'Sacred Beasts' and 'Involution'...
- Gordon Dumoulin
- Dec 13, 2020
- 1 min read
It is the time again to wrap up a year with lists of trends having made an impact on this year. It certainly does not feel to wrap up anything being in the middle of the pandemic but let's turn our heads a little anyway with these phrases and hashtags which were buzzing in China's social media in 2020.
"𝗦𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀" 神兽 originally refers to mythological creatures in Chinese folklore such as dragons or phoenixes. Usually bringing good luck but some taming needs to be done. Parents started calling their kids "sacred beasts" early this year, as a term of both affection and frustration when whole families were staying at home earlier this year for longer time as schools and offices were closed due to the pandemic. No further explanation needed I guess :-)
"𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻" 内卷, referring to the anxiety of increasing labor pressure but at social stagnation. A picture of a man using his laptop at Tsinghua University became a hype on the internet this year, called 'the king of involution'.
Other 2020 Chinese buzzwords; People first, life first (人民至上，生命至上）, Heroes in harm’s way (逆行者）, Spirited (飒), Rising wave (后浪), Dual circulation (双循环), Versailles literature (凡尔赛文学)
Sources, read more in detail about the 2020 Chinese buzzwords :
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