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Hong Kong Public Libraries Event WebpageMessy Shelter
First published: 06th July 2018
Hong Kong Public Libraries are promoting their events with the catch-phrase "Enjoy good summer reads with renowned scholars in this beans canopy library." I wonder what that means. A canopy (a cover or shelter) constructed from beans would be messy and structurally unsafe.
It is inviting us to meet people (renowned scholars) in this thing, so it must be some sort of venue. The noun appears to be 'library', and 'beans canopy' is a qualification of the noun. Is it a library for keeping and organising, not books, but bean canopies? Maybe it is something to do with the popular comedy character Mr. Bean, who has been seen in a library?
Updated: 12th July 2018
Hong Kong Public Libraries' Miss Michelle BUTT has responded for Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, writing:
The “Hong Kong Literature Festival” has been held by the Hong Kong Public Libraries since 1997 in celebration of literary achievements and efforts in the territory and to arouse the public’s interest in local Chinese Literature. This Festival is among the leading regional events dedicated to the appreciation of Chinese literature.
The “beans canopy library” is to describe a reading scene to enjoy good literary works in the library. As the programme title of "Good Read Series" in Chinese is “豆棚說書” ("Dou Peng Shuo Shu"), which means that “Chitchat in Beans Canopy”. The idea comes from a Chinese classical fiction, namely “豆棚閒話” (“Dou Peng Sin Hua”). In ancient China, people loved gathering together to read and share literary works. Especially in summer, they always told stories in turn and enjoyed good reads with scholars under the beans canopy. In consideration that such reading scene in ancient China is also suitable to be the programme name, we decided that the programme name in English as "Good Read Series" whereas in Chinese as“豆棚說書” and provided a programme description of "Enjoy good summer reads with renowned scholars in this beans canopy library".
Translation of idiomatic phrases is always difficult, but in this case the book Idle Talk under the Bean Arbor: A Seventeenth-Century Chinese Story Collection offers a better translation of "beans canopy": arbour. An arbour is a garden feature consisting of a wooden bench seat with a roof, usually enclosed by lattice panels forming a framework for climbing plants. That would be an excellent venue for a summer literary gathering.