BBC看中国：“土豪”成英语热词_BEC初级作文

BBC看中国：“土豪”成英语热词

BBC看中国：“土豪”成英语热词1

"Tuhao" is actually an old word - dating back perhaps as far as the Southern Dynasty 1,500 years ago - but it has always meant something rather different. During the communist revolution, from the 1920s to early 1950s, it was widely used to refer to landholders and gentry who would bully those beneath them.

“土豪”实际上是一个旧词——最早可以追溯到1500年前的南朝时期——但它的意义在历朝历代一直都在变化。在20世纪20年代至50年代的社会主义革命期间，它被广泛用于形容那些压迫农民阶级的地主乡绅。

This new usage of the term took off in September after a widely-shared joke about a rich, but unhappy man, who goes to a Buddhist monk for advice, expecting to be told to live a more simple life. The monk replies instead with the phrase: "Tuhao, let's be friends!"

今年9月份以来，这个词被赋予新的含义并重新启用，这是由一个广为流传的笑话所引发的。一个富裕却情绪消沉的人到庙里拜见高僧寻求指点。此人满以为高僧会指点他过更简朴的生活，没想到僧人却说：“土豪，我们交个朋友吧！”

Chinese internet users are highly creative in their use of language, and are constantly inventing, and re-inventing words as a way of getting past censorship rules. But in this case, its popularity seems to be down to the fact that it encapsulates China's changing society so well - many people sneer at those with wealth, but are secretly jealous.