他一个宋砚算个什么东西
“What does a mere Song Yan count for?”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
每年出多少个举人
“how many provincial candidates are there each year?”
他一个宋砚 算个什么东西
“What does a mere Song Yan count for?”
以后这种话
“You can say such things”
“He is a complete nobody compared to the rest of us, so stop acting like he matters.”
Referring to a person as a 'thing' (东西) or asking 'what kind of thing' they count as strips them of human dignity and social face.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
who does he think he is / what kind of worthless thing is he
A highly insulting rhetorical pattern used in spoken Chinese to express utter contempt for someone's status or authority.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“Look. They all have Song Yan's name written on them.”
“And when Song Yan got sick the year before last,”
“Song Yan was the most formidable person in the world.”
“How about talking to Song Yan?”
“I envied Song Yan so much for coming here.”
“become the same as Song Yan over time.”