爷可代子休妻
“the father-in-law can repudiate her in his son's name!"”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
夫死媳不孝
“"If a wife is unfilial after her husband's death,”
爷可代子 休妻
“the father-in-law can repudiate her in his son's name!"”
你这个扫把星
“You jinx,”
Direct spoken expression in this communicative setting.
In imperial Chinese law, filial piety was supreme; if a son died and the widow was deemed unfilial, the patriarch possessed legal authority to unilaterally expel her from the lineage.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
divorce/repudiate a wife
A historical legal term referring to unilateral divorce initiated by the husband or his family in imperial China.
jinx / harbinger of bad luck
A superstitious derogatory insult hurled at someone perceived to bring ruin and misfortune to a household.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“But His Lordship will find out sooner or later.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“your Heir Apparent won't have an heir anymore!”
“your Heir Apparent won't have an heir anymore!”
“The Prime Minister and his wife are estranged.”