Sinobytes

How one Chinese word became an Internet meme

Sep 22, 2009 12:27

All languages evolve over time. Yet the way in which one Chinese word/character evolved from a standard (if obscure) word into an Internet meme--and sort of an emoticon--is particularly curious.

The character in question is "jiong", which looks like this when written or typed: 囧 . (See the images, below, if your browser isn't displaying the Chinese word). "Jiong" meant "bright" and "luminous" in its tenebrous origin, up to two thousand years ago. But in the digital and Internet age, its resemblance to a human face and all-round cuteness has given it a cult status--elevating it to an Internet meme across China which rivals the cheeky humor of lolcats and dramatic chipmunks in the west.

The new meaning of the jiong character is "embarrassing", "shameful", "shocking" or "silly".

So, with its new bevy of meanings, it is very versatile, and can be used by China's younger Net users as both a slang word and--mainly in IM conversations--as an emoticon, too.

It also stands alone as a postmodern icon, on T-shirts, or painted onto trainers. Here's a closer look at "jiong", and a couple of the dozens of variations out there on the Chinese Web-osphere:

One variation plays on the "orz" Japanese emoticon which shows--if you look at it side-on, perhaps--a person kneeling or bowing (used in sarcastic admiration), or fallen down in despair, depending on the context. Plus, with every cool new thing comes an ironic T-shirt as an accompaniment:



This meme is certainly not new, and seems to have gotten started last year, so it has staying power. Not to get too etymological about it, but it is interesting how this Chinese character--an "ideogram"--has sort of reverted to the hieroglyphical dawn of Chinese script some 6,000 or more years ago, when the hieroglyph closely depicted its meaning. Ironically, this makes it perfect as an emoticon.

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