Chinese Memes: Hi! TikTok Refugees
Welcome to the Meme Translate Substack, where we share and explain the week’s hottest memes across Asia.
Memes in this issue:
交猫税（jiāo māo shuì）
小红薯（xiǎo hóng shǔ）
If you are one of the TikTok refugees who downloaded the Chinese social networking and e-commerce app Xiaohongshu or rednote or simply RED in defiance of the looming TikTok ban by the US government, this post is for you!
交猫税（jiāo māo shuì）
Paying cat tax. Sharing pics of one’s own pet cat(s) (or other pet animals) upon signing up for Xiaohongshu.
This is the latest protocol for TikTok users who joined Xiaohongshu, and TikTok refugees happily complied. It’s a nice gesture of saying hi and building new friendships.
Source: Xiaohongshu
So, cat memes rule not only in Japan. And who says cat people aren’t social butterflies? :p
Chinese Xiaohongshu natives reciprocated the kindness by posting pics and videos of their fur children.
Source: Xiaohongshu - @猫初攻略
For example, this Chinese “cat tax” video is loosely based on the 2011 hit period drama Empresses in the Palace. It was posted only two days ago but has amassed 222.6k likes, 12.6k comments, 12.1k saves and 22.3k shares.
The comments section is an ongoing standup comedy show featuring Chinese and American users:
Source: Xiaohongshu - @猫初攻略
小红薯（xiǎo hóng shǔ）
Little red yam. Little red sweet potato. Nickname for users of Xiaohongshu. Xiaohongshu literally means “Little Red (Note)book.” The nickname for users sounds like the name of the app.
TikTok refugees obviously brought joy to all natives of Xiaohongshu.
@搜搜薯 (sōu sōu shǔ, literally “searching sweet potato.” This account is the spokesperson of Xiaohongshu Search.) encourages Chinese users to recommend the app’s search engine to TikTok refugees:
Source: Xiaohongshu - @搜搜薯
Native Chinese users jumped on board and shared tips with TikTok refugees on how to enjoy the app to the fullest.
Source: Xiaohongshu - @跟于奶奶学英语
@跟于奶奶学英语 (@LearnEnglishwithGrandmaYu) has created a series of videos for TikTok refugees. She wrote in her bio:
72-year-old grandma who loves speaking English 📖 Self-taught English for 15 years after retirement 🌈 [...] helped 20k+ absolute beginners speak English fluently in 3 years […]
She told TikTok refugees that Xiaohongshu is like a combination of Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok and encourages newcomers to befriend her and ask her anything.
Actually, she has been on Xiaohongshu for less than four months. Jumping on the #TikTok难民 (#TikTokRefugees) bandwagon has increased the number of her video likes from 20+ to 39k! Now she has 293k followers, and she has definitely caught the attention of some grandmas from the US.
Source: Xiaohongshu - @跟于奶奶学英语
Let’s not forget about the non-Chinese users who came to Xiaohongshu way before TikTok refugees did. They’ve got the inside scoop about Chinese Internet slang, and their Chinese learning tutorials will definitely benefit TikTok refugees and spare Google Translate or ChatGPT some work…
Source: Xiaohongshu - @英国小克里
British Xiaohongshu influencer Chris @英国小克里 (literally “UK Little Kerry”) started posting videos on the platform in 2018. He wrote in his bio that he studied Chinese at Cambridge University, served as a simultaneous interpreter, has two children with his Chinese wife, and is now teaching English on Xiaohongshu.
He taught Americans who recently landed on Xiaohongshu that “YYDS” means the GOAT and “666” is a great compliment to give to others in the Chinese Internet world…
It seems like whether TikTok is going to be banned or not, Xiaohongshu and Little Red Sweet Potatoes all around the world have experienced great joys of cross-cultural communication. Xiaohongshu is busy testing the translation feature and many users have added Chinese and English subtitles to their videos.
We look forward to more wonderful things (including memes) that may come with the influx of TikTok refugees!
Thanks for reading today’s Meme Translate! Each week, we’ll share the most viral and interesting memes from Asian countries like China, Japan and South Korea.
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