Slap Bash

譚云飛

Wu Zhengqiang walked into a salon in Hangzhou with a free facial care offer—and walked out with a bill for 40，000 RMB （5，851 USD）， after being charged various add-on services. A video of his dismayed pout created a meme that would garner over 42 million views， 70，000 forwards， and comments on Weibo.

When Wu realized that hed become known all over the web as 發際線男孩?（“hairline boy”）， he claimed that he had no intention of “choosing the path of an ‘internet celebrity，” but simply wanted justice. Soon， however， people discovered Wus account on Weibo and video platform Douyin， and even his appearance in several advertisements. Overnight， Wu became the latest （unwitting） celebrity to be dubbed 真香?（“really delicious，” zh8n xi`ng）， a term mocking hypocrites and people who break their promises.

Its origin can be traced back to a 2014 incident on Hunan TV reality show X-change， in which urban and rural contestants briefly swapped lives. One pampered urbanite， Wang Jingze， refused to eat meals served to him in the village， vowing， “I， Wang Jingze， would rather die than touch your food！” Cut to the next scene， and Wang is filmed heartily tucking in， exclaiming， “So delicious！” Amused netizens made the contrasting scenes into a meme to roast those who fail to keep their word：

A： I dont understand why he is so popular. All he has are his looks.

W6 b& m！ngbai w-i sh9nme t` n3me hu6， t` ji&shi zh2ng de h1i x！ng.

我不明白為什么他那么火，他就是長得還行。

A： （Seconds later） Wow， he sings and dances so well！

W`， t` ch3ngg8、ti3ow^ d4u h0n b3ng！

哇，他唱歌、跳舞都很棒！

B： Hypocrisy alert！

zh8n xi`ng j@ngg3o！

真香警告！

It can also serve as self-mockery：

I thought I would never watch that trashy show， but now Im addicted. All I can say is： “so delicious！”

W6 y@w9i z@j@ ju9du# b%hu# k3n n3 b& l`j～ di3nsh#j&， d3nsh# xi3nz3i w6 y@j～ng k3n sh3ngy@n le. W6 zh@n9ng shu4： “Zh8n xi`ng！”

我以為自己絕對不會看那部垃圾電視劇，但是現在我已經看上癮了。我只能說：“真香！”

For people who repeatedly lie， pretend， or break promises， another expression to use when theyre caught in the act is 打臉?（d2 li2n， “slap in the face”）， which can be more embarrassing than a literal slap. For example， actor Jin Dong， who likes to cultivate a false air of intellectualism， once told media that he was reading a book by a “Nobel Math Laureate.” Since there is no such award， netizens commented：

He pretends to be so knowledgeable. What a slap in the face.

T` b& d6ng zhu`ng d6ng， zh- xi3 b-i d2 li2n le ba.

他不懂裝懂，這下被打臉了吧。

Being called out for hypocrisy can be a blow to ones face （prestige）， as well as a metaphorical slap， and netizens often like to pile on the humiliation with onomatopoeia—the sound of a cheek being slapped， papa?（啪啪）， can be used instead of， or in addition to 打臉?for emphasis， or simply added humor：

A： I think money is almighty and the rich can have anything.

W6 r-nw9i qi1n sh# w3nn9ng de， y6uqi1nr9n m9i sh9nme d9 bu d3o de.

我認為錢是萬能的，有錢人沒什么得不到的。

B： Well heres a slap in your face： Li Ka-shing is the richest man in Asia， but he still doesnt have my WeChat number！

M2sh3ng ji& r3ng n@ p`p` d2 li2n： L@ Ji`ch9ng sh# Y3zh4u sh6uf&， d3n zh#j～n d4u m9iy6u d9d3o w6 de w8ix#n！

馬上就讓你啪啪打臉：李嘉誠是亞洲首富，但至今都沒有得到我的微信！