Writing Exercise 303 – I BROKE MY BOWL! This morning, I accidentally broke the bowl that I had used for more than eight years. I did not grab it tightly when I took it from the cabinet, so it slipped off my hand and fell on the table, then it broke into two pieces. In our culture, bowls have significant meanings. First, we usually use bowls to serve rice, which is our main food. That’s why the bowls are also called rice bowls(饭碗). Imagine how you could eat meals without your bowl? How could you survive without food to support your body? Breaking whichever bowls or dishes is unlucky. People don’t need to despair when they do this. I did times when I was a child. Since then, I have been taught to remember to say lucky words such as: 落地开花, 富贵又荣华! (The meaning is that the bowls were smashed as fragments once falling on the floor, the fragments look like blooming flowers, which symbolizes wealth, thriving and prosperous.) when I did it. So say落地开花, 富贵又荣华once it happens to you. Second, a rice bowl is a metaphor for a job, a business or something like that. We describe those people who are fired or lose jobs losing a rice bowl. Imagine that they have no income to bring bread home after losing a job. We also describe civil servants in our country having iron rice bowls(铁饭碗), because they have a well-paid job and will never worry about being fired, have all types of benefits, such as free medical service, all official holidays and great retirement remuneration. There is also a way to rescue it when you break your bowls. “To buy a new bowl is bigger than the broken one, but it is not the bigger the better, the perfect one is that the new bowl is a bit bigger than the previous one. That’s because you still have choices when breaking it again.” Said the augurs. So I have to buy a beautiful new bowl.

Writing Exercise 303 – I BROKE MY BOWL! This morning, I accidentally broke the bowl that I had used for more than eight years. I did not grab it tightly when I took it from the cabinet, so it slipped off my hand and fell on the table, then it broke into two pieces. In our culture, bowls have significant meanings. First, we usually use bowls to serve rice, which is our main food. That’s why the bowls are also called rice bowls(饭碗). Imagine how you could eat meals without your bowl? How could you survive without food to support your body? Breaking whichever bowls or dishes is unlucky. People don’t need to despair when they do this. I did times when I was a child. Since then, I have been taught to remember to say lucky words such as: 落地开花, 富贵又荣华! (The meaning is that the bowls were smashed as fragments once falling on the floor, the fragments look like blooming flowers, which symbolizes wealth, thriving and prosperous.) when I did it. So say落地开花, 富贵又荣华once it happens to you. Second, a rice bowl is a metaphor for a job, a business or something like that. We describe those people who are fired or lose jobs losing a rice bowl. Imagine that they have no income to bring bread home after losing a job. We also describe civil servants in our country having iron rice bowls(铁饭碗), because they have a well-paid job and will never worry about being fired, have all types of benefits, such as free medical service, all official holidays and great retirement remuneration. There is also a way to rescue it when you break your bowls. “To buy a new bowl is bigger than the broken one, but it is not the bigger the better, the perfect one is that the new bowl is a bit bigger than the previous one. That’s because you still have choices when breaking it again.” Said the augurs. So I have to buy a beautiful new bowl.

Writing Exercise 303 – I BROKE MY BOWL! This morning, I accidentally broke the bowl that I had been using for more than eight years. I did not hold it tightly enough when I took it from the cabinet, so it slipped out of my hand, fell on the table, and broke into two pieces. In our culture, bowls have significant meanings. First, we usually use bowls to serve rice, which is our main food. That’s why the bowls are also called rice bowls(饭碗). Can you imagine how you could eat meals without your bowl? How could you survive without food to support your body? Breaking bowls or dishes is unlucky. However, people don’t need to despair when they do it. I did it several times when I was a child. Since then, I have been taught to remember to say lucky words such as: 落地开花, 富贵又荣华! (The meaning is that the bowls were smashed into fragments, and when falling on the floor, the fragments look like blooming flowers, which symbolizes wealth and prosperity.) when I break one. So say落地开花, 富贵又荣华 if it happens to you. Second, a rice bowl is a metaphor for a job, a business or something like that. We describe those people who are fired or lose their jobs as losing a rice bowl. Imagine that they have no income to bring bread home after losing their job? We also describe civil servants in our country as having iron rice bowls(铁饭碗), because they have a well-paid job and will never have to worry about being fired; have all types of benefits, such as free medical service; get all official holidays; and also receive a large pension. There is also a way to still be lucky when you break your bowl. “Buy a new bowl which is bigger than the broken one, but it is not the bigger the better, the perfect one is when the new bowl is just a bit bigger than the previous one. That’s because you will still have choices when breaking it again.” Said the augurs. So I have to buy a beautiful new bowl.