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Re: Chinese silver pendant translation

Posted By: Bill H
Posted Date: Aug 04, 2018 (12:26 AM)

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FYI, "one hundred years of age" (Baisui - 百歳) was considered to be the proper toast at traditional Chinese birthday celebrations for most people, because hardly anyone ever lived so long in those days. However, if you were the emperor, your subjects celebrated your birthday with ever more wishful cheers of "ten thousand years of age" (wan sui - 萬歲). Of course some of them tried to outdo that toast by consuming immortality potions containing cinnabar, a poisonous ore of mercury, ending in the predictable result even before the advent of Las Vegas oddsmakers.

Best regards,

Bill H

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