"Rising star" — Phrase of the Week
Bubble tea brand gets boost as its Health Ambassador wins Olympic gold
Our phrase of the week is: "rising star" (后起之秀 hòuqǐ zhīxiù)
Context
Tennis player, Zhèng Qīnwén (郑钦文), became the first Chinese woman to win gold in the Olympic tennis singles final last Saturday.
A number of brands sponsor Zheng including Nike, Chagee, Lancôme, Yili, Ant Group, and Swisse.
Chagee (霸王茶姬) is a fast growing bubble tea chain. Its Chinese brand name translates directly as “conquerer” or “overlord” (霸王 bàwáng), “tea princess” (茶姬 chá jī).
The English brand name, “Chagee”, is an anglicised version of “tea princess”.
Chagee announced Zheng Qinwen as the brand's first "health ambassador” (健康大使) in April this year.
After the 21-year-old Zheng won in Paris, Chagee capitalised on the elation of Chinese fans, creating a social media buzz by treating 6,666 customers to a free drink. “6666” is social media slang which means “well played” or “very strong”.
Earlier this year, Chagee's founder, Zhāng Jùnjié 张俊杰, said the goal for the brand in 2024 was to "surpass Starbucks China in sales."
It's ambitious, but the already fast-growing chain may just achieve that goal with its bet on Zheng Qinwen:
In just two years, Chagee has opened over 4,190 stores worldwide, becoming a rising star in the new tea beverage industry.
Its brand image aligns perfectly with the tennis star they sponsor.
短短两年，霸王茶姬做到全球门店数超4190家，成为新式茶饮行业的后起之秀，二者给人的形象不谋而合。
Duǎn duǎn liǎng nián, Bàwáng Chájī zuòdào quánqiú méndiàn shù chāo 4190 jiā, chéngwéi xīnshì cháyǐn hángyè de hòuqǐ zhīxiù, èrzhě gěi rén de xíngxiàng bù móu ér hé.
And with that we have our Sinica Phrase of the Week!
What it means
"Rising star" is a four-character idiom which directly translates as "rise after" (后起 hòuqǐ), "exceptional talent" (之秀 zhīxiù).
It's a common idiom in written and spoken Chinese, first found in A New Account of Tales of the World (世说新语 shìshuō xīnyǔ), written by Liú Yìqìng 刘义庆, a politician and historian alive during the Southern Dynasty, a period in Chinese history from 420 to 479 AD.
The original passage in the book is:
Fan Yuzhang said to Wang Jingzhou: "You have a graceful and outstanding demeanour, truly a talent of the future."
范豫章谓王荆州：“卿风流俊望，真后来之秀。”
Fàn Yùzhāng wèi Wáng Jīngzhōu: "Qīng fēngliú jùnwàng, zhēn hòulái zhī xiù."
This is a dialogue between Fàn Yùzhāng 范豫章, and his nephew, Wáng Jīngzhōu 王荆州.
Fan was a senior politician who had served as an imperial secretary during the Eastern Jin Dynasty which ended with the rise of the Southern Dynasty. Fan was demoted due to his outspoken nature when the Southern Dynasty came to power.
After his demotion, Fan dedicated much of his time to tutoring his nephew, Wang, who later became a governor before reaching the age of 30.
The conversation between Fan and Wang occurred after the nephew had assumed his position as governor, during a visit from a senior politician to Fan’s home.
Upon the guest’s arrival, Fan asked his nephew to greet him. But the guest was aloof, and sat formally waiting for the younger Wang to approach him first. Annoyed by the guest’s pretentious and arrogant demeanour, the nephew remained silent. After an awkward pause, the guest soon left.
Initially the uncle criticized Wang for being impolite, asking: "Why didn't you talk to him?" Wang replied: "If he truly wanted to talk to me, he would have initiated the conversation!"
Instead of being upset with his nephew, the uncle praised his protégé.
Wang responded to his uncle: "Without an uncle like you, there wouldn't be a nephew like me. This is a result of your teachings."
Wang’s words of praise, “truly a talent of the future" (后来之秀 hòulái zhī xiù), became the modern-day Chinese phrase, “rising star” (后起之秀 hòulái zhī xiù).
The idiom describes a new talent who is building on, and even surpassing, the achievements of those before them.
They are a rising star, or a formidable new talent.
In the context of Chagee's sponsorship of Zheng Qinwen, the brand and the athlete are both formidable “rising stars”.
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.