To understand Xi Jinping, it helps to be steeped in the classics
China’s leader has invented a phrase—and an image
Take four Chinese characters, all of them in everyday use. Put them in a certain order and, lo, they become a phrase that looks like classical Chinese—the kind of language used by the literati of yore. The idea they convey could be expressed just as succinctly in colloquial Chinese, but the classical style has gravitas. And it is a phrase loved by Xi Jinping, China’s leader, so all must follow suit.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Nonne intellegis? ”
From the July 1st 2023 edition
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