China in ten words in 2021

What words would you use to describe what's gone on in China in 2021?

I had a go in my weekly newsletter, Slow Chinese 每周漫闻, after nearly one year of publishing every Saturday morning.

From over 1300 words, phrases, slang, idioms, colloquialisms shared over the last year, I put together a list of 21 words covering business, society, social media or politics.

Here are ten words from that list.

1. 杀熟 shāshú?- over-charging existing customers?

• Context:?In July this year, Didi was placed under investigation?by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) for violating laws and regulations relating to the usage of customer data - such as using it to charge existing customers higher prices.

2. 屁滚尿流 pìgǔn niàoliú - sh*t storm; market chaos

• Context: following the announcement of the ‘double reduction policy’ (双减政策 shuāngjiǎn zhèngcè) in July, the education sector fell into chaos. One company hit hard was education business, New Oriental 新东方 xīndōngfāng. This idiom was used to describe the?free-fall of its Hong Kong listed stocks in aftermath of the policy announcement.

3. 刮骨疗毒 guāgǔ liáodú?- a drastic solution is required

• Context: In August, a female employee at Alibaba alleged she was forced to drink at a business dinner, groped by a client and sexually assaulted by her boss. A protest in a company canteen and a viral?essay pressured Ali into eventually taking action.?According to media reports, Ali was sick and in need of a drastic solution. But based on the eventual outcome of the allegations, it would appear that much more bone scraping is needed at Ali.
• Backstory: Idiom from the Three Kingdoms period. The General, Guān Yǔ 关羽, on being hit by a poisonous arrow needed a ‘magic doctor’ to remove the poison by cutting through his flesh to scrape it from his bone. Ouch!

4. 吃人血馒头 chī rén xiě mántou?- taking advantage of other people’s suffering

• Context: In June, the company?Kangqiao Real Estate, took advantage of people’s suffering, leveraging the catastrophic floods?in Henan as an advertising opportunity.?
• Backstory: the literal translation, 'eating steamed buns soaked in human-blood', was apparently a thing, used in traditional Chinese medicine. The phrase has evolved to mean taking advantage of others’ misfortune.

5. 佛媛 fóyuán?- ‘fake buddhist socialites’

• Context: In October,?we explored this new online trend in China,?of young women dressing in Buddhist clothing, taking selfies at Buddhist sites and sharing on social media.?
• Backstory: 名媛 míng yuán means ‘notable female celebrity.’ 媛 yuán has taken on a negative meaning - a fake, an exhibitionist, someone shallow. According to?Sixth Tone, yuán?has been distorted to fit a sexist narrative, allowing it to be used to satirize, deride, and insult young women.

6. 一粒老鼠屎坏了一锅粥 yī lì lǎoshǔ shǐ huàile yīguōzhōu?- ‘one rat sh*t ruined the pot of porridge’

• Context: In June,?a student from Hebei was caught cheating during his Gao Kao exam using the app, 小猿搜题 (Little Monkey Search Questions), to find answers to maths questions in his test.?
• Related: ‘One bad apple’?(‘rotten’ in Chinese - 烂苹果) is someone who creates problems or causes trouble for others, leading them astray. But, a Chinese rat shit is someone that spoils the whole environment for everyone else. Slightly different.

7. 笋 sǔn?- ‘bamboo shoots’ - damaging, harsh

• Context: in November rumours were circulating online that?Dalian Wanda Group chairman, Wáng Jiànlín (王健林), had died. This rumour was quickly squashed by Wanda.
• Related:?夺笋 duó sǔn?- Internet slang which sounds the same as 多损 - ‘so harsh.’

8. 彩虹屁 cǎihóng pì?- ‘rainbow farts’ or excessive online flattery

• Context: In November,?China's market regulator (SAMR) published draft rules?in its continuing campaign to sort unfair competition in the Internet sector. One of the problems, according to some netizens, is the excessive flattery of some celebs by their fans.

9. 薇机四伏 wēi jī sìfú?‘Viya is dominating everywhere’ (or, more accurately now, Viya is nowhere....)

• Context: live-streamers,?Lǐ Jiāqí (Austin Li) and Wēi Yà (Viya) have got so big, Netizens invented two idioms to describe their power?(and/or precariousness…) taking their names and dropping them into well-known idioms. In Viya’s case,?危机四伏?wéijī sìfú, ‘threatened by a growing crisis.’ With a nickname like that, it’s not that surprising that Viya has since been done for tax evasion.?
• Related: 琦虎难下 qíhǔ nánxià?for Austin Li, an adaption of the idiom?骑虎难下?- ‘riding the tiger and hard to get off’ which you might translate ‘Austin Li’s uncontrollable success.’ But in the Year of the Tiger, and a nickname like this, Austin may also have a difficult time ahead.

10. 何不食肉糜 hébù shí ròumí?- why can’t they eat meat porridge? ‘Out of touch’

• Context: In June, Zhu Lieyu (朱列玉), an NPC Delegate who called for the three-child policy years ago,?suggested that women should have three-year maternity leave to encourage more families to have more kids. This phrase was the top comment on social media in response to Zhu’s proposal - saying he was out of touch with reality.?
• Backstory: It’s a story of Emperor Hui (晋惠帝 Jìn huì dì) of the Jin Dynasty (266 to 420 AD). When asked what to do about his starving subjects, he suggested they eat meat porridge (肉糜?ròumí), which for him was cheap food, but totally unaffordable for his people. The phrase is used to criticise politicians who are out of touch with reality. The equivalent English idiom is from the French: ‘Let them eat cake’. The French is ‘Qu'ils mangent de la brioche’, attributed to Marie-Antoinette, the queen of France during the French Revolution.
• Related: 一刀切 yīdāoqiē?- ‘one size fits all’; out of touch [policies] - another common way to criticise government policy that’s out of touch.

For the full list of 21 words, phrases and slang, including example sentences, see my Substack post:

• China in 2021 in 21 words

Which ones would you add? What's missing? What are your favourite Chinese words from 2021?

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