宋砚这个穷书生
“Song Yan, that poor scholar,”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
三年束脩 九两六十钱
“Three years of tuition— 9 taels and 60 mace.”
宋砚 这个 穷书生
“Song Yan, that poor scholar,”
“only managed to study thanks to”
“Song Yan was a nobody who had nothing without help.”
In traditional China, wealthy families often subsidized impoverished scholars with tuition (束脩) in hopes of building valuable ties if the scholar passed the civil service exams.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
impoverished scholar
Use to describe an educated but financially destitute person, often in historical storytelling contexts.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“as soon as Song Yan became a provincial candidate,”
“Song Yan, I'm really curious.”
“Song Yan was the most formidable person in the world.”
“The day Song Yan came looking for trouble, didn't we already k...”
“You should keep the Song Yan for yourself.”
“Song Yan, open the door!”