alliance for Beijing style cursing

Over here...

On July 28, the Beijing public security bureau held a press conference to discuss the case of the Alliance for Beijing-style Cursing. Since the Chinese Super Soccer League matches began this year, there have been frequent displays of Beijing-style cursing at the home field for the Beijing-based Guoan team. This phenomenon is in fact an organized movement in which certain persons formed the Alliance for Beijing-style Cursing to mobilize Guoan fans to participate in Beijing-style cursing…

…The Alliance for Beijing-style Cursing used to be a QQ group of soccer fans. These young people discussed the Guoan games, and they gathered to eat and meet. Soon Hao, who had plenty of time on hand because he was unemployed, began to gain fame. Then someone came up with the title of the Alliance for Beijing-style Cursing. This was unanimously approved. At the third home game on April 15, the two Alliance flags showed upon at the 13th section of the Guoan home stadium. At the fourth home game on April 29, the Alliance unfolded a banner that said, "Welcome To Hell." In their view, the Alliance members believe that "Beijing-style cursing is a unique Beijing cultural property." Hao said: "I knew about Beijing-style cursing from when I was very young. Beijing people like to curse when they watch sports."

If you happen to be raised in Stoke, on the other hand, you don’t have very much choice in the matter. While the “Welcome to Hell” banner looks like a straight lift from Galatasary, “Beijing style cursing” is indeed a local phenomenon:

If you take Beijing swearing as an example, you actually only need two characters to explain it: stupid cunt (sha bi). Don't pay attention to the fact that these two characters may seem a little vulgar, because they actually conceal several generations of Beijingers' wisdom.

Chinese has two slang expressions that I think are profound: one is "fuck! (wo cao, literally 'I fuck', sometimes closer in meaning to 'fuck me!'), one is "stupid cunt" (sha bi).

…If you have seen the film In the Heat of the Sun, you might remember Ma Xiaojun warching his teacher through the telescope, repeating again and again one phrase: "Fuck me!" (wo cao). But each time he says it, because of differences in the tone, stress and length of the vowel sound, it means something completely different. The phrase can mean many different things, depending on how it's said. This is, in fact, culture.

Sha bi and wo cao can both mean very different things according to the tone in which they are pronounced. Because of the frequency of their use, these words are often used as modal particles, gradually merging into Chinese grammar like de and di. If they suddenly disappeared, the language would not hang together.

Wang Xiaofeng goes on to argue that if you’re living somewhere where the phrases “fuck me” and “stupid cunt” naturally spring to the lips, then the problem might not actually be with language.

And fuck me, they’re trying to ban it from the Olympics. Sha bi!

Comments

[Chris Williams]

So was that just a sha bi dog story?

[jamie]

Fuck me, I think you may be right.