THOSE CRAZY CHINESE

pretty person fish

In Western mythology, many a hero was ensnared by a beautiful creature of the sea - half fish, half woman, the hapless sailor or adventurer was enticed into the unknown depths of the sea, chasing this vision of freedom and beauty. English has given her the name 'mermaid'. In Chinese, a similar idea exists, yet the literal translation of the word is another miracle of conciseness and the poetry of Mandarin - in Chinese, a mermaid is called a 'pretty person fish'.