Perhaps, this means that Mr. Xi has decided to 'come out of the closet'.
That's actually petty sad. The first communist people in China are those who had a ideology in their heart. They want social reform and progressive rights for women and workers. But years political movement destroyed all hope some founding member of Chinese Communist Party had. Some of them got into jail and never came out of the dark, the rest took place in the government, then made big bucks when China started become capitalism in 80s.
Yes, I know NYT is full of leftist liberal and maybe some conservatives, and there is no way a NYT reader can truly understand the concept of communism. But in an age which comrade and communism has lost its meaning. And wage gap, inequality in education and healthcare becomes the nature of society. Who remember there was a ideology mapping the society has a whole and seeking for the maximum happiness for all citizen.
Sadly, no country has ever achieved true communism.
Yes, I know NYT is full of leftist liberal and maybe some conservatives, and there is no way a NYT reader can truly understand the concept of communism. But in an age which comrade and communism has lost its meaning. And wage gap, inequality in education and healthcare becomes the nature of society. Who remember there was a ideology mapping the society has a whole and seeking for the maximum happiness for all citizen.
Sadly, no country has ever achieved true communism.
1
I think Xi knows well what he is doing and where he is going with this. For one he sees the writing on the wall, that China is being over populated by men, many single men. And for that to work out, it will require men to become and act as good comrades, even if in more ways than one.
4
lol. or steal all the women from surrounding countries, as they are doing now. A friend of mine from Taiwan once told me the PRC didn't have to invade Taiwan - the lack of suitable marriage partners for Taiwanese farmers was resulting in a huge influx of wives coming from the mainland. Maybe China will be vulnerable to a marriage invasion...
Maybe that's why the saying was, "rotten to the core"? If you looked at how the leaders in the party enriched themselves. They were supposed to be the example of what 'self sacrifice' is supposed to be. I thought the party came to existence because of the glaring disparities between the rich and the poor in society. Now it must be the difference between 'filthy rich' and 'abject poverty'?
1
Yes, the lexicon and the linguistic.
But "comrade" makes much more sense than the expropriation of the word "gay" for a male of same sex orientation.
Lesbian, with the link to ancient Greece and lyric poetry of Sappho on the island of Lesbos, makes much more sense. But "gay"? That's what a little child is. A nosegay—that's a small bouquet of flowers. Remember the original West Side Story lyric: I feel pretty. I feel pretty. I feel pretty and witty and gay. And I pity any girl who isn't me today.
But "comrade" makes much more sense than the expropriation of the word "gay" for a male of same sex orientation.
Lesbian, with the link to ancient Greece and lyric poetry of Sappho on the island of Lesbos, makes much more sense. But "gay"? That's what a little child is. A nosegay—that's a small bouquet of flowers. Remember the original West Side Story lyric: I feel pretty. I feel pretty. I feel pretty and witty and gay. And I pity any girl who isn't me today.
1
My mainland chinese wife and I invariably crack up when Xi does the ride in the open car at the tiananmen parade every year. He always stands and waves to the soldiers and cries "Tongzhimen! Tongzhimen!" He seems completely oblivious to the commonly understood implications of that. And CCTV1 broadcasts that dutifully and without comment. Hilarious.
10
This is quite amusing. Maybe the funniest news out of China in some time.
Wouldn't be great to see Comrade Xi's face when he finds out? Sad though for all those who will require re-education as a result.
Wouldn't be great to see Comrade Xi's face when he finds out? Sad though for all those who will require re-education as a result.
4
I think President Xi Jinping will find ways to reclaim the term "comrade".
5
All are equal, but some are more equal than others.
Plus ça change.
Plus ça change.
4
Reminds me of the appropriation and redefinition of "Santorum". Given the recent contentious election, no telling where this might end.
1
As a veteran of the fight for equality in America, I'm pleased & entertained to see our "comrades" in China mastering the art of political Judo...
Incidentally, I was recently traveling in China, having married into a Chinese-American family, and the reality of Chinese censorship hit me when I discovered that the 3 most important websites for me to stay informed: Google, NY Times and Facebook, were all unreachable from the otherwise working internet. Congrats to the NYT for having made the list!
No doubt articles like this one contribute to the "respect" you have earned from party officials on the mainland. ;-)
Incidentally, I was recently traveling in China, having married into a Chinese-American family, and the reality of Chinese censorship hit me when I discovered that the 3 most important websites for me to stay informed: Google, NY Times and Facebook, were all unreachable from the otherwise working internet. Congrats to the NYT for having made the list!
No doubt articles like this one contribute to the "respect" you have earned from party officials on the mainland. ;-)
6
In a similar move, Trump announced that all administrative staff will be addressed as Herr.
14
There is a famous story about a party official who was addressed as tong zhi ( comrade) when visiting an official venue.
He bristled with anger and yelled, Don't call me comrade!
There are many millions of lgbq people in China today. They are no longer hiding. Things while not really wonderful are no longer anti-gay as they once were. Truly, most people don't care. They have far more important things to deal with.
When I was last there a few years ago I had no problem with telling people I was gay. Some laughed because they thought it was strange, a typical Chinese response, but they were never negative.
There is even a Chinese gay themed dating reality show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1V9l58Tkus
However, on a troubling note there was a move to ban any gay TV characters. Not sure of what the current situation with that is. Like Baidu , the site you mention, the Communist party seems really out of touch with the reality of its population. Kind of like the Dems in the last election. Denial. Parallel universe. Call it what you like.
I doubt that this move to call one another tong zhi ( comrade) will be embraced by the great proletarian masses and those claiming to speak for them.
He bristled with anger and yelled, Don't call me comrade!
There are many millions of lgbq people in China today. They are no longer hiding. Things while not really wonderful are no longer anti-gay as they once were. Truly, most people don't care. They have far more important things to deal with.
When I was last there a few years ago I had no problem with telling people I was gay. Some laughed because they thought it was strange, a typical Chinese response, but they were never negative.
There is even a Chinese gay themed dating reality show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1V9l58Tkus
However, on a troubling note there was a move to ban any gay TV characters. Not sure of what the current situation with that is. Like Baidu , the site you mention, the Communist party seems really out of touch with the reality of its population. Kind of like the Dems in the last election. Denial. Parallel universe. Call it what you like.
I doubt that this move to call one another tong zhi ( comrade) will be embraced by the great proletarian masses and those claiming to speak for them.
4
Historically, China has never prohibited gay relations. At worst a sexual relationship between a gay couple would only have counted as a crime if it was between 2 people of different social status (Imperial China ranked people for the purposes of criminal law - a person of a higher status rank could do to a lower ranked person things that the latter would be executed for if it was the other way around. The main objection to homosexuality in China comes from the fact that a gay son couldnt produce children, which was a problem in an ancestor worshipping society.
5
Xi is clearly a hard core Maoist and is intent on reviving Mao's approach. My heart goes out to the people of China that they will apparently have to again endure the horrors of Maoism.
4
"We are all comrades, but some of us are more Comrade than others."
4
One of the delights and challenges with a living language is that word meanings change. In your article does not use the formal term "homosexual"; instead, "gay" appears throughout. In my youth, "gay" meant happy or mirthful. The delights of gayness were offered by "The Flintstones"cartoon characters, who, in the show's title song, promised children that, "We'll have a gay old time." It is rather amusing that, in one of the last remaining communist countries, "comrade," that term of international socialist solidarity (which is to say, a nonsense word if ever there were one), is making a similar transformation. The new meaning can only be an improvement.
4
The "formal" term of "homosexual" is itself a nineteenth century amalgamation of a Greek and a Latin word. It speaks only of activity but fails to consider orientation. As many non-gay men have proven one can engage in "homosexual" activity without being gay.
1
Whether they are aware of it or not, more than any other animal species, humans take their "Self-Identity" seriously. A "label" or "title" is used carefully in all societies to designate social order, rank and power.
During the 2016 election the big bully used "Name-Calling" to aggravate and torment his opponents, even though all of them are alpha-male types. The n-word, f-word, c-word are thrown around to demean minorities.
Bully victims sometimes deploy passive aggressive tactics to defend themselves by adopting the derogatory label. The n-word became a term of endearment in some circles.
The use of "comrades" to describe gays in China probably started in Taiwan & Hong Kong where the title was not treated with respect, but served quite nicely for homosexuals to call each other, and nobody else would use the communist label. With its decline in usage, gays inside mainland China adopted the label "comrade" from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Identity is tied to one's preferences, likes and dislike. Thus there are cat-people, dog-people, gays and straight, etc. One's identity is also often tied to "ideology", "beliefs", "faith". Religions and Politics may be taboo topics at dinner parties, but for China's Communist Party, reinforcing political ideology is no small matter. Restoring a facade of "egalitarian" value to counter corrupted excesses is serious business. It is quite possible the the term "Comrade" will evolve to co-exist in a two-track usage in China.
During the 2016 election the big bully used "Name-Calling" to aggravate and torment his opponents, even though all of them are alpha-male types. The n-word, f-word, c-word are thrown around to demean minorities.
Bully victims sometimes deploy passive aggressive tactics to defend themselves by adopting the derogatory label. The n-word became a term of endearment in some circles.
The use of "comrades" to describe gays in China probably started in Taiwan & Hong Kong where the title was not treated with respect, but served quite nicely for homosexuals to call each other, and nobody else would use the communist label. With its decline in usage, gays inside mainland China adopted the label "comrade" from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Identity is tied to one's preferences, likes and dislike. Thus there are cat-people, dog-people, gays and straight, etc. One's identity is also often tied to "ideology", "beliefs", "faith". Religions and Politics may be taboo topics at dinner parties, but for China's Communist Party, reinforcing political ideology is no small matter. Restoring a facade of "egalitarian" value to counter corrupted excesses is serious business. It is quite possible the the term "Comrade" will evolve to co-exist in a two-track usage in China.
2
I like it, everyone can address each other as comrade and then wait to see what happens. It could add a little excitement to the day.
3
It feels good to laugh again. This story tickled me. I refer to my co-workers as "comrades" sometimes in mass emails. I think I'll start using the term more often.
3
This is how subversion works, no? I think it's fantastic that a word traditionally used to "democratize" relationships within the Communist system of China has been co-opted and is now being used to describe relationships that are anathema to the Chinese political class. Never again will straight men call each other "comrade" in China. That word now has a stigma attached that straight people, men especially, don't want. It may take a long time for China to reach equality on LGBT issues, but that starts with first being able to *talk* about them. At least they have their own word.
1
Redolent of our 'appropriation' of the word 'gay'.
1
I love this news of linguistic appropriation in a country with so little political freedom. And as a gay man, I can't hear word "comrade" without remembering Walt Whitman, who spoke so movingly of the love of comrades:
"I will plant companionship thick as trees along all the rivers of America, and along the shores of the great lakes, and all over the prairies;
I will make inseparable cities, with their arms about each other’s necks;
By the love of comrades,
By the manly love of comrades."
"I will plant companionship thick as trees along all the rivers of America, and along the shores of the great lakes, and all over the prairies;
I will make inseparable cities, with their arms about each other’s necks;
By the love of comrades,
By the manly love of comrades."
19
A real friend is a person who
brings fuel in stormy weather.
Unreal friends were those who flew
away, birds of a feather
who did not stay together with
a friend who needed fuel.
This happens, sadly: it’s no myth.
There are both kind and cruel
categories, for there are friends
who’re friends, and friends who’re not.
Though both types send you fuel, one sends
you fuel just when it’s hot,
while he who calls you comrade just
to signify he thinks you're gay
confuses politics with lust
in games that Chinese Marxists play.
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