{"id":62353,"date":"2024-01-29T12:52:01","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T17:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=62353"},"modified":"2024-01-29T19:23:51","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T00:23:51","slug":"viral-pushback-against-the-imperial-dragon-in-a-dragon-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=62353","title":{"rendered":"Viral pushback against the imperial dragon in a dragon year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A sarcastic song for the new year by the awesome Namewee (Hu\u00e1ng M\u00edngzh\u00ec \u9ec3\u660e\u5fd7), featuring Winnie Poohpooh (aka Xi Dada) clad in imperial dragon robe:<\/p>\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u8981\u542c\u8981\u5feb! \u88ab\u7981\u5c31\u542c\u4e0d\u5230\u4e86.. \u9ec3\u660e\u5fd7 Ft.\u5c0f\u718a\u4e3a\u4f60 \u3010\u9f99\u7684\u4f20\u4eba\u3011 @\u9f99\u5e74\u8d3a\u5c81\u65b0\u5e74\u6b4c 2024\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OUjDh7d64uo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\r\n<p>The video is provided with trilingual subtitles &#8212; Chinese, Malay, and English &#8212; so if you listen and look closely, you should be able to glean much of what's going on, but I will provide some background and explanatory notes to make things easier and more meaningful, especially for novice viewers.<\/p>\r\n<p>First of all, a few words about the singer songwriter and his names:<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>Wee Meng Chee<\/b> (<a title=\"Traditional Chinese characters\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Traditional_Chinese_characters\">Chinese<\/a>: <span lang=\"zh-Hant\">\u9ec3\u660e\u5fd7<\/span>; <a title=\"Pinyin\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pinyin\">pinyin<\/a>: <i><span lang=\"zh-Latn-pinyin\">Hu\u00e1ng M\u00edngzh\u00ec<\/span><\/i>; <a title=\"Pe\u030dh-\u014de-j\u012b\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pe%CC%8Dh-%C5%8De-j%C4%AB\">Pe\u030dh-\u014de-j\u012b<\/a>: <i><span lang=\"nan-Latn\">\u00dbi\u207f B\u00eang-ch\u00ec<\/span><\/i>; born 6 May 1983), widely known by his <a title=\"Stage name\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stage_name\">stage name<\/a> <b>Namewee<\/b> (<span class=\"rt-commentedText nowrap\"><span class=\"IPA nopopups noexcerpt\" lang=\"en-fonipa\"><a title=\"Help:IPA\/English\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Help:IPA\/English\">\/<span title=\"\/\u02c8\/: primary stress follows\">\u02c8<\/span><span title=\"'n' in 'nigh'\">n<\/span><span title=\"\/e\u026a\/: 'a' in 'face'\">e\u026a<\/span><span title=\"'m' in 'my'\">m<\/span><span title=\"\/.\/: syllable break\">.<\/span><span title=\"'w' in 'wind'\">w<\/span><span title=\"\/i\u02d0\/: 'ee' in 'fleece'\">i\u02d0<\/span>\/<\/a><\/span><\/span>), <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Malaysian people\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Malaysian_people\">Malaysian<\/a> <a title=\"Hip hop music\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hip_hop_music\">hip hop<\/a> recording artist, composer, filmmaker and actor. His <a title=\"Stage name\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stage_name\">stage name<\/a> is a bilingual pun on his first name, the <a title=\"English language\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/English_language\">English<\/a> term for 'name' (Chinese: <span lang=\"zh\">\u540d\u5b57<\/span>; pinyin: <i><span lang=\"zh-Latn-pinyin\">m\u00edngzi<\/span><\/i>).\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">(<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Namewee\">source<\/a>)<\/p>\r\n<p>Plenty of cleverness right there to begin with.<\/p>\r\n<p>We at Language Log already know Namewee quite well, through his blockbuster hit \"It Might Break <a title=\"Permanent link to Your Pinky Heart\" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=52329\" rel=\"bookmark\">Your Pinky Heart<\/a>\" (10\/22\/21).\u00a0 Among other things, it was a sharp denunciation of the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Great_Firewall\">Great Firewall<\/a> (= censorship) in the PRC.\u00a0 In other songs and videos, Namewee has taken on such sensitive subjects as Wolf Warrior diplomacy, political corruption, speculative investment&#8230;.\u00a0 His targets in the PRC are almost endless.<\/p>\r\n<p>Next is the phrase <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Descendants_of_the_Dragon\">\"l\u00f3ng de chu\u00e1nr\u00e9n \u9f99\u7684\u4f20\u4eba (\"<\/a><span class=\"HwtZe\" lang=\"en\"><span class=\"jCAhz ChMk0b\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Descendants_of_the_Dragon\">Descendants of the Dragon\")<\/a>, whiech is repeated endlessly, and is a reference to the alleged 5,000 years of continuous Chinese civilization.\u00a0 It was the title of a seminal work by Taiwanese songwriter <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hou_Dejian\">H\u00f3u D\u00e9ji\u00e0n \u4faf\u5fb7\u5065<\/a> (b. 10\/1\/56), who wrote it in late 1978 as a protest against the official recognition of the PRC by the US, which was announced on December 15, 1978.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>One of the most amazing things about this video is the uncanny AI replication of Xi Jinping's voice near the begining and at the end.\u00a0 I must say that I was quite stunned to hear it.<\/p>\r\n<p>As Namewee's fans caution, better not go to dragon land.\u00a0 If he does, he might soon be \"missed\", like so many redoubtable figures who have tickled the wyvern's whiskers.<\/p>\r\n<p>Oh, I almost forgot to say that\u00a0 Namewee's dragon song garnered nearly three million views and more than ten\u00a0 thousand comments in less than three days.<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p><b>Selected reading<\/b><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to Your Pinky Heart\" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=52329\" rel=\"bookmark\">Your Pinky Heart<\/a>\" (10\/22\/21)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to Heirs to the dragon \/ cage\" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=47219\" rel=\"bookmark\">Heirs to the dragon \/ cage<\/a>\" (5\/26\/20)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to A (troop \/ troupe of) dragon(s) tromping \/ flying\" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=61559\" rel=\"bookmark\">A (troop \/ troupe of) dragon(s) tromping \/ flying<\/a>\" (12\/4\/23)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to Horse conquers dragon\" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=36174\" rel=\"bookmark\">Horse conquers dragon<\/a>\" (1\/10\/18)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to Happy L\u00d3NG year!\" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=3725\" rel=\"bookmark\">Happy L\u00d3NG year!<\/a>\" (1\/24\/12)<\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/cantonese\/news\/cn-dragon-01262024225546.html\">rfa article about this song<\/a> (1\/26\/24; in Chinese)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>These also good:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>\r\n<div class=\"elementToProof\"><a id=\"OWAa9d2b581-69bd-9724-bfec-adceea6696fe\" class=\"OWAAutoLink\" href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.com\/v3\/__https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=g0moet-jLw8__;!!IBzWLUs!QGdBc6SO0zFKZfXo3mgJJWzO_Y-1tFe9zfFdzLDP4gE5bSgLfmgiG9TxjfdTaJwcAbkpmS9lnBku-T32uY9jj0taxVM$\">Namewee \u9ec3\u660e\u5fd7 Controversial Song \u3010Negarakuku \u6211\u611b\u6211\u7684\u570b\u5bb6\u3011@2007 (youtube.com)<\/a><\/div>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li>\r\n<div class=\"elementToProof\"><a id=\"OWAa9d2b581-69bd-9724-bfec-adceea6696fe\" class=\"OWAAutoLink\" href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.com\/v3\/__https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=g0moet-jLw8__;!!IBzWLUs!QGdBc6SO0zFKZfXo3mgJJWzO_Y-1tFe9zfFdzLDP4gE5bSgLfmgiG9TxjfdTaJwcAbkpmS9lnBku-T32uY9jj0taxVM$\"><\/a><a id=\"OWAa7960364-5db1-39aa-ddc4-da8a1c4a1921\" class=\"OWAAutoLink\" href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.com\/v3\/__https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hTtexs9HpLc__;!!IBzWLUs!QGdBc6SO0zFKZfXo3mgJJWzO_Y-1tFe9zfFdzLDP4gE5bSgLfmgiG9TxjfdTaJwcAbkpmS9lnBku-T32uY9jrJv4qR0$\">Namewee \u9ec3\u660e\u5fd7\u3010Muar Mandarin 2017 \u9ebb\u5761\u7684\u83ef\u8a9e10\u9031\u5e74\u7d00\u5ff5\u7248\u3011@\u4e9e\u6d32\u901a\u7252 2018 Ultimatum To Asia (youtube.com)<\/a><\/div>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>[Thanks to shaing tai and Geoff Wade]<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A sarcastic song for the new year by the awesome Namewee (Hu\u00e1ng M\u00edngzh\u00ec \u9ec3\u660e\u5fd7), featuring Winnie Poohpooh (aka Xi Dada) clad in imperial dragon robe:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[322,94,16,310],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artificial-intelligence","category-language-and-music","category-language-and-politics","category-word-of-the-year"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=62353"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62363,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62353\/revisions\/62363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=62353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=62353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=62353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}