Reputation collapse of one of China's biggest celebrities
Reputation collapse of one of China's biggest celebrities
Zhang Jike dropped by brands amid gambling scandal
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Former Olympic athlete-turned-entertainer Zhāng Jìkē 张继科 has been dropped by several major brands this week.
Accusations emerged that he shared intimate videos of his former girlfriend, Chinese actress Jǐng Tián 景甜, with a loan shark to pay off his gambling debts.
Zhang Jike gave his celebrity girlfriend’s private videos to his creditor to repay his gambling debt; when the creditor threatened her to pay back the money, she called the police and had them arrested.
张继科因赌博欠债，把明星女友的私密视频拿给债主抵债，然后债主以此威胁女明星还钱，结果女明星报警，把债主给送进去了。 [1]
The scandal was uncovered by one of China’s best known investigative journalists, Lǐ Wēi'áo 李微敖:
Li Weiao was a reporter who played a critical role in exposing a number of major events most people are familiar with, such as the “Wenchuan Earthquake”, “Eastern Airlines Incident”, and the “Anbang Dossier”.
说说几件耳熟能详的大事件就知道了，比如“汶川地震”、“东航事件”、“安邦路线”等等，李微敖都是举足轻重的报道者。 [1]
As the story evolves, media conversations have focussed on deeper issues in Chinese society such as celebrity worship (慕强), the much-needed anti-corruption “hurricane” (狂飙) in sport, and the chauvinism of male celebrities like Zhang:
Putting aside Zhang Jike's ‘champion’ label, if you look at his performance outside of competitive sport, many netizens see his other face: chauvinistic, sleazy, conceited, disrespectful, a gambler, and a scumbag.
撇开张继科的“冠军”标签，根据以往张继科在赛场外的表现，不少网友其实已经刻画出他另一幅面貌：大男子主义、油腻、自负、不尊重人、赌徒、渣男。[3]
Some commentators even evoke a Lu Xun character who represents the ‘collective unconsciousness’ of feudal society, which is likened to how some people in China now blindly follow and forgive celebrities no matter what they do:
Lu Xun’s character, Aunt Xianglin, is the tragedy of the collective unconsciousness of feudal society.
曾经鲁迅笔下的“祥林嫂”，就是封建社会集体无意识下的悲剧 [3]
So that’s what we explore this week: The language used to describe the downfall of one of China’s biggest names in sport.
🎧What you’re missing in the Member Podcast
Today’s member podcast episode is 32 minutes long with 27 minutes of excellent native Chinese audio (including full transcript), and lots of extra bonus words and phrases not included here.
Favourite Five
1. 慕强 mù qiáng
admiring the strong; celebrity worship
这就是我们社会长久以来的一种“慕强”心理 - This is a long-standing issue of people with the mentality of admiring the strong. [3]
2. 扒出来 bā chū lái
to be exposed by media
今天上午不仅疑似邓莎景甜的聊天记录被爆光，连张继科的商业版图都被媒体扒了出来 - This morning, not only have the online conversations between Deng Sha and Jing Tian been posted online, even the full business empire of Zhang Jike has been uncovered. [1]
3. 大满贯 dà mǎn guàn
grand slam winner
是继刘国梁、孔令辉后的中国男乒史上第3位大满贯选手 - He is the third Grand Slam player in the history of Chinese men's table tennis after Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui. [1]
4. 卧龙凤雏 wò lóng fèng chú
Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix; two people are very talented (or just seemingly so)
有网友称孙杨和张继科简直就是体坛的卧龙凤雏 - Netizens have described Sun Yang and Zhang Jike as the two rising stars of the sport world. [1]
Note: This idiom originally described Zhu Geliang 诸葛亮 and Pang Tong 庞统 as being young and talented, first appearing in the novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. You need to check context, though, because it has also become a popular internet slang phrase to describe two people as being stupid. The context here is referring to Zhang's earlier career so it is the positive version. Zoe discusses more in the podcast.
5. 墙倒众人推 qiáng dǎo zhòngrén tuī
kick someone when they are down
真是墙倒众人推，鼓破众人锤。从名满天下的世界冠军，到如今声名狼籍的社死弃儿 - It really is a case of when the wall falls everyone pushes it, when a man falls everyone kicks him. Zhang Jike has fallen from being a major star and world champion to someone whose reputation is in the mud and has been cancelled by the internet. [1]
Note: This is another phrase from Dream of a Red Chamber 红楼梦 hóng lóu mèng which we explain further in The China Project Phrase of the Week.
Consuming the Conversation
Useful Words
6. 渣男 zhā nán
bad man; scum
连女朋友私照都能出卖，这种渣男也算是旷世罕见 - He even sold private images of his girlfriend. This man is unmatched in being a douchebag. [1]
Note: 旷世 kuàng shì - outstanding, peerless (used ironically here).
7. 狂飙 kuáng biāo
anti-corruption hurricane; knockout
现实往往比剧本更精彩，足球版狂飙已经横空出世 - Real life is often more exciting that TV dramas. The anti-corruption hurricane has swept through the football world. [1]
Note: A reference to the highly successful TV series The Knockout 狂飙 kuáng biāo.
8. 塌房 tā fáng
reputation collapse
涉及赌债纠纷、传播个人隐私，这不是塌房，而是犯罪 - He is involved in gambling debt disputes and shares private images; this is not just a reputation collapse but a crime. [1]
Note: Previously discussed in December 2021.
9. 爆锤 bào chuí
explosive hammer, to break the news of a scandal
他可不是什么炒作大王，而是一名曾经发文爆锤安邦保险集团的资深记者 - He is not someone who writes sensational articles. He is the journalist who exposed the Anbang Group scandal. [2]
10. 猛料 měng liào
bombshell news
他一下贴出猛料，一张带有张继科签名和手印的借条，直接实锤 - As soon as he posted the explosive content online, which was a signed and fingerprinted loan agreement, it was more than enough evidence. [2]
11. 不齿 bù chǐ
disdain, hold in contempt
同样是世界冠军，同样是体育明星，同样做了让人不齿的事情 - He is a world champion, a sports star, and he’s done some horrible things. [3]
12. 祛魅 qū mèi
disenchantment
这是一个偶像频繁塌房的时代，也是一个偶像“祛魅”的时代 - This is a time when celebrities regularly have reputation collapses. It’s also a time when people have become disenchanted with celebrities. [3]
13. 三观 sān guān
three values; world view
这个让人三观尽毁的猛料可以说是震惊了体育圈和娱乐圈 - This bombshell has totally wrecked the reputation of Zhang Jike and shocked the sports and entertainment world. [1]
Related: 震碎三观 zhèn suì sān guān ‘to shatter the senses’ means the same thing as 三观尽毁 sān guān jìn huǐ. Both describe something shocking that doesn't fit one's world view. Zoe goes deep on this in the podcast.
Three character phrases
14. 一屁股 yí pì gu
one bottom; a whole lot of
最大的一个瓜是他之前为欠了一屁股赌债，竟然是用了景甜的隐私视频去做了抵押 - The biggest story is that he previously owed a huge amount of gambling debts, which he shockingly decided to use private images of Jing Tian as leverage to pay it off. [2]
Note: This is used only in the context of owing a lot of debts.
15. 一锅端 yì guō duān
one pot; totally
几乎把足协一锅端了 - It pretty much took out of the whole of the Chinese Football Association. [2]
16. 节骨眼 jiē gu yǎn
critical juncture in a plot
在这种节骨眼上塌房，难说没有联系 - That possibly explains why his reputation collapsed at this time. [2]
Idioms
17. 嗜赌如命 shì dǔ rú mìng
addicted to gambling
一身光环的天才运动员，生活中竟然是个嗜赌如命的烂赌鬼 - Once a glowing example of a sporting genius, he is actually a gambling addict in real life. [1]
18. 波涛汹涌 bō tāo xiōng yǒng
intense
面对舆论的波涛汹涌，张继科所属公司紧急回应 - In the face of intense public opinion, Zhang Jike’s company responded quickly. [1]
19. 绳之以法 shéng zhī yǐ fǎ
bring to justice
如果证实张继科有罪，也请公事公办绳之以法 - If Zhang Jike is guilty then he should be brought to justice in due process. [1]
20. 改过自新 gǎi guò zì xīn
rehabilitate
这种人，是不可能改过自新的 - There is no hope of rehabilitating this kind of person. [2]
21. 一文不名 yì wén bù míng
penniless; worthless
与之关联的商业价值也将一文不名 - He offers zero value to brands that he is associated with. [1]
Phrases
22. 高开低走 gāo kāi dī zǒu
start high end low
张继科完美诠释了高开低走的人生，这就是少年成名的代价 - Zhang Jike's life is a perfect example that starts high and ends low. This is the price of becoming famous when very young. [1]
Note: A phrase which originated from the stock markets, which we touched on in last week's newsletter.
23. 善恶终有报 shàn è zhōng yǒu bào
good and evil will always be rewarded; you reap what you sow
都说善恶终有报。如果此事属实，可能谁也救不了张继科了 - Good and evil will always be rewarded. If this is true then no one can save Zhang Jike. [1]
24. 乱成一锅粥 luàn chéng yì guō zhōu
a total mess
在张的事情传出之前，中国足坛已经乱成一锅粥了 - Before this news broke, the whole of the football world was already in a mess. [2]
25. 吃得苦中苦，方为人上人 chī dé kǔ zhōng kǔ, fāng wéi rén shàng rén
no pain no gain
我们从小就被教育“吃得苦中苦，方为人上人”。但吃苦是否必要，以及为何要成为人上人，而不是普通人，更甚者说，成为人上人之后呢 - We are taught from a very young age about “no pain no gain” if we want to be better than the rest. But is there any need to go through that pain? Do we need to become the best? Why not just be a normal person? What happens when we have become the best? [3]
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