ng shū mài shǔ jì zhèxiē zázhǒng nǎge shì xiānshēng)
Refers to a line from the Three Character Classic by Meng Zi: 稻粱菽,麦黍稷
“Rice, spiked Millet, pulse, wheat, glutinous millet and common millet.”
The word 杂种 refers to hybrids in this case but also has a double meaning of bastard child.
The word 先生 refers to which ripens first but also has a double meaning of Mister/Teacher etc.
This entire line is essentially an insult formed from a dual meaning method of creating couplets. The story behind it is a person was trying to insult a teacher(先生) by insinuating that he was a bastard. To which he replied the following:
[2] “诗书易，礼春秋，皆是正经，何必问及老子！”
(Shī shū yì lǐ chūnqiū xǔduō jīngzhuàn hébì wèn lǎozi)
“Poetry, Documents, Geomancy, Rites and Annals. All are classics, is there a need to ask Confucius?”
诗书易，礼春秋(Poetry, Documents, Geomancy, Rites and Annals) are all confucian classics:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Books_and_Five_Classics
正经 is saying that they are all classics but also has the dual meaning of being proper.
老子 (Confucius or Laozi) is also the way a person refers to himself in a slightly haughty manner.
[3] Usually, the derogative term in Chinese for a cunning old man/woman is old demon. It has the connotation of why aren’t dead yet even though you’re already so old.
Credits:
ng shū mài shǔ jì zhèxiē zázhǒng nǎge shì xiānshēng)
Refers to a line from the Three Character Classic by Meng Zi: 稻粱菽,麦黍稷
“Rice, spiked Millet, pulse, wheat, glutinous millet and common millet.”
The word 杂种 refers to hybrids in this case but also has a double meaning of bastard child.
The word 先生 refers to which ripens first but also has a double meaning of Mister/Teacher etc.
This entire line is essentially an insult formed from a dual meaning method of creating couplets. The story behind it is a person was trying to insult a teacher(先生) by insinuating that he was a bastard. To which he replied the following:
[2] “诗书易，礼春秋，皆是正经，何必问及老子！”
(Shī shū yì lǐ chūnqiū xǔduō jīngzhuàn hébì wèn lǎozi)
“Poetry, Documents, Geomancy, Rites and Annals. All are classics, is there a need to ask Confucius?”
诗书易，礼春秋(Poetry, Documents, Geomancy, Rites and Annals) are all confucian classics:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Books_and_Five_Classics
正经 is saying that they are all classics but also has the dual meaning of being proper.
老子 (Confucius or Laozi) is also the way a person refers to himself in a slightly haughty manner.
[3] Usually, the derogative term in Chinese for a cunning old man/woman is old demon. It has the connotation of why aren’t dead yet even though you’re already so old.
Credits:
