A Brief History of Chinese Swearing: What Those Devastating Words Really Hit

Swear words are never just swear words. They are a society’s crudest and most honest tools of power. In ancient times, insulting someone’s mother was an attack on their lineage; calling them an animal denied them their humanity; calling them a household slave dismissed their loyalty; and insulting servants or people from humble families upheld class and status. Today, many old terms have disappeared, but new labels have taken their place: beasts of burden, the underclass, unorthodox types, wage slaves. The words have changed, but the logic of humiliation has not entirely disappeared. This book takes you through history, literature, and internet slang to unpack the underlying logic of Chinese swear words and reveal what they are really used for: a sentence can hurt because it draws on the prejudices and power structures of its time. Once you understand this, it becomes harder for other people’s malice to drag you into an emotional battle.