# Help translating couple of Chinese nuclear test charts/photos? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 16, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-translating-couple-of-chinese-nuclear-test-charts-photos/661108 "2013-06-16T04:35:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-translating-couple-of-chinese-nuclear-test-charts-photos/661108/1 "2013-06-16T04:35:42Z")
I was wondering if I could get a little help with one of my weird hobbies—namely, translating a little chart of Chinese nuclear tests, a couple of photo captions, and a museum plaque? Google or Babelfish don’t help, I’m afraid, as they’re graphics, not text. (And before anyone asks, I found these just through “normal” web searching.) The chart, [here](http://www.fyjs.cn/bbs/attachments/Mon_1208/27_6809_edbdb4b44ba21ab.jpg)…I can at least partially decipher. Column two is dates, column three is weapon yields (in deka-kilotons, apparently, oddly enough); and column five seems to be the aircraft model used in the test (H-6’s and Q-5s), with aircraft serial number in a couple of cases. The [second](http://www.fyjs.cn/bbs/attachments/Mon_1208/27_6809_c74869f3486ecd9.jpg)…is the blue text overlayed on some photos of atomic bomb casings in a Chinese museum. I think the “1:1” in the captions might simply be part of a “1:1 scale model” notation. The [last one](http://img8.itiexue.net/1261/12614888.jpg)…is apparently from a plaque in front of a Chinese nuclear weapon casing, at an unknown display. All that I can read is the “1955,” which is around the year of the start of the PRC nuclear program. So…can anyone help? ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-translating-couple-of-chinese-nuclear-test-charts-photos/661108/2 "2013-06-17T21:46:17Z")
I…believe I’m allowed the customary single “bump” for my whacko question, right? :smack: (Note to self: Put the word “nipple” in the title of next thread. That outta bring 'em in.) ---
**Author:** ![aioniosfilos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@aioniosfilos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aioniosfilos)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-translating-couple-of-chinese-nuclear-test-charts-photos/661108/3 "2013-06-18T07:17:01Z")
Your best bet is going to a Chinese/ English chat room and asking someone to help you. Now it will be tricky but you can find it! [Chat Rooms: Online International Chatrooms](http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/textchat.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-translating-couple-of-chinese-nuclear-test-charts-photos/661108/4 "2013-06-18T09:25:59Z")
Or just wait a while and one Agency or another will get in touch. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-translating-couple-of-chinese-nuclear-test-charts-photos/661108/5 "2013-06-18T13:25:32Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Column two is dates, column three is weapon yields (in deka-kilotons, apparently, oddly enough) [..] I’m not sure if you’re serious about thinking it odd, but it’s perfectly normal to count in multiples of 10^4 in Chinese rather than multiples of 10^3. Of course, that sometimes leads to odd conversations with my Chinese friends. “There’s a new movie out that cost $10 billion to make! No wait, $10 million. No wait…”