Sichuan people are known to have a keen sense of humor and to know how to enjoy life. They even crack jokes about their earthquake experiences. Following are selective translations of some of their jokes, collected by SMS and bloggers, via caobianwangshi blog:
* A friend told me that he was riding his bicycle at the moment [of the earthquake] at the city’s central square, and saw Chairman Mao [statue] waving to him… He was so shocked he fell off his bike, and then realized it was an earthquake.
* An old man in Beichuan, dragged out by a Russian rescue team. The first thing he said was “This is one hell of an earthquake, it shook me all the way to a foreign country!”
* Four old ladies were in the middle of playing a game of mahjong, and noticed the table was shaking badly. They did not say anything, went to find some cardboard, put it underneath the table and continued their game.
* Earthquake couplets (对联):
“People in the disaster zone have no house to live in, and are waiting for things to eat and drink during the aftershocks.
People in Chengdu have a house but dare not live in it, eating and drinking while waiting for the aftershocks.
No one is happy”