Welcome to RealTime Mandarin—a multimedia resource to immerse you in the latest Chinese language trends, inspire you to practice and improve your Mandarin every week, and empower you to communicate with confidence.
Subscribe now to get the next issue straight to your inbox!
Language of treachery, deception, and death from the late Han dynasty is how the story of a PCR testing company accused of profiteering from the COVID pandemic is being discussed in China this week.
The final years of the Han (189 to 220 AD) was a tumultuous time in Chinese history.
Emperor Xian (汉献帝刘协 hàn xiàndì liú xié) was the last ruler of the dynasty, a puppet leader who was only 8 years-old when he was put in place by the warlord, Dǒng Zhuó 董卓.
The Yellow Turban Rebellion (黄巾之乱 huáng jīn zhī luàn) threw the empire into chaos, eventually leading to its collapse: institutions were destroyed by de facto ruler Dong Zhuo, the country fractured into regional regimes ruled by warlords, and successive waves of a plague epidemic (瘟疫 wēn yì) ripped through the population.
In 220 AD, the Han collapsed ushering in the Three Kingdoms (三国 Sān Guó) period, dividing China among the dynastic states of Wèi 魏, Shǔ 蜀, and Wú 吳.
There’s even a colloquial phrase from this period in Chinese history about pandemics and how long they should last. Everyone in China will know this phrase, and it’s being discussed right now:
大疫不过三，过三必有殃
An epidemic will not last more than three years; If it does last for longer than three years, there will be great disaster.
😱😱😱
1,800 years on, China is suffering from its most recent pandemic. Exactly three years since it began (as of 1 December), and before the sudden ‘unlocking’ this week, PCR testing companies had been making money hand over fist off the country’s zero-COVID policy.
Shenzhen Nucleus Gene Technology (深圳市核子基因科技 shēnzhèn shì hézǐ jīyīn kējì) is the latest PCR testing company to come under fire.
A testing site in Lanzhou belonging to Nucleus Gene, which was only registered in August this year, is accused of inconsistencies with thousands of people receiving incorrect positive test results from the lab.
According to media reports, Nucleus Gene and another 250 testing companies have poor operations, while profiteering from the pandemic. They are traitors:
More than 250 institutions are accused of false positive PCR test results, making a fortune while the country suffers, causing social panic and unrest. They are the worst kind of traitors, and their crimes are worthy of the death sentence.
250多家机构核酸阳性造假，大发国难财，制造社会恐慌，造成社会动荡不安，堪比汉奸卖国贼，其罪可诛
In Chinese, a traitor is someone who ‘sells out China’ (卖国贼 mài guó zéi). This term first appeared in Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义 sānguó yǎnyì), a 14th century novel set during the fall of the Han empire and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period.
There’s a specific phrase for a Chinese traitor, 汉奸 hàn jiān, the worst kind of traitor. There are many theories on the provenance of this word. One of them is it was used describe treacherous and corrupt ministers during the dying years of the Han. And it’s how Nucleus Gene and its elusive founder, Zhāng Hézǐ 张核子, is being discussed today.
Modern metaphors also found their way into discussions too.
The huge profits made by Zhang’s Nucleus Gene empire have led some social media users to evoke an umbrella metaphor:
If the right to make it rain is given to those who sell umbrellas, the world will never have sunny days.
Maybe it's just a coincidence. But this testing agency has almost no misses: wherever the company operates, the virus will make a comeback.
假如把下雨的权力交给卖伞的人，世界就不会再有晴天。
也许只是巧合，但这个检测机构几乎弹无虚发，基本是公司开到哪里，哪里就少不了疫情反扑
Zhang and his Nucleus Gene colleagues are also described as the Rain God selling umbrellas (卖伞的龙王 mài sǎn de lóng wáng) in the Chinese media. The dragon king (龙王 lóng wáng) is the god of rain in Chinese mythology.
An umbrella also has another meaning in modern Chinese. To have a protective ‘umbrella’ (有保护伞 yǒu bǎo hù sǎn) is to have someone in government or the police who protects you from the law while you profit from illegal activity.
Some commentators reckon Zhang Hezi must have someone - an umbrella - in local government helping continue to win contracts despite ongoing problems.
So, this week we explore conversations in China about Nucleus Gene and how ancient language from the Han dynasty, as well as modern slang is used to discuss the company’s treachery and profiteering while others suffer.
Favourite Five
1. 伞 sǎn
umbrella; to have someone in local government protecting you
张核子的背后究竟有没有伞，我们不得而知，静待有关部门给出答案 - We don’t know if Zhang Hezi has someone in government helping him. So we patiently wait for the authorities to provide an answer.
2. 汉奸 hàn jiān
traitor to China
造成社会动荡不安，堪比汉奸卖国贼，其罪可诛 - They cause social turmoil, their deeds are comparable to selling out China, their crimes should be punished by death.
Related: 卖国贼 mài guó zéi - a traitor who sells out China. This often appears together with 汉奸 hàn jiān.
More: Zoe discusses this more in the podcast. As well as having links to the treachery of the Han dynasty, it’s also a common phrase used by Mao and others to describe traitors during the Sino-Japanese war (1937-1945), similar to running dogs (走狗 zǒu gǒu).
3. 动手脚 dòng shǒu jiǎo
do something underhand
所有妄想靠对核酸结果动手脚的机构，将迎来国家的铁拳，不该拿的，都得加倍吐出来 - All those companies trying to manipulate PCR test results will meet with the iron fist of the government, and they’ll have to give everything back.
4. 发国难财 fā guó nàn cái
profiteering during national disaster
发国难财的人，一个都跑不掉 - Anyone who makes profit out of a national disaster will not get away with it.
More: Read more in The China Project Phrase of the Week.
5. 拔出萝卜带出泥 bá chū luó bo dài chū ní
pulling out a radish brings the mud with it
拔出萝卜带出泥，媒体扒出其背后的关键人物：张核子及他的商业帝国——深圳市核子基因科技有限公司 - Pulling out the radish brings the mud with it. The media has identified the key figures behind it: Zhang Hezi and his business empire, Shenzhen Hezi Gene Technology.
Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
This week’s words focus on making lots of money in underhand ways.
猫腻 māo nì
cat grease; something fishy, underhanded behaviour
一家核酸机构就有这么多猫腻，其余10000多家机构，还有多少个张核子 - A single PCR testing firm has so many scams. How many Zhang Hezis are there in the other more than 10,000 institutions?
Note: A north eastern dialect slang word
谎报 huǎng bào
fake reporting
疫情虽然已经三年，但像谎报结果这样的事还是依据行政处罚做出的 - Although it has been three years since the start of the pandemic, things like fabricating test results are still punished by administrative penalties.
暴利 bào lì
profiteering
很多核酸公司看到了这种处罚力度，也看到了核酸检测的暴利 - Many nucleic acid companies have seen this kind of severe punishment. But they’ve also seen the huge profits being made from PCR testing.
圈钱 quān qián
circle money; grab money
基本可以说，核酸企业想上市圈钱的路，已经被堵死了 - Basically, the way PCR test companies make money through going public has been blocked.
Three-character phrases
昧良心 mèi liáng xīn
ignore ones conscience
任何灾难中，总会出现一些昧着良心大发国难财的黑心资本家 - In any disaster, there will always be some selfish capitalists who act without conscience and make great fortunes while the rest of the country is suffering.
幺蛾子 yāo é zi
small moth; a crazy idea, do something crazy
