Buzzwords record changes in lives of Chinese people in 2023

BEIJING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese character for "zhen," meaning "self-inspire," and "high-quality development" have been respectively chosen as the Character and Word of the Year 2023 in China, according to a survey released Wednesday.

As part of the annual event "Chinese Language Review 2023," the character and the word were chosen from the recommendations of netizens and experts. An algorithm based on a corpus of Chinese characters was also used in the selection process.

The character of "zhen" applies when one is able to stay true to his or her ideals in the face of challenges, continue to march despite wind and rain, and feel the joy for making every inch of progress, the experts said.

The survey also chose the character for "wei," meaning "danger," and "ChatGPT" as the international Chinese Character and Word of the Year, respectively.

Having been held for 18 consecutive years, the buzzword selection aims to encourage the public to record their lives and social changes.

This year's event is a joint endeavor by the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center, the Commercial Press, and Xinhuanet.

"Popular and accessible buzzwords are the most sensitive to perceiving social development," said Wang Xiaoyan, an associate professor at Beijing Normal University, adding that internet language serves as a direct reflection of collective feelings due to its close connection to people's daily lives.

The language resources monitoring and research center also earlier unveiled the "top 10 Chinese internet trending terms of 2023," including the "@future," part of the English slogan of the Hangzhou Asian Games, "special forces-style travel," an approach popular among young people in China determined to make the most of short holiday breaks, and also "intelligent life," and "Village Super League."

Some of these expressions, rich in personal touches and featuring romantic poetry, showcase the accelerated recovery of the economy and society as well as people's more positive outlooks on life, Wang said.

HIGH-TECH WORDS

Signs of more technological progress in Chinese society can be detected in the top 10 new words of the year, said experts.

The 2023 list of new words or phrases includes the likes of "generative artificial intelligence," "Global Civilization Initiative," "Cun Chao" or "village football tournaments," "hundred-models campaign," and sky survey telescope "Micius."

The 2023 list features more heavyweight words and expressions referring to high-tech when compared to the list of 2022, said Ouyang Rihui, vice president of the China Center for Internet Economy Research, an institute affiliated to the Central University of Finance and Economics.

"It reflects that 2023 is a year of increased innovation and greater pioneering for Chinese people," Ouyang said.

China has seen fierce competition and rigorous development of large-scale deep learning models in 2023, with more than 100 such learning models released in the country.

SPORTS ENTHUSIASM

The names of well-known sports events such as the "Village Super League," "Village BA," and "Hangzhou Asian Games" also feature on this year's list of buzzwords.

The annual amateur basketball event "Village BA," held in southwest China's Guizhou Province, has become a phenomenon, attracting widespread attention across the nation because of its electric atmosphere, rivaling that of the CBA, the country's top professional basketball league.

"More people enjoy recreational sports, while 'exercises' and 'health' are frequent topics discussed in the public domain," said Yang Xiaochun, a physical education teacher at a middle school in Guizhou.

"Thanks to the increasing popularity of the rural amateur basketball competition, surrounding villages have seen waves of visitors," Yang said.

Sports have boosted the Chinese people's spirit of self-reliance and pursuit of their dreams, experts said.

ENVIRONMENT MATTERS

Since 2013, the words "green" and "sustainable" have been among the trending words each year. This year, "National Ecology Day" also made the list.

It means that the principles of respecting and protecting nature and obeying nature's laws are increasingly embraced by Chinese people, said experts.

China celebrated its first National Ecology Day on August 15, as the country moves steadily toward delivering on its carbon peak and carbon neutrality pledges.

More people have raised their awareness of what is entailed by the term "carbon footprint." In the south Chinese city of Shenzhen, a total of 805,000 households have opened carbon accounts on a carbon accounting app which was launched one year ago. Thus far, this has resulted in a cut of 12,000 tonnes in carbon emissions.

In addition, new-energy vehicles can be easily found on urban streets in China.

Between January and November 2023, production and sales of new energy vehicles in China hit 8.43 million and 8.30 million units, respectively, surging 34.5 percent and 36.7 percent year on year, respectively, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.