I explained to them about tattoos with Chinese characters. Many of them actually ask me about whatsoever pictures or paintings they have at home, or the tattoos they see with their friends. This summer, I received a picture in my mailbox, asking about the meaning of a tattoo on the foot of a female friend. I opened the file, and then started laughing like crazy. The phrase “paradise” is composed of two Chinese characters. On the very first character, the stroke is not supposed to project out, but it did… The meaning of the phrase totally changed, if I had to give it a meaning. On the road to the heaven, she slipped by accident and was turned to “some place for men to have fun with”?

告誡各位外國朋友，刺青，真的要小心！
To all my foreign friends, you should really be careful if you want to make a tattoo with Chinese characters!