This is the first time mathematicians from mainland China have won the award.

The two winners are Wang Hong (王虹) and Deng Yu (邓煜). They also happen to be former classmates, having studied mathematics at Peking University (北京大学) in the 2007 cohort.

On the night the news broke, Peking University lit up its Boya Pagoda (博雅塔) with the message:

“Congratulations to Wang Hong and Deng Yu.

Congratulations to Chinese mathematics.”

祝贺王虹邓煜。祝贺中国数学。

The story began trending online, and at first it was all good news for China.

Maths, which is typically not a trending topic, shot to the top of the hot-search lists on social media. It was a propaganda win: celebrating homegrown, world-beating talent, and a moment of national pride.

But as more details about Wang and Deng surfaced, the feel-good celebration turned into a heated debate about the pitfalls of China’s higher education system.

Because it turns out that although the two winners had studied at Peking University (PKU), they each spent the following decade overseas, furthering their studies and building their careers outside of China.

Wang left PKU for France, and later moved on to the United States. Deng lasted only two years at PKU before heading to MIT.

In both cases, the prize-winning work was done abroad.

Some reactions online were critical of the pair, viewing research done abroad with suspicion and asking why they had not stayed in China.

Others questioned: if the award-winning work was all done overseas, how much of their achievement can really be chalked up to so-called “Chinese mathematics”?

While others asked a tougher question still, which is:

“If Deng Yu and Wang Hong had stayed in China, could they have achieved the same level of same success?”

如果邓煜、王虹当年留下来，能有今天的成就吗？

As this was unfolding online, Deng and Wang were measured in their own comments in the media, and gracious about their early training.

Deng said his two years at Peking University had given him an "excellent foundation" (极好的基础). And Wang said it was only after she left for France that she realised how "solid" (扎实) her grounding at PKU had been.

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From a young age, Deng Yu was a maths prodigy. As an International Mathematical Olympiad gold medallist, he was nicknamed “Deng the God” (邓神) by his classmates. He arrived at Peking University as national-team champion, and was waved straight into the maths department through “recommended admission” (保送) without ever sitting the gruelling gaokao exams.

Despite his track record, and the preferential treatment that afforded him, Deng didn't even finish his degree at Peking University. Just two years in, he transferred to MIT.

In contrast, Wang Hong grew up in a small town in Guangxi (广西). Unlike Deng, she never entered a maths competition, let alone won one. She missed out on a place at Peking University at first, and only transferred in part way through her degree.

Her experience there was difficult. She says she felt "invisible" (小透明) in a class full of top performers. She finished near the bottom of her year, and was told multiple times she was "not cut out for maths" (不是学数学的料).

Looking back, Wang said of her experience at PKU:

“When I got into the maths department, for the longest time I thought that just being able to survive would be good enough.”

在我进入北大数学系的时候，我一直以为自己能够活下去就已经很好。

Her experience after she moved to France was totally different. A mentor spotted her talent, and gave her the support and confidence which eventually led her to the Fields Medal.

So in the end, neither Wang nor Deng did their prize-winning work in China. This is precisely the question the historian, Ge Jianxiong (葛剑雄), has been raising for years:

“How come our top talent struggles to thrive at home, but takes off as soon as they go abroad?

为什么我们培养的人才在国内发挥不了作用，但是到国外就很快发展起来了？

The problem according to Ge is structural. At many science and maths departments, competition wins drive who gets selected and rewarded at university. The medal-winners get the attention and the pick of supervisors, and those with no medals, like Wang Hong, are sidelined.

Ge Jianxiong says this is a hidden driver of China’s loss of talent.

The state media of course steered clear of this debate altogether, sticking to the “celebrating homegrown talent” narrative.

But one of the WeChat articles we read this week does end on a hopeful note:

“Imagine a day when middle school isn’t defined by shocking depression rates, soul-crushing test drills, and depressed students being excluded from taking the high school entrance exams.

A day when university students care about more than just high-paying jobs, and young academics can freely debate ideas without constantly worrying about their paper counts.

That is the day China becomes a true science superpower.

哪一天，去中学，不再是令人咂舌的抑郁率和比拼刷题，中考前被逼不参加考试；再去高校，如果听到学生不再讨论毕业找什么工作赚多少钱，青椒能够热烈自由交流学术而不用担心发多少篇论文。那时的中国，才是真正的科技强国。

Not sure that’s likely any time soon.

But it is what we’re discussing this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 青椒 qīng jiāo

young academic, early-career academic

现在在非升即走状态下煎熬焦虑的“青椒”，最明白到底什么意思 - Young academics struggling with the pressure and anxiety of the “up-or-out” system understand exactly what it really means. [3]

• Note: this is an abbreviation plus a homophone pun: “young teacher” (青年教师) is shortened to “青教”, which sounds like 青椒

2. 小透明 xiǎo tòu míng

little nobody, overlooked person

发现在强手如林的班上，她只是个小透明 - She felt like a nobody in a class full of top performers. [1]

3. 修成正果 xiū chéng zhèng guǒ

to achieve success, to finally make it

但是，高兴聚焦点是在“中国籍”上，却很少触碰一个实质性的问题——为什么都是在国外才最终“修成正果” - But they fixate on the “Chinese nationality” of the two medalists, while steering clear of the key question — why is it that they only ever finally make it once they are abroad? [3]

4. 持之以恒 chí zhī yǐ héng

to persevere, to persist

唯一能对抗这种担心的，除了持之以恒的努力，就是“对将来能做出成果的盲目自信” - Nothing fights off that self-doubt quite like hard work and a bit of blind faith that you’re going to pull it off eventually. [1]

5. 坐冷板凳 zuò lěng bǎn dèng

to be sidelined, to wait patiently on the sidelines

不仅需要极高的天赋，还需要长期坐冷板凳的耐心 - It requires not only exceptional talent but also the patience to grind away without being recognised. [1]

Consuming the Conversation

Useful Words

6. 功劳 gōng láo

credit, contribution

北大培养，海外获奖：到底是谁的“功劳”？ - Trained in Peking University but won the prize for their overseas work: so who really deserves the credit? [1]

7. 深造 shēn zào

to pursue further studies, to further one’s education

她从北大毕业后远赴法国深造 - After graduating from Peking University, she went to France to pursue further studies. [1]

8. 效力 xiào lì

to serve, to work for

在海外从事科研就是为他国效力 - Doing scientific research overseas means serving a foreign country. [1]

9. 跳级 tiào jí

to skip a grade

她在小学里曾两次跳级，所以一直就比班上同学小两岁 - She skipped two grades in elementary school, so she was always two years younger than her classmates. [1]

10. 扎实 zhā shi

solid, well-grounded

当年在北大接受的数学训练非常扎实 - The mathematical training she received at Peking University provided a solid foundation. [1]

11. 伯乐 bó lè

mentor, someone who recognizes and nurtures talent

直到在法国遇到伯乐，她才开始不再怀疑自己到底适不适合学数学 - It wasn’t until she met her mentor in France that she finally stopped second-guessing whether she was cut out for math. [3]

12. 打气 dǎ qì

to encourage, to cheer someone on

相互鼓舞，不如换个词，“相互打气” - Rather than saying “encourage each other,” a better way to describe it would be “to keep each other’s spirits up”. [3]

Three-character Phrases

13. 工具人 gōng jù rén

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This week we meet Jiang Fangzhou (蒋方舟) who is a famous writer and media personality in China.

She’s known as the “genius girl” (天才少女) whose mother decided she would become a writer from as early as primary school.

Under these high pressure “tiger mum” expectations, from a young age Jiang’s training regime included waking up every day at 4am to write, and a ban on reading children’s books. When Jiang was seven, her mum even told her it was a legal requirement for every child to publish a book before finishing primary school, or they would be arrested.

The high pressure approach worked. Jiang published her first book at the age of nine, and by the age of 12 was writing columns for Southern Metropolis Daily (南方都市报), making her the youngest newspaper columnist in China at the time.

Jiang was admitted to Tsinghua University for her under graduate degree with a 60-point concession on her gaokao score, which is reportedly the first and only time that has happened.

After a stint as deputy editor of Neweekly (新周刊), a respected current affairs magazine, Jiang went on to take a master’s degree in creative writing at Renmin University (中国人民大学) which she completed in 2019. Since then she’s been a regular guest on TV shows, runs her own culture and media business, and is one of the more recognisable literary personalities in China.

But her reputation is now in tatters following accusations of plagiarism.

The controversy began in August 2025, when Tsinghua professor, Xiao Ying (肖鹰) published a lengthy accusation alleging Jiang’s master’s thesis, The Three Identities of Mary Shelley, contained “serious plagiarism and widespread fabrication” (严重抄袭和普遍造假). In April this year, Xiao formally submitted his complaint to Renmin University, which triggered an investigation.

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The story hit social media feeds in early July as the investigation was coming to a conclusion. Under mounting pressure online, Jiang published a rebuttal on July 5. She admitted some “citation irregularities” (引注不规范) in her work, but rejected all accusations of plagiarism.

In a second post, she accused Xiao of “selective whistleblowing” (选择性打假), presuming her guilt from the outset, and then hunting for evidence such as formatting slips to support that narrative:

“If this kind of whistleblowing is allowed to stand, then it is no longer academic oversight, but an instrument of vigilante justice anyone can wield.

Using public scrutiny to settle private scores damages more than my reputation alone. It undermines the credibility of academic oversight itself.”

“如果这样的打假可以成立，那么它就不再是学术监督，而是一件人人可用的私刑工具。把公器用于私怨，损害的不只是我一个人的名誉，而是’学术打假’这四个字的信誉。”

Renmin University were initially supportive of Jiang saying their investigation found no evidence of plagiarism. But a week later, following “new leads provided by netizens” (网友提供的新线索), the university reopened its investigation.

One of those leads came from a Douban user who traced passages in her thesis to a Taiwanese academic journal. Another came from a book blogger who suggested Jiang’s borrowing went well beyond her masters thesis, such as in her 2021 book, The Protagonist (主人公). One essay in that book, according to this online sleuth, closely resembled the work of British historian, Tony Judt, but without referencing it. The blogger describes this kind of plagiarism with the classical Chinese idiom:

“Leading the goat away in passing” (顺手牵羊)

Which means to steal something opportunistically without being noticed.

Eventually, on July 13 Renmin University reversed its original position on Jiang, confirming she had committed "academic misconduct" (学术不端). A statement said her thesis "overlapped" (重合) with a paper published outside the mainland without citation, and that her master's degree had been revoked.

Jiang issued a full public apology on the same day but the damage was done, as one online commentator put it:

“The carefully crafted ‘genius girl’ image that took Jiang over twenty years to build...

Came crashing down on the night of July 13.”

“蒋方舟用了二十多年精心搭建的那座’天才少女’琉璃塔，在2026年7月13日的夜晚，碎了一地。”

The case has sparked a wider debate in China about the boundaries of plagiarism, which are vague, subjective, and difficult to detect even with software.

Recent studies show academic misconduct in China is shifting from obvious word-for-word copying towards something called “hidden academic misconduct” (隐性学术不端) which can be harder to identify and prove.

One common tactic is lifting ideas from papers published outside of China in English or other languages. And through translation, paraphrasing, and reordering, the copying becomes much harder to detect.

“It takes only a few clicks of the mouse to plagiarise an article, but proving plagiarism often means engaging in an endless wild goose chase.”

“抄袭的人只要动动笔，抓抄袭的人可是要跑断腿的。”

So that’s what we’re exploring this week!

Favourite Five

1. 洗稿 xǐ gǎo

article spinning (to disguise plagiarism)

论文投机者如何绕过学术查重机制，发表抄袭、洗稿的内容？ - How do academic opportunists bypass plagiarism checkers to publish plagiarized or recycled content? [1]

2. 开挂 kāi guà

to have an unfair advantage, to be overpowered

一路开挂的人生也有刹车的一天 - Even for someone as unstoppable as she is, life will come to a screeching halt at some point. [3]

• Note: internet slang phrases originally from gaming, meaning to use third party software to gain unfair advantage.

3. 学术不端 xué shù bù duān

academic misconduct

该校文学院2019届硕士毕业生蒋方舟，因其硕士论文构成学术不端，决定撤销其硕士学位 - The university decided to revoke Jiang Fangzhou’s master’s degree after finding academic misconduct in her master’s thesis. [1]

4. 异曲同工 yì qǔ tóng gōng

different in form but equally effective, achieve the same result by different means

他在蒋方舟的其他作品中，陆续发现了更多“异曲同工”之处 - He continued to spot uncanny parallels in Jiang’s other writings. [2]

• Note: used sarcastically in this context.

5. 顺手牵羊 shùn shǒu qiān yáng

to steal something while the opportunity arises, to pocket something casually

这让我不禁怀疑，多少东西是她自己写的，多少东西是顺手牵羊的 - This made me wonder: how much of it did she write herself, and how much was casually lifted from elsewhere? [2]

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Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 打假 dǎ jiǎ

to expose fraud, to debunk

这是作家中，少见的因学术不端问题被“打假” - This is a rare case of a writer being exposed for academic misconduct. [1]

• Related:

  • 造假 zào jiǎ – to fabricate, to falsify

  • 胡编乱造 hú biān luàn zào – to make things up, to fabricate out of thin air

7. 鉴抄 jiàn chāo

plagiarism sleuthing

初代“天才少女”栽在论文鉴抄上，没想到还是被网友锤的 - OG “Prodigy Girl” busted by internet plagiarism sleuths [2]

• Related:

  • 抄袭 chāo xí – to plagiarize, to copy someone else’s work

8. 陨落 yǔn luò

to fall from grace, to come crashing down

随着人大的二次通报，天才作家正式陨落 - Following Renmin University’s second official announcement, the once-celebrated literary prodigy fell from grace once and for all. [1]

9. 查重 chá chóng

to check for plagiarism, to run a similarity check

蒋方舟在硕士论文中，有许多刻意规避查重的投机行为 - In her master’s thesis, Jiang Fangzhou resorted to plenty of tricks to game plagiarism checkers. [1]

• Related:

  • 降重 jiàng chóng – to reduce the similarity score

10. 蹊跷 qī qiao

suspicious, fishy

让他感到其中必有蹊跷 - It made him feel that there must be something fishy going on. [2]

11. 拧巴 nǐng ba

awkward, conflicted

感觉她处于一个很纠结、很拧巴的状态 - She seemed very torn and conflicted. [2]

12. 才女 cái nǚ

talented woman, gifted female scholar

更是对其一直以来营造的“才女”人设的毁灭性打击 - It was also a devastating blow to the “talented woman” image she had carefully cultivated over the years. [3]

• Related:

  • 神童 shén tóng – child prodigy

13. 破格 pò gé

to make an exception, to admit by special consideration

这次破格录取，当然也造成了很大的争议 - This exceptional admission naturally sparked considerable controversy. [3]

Three-character phrases

14. 坐不住 zuò bu zhù

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This newsletter exists to uncover and explain new words and phrases which help understand trends unfolding in China today. And this week we’ve found a cracker of a new phrase to share with you.

It’s linked to how life in China for young people used to follow a predictable script, but is now changing.

From a young age, kids are put through a punishing education. “Chicken blood parents” (鸡娃家长) invest everything into their schooling all the way up to the gruelling “gaokao exams” (高考). University follows, which is just as competitive.

Then comes the search for a stable job, with more and more graduates opting to take “public service exams” (考公) in pursuit of the “iron rice bowl” (铁饭碗). The “pressure to get married” (催婚) sets in, especially for young women. Marriage and buying a home then follows.

Traditionally this has been when adulthood begins for young people in China.

But that is now changing. With millions of graduates each year competing for a shrinking pool of opportunities, the pressure is relentless. Increasing numbers of people in their twenties are ending up as “unfinished kids” (烂尾娃). Some opt out of finding a job altogether and move back in with their parents to “work” as “full-time children” (全职子女). Others rent rooms with friends in the city where they graduated and take underpaid “workhorse” (牛马) jobs. Many also push back on the pressure to get married.

According to one recent survey, half of fresh graduates in China say they lack a clear sense of purpose or direction.

This experience now has a name. It’s a phrase which went viral on the Chinese internet earlier this year, and is explored in a recent article by current affairs magazine, Lifeweek (三联生活周刊).

The article opens with a familiar genre of street interview shared on social media in which passers-by are asked why they’re out on the streets on a normal working day during work hours.

The common answer is:

“I’m going through my Odyssey Years.’”

“我在经历我的奥德赛时期。”

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“Odyssey Years” (奥德赛时期) is a phrase borrowed from English. It’s become one of the biggest buzzwords in China this year. It was first coined back in 2007 by New York Times columnist David Brooks.

Brooks argued that life once had four stages: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. He suggested there are now at least six stages. Before old age comes an “active retirement”. And between adolescence and adulthood sits a decade of wandering, which he called “the Odyssey Years”.

This is a reference to the hero of Homer’s epic, The Odyssey. After the Trojan War, Odysseus, spent ten years enduring endless hardships before finally returning home to his wife and son, by which time he had become a resourceful and weathered man.

Nearly 20 years since it was first coined, “the Odyssey Years’ is now being used as a metaphor for young people in China who spend a decade feeling lost after graduating university.

“Raised in a tightly scripted childhood, today’s youth step into a world defined by uncertainty, trial-and-error, and endless possibilities after graduation.’”

这一代年轻人成长于结构严谨的童年，但毕业后却进入了一个充满不确定性、多样性、探索和尝试的世界。

The sudden popularity of the phrase in China, both on social media and even in the state media, can perhaps be put down to it being a sort of self-comfort. Invoking Odysseus makes the drifting feel less depressing, and offers hope that eventually a destination with be reached, and that everything will be okay.

Of course, many also disagree with this romanticised, propaganda-friendly interpretation. They argue that life in China is just getting worse and there is little or no hope of things improving for them. But nonetheless this phrase has definitely taken off and appears to be here to stay.

Another word has surfaced to explain the feeling of going through the Odyssey Years. It was a relatively uncommon single-character word until around three years ago when it started to become more widely used. That character is 苟 (gǒu) which we translate as “hanging in there”:

“Hanging in there” means knowing deep down that you still haven’t found your place and don’t yet have the ability to achieve the life you want.

“苟”是你心里清楚，自己还没有找到那个位置，还没有能力去实现想要的生活。

“Hanging in there” (苟) is not the same as “lying flat” (躺平), which is more like giving up. Instead, hanging in there, conveys a sense of sticking things out, getting through the “Odyssey Years”, until things improve and a destination is finally reached.

So that’s what we’re exploring this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 漂泊 piāo bó

to drift, to lead a wandering life

社会框架给像她这样“漂泊”的人规划了一个岸 - Societal expectations have built a safe haven for people who are “drifting” through life like her. [2]

• Related:

  • 漂流 piāo liú – to drift, to float

  • 北漂 běi piāo – people who move to Beijing to live and work (especially migrants chasing opportunities)

  • 漂泊期 piāo bó qī – period of wandering, transitional period of drifting through life

2. 游历期 yóu lì qī

period of exploration, period of wandering

这是一段“游历期”，你需要走出去见天地，拓宽认知的边界 - This is a period of wandering, a time to venture out, see the world and challenge your understanding. [3]

3. 三十而立 sān shí ér lì

to be established by the age of thirty, to be settled in life by thirty

在30岁焦虑前徘徊的年轻人，职业与婚育尚未按照社会时钟“正常推进”，无法达成“三十而立”，一切都是“不确定” - Young people are anxious about turning 30, if their career and relationships haven’t hit the milestones of the societal timeline. It means they can’t “get their lives together” by thirty. For them, everything remains up in the air. [2]

4. 定海神针 dìng hǎi shén zhēn

stabilising force, anchor

她找到了自己的定海神针，接受了如奥德赛一般“长久漂流”的状态 - She found her anchor and embraced a permanent state of wandering, much like Odysseus. [2]

5. 奥德赛时期 ào dé sài shí qī

Odyssey Years

现在那些在上班时间游荡的人可能会告诉你，“我在经历我的奥德赛时期。” - Now, those people wandering around on a normal working day might tell you: “I’m going through my Odyssey Years.” [1]

• Related:

  • 成年初显期 chéng nián chū xiǎn qī – emerging adulthood

Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 苟 gǒu

to hang in there, hold on

“苟”是你心里清楚，自己还没有找到那个位置，还没有能力去实现想要的生活 - “Hanging in there” means knowing deep down that you still haven’t found your place and don’t yet have the ability to achieve the life you want. [3]

• Note: originally a concept from gaming.

7. 迷茫 mí máng

confused, lost

许多大学生在毕业后的头几年里，虽然怀揣梦想，却感到迷茫 - Many young people feel lost during the first few years after graduation, even though they have their dreams. [1]

• Related:

  • 迷失 mí shī – to lose one’s way, to feel lost

8. 拼搏 pīn bó

to strive, to fight hard

奋斗岁月的艰辛教会了他们如何拼搏 - The grueling years of struggle have taught them how to keep going. [1]

9. 曲折 qū zhé

twisting, full of setbacks

在前50名受试者中，有45人详细描述了职业道路的艰难和曲折 - Out of the 50 participants, 45 people recounted in detail the struggle and the setbacks they went through in their careers. [1]

• Related:

  • 挣扎 zhēng zhá – to struggle

  • 绕路 rào lù – to take a detour

10. 苦涩 kǔ sè

bitter, bittersweet

他们苦涩又豪迈地把自己长达十年的迷茫期浪漫化为一种史诗般的归乡之旅 - With a mix of bitterness and defiance, they romanticised their decade-long drift into an epic homecoming. [1]

11. 裸辞 luǒ cí

to quit without another job lined up, to resign without a backup plan

当28岁来临时，她发现裸辞导致自己心中的恐惧在不断放大 - As she hit twenty-eight, the reality of quitting her job began to feed a growing sense of dread. [2]

12. 解法 jiě fǎ

solution, way to solve something

张小麦辞职是为了求得一个度过奥德赛时期的解法 - Zhang Xiaomai quit her job in search of a way to get through her Odyssey Years. [2]

13. 馈赠 kuì zèng

gift, blessing

原来迷茫在某种程度上是馈赠，禾晴转变了心态 - Heqing came to realize that feeling lost is a gift to a certain extent, and this changed her mindset. [2]

14. 洒脱 sǎ tuō

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A 20-yuan cup of tea is at the centre of a legal fight with a French luxury giant. The case has divided public opinion in China.

On July 2, a court in Suzhou ruled that Molly Tea (茉莉奶白), one of China’s rising bubble tea brands, had infringed seven registered trademarks belonging to Louis Vuitton. The Shenzhen-based tea company’s logo, a black-and-white four-petal flower, closely resembles LV’s famous and iconic monogram flower.

The court ordered Molly Tea to pay 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) in damages plus 300,000 yuan in legal costs, apologise publicly to LV, and remove all infringing designs.

The story was soon trending on social media, with most voices speaking out in support of the tea brand:

“Who drinks Molly Tea because its logo looks like LV’s?”

“谁喝茉莉奶白是因为logo和LV相似？”

Across social platforms, comment sections were filled with images of Molly Tea order receipts. The brand’s official Douyin account added more than 110,000 followers in a single day.

Another theme in the discussions was how LV's logo is itself borrowed from China, in what is described as "cultural appropriation" (文化挪用). Images circulated online of near-identical designs called the "treasure flower" pattern (宝相花), a stylised floral motif found in Buddhist art during the Tang Dynasty (618–907).

But there were also voices, especially those of legal experts, who agreed with the court’s decision saying that:

The Tang Dynasty treasure flower cannot be used to deny the value of LV’s monogram as a trademark.

LV registered the trademark, and has spent more than a century cultivating a rich brand heritage, so they are legally entitled to protect their assets.

无法根据唐代宝相花来否认LV那朵花作为商业标识的价值。LV注册了商标，花了一百多年时间沉淀了深厚的品牌声誉，有权得到法律的保护。 [1]

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Molly Tea is a latecomer to China’s tea drinks market. Founded in Shenzhen in 2021, it specialises in jasmine-based floral teas. In 2023, the company secured funding which fuelled its rapid expansion, opening over 1,000 stores in 2025 alone.

It now has more than 2,300 stores across China’s top-tier shopping districts, and has opened outlets in New York and Bangkok.

Back in 2024, Molly Tea filed multiple trademark applications for its four-leaf flower design. But they all were rejected with the trademark office citing LV’s existing four-petal marks.

At that time, Molly Tea urgently needed to scale and "tell its story" (讲故事) to investors as a brand on the rise in a highly competitive sector. The cost of changing the logo, in both money and time, seemed to be far greater than any possible future infringement damages.

So the company took a bet and continued to use the logo. This kind of gamble, where a small brand riding on its similarity to a bigger one, is a well trodden path in China. Like the homegrown sportswear brand, Qiao Dan (中国乔丹), which for years traded off its likeness to American brand Air Jordan.

Molly Tea intends to fight the decision. Founder Zhang Bocheng (张伯丞) has said the company will appeal within 15 days, though legal experts believe overturning the ruling is a long shot, and that the best it can realistically hope for is a reduction in damages.

Either way, the future is now more uncertain for the tea brand. While Molly Tea is enjoying a short-term boost in publicity and sales, many observers in China think this won’t last. And the heavy cost of the legal case, along with rebranding thousands of stores, could have a damaging effect on its future growth.

For LV, there is also a question mark: whether winning in court is worth alienating Chinese consumers. Western luxury brands have a poor track record here. In 2022, Dior, part of the same LVMH group, was caught up in controversy over a skirt that appeared to copy the traditional Chinese "horse-face skirt" (马面裙). Dior never acknowledged the resemblance.

But for now at least, LV has won the battle in the courtroom, while Molly Tea is winning in the court of public opinion:

“It wasn’t a total win for LV.

They got the money, but some say it cost them their mass appeal.”

LV这边似乎并没有全然胜利——拿到了钱，却被一些声音形容为”丢了路人缘”。

So that’s what we’re exploring this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 喊冤 hǎn yuān

to cry injustice, to protest one’s innocence

现在很多人为茉莉奶白喊冤，理由是“四叶花是大自然的，凭什么LV能注册” - Many people are rallying behind Molly Tea, arguing, “The four-petal flower belongs to nature, so why should LV be allowed to register it as a trademark?” [2]

2. 侵权 qīn quán

to infringe, infringement

LV诉茉莉奶白商标侵权相关话题下，类似的声音不在少数 - This sentiment is widely echoed across social media threads on the topic of LV suing Molly Tea for trademark infringement. [1]

3. 交学费 jiāo xué fèi

to pay tuition, to learn an expensive lesson

无论结果如何，既然成为第一个被奢侈品牌告上法庭的奶茶品牌，茉莉奶白都将交上一笔不菲的学费 - Regardless of the outcome, as the first milk tea chain to be taken to court by a luxury brand, Molly Tea is bound to pay a hefty price. [1]

• Related:

  • 代价 dài jià – cost, price

4. 路人缘 lù rén yuán

mass appeal, popularity with the general public

LV这边似乎并没有全然胜利——拿到了钱，却被一些声音形容为“丢了路人缘” - It wasn’t a total win for LV. They got the money, but some say it cost them their mass appeal. [1]

5. 寸步难行 cùn bù nán xíng

unable to make progress, unable to get anywhere

茉莉奶白如果拒不整改，在欧美东南亚估计也是寸步难行 - If Molly Tea refuses to comply to the ruling, it will likely struggle in Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia as well. [2]

Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 驳回 bó huí

to reject, to dismiss

在商标被驳回后，茉莉奶白如果没有继续大规模公开使用这个logo，也不至把自己推进千万赔偿的大坑里 - If Molly Tea had not continued using the logo on a large scale after the trademark rejection, they wouldn’t be facing this massive, eight-figure liability trap. [1]

7. 诉讼 sù sòng

lawsuit, litigation

如果去打行政诉讼，考虑到茉莉奶白也具备一定的知名度，还是有争取空间的 - If Molly Tea pursues an administrative lawsuit, they still have a fighting chance given the brand’s established market presence. [1]

8. 破绽 pò zhàn

flaw, loophole

LV显然是做足了准备——相比之下，茉莉奶白破绽不少 - LV was clearly well prepared, while Molly Tea had quite a few weaknesses in its case. [1]

9. 善后 shàn hòu

to deal with the aftermath, to handle the fallout

LV赢得无可挑剔，但恰恰是这场无可挑剔的胜利，或许会让公关团队拿出更多精力“善后” - While LV’s legal triumph was unimpeachable, it is this very success that may require their public relations team to spend more time cleaning up the aftermath. [1]

10. 不服 bù fú

to refuse to accept, to be unconvinced

苏州中院给奶茶品牌“茉莉奶白”开出的一审罚单，数字很大，茉莉奶白很不服 - Molly Tea is strongly protesting the first-instance verdict by the Suzhou Intermediate Court, which ordered the brand to pay exceptionally high damages. [2]

11. 挪用 nuó yòng

to appropriate, to misappropriate

有人翻出唐代宝相花来论证LV的“文化挪用” - Some people pointed to the Tang Dynasty treasure flower motif as evidence of LV’s “cultural appropriation”. [3]

12. 相悖 xiāng bèi

to contradict, to be at odds with

情感与法理有时候是相悖的，最终裁决必然需要按照法律条款来定音 - Emotions and legal principles are sometimes at odds, and the final ruling must ultimately be determined by the letter of the law. [4]

Three character phrases

13. 实打实 shí dǎ shí

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The heatwave in Europe is making headlines in China, but for an unexpected reason.

As temperatures have soared past 40°C in Germany, France, the UK and beyond, Europeans are rushing to buy air conditioners which is something they have rarely needed until now.

Only around 20% of European households are air conditioned, compared to nearly 90% in the United States. Older properties were built for cooler weather, and strict heritage rules limit changes to their exteriors, such as fitting external air conditioning units. So installing one is often either prohibited altogether, or prohibitively expensive with fitting costs alone running to over €1,000.

But despite the high cost, many Europeans are now buying air conditioners for their homes. Orders have surged at big Asian manufacturers like Korea's Samsung, Japan's Mitsubishi Electric, and Midea (美的), a Chinese white-goods manufacturer headquartered in Foshan in Guangdong.

One Midea product has stood out this summer. It’s called the PortaSplit.

As the name suggests, it's a portable "split-unit" (分体式) air conditioner with one part that fixes outside a window, and a cooling unit which sits on the floor inside. Designed specifically for the European market, it’s sold out in several countries at €900 per unit, with second-hand prices soaring to two to three times that.

The PortaSplit's popularity is down to how it works within Europe's strict and varied building rules across different countries. Its outdoor unit clips onto a windowsill with a simple bracket so no tools or drilling are required. This means in legal terms it counts as an internal appliance on a shelf, sidestepping the ban on façade changes to older buildings. Its refrigerant capacity is 1.99kg, just under the French 2kg threshold. In silent mode it runs at 35 decibels, right on the German limit. And its efficiency rating of 6.1 lands just inside the bottom end of Switzerland's A++ band.

So it's the ingenuity of Midea's design that has caught attention in China, which is summarised in this common internet slang phrase:

This is product design at its finest, which has been jokingly called “gaming the system”.

Midea’s global, legal and design teams all deserve a hefty year-end bonus.

这种极致的产品定义被戏称为”卡bug”，美的的外贸、法务和设计团队都该集体加年终奖。

• "Gaming the system" (卡bug) is a hybrid Chinese-English slang phrase. It comes from the early days of online gaming in China, where certain repeated moves or keyboard combinations exploited bugs in those early games to jump to higher levels.

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Midea’s success in Europe comes at a time when companies in China are obsessing about “going global” (出海).

Faced with declining consumer spending, “involuted competition” (内卷), market saturation, and often increasingly restrictive government policies at home, many have concluded that:

“It’s either go global or go down.”

不出海，就出局

But some firms struggle to "go global" because they fail to adapt to foreign markets. And those that do adapt come up against the same Chinese competitors they were trying to escape from at home.

Chinese companies supply 80% to 90% of the home air conditioners sold in Europe, so competition between them is already fierce, in what is often described in business lingo as:

“Taking involuted competition from China to overseas markets.”

从国内卷到海外去

And this usually ends the same way it does at home: a “race to the bottom on price” (卷价格).

But with the PortaSplit, Midea has sidestepped this involuted competition and opened a “new opportunity for growth” (known as 增量 in Chinese). It’s done this by identifying a specific “pain point” (痛点) in Europe which none of its competitors have yet solved. Another business-y way to describe it is “providing a missing link in the supply chain” (补链 in Chinese). Which is to provide a specific solution to a specific problem in that market which is under served, backed by the ability to design, manufacture and distribute at scale, fast.

The result is a product that competes not on price but on the problem it solves: an affordable fix that works within strict building rules, which is easy to fit, and costs less than buying and installing a traditional air conditioner:

This summer, the air conditioner Europeans are scrambling to buy solves a real pain point.

With climate change, regulation and manufacturing all coming together, Chinese manufacturing was perfectly placed to seize the moment.

这个夏天，欧洲人抢的那台空调，解决的是真实痛点。把气候、规则和制造业这几个条件凑在一起，中国制造恰好抓住了这一次机会。

So that’s what we’re exploring this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 酷热 kù rè

extreme heat, scorching heat

这场史无前例的酷热中，一款来自中国的移动空调正在全欧洲被疯抢 - During this unprecedented heatwave, a portable air conditioner from China is being snapped up across Europe. [3]

• Related:

  • 严酷 yán kù – harsh, severe

  • 炎热 yán rè – hot, sweltering

2. 脱销 tuō xiāo

to sell out, be out of stock

制冷效果又接近分体机，所以近日在欧洲大暑天时脱销并走红 - Its cooling performance is close to that of a split-system air conditioner, so it has been selling out everywhere and become a sensation during Europe’s heatwave. [2]

• Related:

  • 售罄 shòu qìng – sold out

  • 卖断货 mài duàn huò – to sell out completely

3. 卡 bug kǎ bug

to exploit a loophole, to game the system

这种极致的产品定义被戏称为“卡bug”，有网友调侃称：“美的的外贸、法务和设计团队都该集体加年终奖。” - This is product design at its finest, which has been jokingly called “gaming the system”. One netizen joked, Midea’s global, legal and design teams all deserve a hefty year-end bonus. [1]

4. 话题度 huà tí dù

level of public attention, buzz

在这轮抢购狂潮中，美的PortaSplit无疑是话题度最高的单品 - In the latest buying frenzy, Midea’s PortaSplit was undoubtedly the product generating the most buzz. [1]

5. 避暑神器 bì shǔ shén qì

summer lifesaver, ultimate cooling gadget

中国企业推出易安装的移动分体式空调，最近被欧洲人视作“避暑神器”而卖爆 - The easy-to-install portable split air conditioner produced by a Chinese company has recently become a must-have summer lifesaver in Europe and is selling like crazy. [2]

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Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 炙烤 zhì kǎo

to scorch, to bake (under intense heat)

超过一亿欧洲人面临35°C以上的炙烤 - More than 100 million people in Europe are facing scorching temperatures above 35°C. [1]

7. 溢价 yì jià

premium, markup

二手溢价一度达原价2-3倍 - At one point, it was trading at a 200–300% premium on the second-hand market. [1]

8. 制冷 zhì lěng

to cool, refrigeration

全球“需要制冷天数增幅最大”的10个国家中，有8个位于西北欧 - Of the ten countries with the most significant increase in the number of days requiring cooling, eight are in Northwestern Europe. [1]

9. 踩线 cǎi xiàn

to toe the line, stay just within the limits

面对这些壁垒，PortaSplit几乎做到了逐条“踩线”过关 - Faced with these barriers, PortaSplit managed to meet almost every requirement by staying just within the limits. [1]

10. 热泵 rè bèng

heat pump

它还搭载了空气源热泵技术 - It is also equipped with air-source heat pump technology. [1]

11. 爆单 bào dān

to receive a flood of orders, surge in orders

亚洲空调军团正在欧洲集体爆单 - Asian air conditioner manufacturers are experiencing a surge of orders across Europe. [3]

12. 爆红 bào hóng

to become an overnight sensation, go viral

这个网站在社交媒体上迅速爆红 - This website quickly went viral on social media. [3]

13. 痛点 tòng diǎn

pain point, key challenge

它需要对海外市场痛点的深刻洞察 - It requires a deep understanding of the pain points in overseas markets. [3]

Three-character phrases

14. 抢购潮 qiǎng gòu cháo

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The 2026 World Cup has kicked off in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

China’s national team (known as “国足” in Chinese) is absent again, and hasn’t made it to the World Cup since 2002.

The irony of that absence has not gone unnoticed by Chinese football fans as one widely shared comment on social media put it:

“Except for the national team, everything China could send showed up.”

除了国足，中国能来的都来了。

That’s because off the pitch, China seems to be everywhere at the World Cup.

Chinese companies appear heavily on the advertising boards, Chinese-made souvenirs fill the shops, and even Labubu, the “ugly cute” toy made by Chinese company Pop Mart, had a role in the opening ceremony, which is a first for a Chinese brand.

Elsewhere, Chinese technology is behind the VAR system, the IT and AI infrastructure across all 16 stadiums, and even the sensors inside the official match balls are Chinese-made.

On the pitch, though, in the absence of their national team to follow, Chinese fans have found a surprising alternative: his name is Ma Ning (马宁), and is the only Chinese referee at the tournament, and the first to take charge of a World Cup match in 24 years.

Ma's first match was Ecuador versus Curaçao on 20 June. Unbeknownst to the two teams on the pitch, millions of Chinese fans tuned in. Not to watch the teams compete, but to see Ma Ning referee the match. Views on social media platform RED surpassed 10 million by the final whistle.

Fans lamented how Ma Ning was China’s “only starter” (唯一首发) in the tournament, while others photoshopped him alongside the Lababu from the opening ceremony creating a mock China squad list.

“China’s starting line-up: Ma Ning and Labubu.”

“中国队首发：马宁和拉布布。”

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Ma Ning was born in 1979 and spent his early career as a university PE teacher in Wuxi. Refereeing started as a hobby which he did in his spare time.

In 2005, at age 26, Ma enrolled in the Chinese Football Association’s national referee training programme. He passed the exams and came top in both theory and fitness. He began refereeing in the lower Chinese leagues, before working his way up to the Chinese Super League.

Then in 2011 he became an international referee. A decade later, at Qatar 2022, he made it it into the referring squad as fourth official and VAR assistant. But never took charge of a match. After that Ma trained for four more years and, against the odds, made it into the refereeing squad for this World Cup at age 47.

A big part of his appeal with Chinese fans is that he is the only Chinese national on the pitch at the World Cup. But beyond that, it’s his style which has won him viral appeal and given rise to his nickname:

Within the profession, he’s known as the “Card Master”.

It’s not a jab, but a respectful acknowledgement.

His approach on the pitch is simple to the point of stubbornness: he follows the rules, not a player’s reputation.

业内人送他外号”卡牌大师”。这不是调侃，是带着敬畏的认可。他的赛场逻辑简单到近乎固执：只认规则，不认脸。

• He was first called "Card Master" in 2015, after a Shanghai derby where he handed out twelve cards: nine yellow and three red. The name comes from a card-throwing character in the video game League of Legends (英雄联盟).

Ma Ning’s rise is a story of hard work and persistence. He spent years refereeing in the lower leagues, earning next to nothing. And now, after more than 20 years, that persistence has paid off in a way almost no referee ever sees: he has sponsorship deals with some of China’s biggest brands, Lenovo (联想), Mengniu (蒙牛), Hisense (海信) and Meituan (美团).

Ma Ning’s achievement poses an awkward question: how can one referee reach the World Cup through sheer effort, while the Chinese men’s team is nowhere to be seen? One widely shared article offers an opinion that seems to resonate:

You can buy in outside help, but you can’t buy integrity, less still backbone.

With a rotten core, the system devours its own players and crushes talent before it can flourish.

能买来外援，买不来底线，更买不来骨气。腐朽内核：体制吃人，天才夭折。

The problems of corruption in Chinese football is something we’ve explored before in this newsletter.

Let’s hope Ma Ning’s arrival at this World Cup will finally help to drive change.

Favourite Five

1. 缺席 quē xí

to be absent, be missing

唯独中国男足，永远缺席世界绿茵 - But the Chinese men’s national football team remains absent from the international pitch. [1]

2. 死磕 sǐ kē

to persist stubbornly, fight relentlessly

国家队没能站上的地方，他凭着二十年的死磕，站上去了 - He got to where the national team fell short through twenty years of sheer perseverance. [2]

3. 无欲则刚 wú yù zé gāng

free from desire, one becomes strong; integrity comes from having no selfish desires

马宁在国际赛场上“没有软肋”“无欲则刚”，更能全心全意地贯彻执法哲学 - On the international stage, Ma Ning has neither vulnerabilities nor vested interests, which allows him to fully commit to his approach to officiating. [3]

• Related:

  • 不安分 bù ān fèn – restless, unwilling to stay within limits

4. 卡牌大师 kǎ pái dà shī

card master

业内人送他外号“卡牌大师”。这不是调侃，是带着敬畏的认可。他的赛场逻辑简单到近乎固执：只认规则，不认脸 - Within the profession, he is known as the “Card Master”. It is not a jab, but a respectful acknowledgement. His approach on the pitch is simple to the point of stubbornness: he follows the rules, not a player’s status or reputation. [2]

5. 十年磨一剑 shí nián mó yí jiàn

to spend ten years honing one sword; years of dedication to perfect a skill

二十年磨一剑：从无锡职院的操场，到世界杯的聚光灯 - Twenty years in the making: from a Wuxi vocational college pitch to the World Cup spotlight [2]

• Note: originally the phrase refers to “ten years” (十年), but it can be adapted to 20 years (as it is here), or 30 or more.

Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 敛财 liǎn cái

to amass wealth, make money unscrupulously

金元足球疯狂敛财，归化工程沦为闹剧 - As big-money football became a cash grab, the naturalization project descended into a farce. [1]

7. 顽疾 wán jí

chronic problem, persistent issue

根深蒂固的行业腐败、利益捆绑的管理机制、功利化的虚假青训，形成闭环式足坛顽疾 - Entrenched corruption, management systems tied up in vested interests, and profit-driven youth training scheme have formed a self-perpetuating cycle of chronic problems in Chinese football. [1]

8. 讽刺 fěng cì

ironic, irony

说起来挺讽刺的，第一个火遍全网的中国人，不是哪个球员，是裁判马宁 - It’s quite ironic that the first Chinese participant to go viral on the internet was not a player, but referee Ma Ning. [2]

9. 底气 dǐ qì

confidence, self-assurance

再加上中国不是足球强国，也让中国裁判相比国际同行少了几分底气 - On top of that, since China is not a football powerhouse, Chinese referees are somewhat less confident than their international counterparts. [3]

10. 软肋 ruǎn lèi

weak spot, vulnerability

“没有软肋”的马宁，让C罗都发怵 - Ma Ning, who has no vulnerabilities, even makes Cristiano Ronaldo nervous. [3]

Three-character phrases

11. 清一色 qīng yī sè

all of the same kind, entirely

场馆基建、官方吉祥物、顶级赞助商、赛事定制数字足球，全产业链清一色中国制造 - From stadium infrastructure and official mascots to major sponsors and bespoke digital match balls, the entire World Cup ecosystem is dominated by Chinese products. [1]

12. 意难平 yì nán píng

lingering regret, unresolved disappointment

这不是玩笑，是亿万球迷十几年的意难平，更是刻在足坛的耻辱 - This is no laughing matter, but the frustration of hundreds of millions of fans over more than a decade, and a lasting stain on the game history. [1]

13. 伤仲永 shāng zhòng yǒng

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“Goose-Leg Auntie” (鹅腿阿姨) is a Beijing street seller who’s recently found herself at the centre of a social media storm.

As the nickname suggests, she sells roast goose legs, working from a small tricycle cart that she wheels between the city's most prestigious universities: Tsinghua (清华), Peking (北大) and Renmin (人大).

Her real name is Chen Xiufeng (陈秀凤). She came to Beijing from Jiangsu in 2000, first selling fruit around Peking University campus. She switched to selling roast goose legs (烤鹅腿) in around 2011.

In late 2023 she gained fame as “Goose-Leg Auntie” becoming a campus and online celebrity as students competed to lure her to their campuses. The contest spilled onto social media as the “Battle to Defend the Goose Leg” (鹅腿保卫战), along with images of long queues of students waiting for their goose legs from her.

In early 2024, “Goose-Leg Auntie” was even invited to speak at an event at Peking University, hailed by students as a “role model for grassroots strivers” (底层奋斗者的榜样).

As her popularity grew, she took the began selling elsewhere in the city: pre-selling goose legs through WeChat groups for customers in that area, then turning up to sell to the long queues that gathered.

But it turns out this move into a savvier customer base has eventually led to her downfall.

On June 7, in a group chat for customers in Beijing’s Guomao (国贸) business district, Chen announced:

“I’ve been reported by one of the office high-flyers in this group, and I’m now cooperating with the relevant authorities, so thank you for your understanding.

…

“We use duck legs, as we haven’t been able to secure goose legs for fifteen years.

From now on I’ll spell that out clearly for everyone, so if you do mind, please don’t order.

I’ve gone by ‘Goose-Leg Auntie’ for over a decade now and there’s no fraud or anything of the sort going on...”

被群里某位上班精英举报 正在配合相关部门工作，请大家见谅… 原材料是鸭腿，鹅腿已经断货十五年了。以后都会给大家写清楚 介意请勿下单 鹅腿阿姨叫了十几年了 不存在欺诈等行为...

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That post was soon shared on social media and went viral.

As the story spread, customers realised they'd been ripped off for years as goose is roughly four times the price of duck.

“The 16 yuan we paid wasn’t for a duck leg. It was for a carefully packaged feeling of being moved.”

我们花16块钱买的不是一只鸭腿，是一场被精心包装的感动。

Others also questioned the quality of what they’d been eating, digging out old photos of goose legs tinged an unappetising green. According to Chen, this was her own house-recipe garnish pressed from “scallion greens” (葱叶).

After the initial shock and anger, came the memes.

Online users poked fun at the students for supposedly being high-IQ yet unable to tell the difference between goose and duck. Others noted how one set of “elites” (city workers) had shown up another group of elites (the students).

A viral post framed the scam in the language of a great historical conflict, inventing a new phrase based on some clever homophone wordplay:

“The hashtag #GooseLegAuntieScandal# briefly shot to the top of the trending searches, turning the saga into what can only be described as “The Great Duck-Leg Scam War“ fought on the campuses of Peking and Tsinghua Universities. “

#鹅腿阿姨塌房#一度干到热搜第一，这就是一场属于清北的“鸭骗战争”。

• The pronunciation and tones of “duck-deception war” (鸭骗战争) are exactly the same as the “Opium War” (鸦片战争).

As well as sounding the same, this new phrase also carries with it the sense of “humiliation” (侮辱) of the original. And it joins a long and entertaining list of animal-based Chinese expressions for deception.

Another in that list is our 2023 Phrase of the Year, “calling a rat a duck” (指鼠为鸭), which is a modern spin on the ancient idiom “calling a deer a horse” (指鹿为马) and means to brazenly pass something off as its opposite. Another common phrase is “selling dog meat advertised as mutton” (挂羊头卖狗肉), which is a classic metaphor for false advertising.

Beyond the memes and wordplay there is real outrage because of the breach of trust. As we’ve seen many times in this newsletter, food safety, fraud, and mislabelling, always hits a nerve in China after years of scandals.

Goose Leg Auntie is also a reminder of how the formula of “emotion + story” (情感+故事) still sells well in China, and can be abused. Her tale of a hard working migrant made good built genuine affection and loyalty with her early customers. But it was that goodwill which allowed her pass off cheap duck as pricey goose legs for so long.

In the end, it’s a lesson in how online fame in China cuts both ways, captured in a new, classical-sounding phrase:

“Success can come from online traffic, and so too can the downfall.”

成也流量，败也流量。 [2]

This is a variation on an idiom we’ve discussed before, which has its roots in the founding of the Han Dynasty 2,200 years ago: "[Han Xin's] success was because of Xiao He, and so too was his downfall" (成也萧何，败也萧何).

And it's still used today whenever someone is undone by the very thing that made them famous in the first place.

So that’s what we’re exploring this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 真相大白 zhēn xiàng dà bái

the truth comes out, the truth is revealed

真相大白的那一刻，那些曾经在网上维护她口碑的学子们，感受到的是一种被最珍视的信任狠狠利用后的深深疲惫 - When the truth finally came out, the students who had once defended her reputation online were left with a deep sense of exhaustion after realising that their trust had been exploited by someone who they believed in the most. [4]

2. 虚情假意 xū qíng jiǎ yì

insincere feelings, false sincerity

人们的不舒服，甚至是怒气，更多源自以前积攒的虚假信息和虚情假意 - People’s unease, and even anger, stemmed more from the false information and performative goodwill that had built up over time. [1]

• Related:

  • 虚名 xū míng – empty fame, undeserved reputation

3. 水落石出 shuǐ luò shí chū

when the water recedes, the rocks appear; the truth emerges

这种荒诞的调侃，或许部分是源于以大学生为主体的消费者，在等待调查结果水落石出和维权难的空白中的一种情绪宣泄 - This seemingly absurd mockery may have served as a form of emotional release for consumers, most of them students, who found themselves stuck between the uncertainty of an ongoing investigation and the practical difficulties of pursuing their claims. [1]

4. 货不对板 huò bú duì bǎn

not as advertised, not matching the description

一旦发现货不对板或优惠不实，商家总能拿出“仅为称呼”“规则已在页面底部公示”等理由全身而退 - Once customers discover that a product is not as advertised or that a promotion is misleading, businesses can always fall back on disclaimers such as “it’s only a name” or “the terms were stated at the bottom of the page” and walk away unscathed. [4]

5. 鸭骗战争 yā piàn zhàn zhēng

“The Great Duck-Leg Scam War” (a humorous term), duck deception controversy

#鹅腿阿姨塌房#一度干到热搜第一，这就是一场属于清北的“鸭骗战争” - The hashtag #GooseLegAuntieScandal# briefly shot to the top of the trending searches, turning the saga into what can only be described as “The Great Duck-Leg Scam War” fought on the campuses of Peking and Tsinghua Universities. [3]

• Related:

  • 讹腿阿姨 é tuǐ ā yí — Fake Goose Leg Auntie

Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 冒充 mào chōng

to impersonate, to pass off as

鸭腿冒充鹅腿是否构成虚假宣传？ - Does selling duck legs as goose legs constitute false advertising? [1]

• Related

  • 以次充好 yǐ cì chōng hǎo – substitute inferior goods for superior ones

7. 秘方 mì fāng

secret recipe, special formula

有顾客吃出肉发绿，那不是变质，是蔬菜汁浸泡的独家秘方 - Some customers found the meat had turned green. That’s not a sign of spoilage; it’s our secret recipe making use of vegetable marinade. [2]

• Related:

  • 配方 pèi fāng – recipe, formula

8. 造神 zào shén

to create a legend, to idolize someone

最初，“鹅腿阿姨”走红，是一场精英高校学子对底层小摊贩的一次追捧和造神 - At the outset, Goose-Leg Auntie’s rise to fame was driven by elite university students, who not only flocked to her humble food stall but also turned her into a symbol larger than herself. [1]

9. 伎俩 jì liǎng

trick, tactic

而她在被揭穿后一口咬定是“精英上班人士”的伎俩，完全颠覆了之前树立起来的踏实勤劳的小摊贩形象 - After being exposed, her tactic of immediately calling that customer an “elite working professional” completely overturned the hardworking and down-to-earth street vendor image she had previously built. [1]

10. 背刺 bèi cì

to betray, to stab someone in the back

他们集体被一位卖烤腿的阿姨背刺了 - They were collectively betrayed by an auntie who sold roast legs. [3]

11. 炸锅 zhà guō

to explode with discussion, to cause an uproar

昨天，一张群聊截图炸了锅 - Yesterday, a screenshot from a group chat caused an uproar online. [3]

12. 口碑 kǒu bēi

reputation, word of mouth

曾经全网封神的“鹅腿阿姨”，终究还是走到了口碑彻底崩盘的节点 - The internet once beloved “Goose Leg Auntie” has now arrived at the moment of total reputational collapse. [4]

Three-character phrases

13. 小确幸 xiǎo què xìng

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When you mention the name Zhang Xiaolong (张小龙) in China most people will think you‘re talking about the CEO of WeChat.

But there’s another CEO called Zhang Xiaolong.

He’s less well known than the other Zhang, but is still a successful CEO of the listed company, Fenbi Technology (粉笔科技). Fenbi is one of China’s biggest online education platforms which specialises in civil service exam (考公) preparation. Millions of students in China pay for Fenbi services to get them through that gruelling exam.

Recently this other Zhang Xiaolong become much more high profile. But unfortunately for him for the wrong reasons.

He was invited to give a lecture on the 3 June at the School of Philosophy at Renmin University (人大) which is the top uni in China for training hopeful civil servants.

In the room to listen to Zhang speak were a hundred or so students. They were exactly the kind of people who go on to sit that civil service exam, and potentially become Fenbi customers.

Zhang’s talk was meant to cover exam preparation tactics, how to excel in the civil service exam, and how to approach job-hunting afterwards. It was a topic specifically targeted to what these students wanted, while also being and opportunity for Zhang to pitch Fenbi services to them.

But at the last minute he changed the topic. Instead, Zhang decided to give a speech about “Career Planning in the AI Era” (AI时代的职业规划).

As the students sat quietly listening to Zhang, he strayed further and further from what they were there to hear.

Under his new topic, he claimed AI would replace huge swathes of the workforce, and that the students in the audience had little chance of passing the civil service exam or finding work in the future.

He went on to say the real money would come from investing in the capital markets — especially in tech stocks, and the American stock markets. Zhang then shared his personal experience of how he invested 80 million yuan ($11.8 million) in tech stocks using AI in May, and made whopping 53 million ($7.8 million) in profit.

• (Clearly Zhang is not a reader of RealTime Mandarin. Because if he were, he’d know that this is not a politically correct thing to talk about in China at the moment!)

And, Zhang didn’t stop there. He then said:

“Honestly, I’m just bragging about how rich I am.”

我讲这个，主要是为了炫富吧

“Flaunting wealth” (炫富) is another hot-button issue in China that RTM readers know all about, and so should Zhang.

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By this point in his speech, Zhang Xiaolong was perhaps expecting some kind of positive reaction from the audience, like enthusiastic applause, excited realisations, or inspired whoops.

But instead he got nothing. The room stayed quiet. And some students even left early.

Rather than take this in his stride, Zhang completely “flipped out” (破防了) and began to rant angrily and uncontrollably at the audience.

He told the students they wouldn’t find work because they didn’t deserve it. And all they were fit for was slacking off in cosy public-sector jobs:

“It’s only fair if you can’t find a job — society shouldn’t be giving you jobs in the first place.

Aside from scraping into the system somehow and coasting through life in a cosy government job, you’ve got no real skills.”

你们找不到工作其实是应该的，就是社会不应该给你们工作。你们除了混到体制里面去考个公务员混吃等死，也没有什么本事。

He refused to take questions at the end of his speech, and then stormed out, saying:

“Honestly, you’re pathetic. Just totally useless.”

我觉得你们很差，非常差。

The news of Zhang’s outburst spread fast on social media.

In response, many of Fenbi’s students started demanding refunds. The company’s share price fell. And Zhang eventually issued one apology, and then another.

But the damage was done:

“He built his name on civil service exam prep and makes his money from civil service exam candidates.

Yet he disparages those very candidates so openly.

Zhang Xiaolong shooting himself in the foot like this is both deeply baffling and purely farcical.”

靠考公起家，赚考公人的钱，却如此露骨地贬低考公人——张小龙这种搬起石头砸自己的脚的行为，十分令人费解，也十分黑色幽默。

The thing is, Zhang, of all people, should not have been surprised by the lack of response from the audience.

In 2024, Lifeweek Magazine ran a cover story on exactly this phenomenon, of “The Silent Generation” (寂静的一代). This, according to the article, is a generation of young people who are so worn down by years of relentless competition and pressure that they go through life with complete indifference, resignation, and silence.

They fall “silent” in all areas of life, including friendships, relationships, and yes, university lectures. It’s the same kind of withdrawal that has produced “buddy culture” (搭子文化), which we’ve written about before. And of course, the students in the lecture theatre listening to Zhang’s speech are absolutely part of this “silent generation”.

So there really is only one word to describe Zhang’s outburst and complete lack of understanding of his audience. And it’s a word you should know as a reader of Realtime Mandarin. He’s an:

• “Out of touch middle aged man” (老登)

So that’s what we’re exploring this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 破防 pò fáng

to break down emotionally, have one’s defenses shattered

出乎所有人意料的是，张小龙破防了，破了大防 - To everyone’s surprise, Zhang Xiaolong snapped and had a total breakdown. [3]

• Related:

  • 崩溃 bēng kuì – to collapse, break down

2. 自砸招牌 zì zá zhāo pai

to ruin one’s own reputation, damage one’s own brand

企业在互联网上翻车的姿势五花八门，但CEO自砸招牌，倒是不多见 - While companies find endless ways to screw up online, it is quite rare to see a CEO completely sabotage their own company’s reputation. [3]

• Related:

  • 吃饭砸锅 chī fàn zá guō – to bite the hand that feeds you

3. 口不择言 kǒu bù zé yán

to speak without thinking, blurt things out

于是破防了，破防的后果，就是开始口不择言 - So he became so triggered that he began lashing out and talking wild. [1]

4. 混吃等死 hùn chī děng sǐ

to drift through life, live aimlessly

你们除了混到体制里面去考个公务员混吃等死，也没有什么本事 - Aside from scraping into the system somehow and coasting through life in a cosy government job, you’ve got no real skills. [1]

5. 搬起石头砸自己的脚 bān qǐ shí tou zá zì jǐ de jiǎo

to shoot oneself in the foot, bring trouble upon oneself

张小龙这种搬起石头砸自己的脚的行为，十分令人费解，也十分黑色幽默 - Zhang Xiaolong’s act of shooting himself in the foot is both deeply baffling and purely farcical. [2]

Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 冤 yuān

to be wronged, unfairly treated

话说回来，张小龙冤，大学生也冤 - Come to think of it, Zhang Xiaolong was treated unfairly, and so were the university students. [1]

7. 羞辱 xiū rǔ

to humiliate, insult

他觉得被羞辱了，于是破大防了 - He felt humiliated, so he totally lost it. [1]

8. 上岸 shàng àn

to succeed, reach one’s goal (especially after passing an exam)

要考公，要上岸，要进体制，然后躺平 - Their goal is to take the civil service exam, pass it, get into the system, and then lie flat. [1]

9. 失控 shī kòng

to lose control, go out of control

一场失控的演讲很快发酵，粉笔的学员大喊退钱 - The unhinged speech quickly escalated into a massive backlash, with Fenbi students loudly demanding refunds. [2]

• Related:

  • 言行失当 yán xíng shī dàng – inappropriate words and actions

10. 露骨 lù gǔ

blatantly

靠考公起家，赚考公人的钱，却如此露骨地贬低考公人 - He built his name on civil service exam prep and makes his money from civil service exam candidates, yet he disparages those very candidates so blatantly. [2]

Three-character phrases

11. 考公热 kǎo gōng rè

civil service exam craze, surge in civil service exam popularity

最直观的体现是“考公热”持续攀升，报名人数在今年已经超过了370万 - The most obvious sign is that the civil service exam craze continues to grow, with the number of applicants exceeding 3.7 million this year. [2]

12. 铁饭碗 tiě fàn wǎn

iron rice bowl, secure lifetime job

追求“铁饭碗”深深地塑造了几代人 - The pursuit of a secure, lifelong job has profoundly shaped several generations. [2]

Idioms

13. 破口大骂 pò kǒu dà mà

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On 22 May, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (中国证监会, CSRC) announced it was launching investigations into three of the country’s largest internet brokerages, and fining them a total of 2.3 billion yuan (around $320 million dollars).

The companies are Futu (富途), Tiger Trade (老虎), and Longbridge (长桥). When the fines were announced, Futu’s US-listed shares dropped 28% and Tiger’s fell 25%.

These online brokerages allow mainland Chinese retail investors to trade overseas stocks, including Hong Kong and US-listed shares, directly and easily via an app. This is something that is otherwise tightly restricted inside China, with the likes of Futu operating in what is often described as a “grey area” (灰色地带).

By the end of 2025, more than five million mainland retail investors (散户) had opened offshore accounts to trade Hong Kong and US stocks, with between 200 and 400 billion yuan (around 28 to 56 billion US dollars) sitting in those accounts.

As part of the crackdown, all three brokerages are now barred from taking on new mainland clients. Existing account holders have a two-year window to withdraw cash and sell their positions, and they are barred from adding funds or buying more stocks. After that, these services will be closed down for good.

On the same day as the CSRC announcement, Hong Kong introduced the toughest cross-border account-opening rules in its history, making it much harder for mainlanders to open bank accounts in the jurisdiction. Anyone opening a new account must now sign a declaration to confirm their money is legal overseas income.

As one commentator put it:

“This regulatory storm also dealt a crushing blow to mainland retail investors.”

这次监管风暴，对内地散户也是当头一棒。

The effects were felt on the ground in Hong Kong almost immediately. Haiphong Road (海防道) in Tsim Sha Tsui is a street usually bustling with brokers pitching trading accounts to passers-by, most of them mainland tourists.

From small promotional vans, they yell slogans like “zero interest, zero fees” (零利息，零手续费) and “get rich trading Hong Kong and US stocks” (炒港美股发大财) to draw in new clients and often signing them up on the spot.

But shortly after the announcement, the vans were gone, Haiphong Road had fallen silent, and only a few lonely-looking agents with shopfronts were left on the street.

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China’s “investment craze in overseas stocks” (出海炒股热) can be traced back to 2014.

That was when the Shanghai–Hong Kong Stock Connect (沪港通) and Shenzhen–Hong Kong Stock Connect (深港通) were launched, which made it easier for investors inside China to access the Hong Kong stock market, and vice versa.

China’s A-share market was also surging at that time, retail investor enthusiasm was at a high, and Chinese internet companies were shining on the Hong Kong and US stock markets.

So large numbers of mainland retail investors suddenly developed an appetite for investing in overseas stocks. But strict regulations meant doing so wasn’t easy. Sensing the demand, a wave of new online brokerages set up in Hong Kong.

One of the first was founded by Leaf Li (李华), who had previously worked at Tencent on its QQ instant messaging service, and was the tech company’s 18th employee. He launched an app called Futu Niuniu (富途牛牛) with an interface similar to the stock-trading apps used domestically. But inside the app, users could trade US and Hong Kong stocks seamlessly.

That app became Futu, which eventually listed on the Nasdaq Exchange in March 2019.

The model caught on fast, and Tiger, Longbridge, and other service providers soon followed. They all held overseas brokerage licences for account-opening and overseas trading services to mainland retail investors. But none of them held mainland financial licences, which is the grey area we mentioned earlier.

At its peak, Futu alone had nearly 30 million registered users, with more than 60% of its revenue coming from investors inside China.

In 2021, regulators designated these services as “illegal financial activity” (非法金融活动), summoning executives from three firms for talks. By the end of 2022, regulators halted new account openings, and the Futu and Tiger apps were pulled from app stores.

But demand for Futu, Tiger, and Longbridge services didn’t disappear. It simply moved underground. Independent agents and middlemen, like those on Haiphong Road in Hong Kong, started funnelling mainland clients to these offshore brokers covertly. They did this by touting account sign-ups on the streets, or via social media accounts, forming what regulators now describe as a “grey-market supply chain” (灰色产业链).

Which is what brings us to this latest move in the crackdown on these companies.

The earlier, softer measures didn’t work so this time the authorities have gone after the brokerages themselves, including their existing mainland customers.

As we’ve seen before in education, gaming, and livestream e-commerce, when Beijing decides to crush an entire business model…

It can do it, and does.

So that’s what we’re exploring this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 招揽 zhāo lǎn

solicit, recruit

境外证券期货基金经营机构未经批准，利用境内关联或合作主体在境内招揽客户 - Offshore securities, futures and fund management entities have been found soliciting domestic clients through local partners without regulatory approval. [1]

2. 倒查 dào chá

trace back, investigate retrospectively

关闭开户时曾使用可疑或伪造文件的投资账户，倒查至2023年1月 - Investment accounts opened using suspicious or forged documents will be closed under a look-back review from January 2023. [2]

3. 港股通 gǎng gǔ tōng

stock connect program for hong kong stocks

如果你想继续投资港股，只能走港股通，不过有50万的门槛 - If you want to continue investing in Hong Kong stocks, you have to go through the Stock Connect program with a minimum asset requirement of 500,000 yuan. [3]

4. 死灰复燃 sǐ huī fù rán

revive after being extinguished, make a comeback

有些平台通过伪造存量投资者证明等方式，暗中继续给境内客户开户，出现了“死灰复燃”的迹象 - Illegal trading is making a comeback, as some platforms quietly continue to open accounts for domestic clients by falsifying proof of trading records. [3]

5. 当头一棒 dāng tóu yí bàng

a crushing blow, a rude awakening

这次监管风暴，对内地散户也是当头一棒 - This regulatory crackdown also dealt a crushing blow to mainland retail investors. [2]

Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 平仓 píng cāng

close a position, liquidate a position

融资仓位因为不能追加保证金也可能面临平仓 - Leveraged positions may also face forced liquidation if investors fail to meet margin calls. [3]

• Related:

  • 加仓 jiā cāng – increase a position, buy

  • 清仓 qīng cāng – clear out a position, sell

7. 限购 xiàn gòu

purchase restriction, buying limit

因为美股太热，QDII基金的外汇额度有限，部分热门基金目前处在限购状态 - Due to the demand for US stocks and the limited QDII foreign exchange quota, some popular funds are currently subject to subscription caps. [3]

8. 暴跌 bào diē

plunge, crash

老虎和富途在美国股市的股价应声暴跌 - The share prices of Tiger Trade and Futu plunged in the U.S. stock market in response. [1]

9. 牛市 niú shì

bull market

在这一轮高科技牛市下，英伟达、谷歌等公司股价持续大涨 - Driven by the current tech-led bull market, companies like Nvidia and Google have seen their stock prices continue to surge. [1]

10. 走势 zǒu shì

trend, movement

这些指数基金过去一年的涨幅大概为38%，基本复制了纳斯达克指数的走势 - These index funds have seen returns of roughly 38% over the past year, which pretty much tracks the performance of Nasdaq-100. [1]

11. 丝滑 sī huá

smooth, seamless

流程很简单，入境后找家银行排队即可丝滑开卡 - It’s very straightforward: just head to a bank once you arrive, wait in line, and you’ll have your card in no time. [2]

12. 展业 zhǎn yè

conduct business, carry out operations

这批券商没有境内金融牌照，属于无牌展业 - These brokerages do not hold the required onshore financial licenses. As such, they are engaging in unlicensed business activities. [2]

13. 奇招 qí zhāo

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A new sports craze is taking hold in China.

It’s called Hyrox. There’s no Chinese translation for it — it’s just known by its English name.

Hyrox is a “hybrid fitness race” (混合健身竞速赛) founded in Germany in 2017 by Christian Toetzke. It has exploded across China’s first-tier cities over the past year.

Participants alternate eight one-kilometre runs with eight gym-based challenges: ski erg (滑雪机), sled push (推雪橇), sled pull (拉雪橇), burpee broad jumps (波比跳远), rowing (划船机), farmers carry (农夫行走), sandbag lunges (负重箭步蹲), and wall balls (药球投掷).

The physical challenge is intense. And that’s part of the appeal, with some clever wordplay thrown in with the character “疼 téng” which can mean “to miss or think about someone” and “physical pain”:

“If no one aches for you, go do Hyrox. Afterwards, every part of you will ache.”

没人疼你就去练Hyrox，练完没有哪儿不疼 [1]

But others say the real reason for its sudden popularity is the format.

Marathons are too long and monotonous, while CrossFit — another earlier fitness craze — involves practising weightlifting and gymnastics, and has a cut-off time which contestants must finish within.

The concept of Hyrox is also a good cultural fit for China, as one commenter notes:

“Hyrox has exploded in China because its format speaks directly to the ‘exam-expert’ mentality.”

Hyrox在国内这样受欢迎，是因为赛制精准击中了「做题家」们的心。

Like a standardised test, the rules are fixed, the challenges are known in advance, and everyone gets a ranked and comparable result at the end. So beating your personal best has become one of the things drawing people in.

“PB” is another English term borrowed straight into Chinese. “To beat your personal best” is “刷新PB” in Chinese.

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Hyrox described as the “Olympics for the middle classes” (中产奥运) in China. When it first started there, the lowest priced tickets were around 600 yuan. So the majority of participants were in the 30-to-39 age bracket, mostly urban professionals, who are also among the most active people on social media.

For them, every Hyrox event has two arenas: the physical venue, and the social media feed.

Even some celebrities have joined the craze, adding to the social media buzz, including Wang Shi (王石). He is the 75-year-old entrepreneur and founder of Vanke (万科), one of China’s major real estate developers, and a recent winner:

“Wang and his partner topped their age group in just 1 hour and 38 minutes, securing a direct ticket to this season’s World Championships.”

经历1小时38分钟，王石和搭档登顶所在年龄组冠军，直接拿下这个赛季世锦赛的入场券。[1]

The growth of Hyrox in China has been remarkable. From 1,600 participants at the inaugural Beijing event in 2024 to nearly 7,000 in Shanghai in 2025. And most recently, nearly 10,000 people registered for a Shanghai Hyrox event in May.

All of this has made Hyrox a magnet for sponsors. German founded sportwear brand, PUMA — which is now owned by China’s Anta Group — has been a global partner since 2017, and has extended its sponsorship through to 2030. Chinese sponsors include smartwatch maker Amazfit (华米), and ride-hailing platform Didi.

Partner gyms have become another source of revenue. By May this year over 500 gyms in China had partnered with Hyrox, up from barely a dozen a year earlier, each paying an annual licensing fee of 10,850 yuan (about 1,500 US dollars).

For participants, the costs add up too: from preparation to recovery, competitors reckon it costs them between 3,000 to 4,000 yuan per month. And many are happy to pay, because the appeal goes beyond the sport itself.

The real appeal is the status symbol joining a Hyrox race brings:

“Snapshots from training and race day have naturally become a new form of social currency.

China’s middle class has largely moved on from flexing luxury logos and fancy meals — now they show off the winding GPS run trackers on their fitness apps and their finishing moments at Hyrox.”

一张张备赛、参赛的照片，也能水到渠成地成为社交货币。如今，中产们早就放弃为奢侈品Logo和一顿漂亮饭拍照，转而开始展示运动App里蜿蜒的跑步轨迹和Hyrox的完赛瞬间。

And that’s what we’re discussing this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 卷王 juǎn wáng

overachiever, ultra-competitive person

王海莉在杭州做健身教练已经有七八年时间，她的学员里就有不少「卷王」 - Wang Haili has been working as a fitness coach in Hangzhou for over seven years, and quite a few of her students are overachievers. [1]

• Related:

  • 卷自己 juǎn zì jǐ – push oneself excessively

  • 卷PB juǎn PB – obsessed over beating one’s personal best

  • 卷胜利 juǎn shèng lì – compete intensely for victory

  • 卷训练 juǎn xùn liàn – overdo training

  • 卷成绩 juǎn chéng jì – compete excessively for results or grades

2. 自虐 zì nüè

self-torture, self-inflicted grind

HYROX之所以能吸引这么多人“自虐”，还因为它是一场“开卷考试” - The reason Hyrox can convince so many people to embrace the grind is that the race follows a predictable syllabus. [2]

• Related:

  • 受虐 shòu nüè – be abused, enjoy suffering

3. 龇牙咧嘴 zī yá liě zuǐ

grimacing, baring one’s teeth in pain or strain

龇牙咧嘴一顿忙活，抬头一看还有那么多项目要比 - While grimacing and grinding through the pain, you steal a glance at the scoreboard only to realise that there are still so many stations to go through. [2]

4. 没苦硬吃 méi kǔ yìng chī

make oneself suffer unnecessarily

真想给没苦硬吃的自己来一巴掌 - I really feel like slapping myself for making myself suffer for no reason. [2]

5. 社交货币 shè jiāo huò bì

social currency

一张张备赛、参赛的照片，也能水到渠成地成为社交货币 - Snapshots from training and competitions have naturally become a new form of social currency. [1]

• Related:

  • 社交名片 shè jiāo míng piàn – social calling card, social flex

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Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 劲头 jìn tóu

enthusiasm, drive

王晓芸和朋友拿出追演唱会的劲头，每天定时去蹲回流票 - Wang Xiaoyun and her friends spent every day hunting for last-minute resale drops, treating the race registration like a sold-out stadium tour. [1]

• Related:

  • 狠劲 hěn jìn – fierce determination, intensity

7. 出片 chū piān

photogenic, produce good photos

观赛区立刻成了追星现场，最出片的位置永远挤满粉丝 - The spectator area instantly turned into a fan site, and the most photogenic spots were always packed. [1]

8. 冲刺 chōng cì

sprint, dash toward a goal

数以万计的参与者拿出最充沛的热情，将自己所有的力气投入其中，不断向着每一环节的目标冲刺 - Tens of thousands of participants poured every ounce of their passion and physical reserve into the race, as they charge through each station of the challenge. [1]

9. 劫难 jié nàn

ordeal, calamity

真正的「劫难」是推雪橇环节 - The real ordeal was the sled push. [1]

• Related:

  • 渡劫 dù jié – go through a trial or tribulation

10. 弃赛 qì sài

withdraw from a competition, quit the race

我弃赛了队友们怎么办 - If I quit the race, what will happen to my teammates? [1]

• Related:

  • 备赛 bèi sài – prepare for a competition

11. 斗志 dòu zhì

fighting spirit, determination

这直接激起了她的斗志，「我应该做得更好」 - Her competitive instincts kicked in immediately: “I can do better than this.” [1]

12. 较劲 jiào jìn

compete stubbornly, push oneself against something

Hyrox这项运动可以和输赢无关，只是一场「和自己较劲」的体验 - In Hyrox, winning or losing doesn’t really matter, since it’s a race against oneself. [1]

13. 硬撑 yìng chēng

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A new documentary about delivery riders in China has struck a nerve.

The Life of China’s Food Delivery Riders in 2026 (2026中国外卖员生存报告) was produced by LifeLab (三联生活实验室), which is a lifestyle magazine published by LifeWeek.

It was released in mid-April. The documentary has since been censored in China, but it’s available on YouTube — and is well worth a watch if you’re looking to brush up on your Beijing dialect (link at the end of the newsletter for paid subscribers, and don’t forget to tune into our YouTube channel where we’ll be discussing this story next week!).

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It follows riders across three Beijing neighbourhoods: the migrant village of Yuxinzhuang (于辛庄村) a northern suburb near the Sixth Ring Road, the central business district, and Wanliu (万柳), one of the capital’s wealthiest enclaves. The contrast between these worlds, where riders live and where they deliver to, runs through the film.

China now has more than 13 million delivery riders. Their pay per order has fallen from over 10 yuan a few years ago, to between 3 and 5 yuan today. Yet the number of riders has multiplied several times during the same period so now there’s more workers than ever chasing lower-paid orders.

One rider sums up the squeeze:

“Algorithms are getting smarter. But why are we working longer hours, and making less money?

Dozens, even hundreds of riders are all fighting for one order.

Whether you get it or not all comes down to if you’re favoured by the system.”

算法越来越聪明，为什么我们的工作时间反而越来越长，赚钱越来越难？几十号人、上百人在抢一单，就看系统爱不爱你。

More than half of delivery riders in Beijing are young people from rural areas around the capital, mostly from villages in neighbouring Hebei (河北) province. Many tend to move to places like Yuxinzhuang, which has become known as a “delivery village” (外卖村).

For the vast majority, working as a delivery rider is not a choice.

It’s the only option left:

“For us young people from the countryside, there aren’t many ways out.”

“I can’t even make a living, so why should I worry about my life?”

“我们农村年轻人，出路是很少的”。

“钱都挣不到，还担心命呢？”

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And it isn’t only young migrants from the countryside who are turning to delivery riding as a last resort to make money.

At the 4-minute mark in the video, a rental shop owner who rents electric bikes to delivery riders says there are increasing numbers of former office workers who have lost their jobs, young mothers returning to work, and people in their forties and fifties unable to find work in other industries:

“’Without relevant experience, my academic qualifications are useless, and I am already past 35.’

‘The thing about delivery work is, it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, young or old — it’ll take you on.’”

“没有工作经验，学历用不上了，还过了35岁。外卖这个事，就是不论你男女老少，它都能接纳你。”

The reference to being “past 35” is loaded.

In China’s job market, 35 has become an unofficial cut-off age. Many roles won’t consider older applicants, making delivery work one of the few sectors with no age discrimination.

The riders in the film speak frankly about the demands of the job.

They “brave the elements” (风里来雨里去), running red lights and riding the “wrong way” (逆行) down streets. The algorithm rewards speed, and punishes lateness. So road accidents and injuries are common.

The struggles of delivery riders are not a new theme. And we’ve looked at several stories over the years in this newsletter.

A defining article about delivery riders was published in September 2020 by People Magazine (人物杂志): Trapped in the System: The Life of a Delivery Rider (外卖骑手，困在系统里). That article also struck a nerve, it went viral, and was also partially censored. It exposed how algorithms squeezed delivery times, forcing riders to speed, run red lights, and risk their lives to hit impossible deadlines.

The phrase “trapped in the system” (困在系统里) became shorthand for algorithmic exploitation of gig workers.

Six years on, one interviewee in this new documentary adds a new twist that 2020 framing:

“Delivery riders aren’t trapped in the system.

They’re trapped by their own desires.”

外卖员不是困在系统里，而是困在自己的欲望里。

But he’s not talking about the desire to get rich, or build a better life. He’s doing it to survive and make ends meet in an increasingly brutal job market.

So that’s what we’re exploring this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 接纳 jiē nà

accept, embrace

外卖这个事，就是不论你男女老少，它都能接纳你 - The thing about food delivery is that no matter who you are or where you are from, there is a place for you. [1]

2. 扎心 zhā xīn

heartbreaking, painful

看完这部纪录片以后，也让我不得不认清一个扎心的真相 - This documentary hit me hard with this sobering reality. [3]

3. 讨生活 tǎo shēng huó

make a living, scrape by

每个认真讨生活的人，都值得被看见 - Everyone who works hard to make a living deserves to be seen. [3]

4. 左右为难 zuǒ yòu wéi nán

caught in a dilemma, torn between two options

一边开店一边看孩子的那两年，真的是左右为难 - During those two years of running a shop while taking care of my children, I had a hard time balancing the two. [3]

5. 风里来雨里去 fēng lǐ lái yǔ lǐ qù

to toil through all weather, braving the elements

他们是风里来雨里去的，都很辛苦 - They’re out there braving the elements. It’s hard work for all of us. [3]

Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 熬 áo

endure, tough it out

跟送外卖的一样，只不过我是在店里熬 - I am no different from the delivery riders. The only difference is that I’m grinding away inside the shop. [3]

7. 消遣 xiāo qiǎn

pass time, amusement

送外卖似乎成了高薪白领们的消遣 - Being a delivery rider seems to have become a pastime for well-paid office workers. [1]

8. 北漂 běi piāo

Beijing drifters, migrants pursuing opportunities in Beijing

于辛庄村被称作北漂来京后的第一落脚点 - Yuxinzhuang Village is known as the first place many Beijing drifters stay after arriving in the capital. [1]

9. 出路 chū lù

way out, future prospects

我们农村年轻人，出路是很少的 - For us young people from rural areas, there are very few opportunities. [1]

10. 门槛 mén kǎn

threshold, barrier to entry

这个门槛相对来说还要低一点 - There aren’t many requirements for this job. [1]

11. 兜底 dōu dǐ

provide a safety net, be a last resort

外卖平台给了一个兜底的选择 - Food delivery platforms provide a fallback option. [2]

12. 透支 tòu zhī

overdraw, exhaust in advance

开店是熬，送外卖也是熬，我们都需要提前透支自己的体力和健康 - Whether you’re running a shop or delivering food, it’s all a grind. In both cases, we’re trading our health and well-being just to get by. [3]

• Related:

  • 体力 tǐ lì – physical strength

Three character phrases

13. 边缘化 biān yuán huà

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An unlikely story has been trending on Chinese social media over the last two weeks.

It began when a tourist walked past a hotel in the northern city of Dalian (大连) during the Labour Day holiday.

It was a typical warm May day, the streets were alive with tourists. But as this tourist walked past that hotel they noticed something looked a bit off, but couldn’t quite put their finder on it.

After a second glance, they realised:

“The wind in Dalian is so strong that a stroke of the character for ‘season’ has fallen off…

And the Ji Hotel has become the Li Hotel.”

大连风太大了，“季”字都被吹掉了一撇

The hotel in question looked identical to the Ji Hotel (全季), which is a mid-range hotel chain with over 1,100 locations across China.

The branding, the colours, and the style of the building looked exactly like the Ji Hotel. Apart from from one tiny detail: the character for “season” (季 jì) on the hotel sign had been replaced by the character for the common surname, Li (李 lǐ).

To the untrained or non-native eye, these two characters look the same. The difference is a single stroke (一撇):

• “Season” (季 jì) = “grain” (禾 hé) + “child” (子 zǐ)

• “Li” (李 lǐ) = “tree” (木 mù) + “child” (子 zǐ)

The Dalian tourist went on to post their findings on Weibo. The image of the Li Hotel soon hit the top of hot search lists. With comments like:

“I had to rub my eyes and look twice at my phone. I thought I was seeing things.”

以为自己眼花了，对着手机揉了半天眼睛

And my personal favourite:

“Do you have to change your surname to Li to check in?”

住这个酒店需要改李姓吗

H World Group (华住酒店集团) is the owner of the Ji Hotel brand, and was quick to distance itself from this imposter. Of the 29 Ji Hotels in Dalian, the “Li Hotel” (全李酒店) was nothing to do with them, apparently.

Social media users across the country began spotting similar hotels with names almost identical to well-known brands.

A Youting Hotel (又庭酒店) was spotted in another city, which looked exactly like the the Hanting Hotel (汉庭酒店). It had the same blue lettering, same horse logo, but the 'water' radical (氵) on the character hàn (汉) was gone, leaving the character yòu (又) instead.

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A growing number of fakes emerged:

• The Xana Hotel (希岸 xī’àn) morphed into 希堓 (xī’àn) with an “earth” radical (土 tǔ) added to the second character (岸 àn) to make 堓 (àn), which sounds exactly the same.

• Hi Inn (海友 hǎiyǒu) became 嗨友 (hāiyǒu) with a “mouth” radical (口 kǒu) added to the second character, “sea” (海 hǎi), to make 嗨 (hāi) which means “hi.”

• And the Vienna Hotel (维也纳 Wéiyěnà) transformed into the Weitana Hotel (维他纳 wéitānà) with a “person” radical (亻 rén) added to the middle character (也 yě) to make “him” (他 tā).

So Chinese characters are fertile ground for fake brand names. With a single tweak to a radical in one character of a name, an entirely new almost identical brand is invented.

As you might expect, this is not a new phenomenon in China.

And there are an equally rich number of ways to describe it in Chinese, many of which we’ve discussed before in this newsletter:

“Piggybacking” (碰瓷), or “bumping porcelain,” refers to con artist military men in the dying days of the Qing Dynasty who ripped people off by deliberately bumping into passers-by. They carried fake expensive-looking pots, and when the pots broke due to the engineered collision, the crooks would extort compensation from their victims.

"Knock-offs" (山寨) or shanzhai literally means "mountain stronghold" which is a nod to the bandit camps where outlaws hid from the authorities in the original meaning of the word. The term entered modern usage via Cantonese as a label for small unlicensed workshops producing unauthorised copies, most notoriously in 1990s Shenzhen, where electronics imitation was rampant. Today it covers everything from shanzhai phones to shanzhai hotels like the Ji Hotel.

But our favourite is this phrase, which we translate as: "imposter hotels" (李鬼酒店).

This is a reference to a well-known scene in the classic novel, The Water Margin (水浒传), in which a scammer named Li Gui (李鬼) extorts passers-by for cash by pretending to be the infamous and feared bandit, Li Kui (李逵). "Li Gui" has become a common way to describe people or brands posing as well-known names.

Many of these “imposter hotels” have a legitimate predecessor.

The Youting (又庭) Hotel, for example, was once a franchised Hanting (汉庭 ) outlet. While other fakes, like the Li Hotel in Dalian, are simply knock-offs of established brands, like the Ji Hotel (全季) in that case.

So by making minor tweaks to the characters in well-known names, while keeping their appearance intact, these operators create the illusion of still being part of the original chain.

But they can then charge much lower prices than the branded equivalents because they no longer have to pay expensive franchising fees:

The amenities and service were not far off those of a genuine chain.

But at nearly half the price.

曾在改名后的酒店住过，配置和服务与连锁酒店相差不大，但价格便宜了接近一半。

And it’s this which we’re discussing this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 山寨 shān zhài

fake, knockoff

最近，多地曝出山寨酒店乱象，令人大跌眼镜 - Copycat hotels have been popping up across the country, which have caught many travellers completely off guard. [1]

2. 傍名 bàng míng

to associate with a famous name, to imitate a well-known brand

“笔画式傍名”的酒店，何以如此之多？ - Why are there so many hotels that imitate famous brand names by slightly altering the characters? [3]

3. 换马甲 huàn mǎ jiǎ

to disguise oneself, to rebrand under a different name

殊不知自己住的不是全季，而是“换了马甲”的全李 - Little did he know that he was not staying at Ji Hotel, but at a “rebranded” copycat called Li Hotel. [2]

4. 深藏功与名 shēn cáng gōng yǔ míng

to hide one’s achievements and reputation, to stay low-key

在夜晚，这个“鑫”字还不发光，远远看去就是“汉庭”，像个深藏功与名的替身演员 - At night, the extra character “Xin”, like a stand-in actor quietly hiding in plain sight, remains unlit and allows the hotel to masquerade as “Hanting”. [2]

5. 李鬼酒店 lǐ guǐ jiǔ diàn

copycat hotel, impostor hotel

一场乌龙，却牵扯出不少“李鬼酒店” - A single mix-up has inadvertently revealed a network of impostor hotels. [2]

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Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 碰瓷 pèng cí

a piggybacking scam, to scam by exploiting resemblance

这些“李鬼”酒店专门“碰瓷”知名品牌，在店名和形象设计上和正牌极为类似 - These impostor hotels deliberately imitate famous brands in their names and designs. [1]

7. 高仿 gāo fǎng

high-quality imitation, knockoff

还有人在上海旅游时，住进了高仿桔子酒店的“木吉酒店” - Some travellers in Shanghai ended up in “Ju Hotel”, a blatant knockoff of the well-known “Juzi Hotel”. [2]

8. 推诿 tuī wěi

to shirk responsibility, to pass the blame

一般平台多以“商家自主经营”为由推诿责任 - Platforms often shirk responsibility by claiming that those businesses operate independently. [1]

9. 瞥见 piē jiàn

to catch sight of, to glimpse

瞥见熟悉的“全季”字形就决定下单，结果订完发现，酒店名字是“全李” - He booked the room after spotting the iconic typeface of “Ji Hotel”, only to realise afterwards that it was actually called “Li Hotel”. [2]

10. 隐蔽 yǐn bì

hidden, concealed

比文字颠倒更隐蔽的，是字母造假 - What’s even harder to spot than altered characters is the manipulated alphabets. [2]

11. 乱象 luàn xiàng

Wild West, disorder

今年火爆的“五一长假”出行，也放大了这种乱象 - The travel boom during this year’s May Day holiday also magnified the scale of such scams. [2]

12. 擦边 cā biān

to skirt the line, to exploit loopholes

目前对“改字擦边”行为的执法，仍主要依赖消费者投诉和品牌方主动维权 - At present, authorities still largely rely on consumer complaints and brand-led legal challenges to crack down on these wordplay scams. [2]

Three-character phrases

13. 看走眼 kàn zǒu yǎn

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Doubao (豆包) is China’s most-used AI assistant.

It’s made by tech giant ByteDance (字节跳动), the brand behind short video social media platforms Douyin (抖音) and TikTok. And also Seedance, the AI video generation model integrated into the Doubao app.

By March 2026, Doubao had 345 million monthly active users, and is by far China’s most used AI assistant.

We’ve discussed its main competitors before in this newsletter which are DeepSeek, Alibaba’s Qwen (千问), Tencent’s Yuanbao (腾讯元宝), and Baidu’s Wenxin Assistant (文心助手) also known as Ernie Bot.

So far these services have been mainly free. Ernie Bot is the only app which has experimented with paid offerings, introducing a subscription of 59.9 yuan per month in late 2023. But they eventually backtracked following a customer backlash, making it completely free from April 1, 2025.

Until now, Doubao has followed the same free model. But on May 4, a statement appeared on its App Store page announcing a paid subscription:

“To better serve our professional community, Doubao is introducing a Premium Tier.

This paid version offers enhanced value-added services alongside our standard free tier, providing a tailored experience for users with more demanding workflows.”

为更好地服务专业用户，豆包将在免费版的基础上，推出包含更多增值服务的付费版本，以满足不同用户的差异化需求。

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According to ByteDance there are now three pricing tiers in their premium offering: a standard plan at 68 yuan a month, an enhanced plan at 200 yuan, and a professional plan at 500 yuan per month.

Although its prices are much cheaper than international equivalents such as Chat GPt and Claude, the news of the announcement immediately shot to the top of Weibo’s trending list.

Some people said they intended to “uninstall the app if Doubao is no longer free” (只要收费就卸载). Others pointed out that overseas AI products have long offered tiered pricing, and China is simply falling into line. And others commented that for Chinese users, “the AI free lunch may be over” (AI免费午餐可能没了).

Some also asked the question:

“What makes an AI tool worth 68 yuan a month?”

AI凭什么值68块钱一个月？

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That’s a difficult one for many users in China to answer or quantify because, to date, they have enjoyed free use of all these apps.

And for the past two years, China’s AI giants have been fighting a “subsidy war” (补贴战) burning cash to attract users. Alibaba even spent 3 billion yuan handing out bubble tea vouchers to pull users into Qwen in the lead up to this year’s Spring Festival.

But developing AI tools is an expensive business needing heavy investment.

ByteDance saw its net profit fall more than 70% in 2025, dragged down by AI spending. The company invested over 150 billion yuan of capital expenditure that year in AI, with around 90 billion of that on AI computing power alone.

Memory chip prices are surging too, forecast to jump between 63% and 75% this year.

And apps like Doubao are expensive to run. By March 2026, Doubao’s daily usage had hit 120 trillion tokens (the “raw material” AI runs on). This is equivalent to a doubling in usage in just three months, with monthly computing costs approaching one billion yuan.

So as costs rise the makers of AI products face a choice. They can either remain free but degrade the experience over time until users start complaining that “the AI is getting stupider” (AI越来越笨).

Or find a way to monetise.

Chinese internet companies traditionally make their money through the “three horses of the carriage” (三驾马车): value-added services, advertising, and e-commerce.

Pivot toward monetisation to pass on the cost — either by embedding ads directly into AI outputs, where the advertiser foots the bill, or through subscription models, where the cost falls on the user directly.

探索AI商业化，让用户来承担Token成本，比如在AI结果中塞广告，羊毛出在猪身上，再比如AI收费，羊毛出在羊身上。

The view inside China is that all three will eventually find their way into AI.

But advertising risks compromising the quality and neutrality of the advice these apps provide, which is a line Chinese tech companies have so far been reluctant to cross.

So for a product that functions as an assistant, as a creative tool, and as a chat companion, subscriptions are the natural fit.

With soaring chip costs, exponential usage growth, and shareholders keen to see a return on years of AI investment, the pressure on ByteDance and others to monetise has become impossible to ignore:

“ByteDance’s shareholders are keen to see some return, after having invested so much into AI.”

字节的股东们估计也急了，投了这么多钱，总得看到回报吧。

So Doubao has finally made that first move.

And that’s what we’re exploring this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 造血 zào xiě

generate revenue, become financially self-sustaining

当算力成本的全链条上涨成为不可逆的趋势，大模型从“免费圈地”走向“收费造血”，便成了无法回避的生存必答题 - With the inevitable surge of chip costs, LLM providers realised that they have no choice but to pivot from capturing the market to generating margins. [1]

2. 财大气粗 cái dà qì cū

wealthy and powerful, financially strong

财大气粗的豆包也要探索收费模式了 - Even the well-funded Doubao has started exploring paid business models. [2]

3. 羊毛出在羊身上 yáng máo chū zài yáng shēn shang

the cost is ultimately borne by the user; you end up paying one way or another

比如在AI结果中塞广告，羊毛出在猪身上，再比如AI收费，羊毛出在羊身上 - Some are experimenting with embedding ads directly into AI outputs—the classic “indirect monetisation” play where the advertiser foots the bill. Others are moving toward straight-up subscription models, where they pass the cost directly onto the end user. [2]

• Related:

  • 羊毛出在猪身上 yáng máo chū zài zhū shēn shang – making someone else pay the cost

4. 天下没有免费的午餐 tiān xià méi yǒu miǎn fèi de wǔ cān

there’s no free lunch

在商言商，天下没有免费的午餐，AI 收费早晚的事儿 - From a business perspective, there’s no such thing as a free lunch; charging for AI usage is only a matter of time. [3]

5. 一棒子打死 yí bàng zi dǎ sǐ

to completely dismiss, to condemn outright

话说回来，吐槽归吐槽，但也别一棒子打死 - That said, complaints are one thing, but don’t dismiss it outright. [3]

Consuming the Conversation

Useful Words

6. 悄然 qiǎo rán

quietly, unnoticed

这一消息源于豆包在苹果App Store页面悄然更新的付费订阅服务声明 - This news came from Doubao’s recently updated paid subscription service notice on its Apple App Store page. [1]

7. 炸锅 zhà guō

to explode with reactions, cause an uproar

对于豆包收费，网友评论瞬间炸锅 - Doubao’s pivot to monetisation sparked an immediate uproar. [1]

8. 烧钱 shāo qián

to burn money, spend huge amounts of money

这本身就是一场极致的“烧钱”游戏 - At the end of the day, it’s just a game of who has the most cash to burn. [1]

9. 试水 shì shuǐ

to test the waters

豆包开始试水收费 - Doubao has started testing paid services. [1]

10. 抢客 qiǎng kè

to compete aggressively for customers

阿里旗下的千问甚至祭出“请喝奶茶”、发补贴等手段疯狂抢客 - Alibaba’s Qwen even used tactics like “free milk tea” to aggressively acquire users. [1]

Three-character phrases

11. 价值战 jià zhí zhàn

competition based on value, value-driven competition

或许标志着国内大模型行业正从“价格战”悄然转向“价值战” - This may signal that China’s AI industry is quietly shifting from a “price war” to a “value war”. [1]

• Related:

  • 产品力 chǎn pǐn lì – product strength, product competitiveness

  • 印钞机 yìn chāo jī – money-printing machine, cash cow

12. 狗屎运 gǒu shǐ yùn

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An internet slang phrase which became popular two years ago has resurfaced in media discussions over the last few weeks.

The phrase is “full-time children” (全职儿女):

“Full-time children — a new buzzword for young adults who, instead of seeking traditional employment, stay at home to provide emotional support and help with household chores, while their parents cover their living expenses.”

这两年有个名词很火，叫”全职儿女”，顾名思义就是孩子不找工作，全职在家，给父母提供情绪价值或者一些基本的劳动力保障，然后自己的日常经济开销由父母提供。

It’s a new twist on an older slang phrase which we’ve also covered before in this newsletter: “parasite generation” (啃老族).

“Parasite generation” is borrowed from Japanese (パラサイト・シングル), which is a transliteration of the English phrase.

It became a common expression in Japan during its economic crash in the 1990’s. That was time described as the “lost thirty years” (失去的30年), when many young people became trapped in low-paying jobs, unable to afford to buy a home. So many of them gave up working and moved back in with their parents to live off family savings.

So “parasite generation” (啃老族) has strong negative connotations. Whereas, according to Chinese media discussions, this new phrase taking off in China right now, “full-time children” (全职儿女), carries a different and slightly more positive meaning.

Because unlike in Japan during the ‘90’s, these young Chinese people are “employed” to provide genuine support to the household, such as cooking, cleaning, caring for ageing grandparents, and offering “emotional value” (情绪价值).

Related

But the causes behind the emergence of “full-time children” are similar to those in Japan which gave rise to its “parasite generation”.

First, as we’ve discussed in this newsletter, China’s graduates are struggling to find work. A record 11.58 million students graduated from Chinese universities last year. At a time when many entry-level jobs are being “replaced and eliminated” (汰换) by AI.

Second, by 2022, people aged 60 and above made up nearly 15% of China’s population. With elderly parents increasingly in need of support, and young people increasingly unable to find stable work or afford to buy a house, staying home and being “employed” by elderly parents is a win-win for both.

People now in their 50s and 60s have saved well during China’s boom years of the nineties and naughties, and now many of them also draw a pension. So for them, as the saying goes, “adding another pair of chopsticks to the table” (添双筷子) isn’t much of a hardship.

“In an era of labor shortages and abundant opportunity, staying home was dismissed as being lazy.

But now with a stagnant economy and a harsh job market, staying close to your parents has become the second best option.“

那时候劳动缺口大，出去遍地都能找到活儿干。你躲在家里不出门，靠父母养活，那大概率就是懒惰。但现在，当社会发展慢了下来，当外面的钱不好赚了，留在父母身边啃老成为次优解。

A third reason is China’s stressed housing market.

For most young people, property has become too expensive to buy without funding from their parents. So it’s become normalised for parents to pay to help get kids on the property ladder.

Now that’s extending further, with many parents agreeing to employ their kids at home rather than let them grind away in a low-paid “workhorse” (牛马) jobs in big cities far from home.

In economic terms, there’s even a Chinese phrase to describe what’s happening:

“This is called intergenerational transfers.”

用经济学的专业术语来说，这叫代际转移支付。

While “full-time children” are seen in a more positive light than the “parasite generation” before them, there are many people who see this trend as a bad thing. Because it can lead to laziness and lack of ambition among young people at a time in their lives when they should be working hard as their parents did before them.

One writer highlights the pitfalls of hiring your own kids, sharing a story of his friend who “hired” his daughter into the family business:

“She made some friends back home and started hanging out with them all the time.

She became really patchy about coming into the office, too — sometimes she wouldn’t show up for a whole week.”

她在国内也有了一些朋友，天天就跟她们混在一块了，去公司也是三天打鱼两天晒网，有时候一个星期都见不到人。

But in a labour market this depressed, and with property prices still so high, “full-time children” has become one way of naming and normalising a reality many families are already living.

Although as one netizen jokes, being a full-time child is not without its indignities:

“The most educated in the whole family is coincidentally also the lowest paid.”

全家学历最高，工资最低。

So, that’s what we’re exploring this week!

Favourite Five

1. 啃老族 kěn lǎo zú

relying on parents financially, parasite single

往前倒推10—20年，哪有全职儿女，那叫啃老族 - There was no such thing as “full-time children” 10-20 years ago.They were just called parasite singles. [1]

• Related:

  • 啃老 kěn lǎo – to rely on parents financially

2. 打感情牌 dǎ gǎn qíng pái

play the emotional card, appeal to emotions

打感情牌，说你父母也挺不容易的啥的 - He then started to sympathise with the parents, saying things like they haven’t had it easy. [2]

3. 自力更生 zì lì gēng shēng

self-reliance, support oneself

父母都只养到他们18岁，然后他们就必须脱离家庭，自力更生 - Parents only support the kids before they turn 18, and then the kids are expected to move out and support themselves. [1]

4. 全职儿女 quán zhí ér nǚ

unemployed adult living with parents, full-time children

这两年有个名词很火，叫“全职儿女”，顾名思义就是孩子不找工作，全职在家，给父母提供情绪价值或者一些基本的劳动力保障 - There is a new buzzword called full-time children, which describes young adults who, instead of seeking traditional employment, stay at home to provide emotional support and help with household chores. [1]

5. 添双筷子 tiān shuāng kuài zi

add another mouth to feed, take one more person in

把孩子留在身边也就是添双筷子的事情 - For many parents, the marginal cost of supporting their children who stay at home is negligible. It’s just a matter of “providing an extra pair of chopsticks at the table”. [1]

Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 托底 tuō dǐ

provide a safety net, back someone up

年轻人考公考研，中年人结婚育儿，或多或少都需要父母的托底 - Whether it’s young people taking civil service or graduate exams, or middle-aged couples navigating marriage and parenthood, they all need some kind of financial support from their parents. [1]

• Related:

  • 托举 tuō jǔ – to lift up, support

  • 家底 jiā dǐ - financial background

7. 殷实 yīn shí

well-off, financially secure

家底殷实的家庭，宁愿孩子拿着钱吃吃喝喝，安稳度日 - The well-to-do would rather prefer that their children coast through life using the parents’ money. [1]

8. 数落 shǔ luo

to scold, to nag

父母也一样，能给到短期帮助的，就别常数落孩子了 - The same goes for the parents. If they can offer short-term help, they shouldn’t keep telling their children off. [3]

9. 庇护 bì hù

shelter, protection

在父母的庇护下，成了在家陪爸妈的全职儿女了 - Under the wings of their parents, they have become full-time children providing companionship at home. [3]

Three-character phrases

10. 次优解 cì yōu jiě

second-best solution, suboptimal choice

当外面的钱不好赚了，留在父母身边啃老成为次优解 - With a harsh job market, staying with the parents becomes the second best option. [1]

11. 瞎折腾 xiā zhē teng

to mess around, to make pointless trouble

只要她不瞎折腾就行，我还是能够养得起的 - As long as she doesn’t blow it all on something meaningless, I can still foot the bill for her. [2]

12. 家里蹲 jiā lǐ dūn

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The Beijing Human and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon took place on April 19 in Yizhuang (亦庄), a district in the southeastern suburbs of the capital.

The Chinese name for the race is even more of a mouthful than the English: 半程马拉松暨人形机器人半程马拉松

It’s now in its second year, we discussed the first half marathon back in April 2025.

In that race, robots of all shapes and sizes lurched down the course, many falling before the finish line. The winner in 2025 was Tiangong Ultra (天工Ultra) which crossed the line in 2 hours 40 minutes.

One year on and the event looks almost unrecognisable:

This year’s competitors have seen marked gains in both efficiency and stability.

Their on-track performance is far more consistent, reflecting a leap in several fundamental capabilities.

今年参赛的机器人，其运行效率与稳定性均有提升，赛道表现更趋稳定，背后对应的是多项底层能力的同步进步。

102 teams competed in the race, with over 300 robots from 26 brands running alongside human competitors on the same course. Teams from 13 provinces across China, as well as overseas labs from Germany, France, and Brazil took part.

The 21-kilometre course was more challenging than last year’s. It took the competitors through different terrains including slopes, narrow sections, and sharp bends of almost 90 degrees.

Fewer than half of the robots made it to the finish line.

The pre-race favourite was the H1 by Unitree Robotics (宇树科技), which had clocked speeds of up to 7.51 metres per second in qualifying. But on the day, it fell near the finish line and was unable to complete the race.

The winner was a surprise to many, and a new entrant this year.

It was called Lightning (闪电), built by smartphone manufacturer Honor (荣耀). Lightning had its wobbles along the way, falling around 200 metres from the finish. But it managed to complete the race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, smashing the human world record for that distance.

Second and third places were also taken by Honor-made robots.

In fact the mobile brand swept all six of the top places. That’s despite Honor’s robotics division only being established since mid-2025. With most of the core team drawn from its existing smartphone research and development unit.

While Honor’s dominance on the podium did come as a surprise to many, it was not such a shock to the Honor team. They went into the race with confidence as Lightning had completed the course in the pre-race dry run in around 50 minutes, without running at full speed:

After the robot from Honor shattered human records while “holding back” during pre-race testing, the team knew that the race was in the bag.

在开赛前一周的全要素路测中，荣耀机器人”收着跑”仅发挥七八成功力，就打破了人类最好半马纪录，团队内部当时就觉得，夺冠已是”探囊取物”。

Related

Although the team behind Lightning is new, this win has been much longer in the making.

Speaking in Beijing after the race, Honor’s Chief Strategy Officer for Embodied Intelligence, Wang Ai (王皑), explained:

“Why was Honor able to build ‘Lightning’ at lightning speed in just six months?

The answer lies in a decade of experience in the smartphone supply chain.”

The ecosystem we built for consumer electronics — from precision structural components and sensors to LiDAR and cooling systems— has all been repurposed for our robots.”

“为什么荣耀能够在6个月这样一个’闪电’的时间里做出’闪电’？这背后是我们在手机制造业供应链上十年经验的积累。”荣耀在消费电子领域沉淀的供应链体系，从精密结构件到传感器，从激光雷达到散热泵体等，都复用到了机器人身上。

In March last year, Honor CEO Li Jian (李健) launched the company’s “Alpha Plan”, setting out its transformation from a smartphone manufacturer into a “global leading AI device ecosystem company” (全球领先的 AI 终端生态公司).

He committed to an investment of $10 billion dollars over the next five years. And it’s already yielding results: in March this year, Honor launched its first “robot phone” (机器人手机) with a camera which apparently has the agility of a human neck!

The sudden dominance of Honor in this race is a sign of things to come in China’s embodied intelligence sector. “Embodied intelligence” (具身智能) is a phrase we’ll be hearing much in the coming months and years — which we first shared with you in November last year.

This is what's known as a “wind vent” (风口), which we translate as “the next big thing”. These are sectors which suddenly become hugely popular with investors who deploy massive amounts of cash into start-ups in the sector looking for quick returns.

And that’s certainly happening in China’s embodied intelligence industry. According to one research firm, over 50 funding rounds linked to these technologies were completed in the first quarter of 2026. That’s a cumulative financing of around 20 billion yuan (or nearly $3 billion USD) in just three months.

But, as we’ve seen in other wind vent sectors, funding can soon run dry, and “involuted” competition destroys many of the early movers. Which is why Honor and others are sprinting to gain a dominant position while they still can.

Many of the companies in that race will not survive. And it’s a reckoning which may not be far off, as one industry expert warns:

“In the next six to twelve months, the humanoid robots will have to step out of the show room and enter the examination hall.”

“未来6到12个月，人形机器人行业该从秀场进考场了。”

So that’s what we’re exploring this week!

Favourite Five

1. 包揽 bāo lǎn

to sweep, to win all

荣耀“包揽”胜利的现象，也引发了行业的冷静思考 - Honor’s clean sweep has also prompted sober reflection within the industry. [4]

2. 颤颤巍巍 chàn chàn wēi wēi

trembling, shaky

它自己又颤颤巍巍地爬起来完成了撞线 - It staggered back up and somehow managed to cross the finish line. [3]

3. 肉眼可见 ròu yǎn kě jiàn

visible to the naked eye, clearly noticeable

肉眼可见的是，今年参赛的机器人，其运行效率与稳定性均有提升 - There has been a tangible improvement in the efficiency and stability of this year’s robots. [1]

4. 探囊取物 tàn náng qǔ wù

as easy as taking something from a bag, effortless success

在开赛前一周的路测中，荣耀机器人“收着跑”仅发挥七八成功力，就打破了人类最好半马纪录，团队内部当时就觉得，夺冠已是“探囊取物” - After the robot from Honor shattered human records while “’holding back”’ during pre-race testing, the team knew that the race was in the bag. [2]

5. 华山论剑 huà shān lùn jiàn

The Great Sword Duel at Mount Hua; the ultimate showdown

有的队伍14公里就“下线”了，但大家依然很开心。这就是一场“华山论剑” - Some teams didn’t manage to cross the 14-kilometer mark, but everyone was still in high spirits. After all, this wasn’t just a race; it was a true clash of titans in this industry. [4]

• Note: From Louis Cha’s wuxia novels The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传) and The Return of the Condor Heroes (神雕侠侣)

Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 入局 rù jú

to enter the game, to enter a field

手机厂商的入局，正在让竞争格局变得更有意思 - The arrival of the smartphone manufacturer is shaking up the competitive landscape.

7. 噱头 xué tóu

gimmick, publicity stunt

现阶段的赛事并非单纯的营销噱头，而是必要的技术压力测试 - At this stage, the competition is not merely a marketing gimmick, but a technical stress test that is absolutely necessary. [2]

8. 路演 lù yǎn

roadshow, promotional tour

机器人百亿“路演”，能带来什么？ - What can a billion-yuan robot roadshow bring? [4]

9. 竞技 jìng jì

competition, to compete

从隔离展示到同场竞技，人形机器人正在以肉眼可见的速度，走进现实生活 - From robot show at exhibitions to active contenders in the same race, humanoids are making the leap into reality faster than ever before. [1]

10. 打磨 dǎ mó

to polish, to refine

虽然从赛场表现来看，这些能力仍在持续打磨之中 - Although judging from their performance in the race, these capabilities are still being continuously refined. [1]

11. 攻克 gōng kè

to overcome, to tackle

这些也是各大机器人厂商需要重点攻克的课题 - These are also the key challenges that major robot manufacturers are tackling. [1]

12. 闭环 bì huán

closed loop

资本更看重的，是运动能力、操作能力与商业化落地之间能否形成闭环 - What investors really care about is whether locomotion, manipulation, and commercial viability can create a self-sustaining loop. [2]

13. 卫冕 wèi miǎn

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A trend has been quietly emerging in China’s employment landscape.

There’s no official English name for it yet. So we came up with one which we’ll discuss below.

This new trend is unlike anything we’ve covered before. It’s nothing to do with the grind of the “side-hustle” (副业), or the soul-crushing feeling of the “office odour” (班味). Nor is it about the resigned self-mockery of calling yourself a “workhorse” (牛马) — one of our top phrases of 2024.

This new trend is totally different. The phrase describing it puts two unlikely words together: “to pretend” (假装) and “go to work” (上班). And since there’s no ready-made English translation for it, we invented one:

The “Mockupation” (假装上班).

This Chinese phrase began surfacing in late 2024, as videos of people documenting their mock occupations spread across Chinese social media.

And, as we’ve discussed many times in this newsletter over the years, whenever a new trend emerges in China, a new business model is never far behind to capitalise on it.

So with the rise of the “mockupation” a new kind of company has begun to appear. These are companies that like any other: large open-plan offices, rows of clean desks, printers, the low hum of a busy working day:

“There are seven or eight coworkers at their desks, each deep in their own tasks, some crunching numbers in Excel, others on sales calls, and a few buried in code.

Everyone is busy with their own work, and people chat occasionally, unlike in a quiet library.”

工位上有七八个同事正在工作，每个人都很忙碌，有人在处理excel表格，有人在打电话沟通业务，还有人在敲代码，大家在忙自己的工作，有时候互相会说说话，不像自习室一样特别安静。

But there’s one big difference.

The people sitting at those desks are not employees. They are customers, paying to be there.

“The pinnacle of professionalism might just be the ability to stay on duty when you have lost your job.

And that commitment has given birth to a new type of company popping up all across the country: Mockupation companies.”

上班的最高境界是什么？或许是：现实已无班可上，内心却始终”在岗”。最近全国各地冒出来了一批新的公司：假装上班公司。

Related

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“Mockupation companies” (假装上班公司) have been springing up in cities across China, from Beijing to Shenzhen.

These businesses are mostly repurposed idle office space turned into a new source of revenue by the owners, such as empty desks in showrooms, or spare floors in commercial buildings.

A small desk in a mockupation company is rented out for as little as 100 yuan a month, and a larger one costs around 150 yuan. If you want to work overtime, there’s an additional charge of 10 yuan per hour.

It’s not just office space they provide. Mockupation companies offer “boss patrol” (老板定期巡视) services, with “managers” wandering the floor, so mock employees can experience the feeling of looking busy while doing nothing. And others offer “simulated interview services” (假装面试), which is a performative interview before the “applicant” can “join” the company.

The people who use these spaces fall into several categories.

Many are recent graduates struggling to find work. Others are burned-out veterans from China’s big tech companies using the space as a soft landing after being “optimised” out of a job.

Then there are those who are there purely to keep up appearances with family and friends, trying to avoid the social stigma attached to long-term unemployment.

They’re also popular with entrepreneurs and small business owners who are managing online shops, or building software, who simply need a place to work and make new contacts.

For these people, mockupation companies offer structure, routine, and a psychological anchor of people “coming together to support each other” (抱团取暖).

Which, in the current job market in China, is a much needed relief from the otherwise grim outlook:

“These spaces serve as a layover on one’s journey.

Whether they are graduates looking for their first job or professionals navigating the void of a layoff…

These individuals take a short break here to catch their breath before heading towards the next destination.”

假装上班公司就像人生旅途中的一个中转站。每个来到这里的人都处在生活的某个过渡期——无论是从校园到职场，从失业到就业，还是从一种生活状态转向另一种。他们在这里稍作停留，调整状态，为的是更好地奔赴下一个目的地。

So, will this trend last?

That’s what we’re exploring this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 空窗期 kōng chuāng qī

gap period, career break

失业或职业空窗期，不会被视为正常的人生调整，只会被老一辈简单等同于个人的失败与挫折 - For the older generation, temporary unemployment or a career gap is not seen as a chance to recalibrate, but as personal failure and setbacks. [2]

• Related:

  • 过渡期 guò dù qī – transition period

  • 缓冲带 huǎn chōng dài – buffer zone

  • 低谷期 dī gǔ qī – rock bottom

2. 形形色色 xíng xíng sè sè

all kinds of, a wide variety of

来的人形形色色，上到五六十岁，下到刚成年 - The people who came were of all ages, ranging from those in their fifties or sixties to those who had just reached adulthood. [1]

3. 虚度光阴 xū dù guāng yīn

waste time, idle away time

只要你仔细观察这些“假装上班族”，就会发现他们都没有在虚度光阴 - If you take a closer look at those who engage in “mockupation”, you’ll find that none of them are wasting their time. [2]

4. 假装上班 jiǎ zhuāng shàng bān

pretend to go to work, mockupation

上班的最高境界是什么？或许是：现实已无班可上，内心却始终“在岗”。最近全国各地冒出来了一批新的公司：假装上班公司 - The pinnacle of professionalism might just be the ability to stay on duty when you have lost your job. Their commitment has given birth to a new type of company that is popping up all across the country: Mockupation startups. [2]

5. 抱团取暖 bào tuán qǔ nuǎn

huddle together for warmth, support each other

他们通过“抱团取暖”重建社会连接，用“自嘲”化解身份转变的阵痛，以微小的经济代价换取一个物理上的“喘息空间” - The unemployed find a collective refuge in “mockupation offices”, where they utilize self-deprecating wit to mask the trauma of their displaced status while paying a small premium for a temporary sanctuary from the pressures of reality. [3]

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Useful words

6. 副业 fù yè

side job, side hustle

搞副业是祝潇颖眼中体现个人直接能力的方法 - In Zhu Xiaoying’s view, having a side job is the way to demonstrate the direct impact one can create. [3]

• Related:

  • 待业 dài yè – unemployed, between jobs

7. 裸辞 luǒ cí

quit without a backup plan, resign before receiving another offer

时间长了，人际交往的压力也越来越大，于是干脆裸辞，靠自媒体带货谋生 - Eventually, the social toll of the corporate life just became too much. So she decided to simply quit her job and pivot to selling products on social media. [1]

8. 瞎忙 xiā máng

be busy for nothing, busy without direction

每天排得满满当当，但是瞎忙，没有主心骨 - Every day is fully packed, but I was just going through the motions and didn’t have a sense of where I was going. [1]

9. 沉淀 chén diàn

accumulate, settle and reflect

一开始大家都是觉得自己不赚钱，想着接下来多沉淀 - At the beginning, everyone felt they weren’t making money, so they believed that they should take time to upskill and hone their craft. [1]

• Related:

  • 沉下心 chén xià xīn – calm down, focus oneself

10. 惬意 qiè yì

comfortable, at ease

那这段“上班”时光就更多了几分温暖，自然也更惬意 - This period of “working” thus felt a bit warmer and naturally more comfortable. [2]

11. 摸鱼 mō yú

slack off, goof off at work

然后是“闲聊、摸鱼”，最后一项是“职业规划” - Then comes “chatting and slacking off”, and the last item is “career planning”. [3]

12. 倒贴 dào tiē

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One of China’s most famous livestream hosts, Dong Yuhui (董宇辉), is facing a consumer backlash.

It began in early April, when a CCTV reporter exposed a health supplement sold by Dong called “Youthit” (优思益) which claimed to be an Australian brand. Priced at 293–434 yuan per bottle, it was marketed as a premium eye supplement made by Australian company, Yarra Vibe.

But the reporter discovered a very different reality: the products were made in China, owned by a Chinese shell company registered at an Australian address, which turned out to be a car repair warehouse in the outskirts of Melbourne.

And its brand story, including international awards, and expert endorsements, were all concocted by a marketing company based in Hangzhou.

This kind of fake foreign brand is common in China. It’s know as a “Western vest” (洋马甲) in Chinese slang, where a domestic product is dressed up with a foreign identity to command a premium price.

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Soon after the story broke, Youthit delisted all products across every platform and suspended all sales activity, and multiple government departments launched investigations into its operations. The outcome is still pending.

Dong Yuhui’s channel, Time with Hui (与辉同行) was the single largest sales platform for Youthit, accounting for an estimated 40% of total sales, and between 10–25 million yuan ($1.4-3.4 million USD) in revenue.

When the story broke, other influencers who had promoted the product quickly issued apologies and offered full refunds — known as “triple damages” (退一赔三) under Chinese consumer law. Which means for every purchase of a fake, customers get three times the price paid as compensation from the seller.

But Dong Yuhui’s team was notably slow to respond, issuing three statements which didn’t address the problem:

“On day one, they said they were ‘looking into it’.

On day two, they said they were ‘closely monitoring it’.

And only on day three did they reluctantly issue a statement offering ‘out-of-pocket refund’ to consumers.”

第一天在”关注”，第二天在”重点关注”，直到第三天才不情愿地发声明说”垫付退款”。 [2]

These lukewarm responses caused even more consternation online.

Because “looking into it” (关注) and “closely monitoring it” (重点关注) are classic Chinese corporate non-responses. And the word “out-of-pocket” (垫付) frames the refund as a favour to the consumer rather than an admission of liability. The repayment offered also fell well short of the standard “triple damages” paid Dong’s competitors.

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Doing Yuhui is a familiar name to long-time readers of this newsletter.

He became the face of East Buy (东方甄选), a live-streaming channel born out of the ashes of embattled education business, New Oriental (新东方) in 2022, whose private tutoring business was decimated by China’s Double Reduction policy (双减政策) the year before.

In December 2023, Dong became the CEO of East Buy. Then in July, 2024, Dong quit the platform to build his own channel, Time with Hui (与辉同行). And since then he’s become one of the top earners in the industry. Last year alone Time with Hui recorded over 21 billion yuan in sales (USD 2.9 billion).

But in recent months, Dong has been been hit by a series of fake product controversies, Youthit being the third this year.

In January 2026, his channel sold “Dabie Mountain Butter Hen” (大别山黄油母鸡) for 84 yuan for a pack of three. An industry association challenged its authenticity because the numbers didn’t add up — that breed of chicken costs over 150 yuan per hen raise. The product was quietly delisted from Dong’s channel.

Then in March 2026, the annual CCTV 315 Consumer Rights Broadcast (央视3·15晚会) exposed a brand of bleached chicken feet (漂白鸡爪) for being produced in unsanitary conditions. The product was also sold through Dong’s channel, but his team deflected the issue saying that the products he had sold came from a different production line.

Each time, Dong Yuhui used carefully worded language to distance himself from the problem product, and any liability.

But his fans are getting fed up, as this comment on social media suggests:

“This isn’t a mistake. He is treating consumers like idiots.”

这不是失误，这是把消费者的智商摁在地上摩擦。 [2]

• The phrase, “rubbing into the dirt” (摁在地上摩擦) is vivid Chinese internet slang meaning to utterly humiliate or disrespect someone, which captures how many of Dong’s fans are starting to feel.

The “fake Western vest” (洋马甲) foreign brand playbook is nothing new in China.

But this is a new problem for Dong who has built his reputation as a “cultural figure” (文化人), and educator. He’s even known affectionately by fans as “Teacher Dong” (董老师) — a reference to his earlier career as an English teacher at New Oriental before he became a superstar seller. His viewers and fans trust him, and they are willing to pay a premium for the products he promotes because of it.

But that deep trust is being eroded with these recent controversies. And there’s a new idiomatic phrase to explain why:

Recently, the catchphrase “Dong Yuhui keeps getting away with it” has gone viral.

A play on the old adage “the law does not punish the masses”, the four-character phrase highlights the seemingly untouchable status of Dong Yuhui and his team amidst a string of recent live-streaming controversies.

最近，”法不责辉”成了网络流行语。这四个字借用了老话”法不责众”的壳，指向了主播董宇辉及其团队在多起带货争议中的处境。

Trust is Dong’s single most valuable commercial asset. Unlike other live-streamers who sell on price or entertainment, Dong’s entire operation runs on this credibility.

And now that credibility is beginning to crack, rebuilding it will be far harder that it was to create.

So that’s what we’re discussing this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 情怀 qíng huái

sentiment, emotional attachment

他的流量和口碑，大多建立在“情怀”和“信任”之上 - His massive following and reputation are largely built on emotional resonance and trust. [3]

2. 洋马甲 yáng mǎ jiǎ

fake foreign branding, domestic product labelled as imported

成本30块，国内代工，全靠洋马甲忽悠人 - The product is a thirty-yuan domestic white-label disguised with a foreign-sounding name. [2]

• Related:

  • 洋牌 yáng pái – foreign brand label

  • 假洋货 jiǎ yáng huò – fake foreign brand

3. 摇身一变 yáo shēn yí biàn

to transform instantly, to turn into overnight

于是国产货，就摇身一变成为了高大上的洋货了 - Domestic products are then instantly transformed into high-end foreign goods. [4]

4. 法不责辉 fǎ bù zé huī

Dong Yuhui keeps getting away with it; selective accountability

最近，“法不责辉”成了网络流行语。这四个字借用了老话“法不责众”的壳，指向了主播董宇辉及其团队在多起带货争议中的处境 - Recently, the catchphrase “Dong Yuhui keeps getting away with it” has gone viral. A play on the old adage “the law does not punish the masses,” the four-character phrase highlights the seemingly untouchable status of influencer Dong Yuhui and his team amidst a string of recent livestreaming controversies. [1]

• Note: wordplay on “The law does not punish the masses” (法不责众)

• Related:

  • 法外之地 fǎ wài zhī dì – the Wild West, legal vacuum

5. 人红是非多 rén hóng shì fēi duō

the more famous you are, the more trouble you attract

人红是非多，顶流主播也逃不过舆论审判 - As the saying goes, fame always invites trouble: even the top live-streamer cannot escape public scrutiny. [3]

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Useful words

6. 恶意 è yì

malicious intent, bad faith

违法事实清楚，责任主体明确，主观恶意明显 - There is a clear violation, a defined liable party, and unmistakable willful misconduct. [1]

7. 欺诈 qī zhà

fraud, deception

两位被官方定性为虚假宣传或消费欺诈 - The two were accused by the authorities to be engaging in false advertising or consumer fraud. [1]

8. 翻车 fān chē

to mess up, to fail badly

董宇辉又翻车了 - Dong Yuhui messed it up again. [2]

• Related:

  • 出事 chū shì – something went wrong, an incident occurred

9. 神坛 shén tán

altar, place of reverence

董宇辉，是时候被拉下神坛了 - It’s time for Dong Yuhui to be pulled down from the altar (meaning: to be held accountable). [2]

10. 贪婪 tān lán

greedy, greed

不能用情怀来掩盖贪婪和虚伪，欺骗你的粉丝和用户 - You can’t use emotional appeal to sanitise greed and hypocrisy as you deceive your fans and users. [2]

11. 乱象 luàn xiàng

chaotic situation, disorderly phenomenon

希望他能守住行业的底线，成为乱象中的一束光 - Hopefully he can hold the line and become a ray of light amid industry-wide misconducts. [3]

12. 镀金 dù jīn

to gild, to embellish credentials

注册个品牌，最好再找个共享办公位，就算完成身份镀金了 - All it takes is a registered brand name and a desk at a co-working space to give yourself a veneer of legitimacy. [4]

13. 疙瘩 gē da

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On March 24, education influencer Zhang Xuefeng (张雪峰) died suddenly in Suzhou from cardiac arrest. He was only 41 years old.

On the morning of the day he died, he’d already broadcast a livestream and completed a run. His March running total had already passed 70km, according to his WeChat Moments.

For readers of this newsletter, Zhang Xuefeng is a familiar name. He is one of China’s most recognisable internet celebrities, and has made a name for himself as a “gaokao college application planning advisor” (高考志愿规划师).

On Weibo, one post captured what many were feeling about his sudden death:

“A life of such theatrical flair ended by a sudden and brutal blow.

Whatever you thought of him, you cannot help but shudder at this grim fate.”

“富有戏剧色彩的人生，最终以决然而突兀的一击结束。无论对这个人观感如何，都不能不为命运之严酷森冷而战栗。”

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Zhang came from modest beginnings.

He grew up in a small town in Heilongjiang Province, called Fuyu County (富裕县). Fuyu in Chinese means rich, but ironically this town was very poor. At his family’s most strapped, their combined monthly income was just 600 yuan when Zhang was growing up.

After finding fame and wealth, Zhang often joked of just how poor his childhood was:

“Some struggle to put food on the table…

But back then my family didn’t even have a table to put food on!”

有人穷得叮当响，那时我是穷到响都没有！

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Zhang attended Zhengzhou University, which is not one of China’s most prestigious but an achievement for Zhang to get into given where he came from. He studied water supply and drainage engineering (给排水工程). Which was completely irrelevant to the rest of his career. After graduating, he began his career in postgraduate entrance exam tutoring.

He got his first taste of online fame in 2016, when he produced the video “Understanding China’s 34 Top Universities in Seven Minutes” (七分钟解读34所985高校).

It went viral, garnering millions of views. Speaking in his distinctive northeastern accent, Zhang took the boring and confusing topic of university profiles and broke it down into a string of jokes and one-liners with the timing and delivery of a stand-up comic.

That formula of straight-talking, simple, entertaining, and helpful transformed him from an ordinary exam tutor into an internet celebrity.

In the years that followed, Zhang capitalised on that fame and built a successful education business. Many criticised him for “making money off people’s anxieties” (靠焦虑来赚钱). But for millions of parents he offered a lifeline to navigate the pressures of academic results, university choices, and graduate employment.

He encouraged students to opt for employability, high pay, and job security over personal interest, passion, or ideals. Niche subjects, according to Zhang, had narrow career prospects, low wages, and were “dead-end” fields to be avoided.

So Zhang was no stranger to controversy.

In 2024, he caused an uproar when he discouraged students from majoring in humanities, saying:

“If my child insists on studying journalism, I’ll knock them out cold.”

“孩子非要报新闻学，我一定把他打晕”

…

“Every humanities degree will lead to a job in the service industry. At the end of the day, what you do is just sucking up to people. “

“所有文科都是服务业，总结为一个舔字”

He famously dismissed biology, chemistry, environmental science, and materials science as “pitfall majors” (天坑专业). And he even discouraged youngsters from becoming diplomats.

But behind the provocative online persona was a man who couldn’t stop. Back in June 2023, Zhang was admitted to hospital with symptoms of extreme exhaustion, chest tightness, and heart palpitations.

He led an intense life of overwork, poor diet, and lack of sleep, while also being a keen runner, putting his body under immense and sustained stress.

He often shared on social media how tired he felt, like this post in April 2021:

“Am I tired? Of course. Can I take a break? Of course not. Am I afraid of overworking to death?

No. Why do I push myself like this? Because go big or go home. I owe it to everyone who put their faith in me.”

“累么？累！不能休息么？不能！你就不怕猝死么？不怕！为什么要这样？做事情，要么就不做，要做，就做好！对得起每一个信任你的人！”

Despite the controversies of Zhang and what’s he’s said over the years, the outpouring on social media following his death was overwhelming, and mostly positive.

According to the excellent and timely Bumingbai (不明白播客), Zhang’s death generated over 1 billion posts on Weibo, over 5 billion on Douyin, and over 80,000 articles on WeChat. And on the day of his funeral in Suzhou, tens of thousands of people reportedly turned up to pay their respects in person — images of which were quickly censored online.

So for all the people Zhang upset, there were many more who were grateful for his honesty, directness, and help in navigating China’s competitive and unforgiving education system.

And that’s what we’re discussing this week.

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Favourite Five

1. 透支 tòu zhī

overdraw, overextend

他无限透支自己的身体，却偏偏不敢停 - He was burning the candle at both ends, yet he didn’t dare to take a break. [1]

• Related:
  疲惫 pí bèi – tired, exhausted

2. 玩命 wán mìng

risk one’s life, go all out recklessly

长期这么干，等于玩命 - Doing this long-term is basically committing slow suicide.

• Related:
  拼命 pīn mìng – to give it your all, desperately

3. 戛然而止 jiá rán ér zhǐ

an abrupt end, stop suddenly

也有人被这种“戛然而止”击中——”原来人不是到老了才会死，人是随时都会死的” - Others were struck by how his life was brought to an abrupt end — “So it turns out people don’t only die when they’re old. People can die at any moment.” [1]

• Related:

  • 戛然收场 jiá rán shōu chǎng – come to an abrupt end

4. 救命稻草 jiù mìng dào cǎo

lifesaving straw, last resort

从被学生看不起的愣头青老师，变成数百万家长的救命稻草 - He went from an inexperienced teacher looked down on by his own students to the last hope for millions of parents. [3]

5. 语不惊人死不休 yǔ bù jīng rén sǐ bù xiū

won’t stop until something shocking is said, always says something striking

张雪峰有时语不惊人死不休，例如，“孩子非要报新闻学，我一定把他打晕” - Zhang Xuefeng would sometimes pick the most outrageous thing to say. Take his stance on journalism: “If my child insists on majoring in journalism, I would knock him out.” [2]

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Useful words

6. 猝然 cù rán

suddenly, abruptly

谁也不曾想到，这个始终以精力充沛的形象出现在镜头前、直播间里的人，会以这样猝然的方式告别 - No one could have imagined that a man who always appeared so full of life on camera and in his livestreams would bid the world such a sudden and final farewell. [2]

• Related:

  • 猝死 cù sǐ – sudden death

7. 消耗 xiāo hào

to consume, to drain

高强度的工作与运动叠加，对他的身体造成了巨大的消耗 - The compounded stress of a demanding job and intense workouts took a massive toll on his body. [1]

• Related:
  耗尽 hào jìn – to exhaust, to use up completely

8. 拧巴 nǐng ba

conflicted, internally torn

他那种想停下却不敢停下的拧巴，却让人感到具体而熟悉 - His inner struggle of being stuck between burnout and the fear of letting go feels strikingly real and all too common. [1]

9. 功利 gōng lì

utilitarian, driven by self-interest

有人说他功利短视，把教育讲成了“找工作指南” - Some criticised him for being short-sighted and overly utilitarian, as he reduced education to a tool for job-hunting. [1]

• Related:
  功利化 gōng lì huà – to approach sth in a utilitarian way

10. 苛刻 kē kè

harsh, strict

相较之下，张雪峰对自己却很苛刻 - In comparison, Zhang Xuefeng is very strict with himself. [1]

11. 讣告 fù gào

obituary, death notice

直到晚上，头像灰了，讣告来了 - When the evening arrived, his profile picture turned grey with the posting of the obituary. [3]

12. 厄运 è yùn

misfortune, bad luck

所以这一次，厄运还是出手了 - So this time, the stroke of fate hit him. [3]

13. 胡诌 hú zhōu

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On March 17, rumours began circulating in Chinese tech industry group chats that iFlytek (科大讯飞), a leading AI and speech recognition company, was planning large-scale layoffs of software engineers.

As speculation spread, iFlytek’s Vice President, Han Yucheng (韩煜尘) denied it as “fake news.”

The following day, similar rumours swirled about NetEase (网易), one of China’s largest internet and gaming companies, which was also allegedly planning a large-scale “clear-out of all contract staff” (全面清退外包).

NetEase Games has a total workforce of around 20,000. The majority of those are game developers, of which 10-15% are outsourced. According to these latest rumours, the “clear out” would be done by removing 30% of outsourced contractors by April, and the rest of them would be removed by May.

Following the playbook of iFlytek, NetEase released a statement saying the rumours were false, and that any recent personnel changes were normal “replacements” (汰换) through routine staff rotation in the business.

But rather than use the neutral word for “replace” (which is 替换 in Chinese), NetEase used a more loaded term, which suggests the rumours might well be true.

The expression used in the statement was “remove and replace” (汰换), which combines the word for “eliminate” (淘汰) and “replace” (替换). In corporate speak this means getting rid of underperforming staff and replacing them — either with higher quality talent, or AI.

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The rumours emanating from NetEase and iFlytek have hit a nerve with many employees precisely because of the impact that AI is now having on China’s tech sector.

One employee tech sector employee quoted in the media captures this sentiment:

“Two years ago, it was ‘AI is here — how exciting’.

This year, it’s ‘AI is here — how terrifying’.

It’s not some distant, abstract terror, but the kind of immediate terror where people around you are actually getting laid off.”

前两年是”AI来了，好激动”，今年变成了”AI来了，好焦虑”。不是那种遥远的、跟我不相干的焦虑，是那种——身边真有人被裁了的焦虑。

The writer also drew a parallel between tech employees today and the Luddites — textile workers in early 19th century Britain who faced being replaced by machines that were faster, cheaper, and never needed to sleep.

Their resistance against change at that time was futile, just like those anxious tech employees in China today — which in Chinese can be expressed with a beautifully visual idiom:

“Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot”

螳臂当车

The concern among tech and gaming workers is real. And the consensus is that this round of personnel “optimisations” (优化) is linked to the accelerated adoption of AI.

“It’s an industry-wide consensus that the use of AI has become pretty much ubiquitous across game publishing.”

几乎所有公司在发行这块对AI的使用都比较泛滥，这早就是行业内的共识。

Employees believe major tech companies are actively "replacing humans with AI" (AI替代人类), not just encouraging its use as a support tool. These ongoing fears are why rumours of large-scale layoffs have caused such a strong reaction.

Because for many workers, the question is no longer whether AI will change their industry, but whether there will be a place for them in it at all. Just like the mantis raising its arms against the chariot, they feel powerless in the face of an unstoppable force.

So that’s what we’re exploring this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 清退 qīng tuì

dismiss, lay off

网易旗下多个部门都或多或少地开始了外包清退工作 - Many departments in NetEase have started to lay off contractors. [1]

2. 汰换 tài huàn

replace, upgrade

近期发生的人员变动仅为部分项目的正常业务调整与人员汰换 - The recent personnel changes reflect normal operational realignments and routine talent optimization within specific projects. [1]

3. 螳臂当车 táng bì dāng chē

a mantis trying to stop a chariot, overestimate one’s ability

历史书把他们写成笑话：一群害怕进步的落后分子，螳臂当车 - History books wrote them off as a joke: a bunch of Luddites clinging to the past, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. [2]

4. 不寒而栗 bù hán ér lì

shudder with fear, tremble involuntarily

如果我们不采取行动，未来的场景可能令人不寒而栗 - If we don’t take action, what might happen in the future could make us shudder with fear. [2]

5. 两极分化 liǎng jí fēn huà

polarisation, extreme divide

这就导致了一个两极分化的局面 - This has created two vastly different results. [3]

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Useful words

6. 忐忑 tǎn tè

uneasy, anxious

他们因此“很忐忑，怕拿不到赔偿” - There was great uncertainty and they were afraid that they wouldn’t receive their severance package. [1]

7. 征兆 zhēng zhào

sign, indication

阿乐告诉触乐，清退外包并非毫无征兆 - Ale told Chuapp that the layoff of contractors didn’t come exactly as a surprise. [1]

8. 风声 fēng shēng

rumour, news

清退外包并非毫无征兆，早在去年就有了些风声 - The layoff of contractors didn’t come out of the blue, as there were already signs of it a year ago. [1]

9. 端倪 duān ní

clue, trace

公布了（对AI介入工作流的具体要求后）才察觉之前就有端倪 - Only after they announced the AI requirements did we start connecting the dots about those earlier signs. [1]

10. 焦虑 jiāo lǜ

anxious, worried

今年变成了“AI来了，好焦虑” - This year, it’s “AI is here — how terrifying”. [2]

• Related:

  • 绝望 jué wàng – despair

11. 阵痛 zhèn tòng

growing pains, temporary pain

它巧妙地映射了当下整个科技行业正在发生的真实阵痛 - It encapsulates the growing pains that are clearly felt by the entire tech industry. [3]

12. 优化 yōu huà

optimize, streamline

很多人还没反应过来，就发现自己的工作已经被“优化”了 - Before most people realised what had happen, they found that their roles had been “optimised away”. [2]

Three-character phrases

13. 斩杀线 zhǎn shā xiàn

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The Communication University of China (中国传媒大学), which is one of the country’s top universities in creative industries and arts, is discontinuing 16 of its undergraduate degrees.

The news broke on March 6 when the party secretary of the Beijing-based university, Liao Xiangzhong (廖祥忠), said he was axing traditional subjects like translation, photography, visual communication design, arts management, and even the nationally ranked comics programme.

Liao, who was attending the Two Sessions (两会), told media the era of “human-machine collaboration” (人机分工) has arrived, and that higher education must be “completely restructured” (全面优化) to adapt and remain relevant.

The sweeping cuts sparked widespread debate on social media, with comments like:

“Has AI made these degrees obsolete?”

“这些专业要被AI淘汰了吗？”

Liao also took to social media to calm nerves, posting:

"There's no need to panic"

不必惊慌

To which many students responded:

“But what are we going to do?”

“我们怎么办？”

On the evening of March 9, an open letter signed by some students of the university began circulating on social media.

One passage was shared widely:

“When we saw the news, we were completely stunned. We applied to the Communication University because of these programmes.

Now they’re being cut just like that. Will our diplomas still be recognised? What will happen to our remaining classes?

And when we apply for jobs after graduation, will potential employers think we have also been eliminated in this game since our majors have been scrapped?”

看到新闻的那一刻，整个人都是懵的。我们当初考上中传，是冲着这些专业来的。现在说砍就砍，我们的学位还有效吗？接下来的课怎么上？毕业找工作，用人单位看到我们专业没了，会不会觉得我们是“被淘汰的人”？

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The recent axing of subjects at Communication University is not an isolated case.

In January this year, Jilin University updated its undergraduate programmes, with 19 of its 141 degrees no longer accepting new students. Including subjects in the arts like broadcast television directing, music performance, product design, environmental design, and visual communication design.

And last year, two of China’s top universities in Shanghai saw similar cuts to arts degrees. East China Normal University stopped enrolling students in painting, sculpture, and arts education, while Tongji University cut a number of design programs.

Many young people in China believe AI is already well on the way to replacing humans in these creative fields.

While other voices in the debate say that the knowledge and skills in disciplines like foreign languages, photography, and translation, are still needed and cannot be replaced by AI, as one article suggests:

“What translation conveys is not just the literal meaning of language, but also the cultural depth.

What photography captures is not just images, but the dialogue between people and nature, the meeting of souls.

What AI replaces is low-value, formulaic production. Not the entire industry.”

“翻译传递的不仅是语言的本意，更是文化底蕴的传递；摄影拍的不仅是图片，更是人与自然的对话、人与人的心灵交融。AI替代的是低效的、照本宣科式的创作，而不是这一整个行业。”

As the story continued to gain widespread attention online, Communication University weighed in, saying it’s not just cancelling these 16 subjects; it’s adapting what it teaches to fit changes in technology and the world of work, and the axed subjects will be merged into other degrees.

Photography is being merged into film photography and production. Visual communication design is being folded into advertising. And new degrees in intelligent image arts, intelligent audio-visual engineering, and intelligent engineering and creative design are replacing the scrapped comics programme.

But that’s little consolation for the students currently in those degrees, or those who are considering pursuing these professions as careers.

A widely shared article captured the mood, invoking a well-known slang term for degrees with no future:

It’s foreseeable that in the next round of university curriculum reforms, majors that are overly technical or too narrow in scope risk becoming the new “pitfall majors”.

可以想见，在新一轮的高校专业改革中，那些过于工具化，过于单一的专业，恐怕就会成为新的“天坑专业。”

So that’s what we’re exploring this week!

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Favourite Five

1. 绝学 jué xué

rare or lost skill, rare expertise

很不幸，我的专业成了绝学 - Unfortunately, my major has essentially become a lost art following the recent cuts. [1]

• Note: used sarcastically here.

2. 一口气 yì kǒu qì

in one go, all at once

中国传媒大学一口气撤销翻译、摄影、漫画等16个本科专业和方向 - The Communication University of China abolished 16 undergraduate majors and disciplines, including translation, photography, and comics, all in one go. [1]

3. 天坑专业 tiān kēng zhuān yè

pitfall major; a major with poor career prospects

那些过于工具化，过于单一的专业，恐怕就会成为新的“天坑专业” - Majors that are overly technical or too narrow in scope risk becoming the new “pitfall majors”. [3]

4. 大刀阔斧 dà dāo kuò fǔ

bold and decisive, sweeping

如此大刀阔斧的专业调整，瞬间引发舆论热议 - Such sweeping curriculum reform instantly sparked public debate. [3]

5. 一去不复返 yí qù bú fù fǎn

gone forever, never to return

学习某个专业就能轻松找到工作、高枕无忧的时代已经一去不复返 - The era where a certain major guaranteed easy job search and peace of mind is gone forever. [3]

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Consuming the Conversation

💡 Ready to get inspired to bridge the gap to real-world fluency? 💡

In every RTM Advanced post you unlock content and tools to inspire you, and help you get fluent.

So, ready to finally get started and wave goodbye to that nagging rusty feeling?

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Consuming the Conversation

Useful words

6. 优化 yōu huà

optimise, improvement

这并非简单取消专业，而是实施系统性专业优化 - We’re not simply removing certain majors. Rather, this is a strategic redesign of our academic offerings. [1]

7. 焦虑 jiāo lǜ

anxiety, worried

同样的焦虑，正在更多考生和家长中蔓延 - The same anxiety is spreading among more and more students and parents. [1]

8. 动摇 dòng yáo

waver, shake

当AI开始批量生产作品，这条路的“确定性”开始动摇了 - Now that AI can churn out work in bulk, this career path doesn’t feel like a safe bet anymore. [1]

9. 风向 fēng xiàng

trend, direction

“风向”是怎么变的 - How has the trend changed? [1]

10. 撤销 chè xiāo

abolish, revoke

专业被撤销，会不会被理解为“这个专业不行了”？ - If a major is scrapped, will people simply assume that this field has become obsolete? [2]

11. 过时 guò shí

outdated, obsolete

这不是16个专业的事，是上千个年轻人突然发现自己学的东西，被时代宣布“过时”的事 - It’s not just about those 16 majors; it’s about thousands of young people suddenly realizing that what they’ve been studying has been declared obsolete. [2]

12. 淘汰 táo tài

eliminate, be phased out

用人单位看到我们专业没了，会不会觉得我们是‘被淘汰的人’？ - When employers see that our majors are scrapped, will they think we have also been eliminated in this game? [2]

13. 惊慌 jīng huāng

panic, alarmed

廖祥忠通过媒体回应了四个字：不必惊慌 - In an interview with the media, Liao Xiangzhong responded with four words: no need to panic. [2]

14. 清场 qīng chǎng

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