Up in the air

谭云飞

“The corruption of Chinese women has resulted in the fall of the nation，” proclaimed Yu Minhong， founder and president of the New Oriental Education & Technology Group， at Novembers “Power of Learning” forum. Yus thundering condemnation precipitated an online storm of words about gender equality and misogyny in Chinese society.

Why would a well-educated and successful entrepreneur， who rose from a poor rural background to found Chinas first SAT-prep corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange， air such ignorant views？ How could the man who inspired the 2013 hit film American Dreams in China hold such nightmare opinions？ Disapproving netizens concluded that Yu must be 膨胀 （“inflated，” p9ngzh3ng）—in other words， conceited， or swelled up with success.

The origin of the expression can be understood from physics. Just as air expands after its heated， so can a person puff up from too much flattery.  Its an attitude that goes against the traditional Chinese virtue of modesty， and has been warned against throughout history： “Complacency incurs losses， and modesty benefits，” advises the Eastern Jin dynastys （317 – 420） Classic of History， while Mao Zedong claimed that “Modesty makes one progress， whereas conceit makes one lag behind.”

Nowadays， “inflated” or “self-inflated” can playfully refer to ones sense of pride. Chinese actor and director Dong Chengpeng， for example， claimed， “Im not inflated， and still play mahjong for pocket change （我沒有膨胀，还玩儿5毛钱的麻将。 W6 m9iy6u p9ngzh3ng， h1i w1nr w^ m1o qi1n de m1ji3ng）” after his 2015 movie A Hero or Not made 1 billion RMB at the box office. A fan of TFBoys Wang Yuan once commented， after reading an article about their boy band idol， “Media everywhere is praising our boy; the more I read， the more inflated I feel.

（媒体都在夸我们王源，越看越膨胀。M9it@ d4u z3i ku` w6men W1ng Yu1n， yu- k3n yu- p9ngzh3ng.）”

It is also used to mock （or self-mock） any unrealistic behavior， as in “I just said that a villa costing 8 million RMB was cheap. I must be getting inflated！ （感觉自己膨胀了，竟然敢说一个八百多万的别墅真便宜！G2nju9 z#j@ p9ngzh3ng le， j#ngr1n g2n shu4 y！ g- b` b2i du4 w3n de bi9sh& zh8n pi1nyi！）”

Individuals full of hot air may become unmoored from everyday thinking， and start flying away—or  飘了 （“floating，” pi`o le）， a term popularized by MC Cai Fuqiang in his viral cover of the song “Dont Float Too Much in Life （《做人不要太飘》）.” A person might lament their own extravagance by saying， “I hailed a taxi to the supermarket. I must have been floating. （我竟然打车去超市，飘了。W6 j#ngr1n d2ch8 q& ch`osh#， pi`o le.）” You can even pump up the phrase with more air-related metaphors. A critic may say of an arrogant B-list star： “He floats on his 15 minutes of fame， no need to even travel on airplanes anymore. （他有点儿名气就飘了，去哪儿都不用坐飞机了。T` y6u di2nr m！ngqi ji& pi`o le， q& n2r d4u b% y7ng zu7 f8ij～ le.）”

How to deal with an inflated ego thats in danger of floating away from reality？ As MC Cai warned， “If you dare to float， Ill sharpen my knife. （你要敢飘，我就磨刀。 N@ y3o g2n pi`o， w6 ji& m5 d`o.）” A short， sharp shock may bring these gasbags back to Earth temporarily， but， unfortunately， hot air will always rise.