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Beyond the headlines of economic growth and stability, some proposals made by NPC delegates on the fringes of the Two Sessions (两会 liǎnghuì) are hotly debated and/or criticised on social media.
One proposal made by a young delegate from Sichuan, Lǐ Jūn 李君, put him at the top of the search rankings on Weibo earlier this week.
Li has had enough of gaming and celebrities (Sohu in Chinese):
针对“网游广告充斥乱象”表示，广告投放平台应该承担起社会责任，禁止投放低俗色情网络游戏广告，而明星应该禁止代言游戏广告 - In relation to online games being flooded with inappropriate advertisements, advertising platforms must take their social responsibility and put a stop to vulgar online gaming ads. And celebrities should stop endorsing computer games.
You can view his one-minute rant on Weibo.
The mix of opinions agreeing with and against his proposal on social media is quite even. Some believe he’s got a point. But others were disappointed, saying he’s wrong and think the focus should be on the gaming companies themselves (Sohu in Chinese):
我觉得与其不让明星代言，不如先管一管游戏公司的乱象问题 - I believe rather than not allowing celebrities to endorse games, it would be much better to first manage the chaotic practices of gaming companies themselves.
So this week we dig into the language used to debate whether this policy solution has legs or not.
Favourite five
Did you know that food, especially eating too much of it, in Chinese can be a metaphor for being lazy, having too much time on your hands and not enough to do?
Three of my favourite five words are linked with food.
1. 饭桶 fàn tǒng
rice bucket, someone who is lazy and has too much time on their hands
这帮饭桶就是不做些实际工作的 - This bunch of lazy delegates do nothing that’s actually of value.
2. 吃饱了撑的 chī bǎole chēng de
have eaten/eating too much and be very full; too much to eat and not enough to do, lazy
真搞不懂干嘛不去管管卖淫嫖娼，网红线下卖淫，管游戏干嘛吃饱了撑的 - I really don’t understand why they don’t focus regulations on internet celebrities involved in prostitution. Meddling with gaming, do they have too much time on their hands?
3. 动了某人的蛋糕 dòngle mǒu rén de dàngāo
hit somebody’s cake, affected the vested interests of others
这个提案今年应该是不会得到讨论和通过的，因为它动了一些大的集团的利益蛋糕了 - This proposal is unlikely to be passed this year, because it would impact on the vested interests of some powerful groups.
4. 渣渣辉 zhā zhā huī
Zhang Jiahui (张家辉)
大家好，吾系渣渣辉 - Hello, I am Zhang Jiahui [meaning: gaming adverts endorsed by celebrities are really bad]
Note: Internet slang word which relates to an advert by Hong Kong actor, Zhang Jiahui, in 2017 for a computer game, Legend of the Moon (贪玩蓝月 tān wán lán yuè) . His heavy Cantonese accent meant that when he introduced himself it sounded like zhā zhā huī. It’s become an Internet meme for bad adverts for online gaming in China.
5. 管天管地 guǎn tiān guǎn dì
managing the sky, managing the earth; talk a lot but do nothing to help people’s lives
这帮饭桶就是成天管天管地不做些实际的 - This bunch of idiots spend their time talking about big policies but they deliver nothing that actually improves the lives of the people.
Note: from the phrase, 管天管地，管不着拉屎放屁 guǎn tiān guǎn dì, guǎn bùzháo lā shǐ fàngpì - managing the sky, managing the earth, but they can’t managing sh*ting and farting. This is a common phrase to criticise officials in Chinese. But use carefully, it’s a vulgar one and would cause offence in the wrong setting! The shorter version is cleaner and more appropriate.
Consuming the Conversation
The basics
Within the media reporting of Li’s proposal and in the social media chatter there are lots of words and phrases we have covered before in this newsletter.
Here are some of the best ones which readers of Slow Chinese should know:
YXH - short for 营销号 yíngxiāo hào - a marketing account on social media
博眼球 bó yǎn qiú - attracting eyeballs, grabbing attention
带节奏 dài jié zòu - misleading public opinion
擦边球 cā biān qiú - loophole
Now, onto the new stuff….
Useful words
撮 cuō - pinch, poke
撮到痛处了，看来这建议有用啊 - He’s clearly annoyed lots of people so it seems this is a good suggestion!
喷 pēn - spray, vent on social media
感觉这提议挺好的...不懂为什么喷... - This feels like a good proposal. I don’t understand why so many people are venting on social media.
砍你 kǎnnǐ - ‘cut you’, want to get rid of someone
是不是渣渣辉的小号？是我就砍你了 - Is this the marketing channel for Zhang Jiahui? Get rid of him.
Related: Internet slang originally from the advert for Legend of the Moon (贪玩蓝月) with Zhang Jiahui.
低俗 dīsú - vulgar
特别是小网页的那种广告，很多都低俗不堪 - Especially those smaller websites, there are so many that have really vulgar ads.
Related: 低下 dīxià - low, lowly
沉迷 chén mí - become addicted
青少年容易沉迷游戏 - Kids can easily become addicted to computer games.
自拔 zì bá - extract yourself from
一旦你在里面投入了金钱，想放弃就觉得可惜，投入越大越不能自拔 - As soon as you’ve put your own money in there it’s much harder to stop yourself. The bigger the investment the harder it is to extract yourself.
Note: used almost always in a negative context alongside 无法 or 不能
