TFv02 CH 19 smoke (annotated)

Annotations for smoke from Into the Forest.

## Page 452

**Five Chambers**

?

**picture**

sun

## Page 453

**malu**

shame

**chiak chow**

eating grass

**pang chui lao**

"let the water flow", meaning "forget about it"

**calyx**

where jingjing lives

**diam**

quiet

## Page 454

**chia lat**

difficult

## Page 456

**Vasuki**

a naga (a cobra deity), and a nagaraja ("King of the
nāga"), one of the King serpents of Hindu and Buddhist mythology. He is a
 great king of the nagas and has a gem (Nagamani) on his head. Manasa,
another naga, is his sister. Vasuki is Shiva's (The destroyer) Snake.
Vasuki is known in Chinese and Japanese mythology as being one of the
"eight Great Naga Kings.

Vasuki is famous for coiling around the neck of Lord Shiva. Lord
Shiva blessed Vasuki and wore him as an ornament. The most famous legend
 in Hinduism in which Vasuki took part was the incident of Samudra
manthan, the churning of the ocean of milk. In this legend, Vasuki
allowed the devas (gods) and the asuras (demons) to bind him to Mount
Mandara and use him as their churning rope to extract the ambrosia of
immortality from the ocean of milk

## Page 458

**Marina Bay Sands**

with infinity pool (like the one mentioned by football player?)

**qi zao ba zao**

early morning

**pah chiao**

literally "beat bird". Squinting, not seeing clearly

**ropes snake to counter**

ropes preventing entrance

**boh lui liao**

no money

**changi**

change

**tzai si**

mm tzai si - ignorant of death, brave

**bodoh**

dumb

**kena rotan**

corporal punishment

**ya ya papaya**

an arrogant person

## Page 459

**ke belakang pusing**

rotate, turn around, escape, flee

**уже уходим. Hе прёт**

I'm leaving. No luck.

**ku dé ta**

restaurant on Marina Bay Sands roof

## Page 460

**yang-or**

love, darling

**wah piang**

damn, wow

**armani**

character from the movie 15

**15**

 a 2003 Singaporean cult film about teenage gangsters in the Singapore suburbs. Directed by Royston
Tan. The film stars three real-life juvenile gangsters, all aged 15,
giving an accurate depiction of Chinese teenage gang-life in the
Singapore suburbs

**kia ka lau sai**

? probably something like scared shitless. Only 6
google hits, interestingly one of them mentioning Anwar Ibrahim, a real
life malaysian politician in prison for sodomy! I wonder if MZD used
these words to bring us to this link....

**melvin lee, shaun tan**

actors from the movie 15

## Page 462

**saht saht boh chioh**

The ultimate in coolness or grooviness - literally: so cool that there is no smile

**sayang**

love, used as „what a pity“ - “I see them throw away so much food, I always feel damn sayang like that.”

**pui chao nuah**

"to spit smelly spittle"., be angry

## Page 463

**yau mo gau chor?**

did you make a mistake?

**gostun**

go astern

## Page 464

**mangkuk**

stupid, brainless

**ah beng**

An unsophisticated Chinese boy, usually Hokkien.
Stereotypically, he speaks gutter hokkien and likes neon-coloured
clothes, spiky, moussed hair and accessories such as handphones or
pagers, all of which are conspicuously displayed. He also likes to
squat, even when a seat is available

**pynthon, old man**

? a memory or a dream? was jingjing abused

## Page 466

**an chua**

what’s up?

**ah kah liao**

good friends

## Page 468

**hum pah lang**

every

**tup pai**

always

## Page 469

**up lorry lor**

up the lorry - very bad outcome, lor - alas

**siao liao**

gone crazy

**lan lan**

penis penis, means have no other choice

## Page 476

**chinese**

see page 455

## Reader's Guide Questions:

***16. Volume 1 introduced us to Jingjing’s “Pontianak” Monster Card (TFv1, p. 529), and Volume 2 includes “Tanngrisner” (p. 156) and “Vasuki” (p. 456). We’re told that Jingjing keeps his card deck in a sealed bag and opens it “tenderly”—revealing the “comfort of years.” Why do you think these cards hold such significance for him?***