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A student in the southern city of Nánchāng 南昌 found what looked like a rat head in his lunch while eating in the canteen at his college.
He complained to the catering staff, who insisted that it was actually a duck neck (鸭脖 yābó), which was on the menu, and not a rat head (鼠头 shǔtóu):
That piece of meat clearly had hair and teeth, but the lady working in the cafeteria repeatedly said: “This is duck meat. It’s duck meat.”
那块肉分明有毛有牙齿，但食堂阿姨却反复说：“这是鸭肉，鸭肉”。
The student posted a short video of the mysterious meal on social media, asking: Is it a duck neck or a rat head?
The resounding response: It’s a rat head, with teeth and hair.
A day later, the school waded in:
The school issued a notice, reconfirming that the "foreign object" was a duck neck, which is normal food.
学校发了通报，再次确认“异物”为鸭脖，为正常食物。
On the same day, the student made a video apology, confirming it was a duck’s neck after all:
I published a video on the internet, but later realised that it was not a rat’s head but a duck’s neck. So I am here to clarify that.
我当时拍了一个视频发到了网上，发现不是老鼠头而是鸭脖，特意出来澄清一下。
Why the change?
Cynical netizens suggested a reason:
For a student who has not yet graduated, is finding out whether that thing is a rat’s head really as important as his diploma?
对于一个还未毕业的学生来说，那东西究竟是不是“老鼠头”，跟毕业证相比：还有那么重要么
Creative internet users went on, invented a new pun drawing from an old idiom:
The idiom story of "to call a deer a horse” is well-known among educated Chinese people. Pointing at a deer and calling it a horse is a metaphor for intentionally distorting the truth and confusing right and wrong. 2230 years later, a new idiom has emerged: "to call a rat a duck”.
指鹿为马的故事，但凡读点书的中国人，应该是都知道的。指着鹿，说是马，比喻故意颠倒黑白，混淆是非。 “指鹿为马”2230年后，又有了一个新成语：指鼠为鸭。 [3]
This new idiom is likely to become widely used meaning something like: "The government is distorting the facts even though the opposite is clearly true.”
More new puns were invented with the character for “rat” changed for “duck” in a number of well-known four-character idioms:
抱头鼠窜 bào tóu shǔ cuàn » 抱头鸭窜 bào tóu yā cuàn
cover one's face and creep away
» the government is afraid of the truth
贼眉鼠眼 zéi méi shǔ yǎn » 贼眉鸭眼 zéi méi yā yǎn
shifty-rat-eyed thieves
» shifty-duck-eyed liars
胆小如鼠 dǎn xiǎo rú shǔ » 胆小如鸭 dǎn xiǎo rú yā
timid like a rat
» cowardly like a duck
But our favourite innovation is the adaptation of a well-known poem by Song dynasty poet, Sū Shì 苏轼:
Beyond the bamboo grove peach trees are in bloom,
The rat first knows the warm of waters in spring.
When duck necks with sharp teeth cover the ground,
This is when the regulators do their anti-rumour rounds.
竹外桃花三两枝，春江水暖鼠先知。
鸭脖满地尖牙呲，正是监管辟谣时。 [3]
So that’s what we explore this week: The relationship between truth, power, and censorship.
Favourite Five
1. 异物 yì wù
foreign object
江西工业职业技术学院的一个学生在学校餐厅吃饭的时候，一不小心吃出了一个像老鼠头的“异物” - A student from Jiangxi Industry Polytechnic College accidentally discovered a "foreign object" in the shape of a rat head while eating at the school canteen. [2]
2. 软肋 ruǎn lèi
weak point, vulnerability
也许是有人提起了毕业证，也许是还得继续在这里读书，反正你有软肋被人捏在手里，就只有乖乖配合澄清这一条路可走 - Perhaps someone brought up their graduation certificate, or maybe it’s because they have to continue studying there. In any case, when someone has leverage over you, sometimes the only option is to reluctantly cooperate and clarify the situation. [1]
3. 罗生门 luó shēng mén
Rashomon affair; a situation where there are different self-serving versions of the truth
“鼠头”还是“鸭脖”，怎么就成了罗生门 - A “rat head” or a “duck neck”? How did all this become a Rashomon affair? [4]
Note: This is from the 1950 Japanese film of the same name. We explore more in The China Project Phrase of the Week.
4. 指鼠为鸭 zhǐ shǔ wéi yā
pointing at a rat but calling it a duck
古有“指鹿为马”，今有“指鼠为鸭” - In ancient times, a deer was called a horse, while today a rat is called a duck.[1]
Related: from the original 指鹿为马 zhǐ lù wéi mǎ - to call a deer a horse, which is the original 2300-year-old idiom. Zoe goes deeper in the podcast.
5. 胳膊拧不过大腿 gē bo nǐng bú guò dà tuǐ
the arm cannot twist the thigh
会有人跟他讲道理，“胳膊拧不过大腿，你就别犟了” - There will be people who try to reason with him, saying, "If you can't win against someone more powerful, don't be stubborn." [1]
Note: Referring to a situation where someone is unable to prevail against a more powerful opponent
Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
6. 耦合 ǒu hé
coupling, combination
民间自有消解它的办法，“指鼠为鸭”与“指鹿为马”的耦合 - The people have their own way of resolving it. They see "calling a rat a duck" as the new version of "calling a deer a horse". [1]
7. 改口 gǎi kǒu
to change one's tune, to retract a statement
有了市场监管部门的权威结论后，当事学生改口了，说不是老鼠头，是鸭脖 - After receiving the authoritative conclusion from the market regulatory department, the student involved changed his statement confirming it was not a rat head, but a duck neck. [3]
8. 扎眼 zhā yǎn
striking, eye-catching
更“扎眼”的是，有网友爆料，涉事学校的新媒体中心对学生下发通知 - It is even more striking that netizens have revealed the media center of the implicated school issued a notice to the students. [4]
9. 锋镝 fēng dí
sharp edge, pointed tip
此时舆论锋镝所指，已跳出了“是不是老鼠头”的争论，而是指向校方在这件事中所表现出的操作手法 - At this point, public opinion has moved beyond the debate of whether it is a rat head or not, and pointedly criticised what the school has done. [4]
Three-character phrases
10. 眼睁睁 yǎn zhēng zhēng
helplessly, with one's eyes wide open
即使再荒谬再明摆着，你也只能眼睁睁看着这一切发生在你面前，而无可奈何 - Even if it's absurd and obvious, you can only watch helplessly as everything unfolds before you. [1]
11. 明眼看 míng yǎn kàn
clear-eyed, discerning
