Sifu has which means “father”. Does anyone know if there is a specific character for a female Sifu or do both men and women use the same character???
[QUOTE=Phil Redmond;1163180]Sifu has which means “father”. Does anyone know if there is a specific character for a female Sifu or do both men and women use the same character???[/QUOTE]
a female sifu is still a sifu… but I do not know about the character.
a
joy
[QUOTE=Vajramusti;1163184]---------------------------------------------
a female sifu is still a sifu… but I do not know about the character.
a
joy[/QUOTE]
After all these years I never even thought about the character being male specific. 
[QUOTE=Phil Redmond;1163190]all these years I never thought [/QUOTE]
Phil,
Don’t be too hard on yourself. All new things take time 
BTW, I am moving tomorrow thought you were going to help 
Would this be of help?
http://www.orientaloutpost.com/shufa.php?q=sifu
I recalled reading a similar discussion, but I can’t remember the other characters off hand. Maybe they were the same as listed on the site.
From what I know, it’s the same, as in “teacher father.”
Your Sifu’s wife is “Si Mo”, which means “teacher mother.”
But if your sifu is female, which you call “teacher father”, I have no idea what to call her husband 
I would imagine that informally you would just call them ‘uncle’ (suk or bak ). If they were significantly older than you then perhaps gung ().
Slightly more formal, I would favour si jeung () since he is the husband () of your female sifu. This follows the convention in normal familial relationships - your uncles by marriage would be gu jeung () or yee jeung () (husband of paternal and maternal aunt respectively). I can find similar suggestions via Google but nothing really authoritative.
[QUOTE=CFT;1163209]I would imagine that informally you would just call them ‘uncle’ (suk or bak ). If they were significantly older than you then perhaps gung ().
Slightly more formal, I would favour si jeung () since he is the husband () of your female sifu. This follows the convention in normal familial relationships - your uncles by marriage would be gu jeung () or yee jeung () (husband of paternal and maternal aunt respectively). I can find similar suggestions via Google but nothing really authoritative.[/QUOTE]
Chee- si jeung sounds good. Thanks as always for your help.
joy
What would you call her monkey’s uncle? j/k
Joy is correct
[QUOTE=Vajramusti;1163184]---------------------------------------------
a female sifu is still a sifu… but I do not know about the character.
a
joy[/QUOTE]
There is a female term - [I]shimu /I - but that is used to refer to the wife of a male master. A female master generally adopts the title shifu. I imagine that this custom is a Confucian remnant - a male dominance construct. To make matters more confusing, the husband of a female master is usually called shifu too.
[QUOTE=GeneChing;1163272]There is a female term - [I]shimu /I - but that is used to refer to the wife of a male master. A female master generally adopts the title shifu. I imagine that this custom is a Confucian remnant - a male dominance construct. To make matters more confusing, the husband of a female master is usually called shifu too.[/QUOTE]
Wonderful response. Thanks, Gene!
[QUOTE=Runlikehell;1163197]Would this be of help?
http://www.orientaloutpost.com/shufa.php?q=sifu
I recalled reading a similar discussion, but I can’t remember the other characters off hand. Maybe they were the same as listed on the site.[/QUOTE]
[B[SIZE=“4”][SIZE=“5”]][/SIZE][/SIZE][/B] This is the character used use for any Sifu except your own.
You would use [SIZE=“5”][/SIZE] for your own Sifu. Thx, for the info. I’m going to pass this link on. I learned something…
[QUOTE=Runlikehell;1163197]Would this be of help?
http://www.orientaloutpost.com/shufa.php?q=sifu
I recalled reading a similar discussion, but I can’t remember the other characters off hand. Maybe they were the same as listed on the site.[/QUOTE]
[SIZE=“5”][/SIZE] This is the character used use for any Sifu except your own. You would use [SIZE=“5”][/SIZE] for your own Sifu. Good info. Thx, I’m going to pass this link on.
[QUOTE=imperialtaichi;1163204]From what I know, it’s the same, as in “teacher father.”
Your Sifu’s wife is “Si Mo”, which means “teacher mother.”
But if your sifu is female, which you call “teacher father”, I have no idea what to call her husband [/QUOTE]
Good point.
[QUOTE=GeneChing;1163272]There is a female term - [I]shimu /I - but that is used to refer to the wife of a male master. A female master generally adopts the title shifu. I imagine that this custom is a Confucian remnant - a male dominance construct. To make matters more confusing, the husband of a female master is usually called shifu too.[/QUOTE]
In Cantonese is Si-Mo. I agree Gene, the si-dai, si-hing, si-je, etc., familial terms have their roots in Confucianism. I had to do a short thesis on the subject.
You say Mo. I say Mu.
That also accounts for the difference in . Cantonese say si. Mandarin says shi. The most dramatic pronunciation shift is with elder brother (). Cantonese pronounce this as hing. Mandarin says xiong. It’s the same character however.
[QUOTE=Phil Redmond;1163284] This is the character used use for any Sifu except your own. You would use for your own Sifu. Good info. Thx, I’m going to pass this link on.[/QUOTE] Excellent point, Phil. In the first example, means ‘teacher’, while means ‘father’. More properly, [I]fuqin /I means ‘father’. In the same fashion, muqin () means ‘mother’. Both fu are pronounced the same, so there’s no difference when spoken, only when written.
[QUOTE=Phil Redmond;1163284][SIZE=“5”][/SIZE] This is the character used use for any Sifu except your own. You would use [SIZE=“5”][/SIZE] for your own Sifu. Good info. Thx, I’m going to pass this link on.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for that Phil.
[QUOTE=Runlikehell;1163369]Thanks for that Phil.[/QUOTE]
You’re very welcome my WC brother.
Good to know. Somewhat embarassing, considering our boxing is supposed to be pioneered by women
[QUOTE=Happy Tiger;1164441]Good to know. Somewhat embarassing, considering our boxing is supposed to be pioneered by women :)[/QUOTE]
That was just a myth. No women could come up with such a system. And besides, were women even allowed to do gung fu then? Or be sifu?