{"id":308818,"date":"2010-02-11T19:00:29","date_gmt":"2010-02-12T00:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalvoicesonline.org\/?p=122568"},"modified":"2010-02-11T19:00:29","modified_gmt":"2010-02-12T00:00:29","slug":"china-character-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/308818","title":{"rendered":"China: Character of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every year new words are invented, mirroring new trends in our societies. For example, \u2018unfriend<\/a>\u2019 was voted the 2009 word of the year by the New Oxford American Dictionary. It comes from the practice of dropping a contact from Facebook, and reflects the popularity and ever-changing nature of internet social networking.<\/p>\n

The same could be said of China, albeit with a heavier meaning. The National Language Resource Monitoring & Research Centre (Network Media), the Commercial Press and sina.com have co-organized an online campaign<\/a> to select a Chinese character and vocabulary each to describe China and the world in 2009. After one month of recommendations, expert appraisal and voting, the results were released earlier this month, reflecting the views of over 200,000 voters.<\/p>\n

Character of the Year: Bei<\/em> \u88ab<\/strong><\/p>\n

The character bei<\/em> (\u88ab) was selected as the character of the year to describe China. Technically, it is a preposition, and has to be used in conjunction with some other words. In English it means \u2018be xx-ed\u2019. To give some examples, in an attempt to boost graduate employment statistics, some graduates were told by their universities to put stamps in fake contracts to prove that they have gained employment. In the process they \u2018were employed<\/a>\u2019 (\u88ab\u5c31\u4e1a). Figures released by the Statistical Bureau showed the average salary of urban workers increased by 12.9% during the first half of 2009, leaving many netizens in disbelief. Many said their salaries \u2018were increased<\/a>\u2019 (\u88ab\u589e\u957f). The Bureau admitted later that the survey suffered from a too narrow scope. Netizens said they \u2018were represented\u2019 (\u88ab\u4ee3\u8868) by the Bureau.<\/p>\n

Below are some comments selected from a sohu forum<\/a> after the announcement of the results:<\/p>\n

\n

\u91ce\u732b\u4f50\u7f57\u7b2c\u4e8c\u00a0 (2010-02-07 03:21:15):\u00a0 \u4e00\u4e2a\u201c\u88ab\u201d\u5b57\uff0c\u5305\u542b\u4e86\u5584\u826f\u7684\u767e\u59d3\u591a\u5c11\u65e0\u5948\uff0c\u591a\u5c11\u5fc3\u9178\uff0c\u66f4\u6709\u591a\u5c11\u538b\u6291\u548c\u90c1\u95f7\u3002\u516c\u4fe1\u529b\u5728\u4e00\u4e2a\u201c\u88ab\u201d\u5b57\u4e4b\u4e0b\uff0c\u66f4\u663e\u5f97\u65e0\u6bd4\u7684\u82cd\u767d\u4e0e\u865a\u65e0\u3002<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

How much helplessness, sadness, repression and depression were represented in the single word bei<\/em>. Under this word, credibility seems so pale and empty.<\/p>\n

\n

\u4e03\u5251\u4e0b\u73e0\u5cf0 (2010-02-08 03:23:59): \u56fd\u4f01\u6539\u9769\u5de5\u4eba\u88ab\u4e0b\u5c97\u4e86\uff1b\u6559\u80b2\u6539\u9769\u5b69\u5b50\u88ab\u8f8d\u5b66\u4e86;\u4f4f\u623f\u6539\u9769\u8001\u767e\u59d3\u7684\u623f\u5b50\u88ab\u5f3a\u62c6\u4e86\uff01\u533b\u7597\u6539\u9769\u60a3\u8005\u6ca1\u94b1\u5c31\u88ab\u653e\u592a\u5e73\u95f4\u4e86……..<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Workers were unemployed<\/em> under state-owned enterprise reforms; children were dropout-ed<\/em> under education reforms; ordinary citizens\u2019 houses were demolished<\/em> under housing reforms! Those unable to afford medical costs under the health care reforms would<\/em> be placed<\/em> in the mortuary\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n

\n

limingyukorea@sohu_NEW (2010-02-07 04:25:04): \u6700\u6839\u672c\u7684\u662f\u6211\u4eec\u7684\u5404\u79cd\u88ab\uff01\u662f\u600e\u4e48\u5f62\u6210\uff0c\u6ca1\u6709\u516c\u5f00 \u6ca1\u6709\u6c11\u4f17\u53c2\u4e0e \u6ca1\u6709\u767e\u59d3\u53d1\u8a00 \u6211\u6562\u8bf4\u5c31\u8fde\u65b0\u95fb\u7684\u67d0\u4e9b\u8bdd\u90fd\u662f\u88ab\u51fa\u6765\uff01\u7b80\u5355\u7684\u5de5\u8d44\u6211\u4eec\u57fa\u672c\u5de5\u8d44\u5317\u4eac850\u600e\u4e48\u88ab\u7edf\u8ba1\u5c40\u7edf\u8ba1\u90a3\u4e48\u9ad8\uff1f\uff1f\u52a0\u73ed\uff1f\uff1f\u56fd\u5bb6\u4e0d\u662f\u8bf4\u52a0\u73ed\u53ea\u5141\u8bb838\u5c0f\u5417\uff1f\u6709\u8d85\u7684\u5417\uff1f\u7b97\u8fdd\u6cd5\u5417\uff1f\u7b49\u7b49\u597d\u591a\u6570\u636e\u4e0d\u77e5\u9053\u7edf\u8ba1\u5c40\u600e\u4e48\u6536\u96c6\u7684\uff01<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The fundamental issue is how all kinds of bei<\/em> were formed! No transparency, no public participation, no freedom to express opinions. I dare say that some news reports also had the element of bei<\/em>! How could our basic Beijing salary of [RMB] 850 be reported so much higher by the Statistical Bureau? Overtime? Doesn\u2019t the government say that overtime is limited to 38 [hours]? Is the limit exceeded? Is the law being broken? We just don\u2019t know how the Bureau collects all those statistics!<\/p>\n

Vocabulary of the Year: Min Sheng<\/em> \u6c11\u751f<\/strong><\/p>\n

The vocabulary of the year is min sheng<\/em> (\u6c11\u751f), meaning \u2018people\u2019s livelihood\u2019. It reflects various concerns that ordinary people face, ranging from employment, housing, social security to environmental conditions. In many ways, these issues are connected with lack of public participation and official accountability. Wang Chuantao<\/a> (\u738b\u4f20\u6d9b) wrote in a commentary:<\/p>\n

\n

\u2026 \u88ab\u201d\u548c\u201c\u6c11\u751f\u201d\u5206\u5217\u56fd\u5185\u5b57\u3001\u8bcd\u7684\u7b2c\u4e00\uff0c\u53cd\u6620\u4e86\u7f51\u6c11\u5bf9\u5f53\u4e0b\u60c5\u52bf\u7684\u5fc3\u6001\u3002<\/p>\n

\u5176\u5b9e\uff0c\u65e9\u57282008\u5e74\u201c\u88ab\u00d7\u00d7\u201d\u5c31\u5df2\u7ecf\u51fa\u73b0\u5728\u62a5\u7eb8\u548c\u7f51\u9875\u4e86\uff0c\u53ea\u4e0d\u8fc7\u4ec5\u4ec5\u5c40\u9650\u4e8e\u201c\u88ab\u81ea\u6740\u201d\u548c\u201c\u88ab\u589e\u957f\u201d\u4e24\u4e09\u4e2a\u6982\u5ff5\u7ea0\u7ed3\u7684\u8bed\u5883\u4e4b\u4e2d\uff0c\u6211\u56fd\u7f51\u6c11\u8fd8\u6ca1\u6709\u5c06\u4e4b\u4e8e\u201c\u65f6\u4ee3\u201d\u6302\u94a9\u3002\u521a\u521a\u8fc7\u53bb\u76842009\u5e74\uff0c\u6b63\u56e0\u4e3a\u6709\u4e86\u592a\u591a\u4e0e\u201c\u6c11\u751f\u201d\u6709\u5173\u7684\u88ab\u52a8\u8bed\u6001\uff0c\u201c\u88ab\u65f6\u4ee3\u201d\u548c\u201c\u6c11\u751f\u201d\u4e8c\u5b57\u624d\u6700\u7ec8\u7ed3\u5408\uff0c\u5e76\u53cc\u53cc\u6210\u4e86\u6700\u5177\u5f71\u54cd\u529b\u7684\u7f51\u7edc\u6d41\u884c\u8bed\u3002<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2026 The fact that bei<\/em> and min sheng<\/em> are selected as the character and vocabulary of the year shows the current mood of netizens.
\nIn fact, bei <\/em>started to appear in newspapers and websites as early as 2008, though netizens just linked them to standalone cases such as \u2018were suicided\u2019 and \u2018were increased\u2019, rather than giving it the significance of an \u2018era\u2019. However, because too many min sheng<\/em> related events with an element of bei <\/em>happened in 2009, \u2018the era of bei<\/em>\u2019 and \u2018min sheng<\/em>\u2019 has combined to become the most influential internet catchphrases.<\/p>\n

But he is optimistic about the future:<\/p>\n

\n

\u4f46\u662f\uff0c\u6211\u4eec\u66f4\u5e94\u8be5\u8bf4\uff0c2009\u540c\u6837\u4e5f\u662f\u4e2d\u56fd\u516c\u6c11\u3001\u4e2d\u56fd\u7f51\u6c11\u5bf9\u201c\u88ab\u65f6\u4ee3\u201d\u7684\u201c\u89c9\u9192\u65f6\u4ee3\u201d\u3002\u6743\u5229\u7684\u7f3a\u5c11\u751a\u81f3\u4e8e\u88ab\u5265\u593a\u56fa\u7136\u53ef\u6015\uff0c\u53ef\u6700\u4e3a\u53ef\u6015\u7684\u8fdc\u8fdc\u4e0d\u662f\u7f3a\u5c11\u6216\u5265\u593a\u8fd9\u79cd\u73b0\u8c61\u672c\u8eab\uff0c\u800c\u662f\u4e00\u79cd\u5bf9\u8fd9\u79cd\u6743\u5229\u73b0\u72b6\u7684\u9ebb\u6728\u6216\u4e60\u60ef\u2014\u2014\u8fd8\u597d\uff0c\u4e2d\u56fd\u516c\u6c11\u3001\u4e2d\u56fd\u7f51\u6c11\u6ca1\u6709\u201c\u88ab\u4e60\u60ef\u201d\u3001\u201c\u88ab\u9ebb\u6728\u201d\uff0c\u76f8\u53cd\uff0c\u5374\u4ee3\u4e4b\u4ee5\u4f1f\u5927\u7684\u8c03\u4f83\u3002<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But we should say that, for Chinese citizens, 2009 is also an \u2018era of awakening\u2019 in response to the \u2018era of bei<\/em>\u2019. The lack of rights, or worse, being exploited, is horrible. However, the most horrible of all is that people become insensitive or used to the situation. Luckily, Chinese citizens and netizens are not \u2018accustomized\u2019 or \u2018insensitized\u2019. Rather, they make a great, black humor out of it.<\/p>\n

\n

\u53ea\u8981\u6709\u201c\u62d2\u7edd\u9ebb\u6728\u201d\u7684\u7cbe\u795e\uff0c\u6211\u60f3\uff0c\u81f3\u4e8e\u63a5\u4e0b\u6765\u76842010\uff0c\u5c31\u662f\u503c\u5f97\u671f\u5f85\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u3002\u90a3\u4e9b\u201c\u88ab\u6350\u6b3e\u201d\u7684\u804c\u5de5\u3001\u90a3\u4e9b\u201c\u88ab\u5c31\u4e1a\u201d\u7684\u5927\u5b66\u751f\u3001\u90a3\u4e9b\u201c\u88ab\u5e78\u798f\u201d\u7684\u5e02\u6c11\u3001\u90a3\u4e9b\u201c\u88ab\u5c0f\u5eb7\u201d\u7684\u57ce\u5e02\u2026\u2026\u5c31\u6709\u6743\u5229\u8868\u8fbe\u51fa\u81ea\u5df1\u7684\u6124\u6012\u6765\uff0c\u7ee7\u800c\u5f15\u8d77\u5a92\u4f53\u5173\u6ce8\u4e0e\u70ed\u8bae\uff0c\u518d\u9010\u6b65\u8d70\u5411\u95ee\u9898\u7684\u89e3\u51b3\u548c\u843d\u5b9e\uff0c\u76f8\u4fe1\u4e5f\u4e0d\u662f\u4ec0\u4e48\u96be\u4e8b\u3002<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I believe that, with the spirit to refuse being \u2018insensitized\u2019, 2010 is a year worth looking forward to. For those employees who \u2018were donated\u2019, graduates who \u2018were employed\u2019, citizens who \u2018were blessed\u2019, cities which \u2018were harmonized\u2019\u2026\u2026 they would have a chance to express their anger, raising media and public attention. It will then not be difficult to lead to real resolutions and improvements of the situation.<\/p>\n

In the same campaign, fu<\/em> (\u6d6e, meaning a state of drift), and jinrong weiji<\/em> (\u91d1\u878d\u5371\u673a, meaning financial crisis) were selected as the character and vocabulary describing the world in 2009. They represent the states of instability and uncertainty brought about by the financial crisis during the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every year new words are invented, mirroring new trends in our societies. For example, \u2018unfriend\u2019 was voted the 2009 word of the year by the New Oxford American Dictionary. It comes from the practice of dropping a contact from Facebook, and reflects the popularity and ever-changing nature of internet social networking. The same could be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5357,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-308818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5357"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308818\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}