Retail therapy to cope with Covid
Chinese shoppers bulk buy peaches for peace of mind in the pandemic
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The end of China's zero-COVID policy has led to a wave of infections across the country.
A common phrase you’ll hear in Wechat groups and conversations this week is:
你阳了吗 - Are you positive yet?
China's consumers are buying supplies to prepare for the worst, with many products selling out.
As well as medical supplies, people are also panic buying various folk remedies like canned yellow peaches (黄桃罐头 huángtáo guàntou).
Produced in northern China, yellow canned peaches are a good source of Vitamin C. The snack brings back childhood memories for people in Northeast China. Anyone who has grown up there knows the old adage:
黄桃罐头会保佑每一个东北的孩子,黄桃罐头不是药,是东北孩子的神
Canned yellow peaches will bless every child in Northeast China - it's not a medicine, but a god for the children of that region.
Some even joke that yellow peaches should be included in the medicines covered by the national health insurance:
建议将黄桃罐头纳入医保
It is recommended that canned yellow peaches be included in medical insurance.
Yellow peaches are a comfort food and an escape from the stress of living with COVID, according to some internet users.
China’s latest COVID consumer craze is about retail therapy:
黄桃罐头才成为部分消费者缓解病毒焦虑的“法宝”——既有着“桃过疫情”的护佑,又能够回味儿时的记忆,或许只是想在迷茫的时期,给自己和家人囤下一份心安
Canned yellow peaches have become the ‘magic weapon’ for some consumers to relieve virus anxiety. They not only have the protection of a ‘peachy pandemic escape’, but can also recall childhood memories. Maybe they just want to stock up for themselves and their families to bring peace of mind during this time of uncertainty.
Creative internet users have even invented new words and idioms to describe the magic powers of the canned yellow peach:
令人意外的是,在这波疯抢潮中,黄桃罐头因“桃过一劫”“桃过疫情”等谐音梗冲上热搜,成为“比感冒药还难抢”的爆款
Surprisingly, in this wave of panic buying, canned yellow peaches became a trending term on Weibo due to play on the word 'tao' or 'peach', including "peachy pandemic escape", hitting even bigger sales than medicines for colds.
The word for peach (桃 táo) sounds the same as escape (逃 táo), so the phrase 桃过疫情 táo guò yì qíng - could be translated as a ‘peachy escape from the pandemic’.
There are more newly coined idioms based on similar peachy puns:
桃过一劫 táo guò yī jié
My translation: peachy escape from the pandemic
Original idiom: 逃过一劫 táo guò yī jié - a narrow escape (we explore this more in The China Project Phrase of the Week)
桃治百病 táo zhì bǎi bìng
My translation: peaches cure any illness
Original idiom: 包治百病 bāo zhì bǎi bìng - to cure any illness.
罐到病除 guàn dào bìng chú
My translation: a tin cures all disease
Original idiom: 药到病除 yào dào bìng chú - disease is cured by effective medicine
So that’s what we explore this week!
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Favourite Five
1. 阳了 yáng le
tested positive for COVID
不少网友的心中就觉得,阳了不要紧,吃几口黄桃罐头就行 - Many internet users feel there’s no need to be worried about testing positive for COVID. Just eat some yellow peaches and you’ll be fine.
Related: 小阳人 xiǎo yáng rén - little positive person, a phrase from the Shanghai dialect
2. 玄学 xuán xué
metaphysics; superstition, pseudoscience or something that is beyond logic
在各大电商平台买药,如今已成玄学,每次点击链接前,都要给自己做好心理建设 - Buying medicine on all the major online platforms has become so unpredictable that every time you click a link you have to be mentally prepared for what comes next.
Related: 玄之又玄 xuán zhī yòu xuán - mystery of mysteries.
More: Zoe discusses the modern use of this phrase as an internet slang word in the podcast @ 21 minutes.
3. 苦肉计 kǔ ròu jì
bitter meat strategy
有些人甚至打算使出“苦肉计”,从医院搞点药出来 - There are even some people who try the ‘bitter meat strategy’, pretending to be ill to get drugs prescribed from hospitals.
Note: this is the 34th of the 36 stratagems (三十六计 sān shí liù jì). The original strategy is to deliberately hurt oneself so that your enemy drops their guard. Here it’s adapted to refer to people pretending to be ill to get to hospital.
4. 平平无奇 píng píng wú qí
mediocre
曾经平平无奇的连花清瘟,如今已变得一粒难求 - Lianhua Qingwen was once a very mediocre brand, but now you can’t get hold of it for love nor money.
Note: this is an internet slang version of a common idiom, 平淡无奇 (mediocre). The newer variation normally refers to talented celebrities who are not recognised.
5. 酒香不怕巷子深 jiǔ xiāng bù pà xiàng zi shēn
a good wine is not afraid of a long alley; a great brand needs no promotion
都说品牌“酒香也怕巷子深”。其实,“酒香”才是消费者愿意重复买单的理由 - It is often said that even good wine needs marketing. Actually it’s the fact that the wine (brand) is so good that consumers continue to buy.
Note: here this is a modern variation of the original which means the exact opposite, highlighting the importance of marketing for brands.
Note: This Chinese proverb is part of a longer sentence: 真金不怕红炉火,酒香不怕巷子深 - Real gold is not afraid of fire; fragrant wine is not afraid of deep alleys. The first part was covered previously in 9 October 2021 newsletter.
Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
认怂 rèn sóng
admit defeat
连花清瘟面前,美团和京东都认怂了 - Meituan and JD.com have admitted defeat in the face of Lianhua Qingwen.
脱销 tuō xiāo
out of stock
黄桃罐头脱销的情况不仅局限于北京,还有吉林、辽宁、河北等北方省份 - Canned yellow peaches are out of stock not only in Beijing, but also in Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei and other northern provinces.
Related: two more ways to say ‘sold out’ in Chinese which Zoe discusses in the podcast:
卖断货 mài duàn huò - selling out;
售罄 shòu qìng - sold out; a more formal word to say the same thing which we discussed in 1 October newsletter.
疯抢 fēng qiǎng
mad rush to buy
“疯抢”这个词,用来形容最近网友们的状态再合适不过了 - ‘In a crazy rush to buy’ is the best way to describe the mindset of Chinese internet users at the moment.
More: 抢购 qiǎng gòu - snap up
More: 一抢而空 yī qiǎng ér kōng - the shelves are empty
风头 fēng tou
limelight; spotlight
黄桃罐头的风头都要盖过连花清瘟了 - Canned yellow peaches are almost more popular than Lianhua Qingwen.
爆火 bào huǒ
explosion; extremely popular
迎合了 “生病要吃黄桃罐头”的固有观念,再加上不高的价格,很容易爆火出圈 - Given the tradition of ‘eating canned yellow peaches when you are sick’, coupled with the low price, it’s very easy to see how canned yellow peaches have become so popular and mainstream.
More: 爆款 bào kuǎn - popular product
治愈 zhì yù
cure
无药效但很治愈,这是黄桃罐头卖断货的根本原因 - There’s no medicinal effect but it’s very therapeutic. This is why canned yellow peaches have sold out.
Note: usually referred to mental rather than physical ailments.
膜拜 mó bài
worship
黄桃罐头是北方乃至东北人疯狂膜拜的神物 - Canned yellow peach is a holy product worshiped by people in the north and even in the northeast of China.
Three-character phrases
紧俏货 jǐn qiào huò
product in short supply
我发现,如今的连花清瘟,成了紧俏货 - I've realised that Lianhua Qingwen is now in short supply.
More: 抢手货 qiǎng shǒu huò - hot product
眼瞅着 yǎn chǒu zhe
watching
眼瞅着大家的好奇心逐渐爆棚,不少东北网友主动出来答疑释惑:“桃”和“逃”同音,代表了一种逃离所有不幸的美好祝愿 - Seeing everyone's curiosity gradually building, netizens from the Northeast China took the initiative to answer questions: "Peach" and "escape" have the same pronunciation, which offers good wishes to escape all misfortune.
重灾区 zhòng zāi qū
epicentre
线下的很多药店,如今也成了涨价的重灾区 - Lots of offline drug stores are pushing price hikes.
Idioms
This week’s idioms describe how people are feeling in China, contrasted with how companies who sell yellow peaches feel.
不知所措 bù zhī suǒ cuò
overwhelmed
这也挡不住大家内心的不知所措 - This can't stop everyone from feeling overwhelmed.
Note: If you had to use one idiom to sum up the feeling in China right now it would be this idiom, and another 无所适从 wú suǒ shì cóng - at a loss.
叫苦不迭 jiào kǔ bù dié
complain endlessly
这种哄抬药价的行为,更是让很多人叫苦不迭 - This behavior of driving up drug prices has caused many people to complain.
愁眉苦脸 chóu méi kǔ liǎn
frown; worry
当人们为了买药愁眉苦脸时,很多药店老板却乐开了花 - When people are complaining about buying medicines, many pharmacy owners are over the moon.
More: 乐开了花 lè kāi le huā - happy
声势浩大 shēng shì hào dà
large-scale; powerful and dynamic
一场围绕“黄桃罐头”的讨论声势浩大了起来 - A discussion around ‘canned yellow peaches’ has gained momentum.
声名鹊起 shēng míng què qǐ
rise to fame
从平平无奇到声名鹊起,黄桃罐头被激情下单的同时,背后的品牌也逐渐走到聚光灯下 - From being commonplace to rising to fame, canned yellow peaches have come into the spotlight as have the brands that sell them.
Phrases
以备不时之需 yǐ bèi bùshí zhī xū
in case of emergency
她最近在网上下单了6罐黄桃罐头,放在家里以备不时之需 - She recently bought six jars of yellow peaches online to keep at home just in case.
时势造英雄 shí shì zào yīng xióng
the times make heroes
任何一款产品的爆火,是“时势造英雄”的偶然,也是坚守品质、追求性价比的必然 - Behind the success of any products, there is an element of luck and timing, but it’s also the necessary result of ensuring quality and good value.
惶惶不可终日 huáng huáng bù kě zhōng rì
terrified all day long
有症状的朋友们也说得五花八门,让人不可惶惶 - People with symptoms are saying all sorts of things, which makes people panic even more.
Note: it’s delivered as a four character variation here but it means the same thing.
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