China flavor

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For non-specialists to understand this tweet, a considerable amount of annotation and explication is necessary.

Key terms

Zhōngguó 中國/国 — usually rendered as "China; Chinese", literally "central / middle kingdom"

Zhōnghuá 中華/华 — usually rendered as "China; Chinese", literally "central / middle florescence"

So named because the first ancient Chinese settlements were around the Yellow River, which was considered to be the center, and because the culture was considered to be magnificent and flourishing.

    • In traditional East Asian thought, (Huá) or 中華中华 (Zhōnghuá), often translated as "Chinese", has a philosophical connotation of civilizedness and decorous behavior that transcends a strictly ethnic definition. This is in opposition to "foreigners" or "barbarians", () or 夷狄 (yídí), whose cultures are uncivilized and lacking in proper morality. Therefore, in certain contexts, other nations of the East Asian cultural sphere could refer to themselves as 中華中华 (Zhōnghuá) in the sense that they were civilized people following the classical traditions first established in Ancient China, without meaning that they saw themselves as Chinese in an ethnic sense.
    • Although also used in the formal names of both the Republic and People's Republic of China, the term carries a somewhat broader sense than 中國中国 (Zhōngguó, “state of China”) and connotes something like the "nation of the Chinese people" or "land of the Chinese culture".

(Wiktionary)

If we compare Zhōngguó 中國/国 and Zhōnghuá 中華/华, the former is more PRCish and the latter is more ROCish.  However, both sides employ both designations at different times and for different purposes.

Other terms raised by James Millward are:

Zhōngguó shì de 中国似的 ("China-like")
Zhōngguó xìng 中国性 ("Chineseness; Chinese nature / character")
Zhōngguó wèi 中国味 ("Central Kingdom flavor")
Zhōnghuá wèi 中华味 ("Central Florescence flavor")

Here's the quotation from Xi Jinping printed against a blue background at the bottom of the tweet (with a few small modifications from online sources):

Wǒmen de jiàoyù… jué bùnéng péiyǎng chū yīxiē “zhǎngzhe Zhōngguó liǎn, bùshì Zhōngguó xīn, méiyǒu Zhòngguó qíng, quēshǎo “Zhōngguó wèi” de rén!

我们的教育…绝不能培养出一些“长着中国脸, 不是中国心,没有中国情,缺少中国味”的人!

"Our education… must not cultivate people who have "Chinese faces but not Chinese hearts, no Chinese feelings, and lack 'Chinese flavor'!"

Make of it what you will.  For myself, I am savoring what Xi Jinping meant by his rather peculiar reference to a Chinese wèi 味 ("taste; flavor; smell; odor") as applied to people.

Selected readings

P.S.:  If you want to see the whole of Xi Jniping's smiling face, click on the X at the top right of the tweet.

[Thanks to Bruce Humes]



5 Comments »

  1. Mark Metcalf said,

    September 6, 2024 @ 12:49 pm

    One other “China” synonym that is frequently used in CCP and PLA sources is 我国 Wǒguó – translated (depending on context) as “my country” or “our country.”

    Interestingly, I experienced use of the term when teaching Chinese literature courses. Some PRC students would refer to the literature of “my country” in their early essays.

  2. Vampyricon said,

    September 6, 2024 @ 2:44 pm

    Ironically what he's saying can't happen is exactly what's happening.

  3. Thomas said,

    September 6, 2024 @ 3:42 pm

    Is this even a simplified Chinese font in the image to the tweet? The 育 and the 能 look peculiar to me.

  4. Jeff DeMarco said,

    September 6, 2024 @ 4:08 pm

    This is covered in excruciating detail by Bill Hayton in “The Invention of China”

  5. KC said,

    September 11, 2024 @ 9:02 am

    中華 is to be used for the sports teams of the TPKM Separate Customs Territory

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