Mr. About-the Same

Do you know who is the most well-known person in China?
The name of this person is a household word all over the country. His name is Cha
and his given name, Buduo, which altogether mean “About the Same”. He is a native of
every province, every country and every village in this country. You must have seen or
heard about this person. His name is always on the lips of everybody because he is
representative of the whole Chinese nation.
Mr. Cha Buduo has the same physiognomy as you and I. He has a pair of eyes, but
doesn’t see clearly. He has a pair of ears, but doesn’t hear well. He has a nose and a mouth,
but lacks a keen sense of smell and taste. His brain is none too small, but he is weak in
memory and sloppy in thinking.
He often says: “whatever we do, it’s OK to be just about right. What’s the use of
being precise and accurate:”
One day, when he was a child, his mother sent him out to buy her some brown sugar,
but he returned with some white sugar instead. As his mother scolded him about it, he
shook his head and said, “Brown sugar or white sugar, aren’t they about the same?”
One day in school, the teacher asked him, “Which province borders Hebei on the
west?” He answered, “Shaanxi,” The teacher corrected him, “You are wrong. It’s Shanxi,
Not Shaanxi.” He retorted, “Shaanxi or Shanxi, aren’t they about the same?”
Later Mr. Cha Buduo served as an assistant at a money shop. He could write and
calculate all right, but his mathematics were/was often faulty. He would mistake the
Chinese character 十（meaning 10）for 千（meaning 1000）or vice versa. The shop owner
was infuriated and often took him to task. But he would only explain apologetically with a
grin, “The character 千differs from 十in merely having one additional short stroke. Aren’t
they about the same?”
One day, he wanted to go to Shanghai by train on urgent business. But he arrived at
the railway station unhurriedly only to find the train already gone, because he was two
minutes late. He stood staring helplessly at the smoke belching from the diminishing train,
and shook his head, “Well, all I can do is leave tomorrow. After all, today and tomorrow
are about the same. But isn’t the railway taking it too seriously? What’s the difference
between departing at 8:30 and 8:32?” He walked home slowly while talking to himself
and kept puzzling over why the train hadn’t waited for him for two minutes more.
One day he suddenly fell ill and immediately told one of his family to fetch Dr. Wang
of East Street. The latter went in hurry, but couldn’t find the physician on East Street. So
he fetched instead Veterinarian Wang of West Street. Mr. Cha Buduo, lying on his sickbed,
knew that a wrong person had been brought home. But, what with pain and worry, he
could ill afford to wait any longer. So he said to himself, “Luckily, Vet Wang is about the
same as Dr. Wang. Why not let Vet Wang have a try?” there- upon, the veterinarian
walked up to his bed to work on him as if he were a cow. Consequently, Mr. Cha Buduo
kicked the bucket before an hour was out.