The Word of the Week comes from the Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon, a glossary of terms created by Chinese netizens and encountered in online political discussions. These are the words of China’s online “resistance discourse,” used to mock and subvert the official language around censorship and political correctness.
dàmá shídài 大麻时代
Cartoon of Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan from the viral music video “Daddy Xi Loves Mama Peng.” (Source: qiwen.lu)
Playful contraction of “Daddy Xi and Mama Peng,” terms of endearment for President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan; literally means “marijuana era.”
On November 18, 2014, four men in Henan posted a music video paying homage to the marital bond between Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan. Within a week, the video had been viewed more than 20 million times. The video shows images of Xi and Peng stepping onto tarmacs and visiting foreign dignitaries, while urging listeners to learn from “Daddy Xi” and “Mama Peng.” At the New York Times, Austin Ramzy offers a translation of the lyrics.
In the song, Xi is called “Daddy Xi” (Xí Dàda 习大大), where dada is a term of endearment from Shaanxi, the province of Xi’s father’s birth. State media often refer to the president as “Daddy Xi,” lending intimacy and warmth to Xi’s image. Meanwhile, Peng Liyuan is called “Mama Peng” (Péng Máma 彭麻麻), with the playful use of máma 麻麻 instead of the standard māma 妈妈.
Uncharmed by the music video or the familiar appellations for Xi and Peng, netizens created a clever contraction of the “glorious era” of “Daddy Xi” and “Mama Peng” in the invention of “Dama Era.” 大麻 dàmá means marijuana, lending the abbreviation a mischievous undertone. While “Marijuana” was blocked from Weibo search results during tests on November 26, 2014, it appears to yield results on April 20, 2017.
Examples:
Wenshanwa (@文山娃): And so we enter the Dama Era. (November 24, 2014)
就这样进入了大麻时代。 [Chinese]
@hansontangbc: A reporter recently learned that at the upcoming National People’s Congress working conference, in order to fully express the masses’ love and admiration for Daddy Xi and Mama Peng, a resolution will be adopted to make “dama” the national flower of China. (November 25, 2014)
记者日前从全国人大得到消息，在即将召开的全国人大工作会议上，将通过决议，将“大麻”定为中国的国花，以充分表达人民群众对习大大和彭麻麻的热爱与崇敬。 [Chinese]
See also have everything but Daddy.
Can’t get enough of subversive Chinese netspeak? Check out our latest ebook, “Decoding the Chinese Internet: A Glossary of Political Slang.” Includes dozens of new terms and classic catchphrases, presented in a new, image-rich format. Available for pay-what-you-want (including nothing). All proceeds support CDT.
