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Chapter 31. Duanzi

Section 7. Arts and Entertainment

The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014Chapter 31. Duanzi

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Outline

• Introduction• On frustrations in daily life• On distorted social norms• On public officials• On addiction to the internet, mobile phones, and social

media• Road ahead

The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014Chapter 31. Duanzi

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Introduction

• Western people are good at expressing humor with solemn expressions, while Chinese people are good at expressing solemn attitudes in a humorous way. — Jean Nohain

The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014Chapter 31. Duanzi

Chapter 31. Duanzi 4

Introduction

• The term “duanzi” originally referred to short jokes or anecdotes that described a social phenomenon or attitude in a humorous way.

• Nowadays, duanzi have evolved into a standalone category of entertainment that has become part of daily life in China.

• Duanzi can be roughly divided by contents, including dirty duanzi, red duanzi, black duanzi, and grey duanzi • E.g., a widely circulated duanzi on Edward Snowden

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Introduction

• Grey duanzi:

⁻ typically contains something more than a cheap joke;

⁻ allows people to subtly express their opinions on the matters they feel strongly about;

⁻ For readers, they can learn about the topics people care about and the manner in which they express themselves

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On frustrations in daily life

• Some very unique, very serious frustrations conveyed humorously through duanzi:

⁻ A duanzi on Food safety Here is how Chinese are introduced to science: We learn about paraffin from rice, dichlorvos (DDVP) from ham, sudan red from preserved eggs and spicy sauce, contraceptive pills from eels, formalin from hotpots, sulfur from silver ear fungi and dates, copper sulfate from tree fungi, formaldehyde from beer, and melamine from milk powder.

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On frustrations in daily life

⁻ A duanzi on a on the stratospheric property prices A journalist interviews a passerby: “If you win 5 million yuan, how are you going to spend the money?” He says, “Pay my mortgage.” The journalist asks, “What about the rest?” The passerby replies, “Well, I will pay the rest bit by bit.”

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On frustrations in daily life

⁻ A duanzi on a on air travel in China China is a large country and we are really proud of it, even Beijing is huge. Do you how large Beijing is? If you are in Europe and you get on an airplane in London, you will be in Germany in 1 hour; another hour will take you to Poland. But if you get on an airplane in Beijing, you will still be in Beijing after 5 hours.

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On frustrations in daily life

⁻ A duanzi on a on rising living expenses The price of instant noodles has risen. So have prices for eggs, flour, and gasoline. Everything around us has increased, except for salary. Nonetheless, we should do our best to survive, because the price of a plot in a cemetery is rising as well.

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On frustrations in daily life

⁻ A duanzi on a on the Chinese National Soccer Team A Korean, a Japanese person and a Chinese person went to see God. They asked God when their national soccer team could win the World Cup. The Korean asked first, “When will South Korea win the World Cup?” God replied, “In 50 years.” The Korean cried and said, “Oh, I won’t be able to witness it in my lifetime!” Then, the Japanese person asked, “When will Japan win the World Cup?” God answered, “In 100 years.” The Japanese person cried, and said, “Oh, even my son won’t be able to witness it in his lifetime!” Finally, the Chinese person asked, “When will China win the World Cup?” God cried, and said, “I don’t think I will witness it in my lifetime!”

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On distorted social norms

• The majority of Chinese people believe social norms are being distorted in ways contrary to the traditional Chinese values:A young person started his teaching career at a new school. During their first meeting, the principal asked him to be kind to every student for the following reasons:Be nice to those who score 100% because they will become scientists;Be nice to those who score 80% because they may become your colleagues;Be nice to those who fail the exams because they may donate money to the school;Be nice to those who cheat on the exams because they will become government officials;Be nice to those who get into fights in school because they will become policemen;Be nice to those who lie because they may become star journalists;Be nice to those who ramble because they will become government spokespersons.

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On public officials

• Public officials in China now have rather low reputations and are often the subject of ridicule: ⁻ A pig wants to become a human in his next life. God asks, “Do you

want to be a worker in factory?” The pig replies, “Too strenuous.” “How about a farmer?” “Too poor.” “A businessman?” “Don’t know how to calculate.” God says, “Okay, then tell me who you want to be.” The pig answers, “I’d like to become a government official.”

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On addiction to the internet, mobile phones, and social media

• The Chinese are addicted to various communication formats on the internet: ⁻ When one checks WeChat after he gets up in the morning, he does it as if

he were an ancient emperor dealing with urgent reports submitted from all over his empire, as if he were at the top of the decision pyramid. On WeChat, he sees all major national news stories, all those posts that are worrying the nation and people, posts about ambition, posts with life advice, posts on gourmet cooking, beauty, etc. Everybody harbors the secret dream of becoming an emperor, and WeChat is rekindling this dream. When one clicks “like” on WeChat, it is as if he is announcing to the world “Your emperor is now aware of this!”

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Road ahead

• Duanzi is not only an entertainment format, it is a platform that allows people to share views and frustrations.

• Chinese people feel comfortable discussing serious topics in a humorous way

• There is a constant flow of new duanzi

The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014Chapter 31. Duanzi