Chinese New Year Tales · chapter 2 of 5
The Upside-Down Fu
福到了
A rich man is furious when his servant hangs the New Year 福 upside down. Then she says a few words that turn his anger into a laugh.
Read what you hear
- Mingming 奶奶，快讲！福为什么是倒的？
Nǎinai, kuài jiǎng! Fú wèishénme shì dào de?
Grandma, hurry! Why is the fu upside down?
- Grandma 别急，别急。先喝一口水。
Bié jí, bié jí. Xiān hē yì kǒu shuǐ.
Don't rush. First, have a sip of water.
- Xiaoyu 明明很急！他的手都在动！
Míngmíng hěn jí! Tā de shǒu dōu zài dòng!
Mingming is so impatient! Even his hands are wiggling!
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Chinese New Year Tales is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Mingming 我不急！……好吧，我很急！
Wǒ bù jí! … Hǎo ba, wǒ hěn jí!
I'm not impatient! ... Okay, I'm very impatient!
- Grandma 好，好，我这就讲。你们坐好。
Hǎo, hǎo, wǒ zhè jiù jiǎng. Nǐmen zuò hǎo.
All right, I'll tell it now. Sit down, you two.
- Grandma 这个故事，有一个很有钱的人。
Zhège gùshi, yǒu yí gè hěn yǒuqián de rén.
In this story, there is a very rich man.
- Narrator 钱老爷有一个很大的房子。今天是新年。
Qián lǎoye yǒu yí gè hěn dà de fángzi. Jīntiān shì xīnnián.
Master Qian had a very big house. Today was New Year.
- Master Qian 春梅！新年到了，快去贴福字！
Chūnméi! Xīnnián dào le, kuài qù tiē fú zì!
Chunmei! It's New Year. Go and put up the fu, quick!
- Chunmei 好的，老爷！我马上就去！
Hǎo de, lǎoye! Wǒ mǎshàng jiù qù!
Yes, master! Right away!
- Chunmei 这个福字好大！哪一边是上，哪一边是下？
Zhège fú zì hǎo dà! Nǎ yì biān shì shàng, nǎ yì biān shì xià?
This fu is so big! Which side is the top, and which is the bottom?
- Chunmei 不知道！就这样贴吧！
Bù zhīdào! Jiù zhèyàng tiē ba!
I don't know! I'll just stick it up like this!
- Chunmei 好了！你看，多好看啊！
Hǎo le! Nǐ kàn, duō hǎokàn a!
Done! Look how pretty it is!
- Master Qian 春梅！你快来看看这个门！
Chūnméi! Nǐ kuài lái kànkan zhège mén!
Chunmei! Come and look at this door, right now!
- Chunmei 老爷，怎么了？门不好看吗？
Lǎoye, zěnme le? Mén bù hǎokàn ma?
Master, what's wrong? Doesn't the door look nice?
- Master Qian 福是倒的！新年福倒了，太不好了！
Fú shì dào de! Xīnnián fú dào le, tài bù hǎo le!
The fu is upside down! Fu upside down at New Year is terrible!
- Chunmei 老爷……对不起，我不认识字。
Lǎoye… duìbuqǐ, wǒ bú rènshi zì.
Master... I'm sorry, I can't read.
- Master Qian 福倒了，我家就没有福了！
Fú dào le, wǒ jiā jiù méiyǒu fú le!
The fu is upside down, so my house has no luck left!
- Chunmei 老爷，等一下！“倒”和“到”，声音一样！
Lǎoye, děng yíxià! “Dào” hé “dào”, shēngyīn yíyàng!
Master, wait! "Upside down" and "arrive" sound exactly the same!
- Chunmei 福倒了，就是福到了！
Fú dào le, jiùshì fú dào le!
Fu upside down means fu has arrived!
- Master Qian 福到了？福到了！哈哈哈哈！
Fú dào le? Fú dào le! Hāhāhāhā!
Fortune has arrived? Fortune has arrived! Ha ha ha ha!
- Master Qian 春梅，你真聪明！我家的福到了！
Chūnméi, nǐ zhēn cōngming! Wǒ jiā de fú dào le!
Chunmei, you're so clever! My house's fortune has arrived!
- Xiaoyu 福倒了，就是福到了！奶奶，真好玩！
Fú dào le, jiùshì fú dào le! Nǎinai, zhēn hǎowán!
Fu upside down means fortune has arrived! Grandma, that's fun!
- Mingming 我贴倒了！那我的福也到了！
Wǒ tiē dào le! Nà wǒ de fú yě dào le!
I stuck mine upside down! So my fortune has arrived too!
- Grandma 对，你的福，一定会到。
Duì, nǐ de fú, yídìng huì dào.
That's right, your good fortune is sure to come.
- Mingming 奶奶，门上还有两个人，他们是谁？
Nǎinai, mén shàng hái yǒu liǎng gè rén, tāmen shì shéi?
Grandma, there are two more people on the door. Who are they?
- Grandma 他们是门神。晚上，他们不睡觉。
Tāmen shì ménshén. Wǎnshang, tāmen bú shuìjiào.
They are the door gods. At night, they never sleep.
- Xiaoyu 不睡觉？他们不累吗？
Bú shuìjiào? Tāmen bú lèi ma?
They never sleep? Aren't they tired?
- Mingming 为什么不睡觉？奶奶，明天要讲！
Wèishénme bú shuìjiào? Nǎinai, míngtiān yào jiǎng!
Why don't they sleep? Grandma, you have to tell us tomorrow!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Master Qian tell Chunmei to do?
“春梅！新年到了，快去贴福字！”
- Why does Chunmei hang the fu the wrong way?
“哪一边是上，哪一边是下？”……“我不认识字。”
- Why is Master Qian upset?
“福倒了，我家就没有福了！”
- What clever thing does Chunmei say?
“倒”和“到”，声音一样！
- Who are the two figures on the door?
“他们是门神。”