Talk:Burning of books and burying of scholars

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[edit] Chancellor vs Prime Minister

(Referring to edits by User:Eiorgiomugini)

The Prime Minister and the Chancellor are both names for the head of a government. However, the Chinese word Chengxiang (丞相) and Zaixiang (宰相) are conventionally translated as Chancellor - see Chancellor of China vs List of premiers of China.

There are several reasons for this, as I understand it. First, the role of the Chancellor in China is more similar to that of the Chancellor in European traditions, than the more modern Prime Minister. Thus, Otto von Bismarck's position, Chancellor, is translated into Chinese as 宰相. By contrast, Tony Blair's position, Prime Minister, is translated as 首相.

Secondly, the Chinese Chancellor's role can be filled by one or several persons at once. Thus, you may have 左丞相 and 右丞相 at the same time. Clearly, a "Prime Minister" can only be one person at a time. This is another reason why the term is translated as Chancellor.

In any case, the convention is to translate it as Chancellor - as can be seen from Wiki's treatment of this subject. --Sumple (Talk) 10:10, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Chairman Mao

I undid the revisions to the Mao section. The criticism of Mao was indeed about his dictatorial style, but it was also fury over the number of scholars and intellectuals he had killed. Mao never said that he was Qin Shi Huang; he said he had surpassed Qin Shi Huang: he was boasting about how many more he had murdered. The article section may be revised, but the quote itself is from Mao, and should not undergo any revision. Korossyl 17:07, 23 September 2006 (UTC) I did, however, change "premier" to "chairman." Don't know what I was thinking... Korossyl 17:07, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Killed? Sounds a bit Jung Chang to me. --Sumple (Talk) 23:59, 23 September 2006 (UTC)
It is not quoted in full and the quote is not translated correctly, even off topic. The full speech was about the death of intellectuals in antirevolutionary movements, not in a single execution.
Original text:
秦始皇算什么？他只坑了四百六十个儒，我们坑了四万六千个儒。我们镇反，还没有杀掉一些反革命的知识分子吗？我与民主人士辨论过，你骂我们秦始皇，不对，我们超过秦始皇一百倍。骂我们是秦始皇，是独裁者，我们一贯承认；可惜的是，你们说得不够，往往要我们加以补充（大笑）。
在八大二次会议上的讲话　１９５８、５、８--Skyfiler 00:48, 24 September 2006 (UTC)