2. And we’re back!
Welcome to the October issue of LUAN DUN.
It’s called Luan Dun after a hotpot dish from Dongbei, the North-
Eastern part of China. All kinds of ingredients and flavors are cooked
together in one big pot. Luan means chaos, so it suggests that
everything is well and truly mixed up together.
Luan Dun is for those of you who are new to China and for those who
want to keep up with China as it continues to change.
We want you to understand China from various angles, but most
importantly,we want to help you think the way locals do.
Our feature designer of the month is Sally Zou, who based her
designs on the bubbles boiling in a Luan Dun Hot Pot.
4. GROWTH OF
‘CHINESE NOMADS’
Home is where the heart is, but in this case, home is wherever the wheels take them. They call
it “房车” [fang che] which means, House Car. These nomads are called ‘中国吉卜赛’ [zhong
guo ji pu sai = Chinese Gypsies]. Typically they come from tier 4 and 5 cities, and haven’t got
the capital to buy a permanent home.
They take their families everywhere and park wherever they can. A single car will often be
home to a family of 3; sharing 50 liters of water a day for washing up, cooking and cleaning.
They often get chased by police and Cheng Guan (city guards) but rarely get into serious
trouble. And as for making a living, they fix utilities for other households, which allows them
to earn up to 40,000RMB a year. This amount of income is more than what they can make
anually at home.
Their ultimate goal is to eventually build a house and settle down.
1USD=6.8RMB
5. 5 YEAR OLD RICH ‘A YI’
A 5 year old girl was taught by her post 80s parents how to manage her own finances by
doing chores at home in return for financial reward. These chores are typical for a Chinese
Ayi (cleaner/caretaker/maid) that most households can afford to hire, but to teach their
daughter an important lesson on ‘income’ and ‘savings’, no ayi was hired.
The girl has learnt to clean the house and clean up after herself,
to finish her homework on time and help her parents
whenever needed. All this for the reward
of 0.5RMB, 1RMB or 2RMB per chore.
Her annual savings from her chores,
including redpocket money during
CNY allowed her to save up to 30,000
RMB a year. She now has her own
bank account and her own
debit card.
6. ANEMICS CAN’T
WORK FOR THE
GOVERNMENT
When applying for job positions in the Chinese government or
governmental related agencies, candidates are required to pass
2 examinations: written and physical.
Recently a candidate in Guangdong province, despite
completing and passing all the required written tests, was denied
the position simply because he had anemia, a disease passed
down genetically for generations. After this case, all other
anemic candidates were also denied.
According to the “Physical Examination Operating Manual”
and “General Standard of hiring Government Official Physical
Examination Handbook”, the candidate was described as: Blood
Disease, Fail.
This caused an uproar and anger in Southern China, as 12% of
the population in the south of China carry Anemia, a harmless,
non-contagious disease.
7. NATIONAL DAY
HYPE
The first week of October was the 60th
annivesary of Communist China. It’s time to
share some of the excitement.
8. CRAZY
HAIRDO
Chinese citizens are proud of the National Day,
and some are rather extreme about it. To share
their pride for China, many citizens had national
symbols shaven into their hair.
“I like my National Day hair, it is rather creative and
on that day I can be the main attraction”, says
the boy.
9. GOLDEN 60
Photographers went all over China to look for 60
people who were born on October 1st, whose
names are Guo Qing, which means National
Celebration Day.
It took 4 months to find all these people, just for
the sake of celebration.
10. GARBAGE
CRISIS
The four hour parade of picture-perfect soldiers,
tanks and missiles, floats and 100,000 well - drilled
nappy-wearing soldiers and civilians was a proud
moment for many Chinese citizens.
But after a long day of celebration, another group
of well trained civilians marched out to do their
job: pick up garbage.
It is calculated that the total weight of leftovers on
that day plus the additional holidays that came
after is 220 tons, 4 times the weight of garbage
last year.
Part of the tools used for the parade had to be
thrown away and the rest was garbage by the not
so developed citizens...
12. 穷二代
Poor 2nd Generation
Peasants or ordinary workers who are unable to become wealthy by new Chinese
policies are called “Poor 1st Generation” and their children, born into the same
poor environment, inadequate education, are called “Poor 2nd Generation ”.
Netizens, who are privileged urban Chinese, look down on this group so they gave
this poor generation 18 traits to categorize them, some of them are:
1. The most familiar means of transport is agricultural vehicles, trains and
long distance buses.
2. During winter/summer holidays, they always have to go home to help out
at the farm.
3. They have the tendency to become Cheng Guan
(City Guards...this is a job for people who can’t make it into the police).
4. If they read “Dream of the Red Mansions” they will often get touched by the
phrase “I was born into the wrong family”.
5. They often read articles such as Chicken Soup while their sisters usually turn
out to be “chicken” (prostitutes).
13. 厕饭
Toilet Meal
This term is based on the importance of human relationships. No one wants to be
unpopular if they don’t have friends, so when it comes to lunch time, no one wants
to be seen eating alone, or else they will be deemed a loner.
In Japan, a girl wanted to avoid being seen eating alone in the cafeteria so she
brought her food to the toilet and ate there instead, hence the term “Toilet Meal”.
This term is widely used among Chinese youth nowadays to describe loners,
especially those in high school, but increasingly the term is being adopted by
whitecollar workers.
When the term is used as a joke, it often goes like this: Have you ‘Toilet Mealed’
today? (The term should be used as a verb which is a way of suggesting that you
have no friends).
14. 糖衣女郎
Candy-clothed Woman
This is an occupation that has become pretty popular in Chinese society today.
Wives of wealthy men hire these so called “Candy-clothed women” to trick their
husbands, testing their husband’s honesty and faithfulness. These girls are often in
their early 20s, when they are looking for a place in society.
On a darker note, as the flourishing Chinese economy has enabled many couples
to become wealthier, the motives for some of these wives to hire Candy-Clothed
women isn’t just to test their husband’s fidelity, but rather an excuse for them to
file for divorce, which allow the couples to separate their wealth into half.
15. Candy-clothed Woman
A real life story
It was April of 2007 when I first arrived at the big city, I was 23. I found a job as a
clerk in a well known enterprise. Although the wages were not high, I had to save
my own ‘face’ by focusing on work. Soon enough, I got used to the city life and the
first thing I did was join a yoga class. There, I met many friends, and among them
whom I’ve became closest to, was Mrs. Lan.
It wasn’t long until Mrs. Lan persuaded me to play a ‘Game of Love’ with her.
At first I refused, but she said to me, “People make mistakes, God will forgive”. She
promised me that all I had to do was seduce her husband, who turned out to be
the CEO of the enterprise I was working at, soon enough I will get a reward. One
month later, I seized my opportunity and became personal secretary of the CEO.
As for Mrs. Lan, she was able to collect all the evidence she needed to confront
her husband and eventually succeeded with a divorce. At the same time, due to
husband’s remorse over the situation, he automatically gave up 80 percent of the
family property, leaving himself with only one small portion of his business.
Source: ent.cncbw.net/star/200909/184613.net
16. 月亮男
Moon Man
Moon Man is a term for men that are perfect on the outside - great academic
achievement, great career and has lots of friends - but they bring a lot of sadness
to their wife and kids at home.
‘Moon’ represents bright on one side for others to see, but dark on the other side
where no one can see. These men often have endless studies to do, endless work
hours and endless friends to entertain, but in this case, they often neglect their
family.
This term fits those up-and-coming successful white-collar workers or
academic competitive students trying to earn doctorate degrees.
Traits of a Moon Man:
1. Hypocrisy: think in one way and behave in the other
2. Elusive: his whereabouts are unpredictable
3. Has a certain degree of social status
18. Eason Chan
“Living on the Fifth Floor”
MUSIC
陈奕迅：
上五楼的快活
Eason Chan Yik-Shun is a prominent male singer in Hong Kong‘s music industry.
He has been praised by Time magazine as a front runner in the next generation
of Canto-Pop. He released his new Mandarin album “Living on the Fifth Floor” at
the end of September.
He called his album the “5th Floor” because both his recording studios in
Hong Kong and Taiwan are on the 5th floor. Also, it will be his first time as a
photographer snapping pictures of the recording equipment, building
elevators, the scenery outside the window and the staff working whenever
there is extra time. The cover of ‘Living Eason Chan on the Fifth Floor’
Eason took over 1000 pictures, the designer selected some of Eason’s photos and
assembled a 72 page photo album as a pre-order gift for Fans. And in Taiwan,
each CD has a 7 day warrantee to change for a new CD if fans are not satisfied
in any way. These kind of unique offers are interesting strategies to encourage
people to spend money on copyrighted products rather than being tempted by
boot-legged copies.
Eason Chan
19. Marvis Fan & 100%
“Innocent”
MUSIC
范晓萱 &100%：
赤子
Mavis Fan is Taiwanese pop singer who also plays flute and piano. Now she has
formed a band named 100% and released the first album “Innocent” with
her band.
According to Taiwan singer Mavis Fan, what links her and the members of her
The Mavis Fan cover of ‘Innocent’
band 100% together is that they all have an innocent heart. In the making of
her latest album “Innocent”, her first full-length album in nearly five years, the
pop-sweetheart-turned-rocker reverts to her childhood memories for inspirations,
and the result is 10 new songs that harkens back to the 1970s - the childhood of
Mavis and 100%.
“Through this nostalgic trip, you’ll find love, hope, and happiness, as well as the
innocent child in your heart that you may have long forgotten”.
Mavis Fan
20. Tanya Chua
“If You See Him”
MUSIC
蔡健雅：
若你碰到他
Having composed many of her own songs, Tanya Chua is one of Taiwan’s
strongest and most well-known singer-songwriters. Now she is coming back
with her new album “If You See Him”.
Tanya offers listeners her insights into love, writing, producing, and singing a
collection of 10 new songs, including the first single “Who”.
The cover Tanya Chua of If You See Him
Tanya Chua
21. MOVIE
The Founding of a Republic
建国大业
The Founding of a Republic has been widely heralded as the Chinese Many Chinese expect the film to be propaganda. They’re keenly aware of
Communist Party’s star-studded cinematic present for itself to celebrate the circumstances surrounding it and the bigger question for them is:
the 60th anniversary of its founding of the People’s Republic of China. How many stars can they spot and identify? However, it is a genuinely
With hundreds of stars from China and Hong Kong, including the kung-fu well-made film that helps us remember one of the most contentious and
heroes Jackie Chan and Jet Li, telling the story of the Communist rise to pivotal moments of modern Chinese history.
power in 1949, the film is being tipped as one of the biggest box office hits
in the country for years.
22. MOVIE
Sophie’s Revenge
非常完美
Sophie’s Revenge: Sophie, whose career as a successful comic artist takes their ex-partners, with burgeoning romance a predictable by-product
second place to her loopy romantic life. Sophie has just split with her between the two jilted lovers. The movie is derivative and lightweight,
boyfriend Jeff, but her mother is expecting a wedding and Sophie hasn’t the but Sophie’s Revenge manages to highlight a few features. Number one,
heart to tell her otherwise. Undaunted, Sophie resolves to win Jeff back from it’s a China film production with a Hollywood-quality style and sheen that
his new love, popular actress Joanna, and chooses to chronicle her quest in can probably play beyond just Asian territories. Number two, it makes
her new book, The Handbook of Love. Another wrinkle occurs with the Zhang Ziyi into a convincing comedienne. And three, it’s actually pretty fun.
arrival of nice-guy photographer Gordon, who has a past with Joanna and
soon becomes Sophie’s confidante. Together, the two team up to regain
23. MOVIE
Mcdull Kung Fu Ding Ding Dong
麦兜响当当
McDull returns again in his sequel called McDull Kung Fu Ding Ding Dong. destined for. This long-in-production sequel supplies the same stuff that the
McDull is a popular animated pig character that first appeared on the big previous animated McDull movies did – a love of Hong Kong culture,
screen in 2001. Previously known as McDull Wudang, McDull Kung Fu Ding abundant local satire, identifiable emotions, and simply the resigned
Ding Dong tells of Hong Kong’s favorite cartoon piglet’s Tai Chi training in feeling that it’s okay to live an average life. If there’s a definitive list of films
Hubei province’s Wudang Mountains (a sacred place for martial arts) at the that represent Hong Kong, the McDull movies would surely be on it. You can
Spring Flower Gate school, before representing at the World Kindergarten also find McDull in comic books and television series.
Martial Arts Contest. All in all, Kung Fu Ding Ding Dong manages a familiar
affection towards the simple, unglamorous life that most of the Chinese are
24. INTERNET
Xiaonei becomes Renren
Chinese Facebook, Xiaonei, officially changed its name to Renren, as well
as its domain to www.renren.com. The html title for the website is currently
“Xiaonei Renren Network” to ease the transition period. The site changed
its name from xiaonei.com last month in order to attract a wider user base
of white collar workers.
One of the reasons for Xiaonei’s success, said Chen, lay in the fact that it
had developed into a platform for third parties and their applications,
with a special emphasis on entertainment features.
Xiaonei means ‘on campus’ while Renren means ‘everybody’.
25. INTERNET
Chinese netizens
hopeless after Freedur
It has been rather difficult to access international websites in China for the Now that a new proxy, called Skydur, has been set up to replace the old
past few months, so Chinese netizens have been relying heavily on all kinds Freedur, we are unsure which one to really trust. Nevertheless, this event
of proxies available, one of which is Freedur. However, last month, there was created a big stir among the majority of Chinese netizens who depended
a Freedur incident and before accusing the Chinese government again for on Freedur to navigate through China’s firewall.
shutting down another Proxy site, Freedur, we might want to take a look at
what really happened: “I was just using Freedur last night but this afternoon it doesn’t work anymore,
so I went on a forum and found out everyone is talking about it.” - Chinese Netizen
An interview with the team behind Freedur: Just a week ago Chris Matthews
sabotaged the service by redirecting www.freedur.com domain to his personal
server and stole our customers database and web site scripts. Because Chris
worked as accountant for us, he bought domain freedur.com for us, thus it was
easy for him to sabotage the service. We have intervened and threatened to him
with law suits, thus he restored domain back. We had full trust to Chris, we were
considering him as a friend, but today we see who is Chris Mathews, an evil and
greedy person trying to steal from and screw up his friends, business partners and
customers.
26. ONLINE GAME
Maple Story
MapleStory is a free-of-charge, 2D, side-scrolling massively
multiplayer online role-playing game developed by the South
Korean company Wizet. It is the most popular online game
in Singapore and Malaysia, it has a huge following in the rest
of Asia too.
In the game, players travel the “Maple World”, defeating
monsters and developing their character’s skills and abilities
as is typical in role-playing games. Players can interact with
others in many ways, such as through chatting, trading, and
playing mini games. Groups of players can band together in
parties to hunt monsters and share the rewards. Players can
also join a guild to interact more easily with each other.
27. ONLINE GAME
Crazy-racing Kart-rider
Crazy-racing Kart-rider is an online multiplayer racing game.
It earns revenue by selling virtual items in the in-game shop,
including different types of vehicle and spray paint. Kart-rider
not only features fictitious fantasy vehicles but also branded
game models based on real-life cars, developed from
collaboration with companies such as BMW Korea.
28. TV PROGRAM Happy Girls/Super Girls
快乐女声/超级女声
Super Girls was an annual national singing contest in China for female
contestants, organized by Hunan Satellite Television. It was generally described
as the mainland Chinese version of Pop Idol and became one the most popular
entertainment shows in the country. Now, the concept is back and the program
is called Happy Girls, under a new sponsor.
This program is one of the most popular shows in Chinese broadcast history,
leading the way for a whole bunch of imitators.
29. TV PROGRAM Kang Xi Lai Le
康熙来了
KangXi Lai Le is a variety talk show that aired only on the Chung T’ien Television
network in Taiwan, and the show is hosted by 2 popular Taiwanese hosts Dee
and Kevin Tsai. Celebrities and politicians are invited to this show where they
share light-hearted moments with the hosts and the audience, a little bit like
the humorous version of Oprah. Although it is aired only in Taiwan, the
humorous interview styles and the relaxed atmosphere made the show very
successful and popular among Chinese audiences across the world who
watch re-runs over the internet. The show helped inspired a new generation
of Chinese talk shows to be more fun and relaxed rather than serious and
focused, which is often the way talk shows in China are.
30. THANK YOU
For more questions please email me:
Charinee Chairasmisak
charinee.c@wk.com
