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Crisis sees cautious New Year greetings
Source: Xinhua |
January 30, 2009, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE financial crisis has made its way into the lives of Chinese people. They are not only more thrifty with Lunar New Year spending but more cautious when sending New Year greetings.
"Cai Yuan Gun Gun," a Chinese idiom, means the inflow of a large amount of money in Mandarin. It used to be a favorite greeting for the Lunar New Year holiday.
But at present against the backdrop of global job cuts people don't want to send or receive this message as a popular play on words with the same pronunciation means getting kicked out of a job.
Wang Lu, who works in a real estate firm in Baotou in the northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, said: "I have to pick greeting words very carefully especially for my colleagues. I don't want to cause unhappiness."
On the notice board of a company in Beijing is a message - "No Cai Yuan Gun Gun in messages" and "No Xin Xiang Shi Cheng."
"Xin Xiang Shi Cheng" means "everything will go the way for people who want their dreams to come true." But these days there is a newly created phrase with the same pronunciation which means workers' incomes will be slashed to 40 percent of their previous levels.
A staffer surnamed Ran said: "The phrases are seen as ominous at this time, even though we are less affected by the global economic turmoil. We hope for better business in 2009."
Other blacklisted idioms include the previously popular "Wan Shi Ru Yi," "Zhao Cai Jin Bao" and "Cai Shen Dao." Now they are seen as taboos because phrases with the same pronunciations refer to "job cuts" or "salary cuts."
But there are exceptions. Messages with "Niu" in Mandarin have become popular. "Niu" means ox in English. This year is the Year of the Ox. By labeling someone "Niu," people are praising their outstanding talent.
"Cai Yuan Gun Gun," a Chinese idiom, means the inflow of a large amount of money in Mandarin. It used to be a favorite greeting for the Lunar New Year holiday.
But at present against the backdrop of global job cuts people don't want to send or receive this message as a popular play on words with the same pronunciation means getting kicked out of a job.
Wang Lu, who works in a real estate firm in Baotou in the northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, said: "I have to pick greeting words very carefully especially for my colleagues. I don't want to cause unhappiness."
On the notice board of a company in Beijing is a message - "No Cai Yuan Gun Gun in messages" and "No Xin Xiang Shi Cheng."
"Xin Xiang Shi Cheng" means "everything will go the way for people who want their dreams to come true." But these days there is a newly created phrase with the same pronunciation which means workers' incomes will be slashed to 40 percent of their previous levels.
A staffer surnamed Ran said: "The phrases are seen as ominous at this time, even though we are less affected by the global economic turmoil. We hope for better business in 2009."
Other blacklisted idioms include the previously popular "Wan Shi Ru Yi," "Zhao Cai Jin Bao" and "Cai Shen Dao." Now they are seen as taboos because phrases with the same pronunciations refer to "job cuts" or "salary cuts."
But there are exceptions. Messages with "Niu" in Mandarin have become popular. "Niu" means ox in English. This year is the Year of the Ox. By labeling someone "Niu," people are praising their outstanding talent.
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