Mal's "stateroom"; meaning of Chinese characters on wall?

POSTED BY: Declan
UPDATED: Friday, September 16, 2005 04:40
VIEWED: 10254
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DECLAN

Wednesday, September 7, 2005 7:23 PM

I was just watching the Firefly pilot "Serenity" on DVD again last night.

At about 36:18, after Mal, in his stateroom/cabin/room/quarters, has used the luxurious facilities and washed his hands, he turns away and heads to the ladder.

Behind him there are 3 large Chinese characters mounted vertically on the wall. The lower one is obscured by something, maybe a plant.

Does anyone know what the unobscured characters mean?

Thanks, in advance, for any help and insight.

***************
"'Course, there are other schools of thought."

FFYING2

Friday, September 9, 2005 4:54 AM

I can't figure out the hidden character, but the first two are 萬壽 (wan4shou4), which could be "Long live X."

More at my site:
http://fireflychinese.home.att.net/visible1.html

Ying

Firefly Funsite http://fireflyfunsite.home.att.net
Firefly-Serenity Chinese Pinyinary http://fireflychinese.home.att.net

Browncoats.com http://www.browncoats.com

DECLAN

Friday, September 9, 2005 2:26 PM

Dear Ying:

Thank you very much for your response.

And, your site: WOW! I've bookmarked it for any future written Chinese questions.

Quote:
Originally posted by ffying2:
I can't figure out the hidden character, but the first two are 萬壽 (wan4shou4), which could be "Long live X."

The third, hidden character seems to hold the key to the meaning. Which makes this all the more fascinating. What saying is important enough to Mal that he would hang it in his room?

I'm slowly working my way back through the DVD's in preparation for the BDM. Next time I see Mal's cabin (Our Mrs. Reynold's for sure) I will have to see if the obscured character is visible.

Thanks again.

***************
"'Course, there are other schools of thought."

EVIESERENITY

Friday, September 16, 2005 4:40 AM

I watched the DVD again, and in "Serenity: The 10th Character", there was a bright, clear shot of Mal's quarter, and the first two words are very clearly visible, while the third character is still hidden behind the plant.

I had an amazing discovery, that ,the first character, instead of 萬(wan4), was actually 囍(xi3), a colligraphical variation of the word 喜(xi3, happiness), although the character looked very much like 萬(wan4) in Our Mrs. Reynolds.
By having a couple of "喜" in union, the happiness is doubled. This word is always used in wedding gifts and decorations to celebrate the union and happiness of newly weds.

So here is my speculation. Chinese says 福,祿,壽,喜 (or 囍). (fu2, lu4, shou4, xi3), and they means blessing, fortune, longevity, and happiness respectably. The four character often come together in traditional decorations, in characters or in symbols. In Mal's room, the order was reversed, starting from 囍(xi3), and then 壽(shou4). I think the decor came in four pieces, and the third one, even a missing fourth one, are likely to be 祿(lu4) and 福(fu2).