New Words in the Chinese Language

Last week the Ministry of Education and the National Committee on Language and Characters issued a report on newly added words to the Chinese language during the year 2009.  In total, there were 396 new words found commonly used in radio, print media and on the internet.  The news coverage can be viewed here in Chinese, and I will highlight a few of the top words below.  The new vocabulary illustrates the discussions in China that satirize life, society, and government. 

Bei Ju (cup set): this is homonymous with a word meaning tragedy and is used to often jokingly refer to something one feels is terrible or tragic.

Duo Mao Mao (hide and seek): the word originated when a 24 year old man name Li Qiaoming was arrested for illegally chopping down wood.  He was arrested on January 30th, and was released and hospitalized on February 8th.  He died four days later due to severe head injuries. The local police stated that his injuries were sustained while playing 'hide and seek' with a cellmate.  During the course of the game, he fell and hit his head against a wall.  The course of events spurred disbelief and anger among Chinese, and heated discussions filled online forums.  The widespread anger helped to encourage the local authorities to open a formal investigation, the result of which was that he was, in fact, beaten to death.  The word is synonymous with police abuse and official deception.  

Pin Er Dai (second-generation poor): similar to fu er dai (children from wealthy families, often spoiled and without a concept of money), this describes people born to poor families, often the migrant working communities who work in construction or services in Chinese cities.  These children often have very few options in life due to limitations in educational opportunities. 

Bei + verb (grammatical marker -passive voice): bei marks the passive voice in Chinese (bei + verb = was verb-ed). I have covered this topic previously here, as has the Language Log.  Currently, it is also used with words not commonly used with passive voice to criticize official cover ups and manipulation, i.e. bei+suicide implies being beaten to death by police and having it declared a suicide. 

Yi Zu (ants): this is a caricatured term to describe fresh graduates working in urban China.  This group characteristically works for low wages (a typical graduate can earn around 2000RMB/300USD per month), is unable to pay high rent charges, and shares crowded quarters with other recent graduates far away outside the city.  

Xian Yu Zu (salty fish): this is a play on words, xian (salty) is homonymous with xian (free/nothing to do), yu (fish) with yu (spare-as in spare time).  This describes the group of people at any given workplace with no ambition, no goals, and who is content doing the bare minimum and to have at least a job.  In China, those in this group stereotypically fill their days chatting online and playing online games.  For those who might find this an exaggerated claim should realized that the American Chamber of Commerce surveys for years found that HR is foreign companies' largest obstacle in China. 

Subway strategies

For a long time, Japan was known as the crowded country where people are prodded into subway cars by attendants armed with poles.  Truth be told, Beijing is no different.  A sprawling metropolis, Beijing's workers crowd into subways and buses from far away to travel downtown.  For most, the commute to work is a grueling process, in which one must muscle through crowds, wait pressed against others with questionable personal hygiene habits before emerging gasping for breath, all before the start of the work day. 

Recently, I discussed some strategies of riding the subway with a colleague.  

1. Do not stand in the middle of the car (in the  middle where all the seats are): the reasoning is simple, when it's your stop you are surrounded on both sides by crowds of people making it difficult to exit.

2. Do not stand in front of the door:  throughout the ride, there will be a lot of people entering and alighting, all of whom will push past you.  

3.  Do not stand next to someone with a large bag:  anyone carrying a bag of a significant size will fit awkwardly into the subway.  Anytime they turn or move, they will hit someone, most likely you if you are standing anywhere beside them. 

4. For girls or those of smaller stature, it is wise to stand next to a large man who is alighting:  in this case, he can push through, making an opening as you as you get off. 

The list leaves one with few options.  Of course, the best place to be is in a seat, if you are lucky enough to get one.  Otherwise, my favorite is leaning against the crevice next to the door.  You have a place to lean, and at the very least, it is easy to get out when you arrive at your destination.  

US Midterms and Other News in China

In the run-up to the midterm elections in the US, New Yorker writer Evan Osnos wrote a piece entitled A Chinese View of the Midterms, in which he states:

But dig into the Chinese view of this election and you'll find that all of this blather has been refracted in some telling ways. Take "The Chinese Professor," the political ad produced for the Citizens Against Government Waste, that depicts a Chinese lecturer, twenty years in the future, cackling over the red-white-and-blue and crowing, "now they work for us." This might seem like prime red meat for China's "angry youth,"—and, indeed, it has attracted its share of predictable comments in that spirit...

While this advertisement has generated some attention, the election overall is not something that weighs heavily on the Chinese mindset.  Apart from producing an interesting video, it is simply an obscure election far away.  However, below I have highlighted some events that have been prominent in China recently.  

-Xi Jinping's ascent to the vice-chairmanship of the influential Central Military Commission, which effectively solidified his bid to be China's next president.  This announcement came with little of the celebration that comes with say, an American election.  The American electoral system, and most open ones for that matter, is one that allows for and encourages outsiders offering dramatic calls for change.  In China, however, as there are no real political outsiders in politics, the aim is continuity and stability.  In addition, given its history with demagogues, China's government is wary of iconic and charismatic leaders, and has a tendency to pick rather unexciting leaders.  As a result, Xi's appointment was met with mostly tacit acknowledgement.

-An explosion in Dong zhi men (east side of Beijing).  Dong zhi men lies on the northeast corner of the 2nd ring road, and is a major transport hub, as well as being in close proximity to numerous high rises, skyscrapers, and to the state-owned PetroChina's imposing headquarters.  One late October afternoon, a loud noise was heard throughout the area.  Reports came filtering in about a possible explosion in the subway, or in nearby buildings.  Other reported witnessing neither smoke nor fire.  Right as these reports started to emerge, they were quickly shut down. Now, news reports have stopped and searches for "Dong zhi men explosion" among Baidu forums are blocked.  Whether this is an instance of a broken pipe, a bomb or possibly one of the few but growing instances of gun violence is unclear, but without a doubt the reaction is one of a government concerned with the image and stigma of violent unrest.   

-Tensions in the Sino-Japanese relations. The imprisonment of a Chinese fishing boat captain on the Diaoyu Islands, or Senkaku Islands, depending on  your politics, led to the resurfacing of long standing tensions over the territorial ownership of small islands in the East China Sea.  Aside from sparking diplomatic tensions, this event has caused protests in both countries, and, without a doubt, hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.