"Evil prevails" — Phrase of the Week
Internet fraudsters based in Myanmar are getting more sophisticated
Our phrase of the week is: "evil prevails" (魔高一尺 mó gāo yì chǐ)
Context
A relatively unknown Chinese actor, Wáng Xīng 王星, has found himself in the media spotlight—but not for the reasons he hoped.
Wang Xing travelled to Thailand on January 2, believing he had secured a part in a Chinese-Thai action movie.
Arriving at Bangkok airport, a car—apparently sent by the production company—picked him up and drove him north. But by January 3, Wang had lost contact with his family and girlfriend before being smuggled into Myanmar and held captive by fraudsters.
On 6 January, Thai border guards rescued Wang after his girlfriend raised the alarm. He later revealed he had been detained with 49 other Chinese nationals, had his head shaved, and was forced to endure two days of "scam script training."
The scheme that lured Wang to Thailand was meticulously designed to target him specifically. Such sophisticated operations are becoming increasingly common. Powered by AI and big data analysis, these schemes present significant challenges for law enforcement, as one commentator aptly observed:
The Wang Xing case brings our attention back to the internet scams initiated from northern Myanmar: it has not been eradicated, but has instead become more sophisticated after the crackdown.
This is a reminder that as evil prevails, China needs to intensify its efforts in preventing telecom fraud.
王星案让我们再次关注缅北电诈：它并没有被消灭，而是在围剿中进化了。这可谓是魔高一尺，对我国的电诈犯罪预防提出了更高的要求。
Wáng Xīng àn ràng wǒmen zàicì guānzhù Miǎnběi diànzhà: tā bìng méiyǒu bèi xiāomiè, érshì zài wéijiǎo zhōng jìnhuà le. Zhè kěwèi shì mó gāo yì chǐ, duì wǒguó de diànzhà fànzuì yùfáng tíchū le gènggāo de yāoqiú.
And with that, we have our Sinica Phrase of the Week!
What it means
"Evil prevails" is the translation of the Chinese idiom "the devil grows one foot taller" (魔高一尺).
This four-character phrase is typically part of a longer expression: "As the devil grows one foot taller, the righteous path rises ten" (魔高一尺，道高一丈). In its traditional form, it conveys the idea that good will always triumph over evil.
However, in this context, the phrase takes on the opposite meaning, which could be problematic for language purists, and did lead to some criticism from readers in the article's comments.
The idiom originates from Journey to the West (西游记), written by Wú Chéng'ēn 吴承恩, an author alive during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), best known for this iconic novel, which is one of China’s Four Great Classical Novels.
Journey to the West tells the tale of the monk Xuánzàng 玄奘 and his disciples, including the famous Monkey King, Sūn Wùkōng 孙悟空, on their journey to India to retrieve Buddhist scriptures.
The phrase first appears in Chapter 50 of the novel:
"As good grows one foot taller, evil rises ten. His nature disordered, his mind confused, he mistakes his shelter for another. He regrets that he left the designated place, as the result of his actions and thoughts going awry."
“道高一尺魔高丈，性乱情昏错认家。可恨法身无坐位，当时行动念头差。”
Dào gāo yì chǐ, mó gāo zhàng, xìng luàn qíng hūn cuò rèn jiā. Kě hèn fǎ shēn wú zuò wèi, dāng shí xíng dòng niàn tóu chā.
This excerpt is from a battle between Sūn Wùkōng and the Unicorn Demon, who gains the upper hand over the Monkey King by the end of this chapter.
The phrase embodies a recurring theme in the novel: the continuous battle between good and evil, where each time the protagonist advances spiritually, the forces of evil grow stronger, forcing the characters to constantly adapt and strive for greater wisdom.
In modern Chinese, the full eight-character version of this idiom is more commonly used. It generally implies that "good" (道 dào) will ultimately triumph over "evil" (魔 mó). However, it can also describe situations where evil temporarily prevails.
In the context of the increasing fraud activity in Myanmar targeting Chinese nationals, the less-often used four-character version of the idiom suggests that evil has the upper hand: fraudsters continue to innovate with new technologies and tactics to recruit and scam people, particularly well-educated young professionals in the entertainment industry who are in need of money.
The ongoing battle between "good" and "evil" is ever-evolving, and in this moment, "evil prevails."
Andrew Methven is the author of RealTime Mandarin, a resource to help you learn contemporary Chinese in context, and stay on top of the latest language trends in China.
Read more about how this story is being discussed in the Chinese media in this week’s RealTime Mandarin:
