Displaying my feeble knowledge of Chinese

Posted by Sappho on August 19th, 2005 filed in News and Commentary, Sexuality

There’s a story in Wired that has me scratching my head right now; it’s called No Sex Please, We’re Repressed, and it’s about a woman whose Internet posts proved too racy for the Chinese government:

Floozie or role model, attention monger or free spirit? For months, China has been debating what to make of its latest internet-born star, a young woman known nationwide as Furong Jiejie, aka Sister Furong.

Is this particular word for “sister” the way Chinese would address a nun, as in English? Because I know it as the Chinese word for “elder sister.” Chinese is like that; your elder sister is called by a different term from your younger sister (who would be “meimei”), and your elder brother and younger brother also have different terms. If I remember right, your aunts and uncles even all get distinguished depending on whether they are on your father’s side or your mother’s side, and whether they are older or younger than your parent. So, I have this image of sexy photos posted of someone whose name not only conveys that she’s your close relative, but that she’s your older family member, the one who might be expected to admonish you about your behavior.

On the other hand, if it’s also the way of addressing a nun, I suppose it’s no different from Sister Boom Boom.