New Characters and New Words

From ancient times to the present, the Chinese people have continuously created and transformed their language and writing. I am deeply impressed by this fact.

A passage in the Records of the Grand Historian: The Annals of Xiang Yu states: "Fan Zeng repeatedly signaled to Xiang Yu with his eyes, three times raising the jade he wore to show him, but Xiang Yu remained silent and did not respond." Fan Zeng repeatedly signaled to Xiang Yu with his eyes, holding up the jade he wore to imply "Kill Liu Bang," but Xiang Yu did not respond at all. The character "目" (me) used here is originally a noun. Yet Sima Qian deliberately employs it as a verb, breathing life into the scene and its characters. He transports readers back to the "Hongmen Banquet" over 2000 years ago.

When learning English, Chinese people also reshape words according to their own logic. This is how Chinglish, rooted in the Chinese linguistic system, emerges. Examples include "Long time no see" (お久しぶり) and "People mountain people sea" (人があふれ返っている). These Chinese-flavored expressions are gradually gaining acceptance even outside China.

Cutting-edge internet slang is constantly emerging. There are countless creatively coined words. Currently, the hottest single-character Chinese character in China is "囧" (jiǒng). Doesn't its shape resemble a troubled face? It's used to mean "depressed," "sad," or "can't be helped." It began appearing frequently on social media around 2008. Its original meaning is "bright," but no one cares about that anymore—it's used with a different meaning.

Internet idioms are also trending. Phrases like "喜大普奔" (great joy spreads far and wide), "人艱不拆" (don't tear down people in hardship), and "不明覚厲" (unaware yet fierce) took the internet by storm overnight. "喜大普奔" is a portmanteau combining the first four characters from: "喜聞樂見" (greatly welcomed), "大快人心" (a triumph that delights everyone), "普天同慶" (celebrated by all under heaven), and "奔走相告" (running to spread the news). Its meaning is simply "delightful."

"人艱不拆" (Renkan fusatsu) means "Since life itself is hard, let's stop exposing trivial matters." It's a quote from song lyrics. "不明覚厲" (Fumou kakurei) translates to "I don't understand what they're saying, but it feels incredibly wonderful." These new words surge in like a tidal wave. You might start believing you'll fall behind trends if you don't check the internet for three hours.

Experts whisper that these words will vanish like fireworks. Yet, having become popular, they can be called culture. They have a reason to exist. I am deeply impressed by this creativity and challenge.

(Supervised by: Dentsu Inc. Aegis Network Business Division)