Dragon Fly, Tiger Jump. Hustle and Bustle

By Xah Lee. Date: .

Chinese: Jump 跃躍, Dragon 龙龍, and Hustle and Bustle

Another abomination of simplication: 跃=躍 . For example: 跳跃, 社区活跃, 龍騰虎躍.

It's funny that Google Translate translates 龍騰虎躍 to “Hustle and bustle”.

Literally, each char in 龍騰虎躍 means “Dragon, rise, Tiger, Jump”. Together, they mean “dragons are rising and tigers are jumping.”. In Chinese culture, Dragon and Tiger are figuratively the kings of animals. Dragon being the king of the sky, and tiger the earth (or snake, if dark connotation is desired). The phrase 龍騰虎躍 is used to describe excitement and activity. So, “Hustle and bustle” is quite right.

Note that 龙=龍. I think it's also a bad simplification. The char is quite botched.

Now let's checkout 腾=騰. This is a good simplication because it is systematic, based on the component simplification 马=馬.