Utterly lost in translation

Lost it? Need to find it again? Just follow the sign.

This is a sign from the burial mound of the first emperor (Qin Shih Huang) in Xi’an. The Chinese characters in this sign read minzu jiliang. Minzu is accurately translated as national. Jiliang could be translated as either back or spine. So, the translation is rather accurate. But what does it mean?

I asked a linguist. His explanation turned out to provide an interesting insight into modern Chinese culture.

Advertisements