Kuaishou and Bytedance: “cannibals that don’t spit out the bones”
Plans to cancel their weekend overtime policies
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1. Kuaishou and Bytedance: “cannibals that don’t spit out the bones” - 吃人不吐骨头 (Chī rén bù tù gǔtou)
Kuaishou and Bytedance announced they will cancel their weekend overtime policy on 24 June, and 9 July.
Both companies had previously embraced “big-small weeks” (大小周 - Dàxiǎo zhōu), with staff working six days every other week.
But the change is not good news for everyone:
网上有不少「打工人」认为取消大小周会大幅降低实际收入 - Many ‘working people’ have shared their concerns online that cancelling ‘big small weeks’ will have a big impact on their income
Reading into the debate there are some colourful colloquialisms, words and idioms.
Colloquial phrases
Two colloquialisms to talk about ruthless internet companies:
吃人不吐骨头 (Chī rén bù tǔ gǔtou) - eating people and not spitting out the bones; ferocious, fierce
国内的互联网企业就像是「吃人不吐骨头」的大型吸血鬼 - China’s internet companies are ferocious, massive blood sucking vampire machines
解铃还须系铃人 (Jiě líng hái xū xì líng rén) - in order to untie the bell, the person who tied it is required; it’s best for the one that did it to undo it
解铃还须系铃人，想要分析为什么取消大小周，我们必须先回答一个问题——为什么我们需要大小周？The companies that started this culture need to be the ones to fix it. In order to analyse why should 'the ‘big small week’ be cancelled, we first need to answer the question: why was it needed in the first place?
Useful words
白嫖 (Bái piáo) - Internet word meaning ‘fans that take advantage of celebrities and don’t pay their way’; also ‘using the resources of others without paying’ - taking advantage (see 15 May newsletter)
取消大小周，工作量不变，会不会变成被公司白嫖 - in cancelling the ‘big small week’ the volume of work will not change. Will it just become a situation where the companies are taking advantage of their employees and not paying them?
狼性 (Láng xìng) - wolf-like characteristics, ‘wolfishness’; describing a company or team culture where people work hard, are a close-nit team (a ‘pack’) and are ruthless.
抖音的“狼性”让曾试图保持“佛系”的快手发生了动摇 - the ruthlessness of tik Tok has knocked Kuaishou which was trying to take a more relaxed approach [see 19 June newsletter for more on 佛系]
分水岭 (Fēnshuǐlǐng) - a watershed
2017年末至2018年初被视作一道分水岭 - 2017 and early 2018 is seen as a watershed moment [in the Internet industry]
Idioms
Chinese internet companies and their employees are at war:
缠斗不休 (Chán dòu bùxiū) - fighting endlessly
无论是日活用户、海外扩张，还是广告销售、直播电商，都是快手与字节缠斗不休的领地 - Kuaishou and Bytedance are in an endless battle, regardless of whether it is in winning more daily active users, expanding overseas, selling advertising or live-streaming e-commerce.
争分夺秒 (Zhēngfēnduómiǎo) - racing against time
“取消大小周”的争分夺秒背后，更加激烈的是雇主品牌建设比拼，和对同类优质人才的争夺 - behind cancelling the relentless racing against time of the ‘big small week’ is the even more intense battle to create their brands and their fighting for talent from the same pool of people
棋输一招 (Qí shū yī zhāo) - losing a move [in chess]
字节跳动员工为公司在抢速取消大小周上“棋输一招”感到遗憾 - it’s regrettable that Bytedance lost to Kuaishou after its move to cancel the ‘big small week’
Links
Sohu: 互联网“大小周”正失去吸引力
163.com: 快手取消大小周15天后，字节急了？
2. Update on local vaccine policies - 土政策 (Tǔ zhèngcè) - ‘countryside policy’
In last week’s newsletter it was noted that residents are not happy with discriminatory vaccine policies in some cities, complaining the policies were:
一刀切 (Yīdāoqiē) - “one size fits all” - out of touch
This week the central Government waded in:
接种疫苗不能搞“一刀切”，而在通行方面，应当一码通行而不能码上加码
Vaccination should not be “one size fits all”. In terms of access [to places], the system should be one pass applies to all, and not adding passes / codes on top of other codes
This in an interesting idiomatic phrase:
码上加码 (Mǎ shàng jiāmǎ) - ‘adding one code onto another code’, overcomplicating the system
Useful words
Some three-character combos to add to your repertoire for skilfully criticising government policy.
土政策 (Tǔ zhèngcè) - ‘local policy’ ‘countryside policy’ - not sophisticated, ridiculous
“土政策”下证明会不会变成一种奇葩证明 - will the proof to be provided under this countryside policy become a pointless document?
敲黑板 (Qiāo hēibǎn) - ‘knocking the blackboard’; Internet slang for highlighting what the priority is
有的地方不得不在“原则上”这三个字上“敲黑板” - in addition to the ‘principals’ some local governments must understand what the real priorities are
下台阶 (Xià táijiē) - stepping down; a face saving tactic to get out of a sticky situation
这些地方政府需要找台阶给他们下来 - the central government needed to provide the local governments with a face saving response [while also highlighting that they were wrong]
Links
Sohu: 提高疫苗接种率要遵循法治原则，不能码上加码！
3. Word of the week: “small abacus” 小算盘 (Xiǎo suànpán) - selfish calculations
A gossipy article in the Global Times earlier gives the Chinese version of events on the to-ing and fro-ing over the US deputy secretary of state’s, visit to China. The article was published before the visit was finally confirmed.
One sentence summary: “it’s their problem not ours.”
Expect more idioms on arrogance and being patronised in the days to come. And the one that’s good for T-shirt sales:
中国人更不吃这套 (Zhōngguó rén gèng bù chī zhè tào) - the Chinese definately aren’t buying this (see 27 March newsletter)
More important than where to place the blame, are two excellent three-character words for complaining about people who annoy you:
老三样 (Lǎo sān yàng) - ‘old three types’ - same old s**t, the usual crap (useful to drop into conversation in the office if you’ve had enough of being given the same pointless things to do)
交给我的任务又是老三样 - the tasks I’ve been given are the same old crap, again
小算盘 (Xiǎo suànpán) - ‘small abacus’, selfish intentions
他的小算盘已经打得劈啪作响! - he is so selfish!
劈啪作响 (Pīpā zuò xiǎng) is the ‘clattering’ sound an abacus makes
Idioms
Three easy idioms to talk about what you know, or don’t know. Try to build them into your Chinese conversations this week.
顺理成章 (Shùnlǐchéngzhāng) - logically
“到底发生了什么”的疑问，也顺理成章地成为一个急需解答的问题 - ‘what really happened?’ has naturally become a question that people want answered
不得而知 (Bùdé ér zhī) - unable to know
这些都属于专业团队的工作，外人不得而知 - this work is done by professional teams, the outside world cannot know the [the details]
显而易见 (Xiǎn'éryìjiàn) - obvious
他们的傲慢显而易见 - their arrogance is easy to see
And a more challenging one about taking advantage.
坐收渔利 (Zuò shōu yúlì) - reap the benefits
对媒体说几句真假难辨的话，就可以坐收渔利 - it’s a quick win for the media to throw in a few sentences that can’t be verified
Links
Global Times: 中国拒绝美高官访华？谁炮制出这条“外交内幕”？
4. Kris Wu collapse - “a dead duck still has a hard beak” (死鸭子还嘴硬 - Sǐ yā zǐ hái zuǐyìng)
Another week, another celebrity car crash in China.
This week it’s Kris Wu (吴亦凡 - Wú Yìfán), the Korean-Canadian megastar and has-been heart-throb (小鲜肉 - ‘little fresh meat’, see 13 Feb newsletter).
He is accused by a 19-year-old university student, Du Meizhu, of abusing her and other teenage girls.
Read more in SupChina here.
Netizens described him as arrogant, and unable to accept the truth or the consequences:
不见棺材不落泪 (Bùjiàn guāncai bù luò lèi) - not to shed a tear until one sees the coffin; refuse to be convinced until one is faced with grim reality
这些话你也好意思说得出口？不见棺材不落泪 - are you too embarrassed to say the words [to admit you’re in the wrong]? So arrogant.
死鸭子还嘴硬 (Sǐ yā zǐ hái zuǐyìng) - “a dead duck still has a hard beak”; stubborn, unable to accept that they are wrong
死鸭子还嘴硬呢 - this guy just can’t accept that he’s totally in the wrong
Idioms
Two idioms about the damage done:
鱼死网破 (Yúsǐwǎngpò) - “the fish dies and the net breaks”; bad for both sides, both sides get hurt
有一种“鱼死网破”的悲壮感 - both sides will get hurt in this tragedy
岌岌可危 (Jíjíkěwéi) - precarious
吴亦凡本就岌岌可危的 - Kris Wu is in a precarious position
Links
Sina: 不吃瓜，求吴亦凡上社会新闻头版
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I assume 大小周 is derived from the older terms 大礼拜 and 小礼拜, referring respectively to working on Saturdays and having Saturdays off.