An October 10 People’s Daily editorial titled “‘Uncouth’ Titles Prevail in the Party, ‘Comrade’ Left in the Cold” riled up some netizens. The article claims that fewer and fewer people within the Party address each other as “comrades,” while “appellations of spurious, fringe origins which force feudal backwardness have infiltrated the Party from several departments and work units, including ‘boss,’ ‘chief,’ and ‘big brother.’” The article stresses that the practice of addressing colleagues as “‘comrade’ has always been a Party tradition. Because the Communist Party is a synthesis of faith and doctrine characterized by concordance, the title of ‘comrade’ accurately reflects the Party as a solemn and dignified political organization.”
Netizens noted that “uncouth” (江湖气) becomes the more common phrase “vagrant habits” (江湖习气) with the addition of the character 习 xí–Xi Jinping’s surname. “Comrade+Xi” (习＋同志) was blocked from Weibo search results around the time of reaction to this editorial.
@晓痞兔: The Party cannot tolerate vagrant habits! Kill me now!
党内容不下江湖习气!要死！
@拖尼熊: Don’t forget “fifth brothers,” “mistresses,” “melon father,” and “devils.”
还有“五哥”“师娘”“瓜爹”“鬼子”
Wang Lijun has called Gu Kailai “Fifth Brother.” “Melon father” refers to Bo Xilai, whose son with Gu Kailai is Bo Guagua, literally “Bo Melon-melon.”
@方便处II: Jiang, Hu, Xi–will the next be surnamed Qi?
江 湖 习 ，下一任姓戚？
The first three characters in “vagrant habits” (jiānghúxíqì 江湖习气) are the same as or similar to the surnames of China’s last three presidents: Jiang Zemin (江泽民), Hu Jintao (胡锦涛), and Xi Jinping (习近平).
@江海方舟: That’s right: “boss,” “big brother,” and “chief” are clearly hierarchical terms that delineate a master-slave relationship. Comrades, can you call a migrant worker your comrade?
这就对了，老板，大哥，总管，主次分明，一目了然主仆关系，同志，你能和农民工称同志？
@Sofan-Wang: “Big brother” is very appropriate!!! They are bandits after all!
大哥很合适啊！！！土匪嘛！
@我的小伙伴们不好吃: Let’s stop humiliating the people and just call it [the People’s Daily] the Communist Daily.
还是叫共党日报吧，别侮辱人民了
@齐东祥: #coldjoke The communist party is a synthesis of faith and doctrine.
#冷笑话 共产党是信仰和主义的结合
There is a likely explanation for the decline of “comrade”: since the 1990s, the title has come to imply homosexuality.
Read more comments at CDT Chinese.
Translation by Cindy.
