Mandarin Monday: Top Buzzwords From the Plenum (Part One)
Last week's Party Plenum will most likely be remembered by Beijing residents for its disruptive and inconvenient security measures, but the Plenum is guaranteed to dominate Chinese media with this list of topical buzzwords.
Compiled by the People's Daily, the list of 100 terms have been translated from Mandarin Chinese into English and range everywhere between the familiar and old to the new and strange.
In this Mandarin Monday, we'll examine some of these terms and get a feeling for the future policy direction of China.
Fit Like a Glove
First up, the list includes a number of terms that even the newest expat in China is likely familiar with.
"Chinese dream" (中国梦, Zhōngguó mèng) has been an often-used buzzword in Chinese policy that followed Chinese President Xi Jinping's "two centenary goals" (两个一百年, liǎnggè yībǎinián) that were the focus of the previous Plenum in 2012.
This coming year will see numerous mentions of the "Belt and Road Initiative" (一代一路倡议, yīdàiyīlù chàngyì) which has since branched out into the more specific terms of the "Silk Road Economic Belt" (丝绸之路经济带, sīchóuzhīlù jīngjìdài) and "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" (21世纪海上丝绸之路, 21shìjì hǎishàng sīchóuzhīlù) as well as their historical precedent, the "Ancient Silk Road" (古丝绸之路, gǔ sīchóuzhīlù).
Chinese media has long boasted of technological advancements quickly adopted by its society. "Bullet train" (动车, dòng chē) entered normal conversation long ago, as have "car-sharing" (共享汽车, gòngxiǎng qìchē) and associated terms "taxi-hailing app" (打车软件, dǎchē ruǎnjiàn), "online car-hailing" (网约车, wǎng yuē chē), and "designated driver business" (代驾服务业, dàijià fúwùyè).
The "sharing economy" (分享经济, fēnxiǎng jīngjì) that has quickly emerged over the past year has become a way of life in China. "Mobile payment" (移动支付, yídòng zhīfù) and "cashless payment" (无现金支付, wúxiànjīn zhīfù) are interchangeable terms while the presence of "two-dimensional barcode payment" (二维码支付, èrwéimǎ zhīfù) is seen everywhere.
Interestingly, many of these have been proudly used under the blanket term "Four New Inventions" since last year's APEC summit even though none of them were actually invented in China. But hey, we can all adapt to the "new normal" (新常态, xīn chángtài), but one thing that won't change is the ...
Quo Country for Bold Men
With the campaign "My Country is So Amazing" (厉害我的国, lìhài wǒ de guó) still ongoing, next year promises to be a banner year for flag-waving.
High on the list is the new motivational term "stay true to the mission" (不忘初心, bù wàng chūxīn) which has a literal Chinese meaning of "don't forget your true intentions." The Plenum also exhorts Chinese to be self-assured by entering the term "cultural confidence" (文化自信, wénhuà zìxìn) into popular usage.
One term we may be hearing more is "super-national treatment" (超国民待遇, chāoguómín dāiyù), a way to describe prejudicial policies that favor expats over locals. The term has been around for years, but we're starting to see it creep into recent Chinese headlines where it can be either good or bad. On the one hand, Chinese tourists are given favorable discounts at Japanese stores, but then Chinese universities have been noted to lower tuition rates for international students instead of destitute Chinese students.
Still, having this new term come into popular usage may help Chinese citizens talk about the "new type of major-power relationship" (新型大国关系, xīn xíng dàguó guānxì) that they expect their country to have with the world at large.
She Blinded Me With Science
China has recently made numerous scientific and technological achievements, and you're going to know about them. They include the "FAST telescope" (500米口径球面射电望远镜, 500 mǐ kǒujìng qiúmiàn shèdiàn wàngyuǎnjìng), otherwise known as "China's Eye of Heaven" (中国天眼, Zhōngguó tiānyǎn), which is scanning the skies for signs of intelligent life among the stars.
Other space achievements include the "quantum satellite Micius" (量子卫星 墨子号, liàngzǐ wèixīng mòzǐ hào) that could revolutionize telecommunications with fool-proof encryption, the "Beidou navigation system" (北斗卫星导航系统, běidòu wèixīng dǎoháng xìtǒng), the "Fengyun-4A satellite" (风云四号A星卫星, Fēngyún sìhào A xīng wèixīng), and the "heavy-lift carrier rocket" (重型运戴火箭, zhòngxíng yùndài huǒjiàn).
China's aviation industry also gets a huge mention with the "J-20 stealth fighter" (歼20隐形战机, jiān-20 yǐnxíng zhànjī), the "domestically-built aircraft carrier" (国产航母, guóchǎn hángmǔ) as well as the new "homemade passenger jet" (国产科技, guóchǎn kējì).
An achievement that may heavily impact energy industries is China's "sampling of combustible ice" (可燃冰试采, kěrán bīng shìcǎi) taken from the ocean floor, opening up a previously untapped source of energy.
The list also mentions a number of nascent technologies that China is focused on developing, including "artificial intelligence" (人工智能, réngōng zhìnéng), "alternative energy vehicles" (可替带能源汽车, kětìdài néngyuán qìchē), and "face-scan payment" (扫脸支付, sǎoliǎn zhīfù) which is just beginning to be adopted by schools and train stations.
To answer how it made these accomplishments, the list explains that new policies will help foster new talent. China looks to develop its universities into world-class institutions with the"Double First-Class" initiative (双一流, shuāng yīliú).
At the same time, the "pro-innovation government" (创新型政府, chuàngxīnxíng zhèngfǔ) will encourage the rise of "innovative talent" (创新型人才, chuàngxīnxíng réncái) in order to facilitate "crowd innovation, crowdsourcing, crowd support and crowdfunding" (众创 众包 众扶 众筹, zhòngchuàng, zhòngbāo, zhòngfú, zhòngchóu).
More terms to come in our second installment of Plenum buzzwords!
Images: SCMP.com
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