Is Cursing in China Hen Hao or Lowbrow?

You're on your way home from work. Three people jump ahead of you in line as you make your way to an overflowing subway car where you're thrashed by hundreds of commuters staring into their smartphones and jockeying for position. At street level, a Jingdong delivery trike appears out of nowhere and blasts its shrill horn as a black Audi comes from the opposite direction and nearly flattens you. You barely resist the urge to give the guy in the Audi a piece of your mind. But is it worth it?

Cursing is useful in countless ways in all of our lives. It instigates conflict, diffuses tensions, and helps us to sound cool. But the way profanity is used is by no means universal, and it is worth considering whether or not to employ these dark arts as a foreigner in China.

In 2012, a video went viral of the principal cellist for the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Oleg Vedernikov, refusing to remove his feet from the seat back of a fellow train passenger and calling the woman a “shabi.” Following his naming and shaming in Chinese media, Vedernikov issued an apology video over Sina Weibo and lost his job. Though both passengers acted like children and the confrontation could easily have been averted, the use of such a strong word clearly raised the stakes.

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