A conversational column about the haps in ChinaOverseas study has become less appealing. Parents who once looked up to Western countries are now disenchanted. For their children, it’s much easier: they were never enchanted in the first place. China provides a much more convenient life. The cost of living is low and everything they need is just a click away. Given the choice, they would rather ‘rat around’ in a comfortable home eating cheap, delicious food delivered from a nearby restaurant than ‘eat bitterness’ in a foreign country.
Fair.
What’s more, RedNote is a matriarchal community: one of its founders is a woman, and almost three-quarters of users are female (most of them under the age of 35). Users call one another ‘sis’ instead of ‘bro’. There are unspoken rules. If a girl asks a guy to post a picture of his abs and he does, he’ll receive ‘wows’ and heart emojis. However, if a guy sends a message to a girl asking her to show him her legs, it’s deemed harassment.
They like the six packs over there!
The Ming dynasty reformer Zhang Juzheng (1525-82) is said to have died from complications related to haemorrhoids, so his fans bring haemorrhoid ointments to ease his discomfort in the afterlife.