Chinglish: No more ‘chicken without sex life’

Eating out in Beijing has always been confusing for foreigners. Many have complained about dishes that on being translated to English read ‘Chicken without sex life’ or ‘Red burned lion head’. But that confusion will soon be over with the government’s translation of 3,000 traditional food items.

Eating out in Beijing has always been confusing for foreigners. Many have complained about dishes that on being translated to English read ‘Chicken without sex life’ or ‘Red burned lion head’. But that confusion will soon be over with the government’s translation of 3,000 traditional food items.

“‘Chicken without sex life’ means ‘tender young chicken’, and ‘red burned lion head’ is just pork ball in brown sauce, according to Xinhua.

But such experiences in Beijing’s eateries will soon be history.

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The municipal office of foreign affairs has published a book of English translations of Chinese dishes, which aims to help restaurants avoid bizarre translations, in a bid to bridge the culture gap with foreign travellers.