The Chinese for "God has eyes!" (老天有眼) (Russia)

I once taught a class this phrase: 

老天有眼 lǎo tiān yǒu yǎn / “old heaven has eyes”

In traditional Chinese thinking, it’s 天 tiān that rules over us mortals.  天 tiān = sky, but in this context, it is Heaven, the ruling authority.  The emperor was the ruler because he had been given the mandate of Heaven to rule over the rest of the population.  (See also blog entry Mandate of Heaven.)

One of the students, Peter, then went off to Russia (on holiday or for work).  He had a horrible time there, finding the service indifferent and the mannerism curt.  The last straw was on the day of his departure when the officials were, he felt, rude and arrogant.

 

After he got back to London, he told me that as he got to the top of the boarding stairs (in those days you had to walk across the tarmac and walk up the pull-away steps), he turned round to face the country as a whole, shook his fist and shouted, “老 天 有 眼!”

He said, “I know they don’t know any Chinese but it made me feel better — to be able to threaten them with the wrath of God.  It was like placing a curse on them.  I walked to my seat with a smile on my face.” 

I still laugh after all these years. 

So when you are feeling helpless (e.g., exploited but can’t fight back), leave it to God: 老天有眼 lǎo tiān yǒu yǎn!

(Russia, 1995)