THOSE CRAZY CHINESE

amputate thing hand

The news of Akmal Sheikh's execution has spread far and wide across the internet (although strangely, not so widely in the Chinese internet...), and many people are discussing the rights and wrongs of the execution of an allegedly mentally ill man. This week's crazy chinese word is posted in reference to this event - in modern times as in the past, China has been fond of summary executions to maintain the rule of law. And yet, the people charged with the executions carry a very simple and literal name, understating their role - the "amputate thing hand" (刽子手), which translates as an executioner. Quite common in many Chinese words, the last character 'hand' is used to denote a person who is skilled at something or a professional. So here, the word for executioner means 'a person who is skilled at cutting things off'. How brilliant!