Better Than a Tweet? In Four Characters, a New World of Meaning

By AMY QIN

There is a Chinese idiom that might be used to describe the place of idioms in Chinese literary tradition: jianding buyi 坚定不移, meaning “firm and unchanging.” 

The use of such expressions, especially the classical set phrases known as chengyu 成语, has long been seen as a mark of erudition in China. 

Most chengyu consist of only four characters, but they don’t follow the grammar and syntax of modern Chinese, and as many frustrated Mandarin students can tell you, they are often indecipherable without some knowledge of their origins, often in ancient Chinese literature that preceded the birth of Christ.
Some of the most popular Chinese idioms in use today, though, are of a more modern provenance, having been forged in what is currently the hottest space for linguistic innovation in China — the Internet. 

These sayings retain the four-character format of the classic idioms but are distinguished by their ironic, contemporary and sometimes political themes. 

Popular among Chinese youth, the new idioms may not be considered highbrow, but they offer a window into the humor, culture and concerns of China’s millennial generation.
Among the many new Internet idioms now trending, xi da pu ben 喜大普奔 is a favorite, conveying exaggerated enthusiasm and excitement, with a dose of political irony. 

The phrase is an amalgamation of four expressions commonly used — perhaps overused — in Communist Party language, often to describe public satisfaction with the party’s policies:

1. xi wen le jian 喜闻乐见, meaning “a delight to see and hear,”
2. da kuai ren xin 大快人心, meaning “to the satisfaction of everyone,”
3. pu tian tong qing 普天同庆, meaning “universal rejoicing,” and
4. ben zou xiang gao 奔走相告, meaning “running around and telling everyone.”

None of these phrases would seem out of place on a Mao-era propaganda poster. 

Take the first character of each, string them together in a Chinese-style acronym, and the enthusiasm expressed is magnified to a farcical degree. 

The result is a hyperbolic idiom that might be translated as “news so exhilarating that everyone is celebrating and spreading it around the world.”
Now, even the smallest cause for celebration is being touted on the Internet as xi da pu ben. 

The announcement that train tickets were going to be available for purchase through the e-commerce site Taobao, for example, was immediately hailed as xi da pu ben. 

So was news that a history museum in Xi’an was offering free admission for two days. 

The phrase has even crept into traditional media, with the Southern Weekend newspaper publishing an article earlier this month about visa-free travel between China and Phuket, Thailand, under the headline, “Visas Not Required for Ordinary Passports: ‘Xi Da Pu Ben.’ ”
Another new expression resonating online is ren jian bu chai 人艰不拆, which is essentially equivalent to the American idiom “to cut someone some slack.” 

The phrase reflects the pessimism and dissatisfaction with life felt by many young Chinese today, and is derived from the lyrics of the Mandarin pop ballad “Fairy Tale,” released by the Taiwanese singer Yoga Lin in 2009. 

The original 17-character line in the song — “Some lies are better not exposed, as life is already so hard” — was boiled into four characters to resemble a chengyu, and the condensed version has taken on a new life on the web.
The new idiom can be deployed in jest, as when a microblogger used it in response to a study reporting that the thicker a person’s belly, the more prone he or she may be to dementia: “Oh, ren jian bu chai!” (“Oh, cut me some slack!”)
But it can also be used in sympathy. 

After a young man in Beijing was sentenced in August to 10 years in prison for trying to rob a bank with a watermelon knife, reportedly so he could make a down payment on a marital home, one newspaper published a commentary titled, “ ‘Ren Jian Bu Chai’: How the Middle Class Went From White Collar to Loser.” (There is deep frustration with soaring housing prices among many young Chinese, especially bachelors under pressure to buy an apartment to improve their prospects for marriage.)
Usage of such Internet idioms has generally been confined to the virtual realm of online youth, but there are signs that these imaginative expressions are beginning to enjoy some popularity offline as well.

Earlier this fall, Peking University unveiled a set of four traditional calligraphy paintings in a newly renovated classroom building. 

But instead of classical idioms, each canvas displayed a popular phrase taken from modern Chinese Internet lingo, including xi da pu ben and tu yang tu senpo 图样图森破, a mocking, phonetic reference to an outburst by former President Jiang Zemin during which he used English to accuse Hong Kong reporters of being “too young” and “too simple.”
According to the Beijing Evening News, the calligraphy caused a stir and was soon taken down. 

“They were probably scared that journalists would start coming,” a building management employee told the newspaper, referring to no one in particular. 

“It was probably too sensitive.”