The meme that launched 200,000 posts

In our upcoming issue, we write about some of the internet “fonts” (体), aka verbal memes, that have gone viral in the last year or so in China. We thought we’d gotten them all—and then last week, a brand new one popped up that we couldn’t resist. To wit, it involves: a) legendary Hong Kong actor Tony Leung (梁朝伟), b) extravagant, Gatsby-like spending and c) netizens’ envy of the above.

To give you some background, Chinese internet fonts basically function as a glorified form of Mad Libs—quotes that are either hilarious or asinine (or both) get passed around Weibo as fill-in-the-blanks, with netizens plugging in their own, increasingly absurd answers.

Tony Leung’s, which would come to be known as the “life font” (生活体), started on January 31, when a blogger named Datou ppb (大头ppb) published a Weibo about an anecdote she’d read in the Hong Kong media. She writes:

“看报道说，梁朝伟有时闲着闷了，会临时中午去机场，随便赶上哪班就搭上哪班机，比如飞到伦敦，独自蹲在广场上喂一下午鸽子，不发一语，当晚再飞回香港，当没事发生过，突然觉得这TM才叫生活。”

(I saw a news report that said sometimes when Tony Leung has nothing to do and is feeling bored, he’ll go to the airport around noon and just get on whatever plane he’s able to catch. For example, he’ll fly to London, and spend an afternoon alone squatting in a park, silently feeding the pigeons. Then that night, he’ll fly back to Hong Kong, as if nothing happened. And I’m suddenly thinking—that’s called living!)

Datou’s post spread like wildfire across the internet, with some netizens expressing envy and others questioning the feasibility of flying to and from London in a single afternoon. And then there was another, more cheeky contingent, that started Madlibbing the post like crazy. Within a few days, the meme had exploded across the internet, with over 230,000 mentions and 30,000 forwards.

The template goes as follows:

________有时闲着闷了，会临时中午去_____，随便赶_______，比如______，独自____________，不发一语，当晚再________，当没事发生过，突然觉得这才叫生活。

(Sometimes, when subject has nothing to do and is feeling bored, around noon pronoun will go to place , and catch whatever method of transportation/destination . For example, absurd place , and spend an afternoon alone, silently verb ing. Then that night, pronoun will go back to original place , as if nothing happened. And I suddenly think—that’s called living!)

Here are some examples to get you started:

The Traffic Jam Version (堵车版)

“我有时闲着闷了，会临时中午开车上北京的环路，随便赶上几环就上几环，比如上了三环，独自堵在那里一动不动看一下午前车车牌，不发一语，当晚再开回家里，当没事发生过，突然觉得这TM才叫生活。”

(Sometimes when I have nothing to do and am feeling bored, around noon I’ll go drive on Beijing’s ring roads, and whatever ring roads I get on I’ll just drive around. For example, I’ll get on Third Ring Road, and spend an afternoon alone stuck in traffic there, inching along and silently staring at the license plate of the car in front of me. Then that night I’ll return home as if nothing happened. And I’ll suddenly think—that’s called living!)

The Time Traveling Version (穿越版)

“我有时闲着闷了，会临时中午翻开朝代列表，随便指到哪个就穿越到哪，比如穿到唐朝，独自在镶着玉的温泉池中泡泡，不发一语，当晚再穿越回来，当没事发生过，突然觉得这TM才叫生活。”

(Sometimes when I have nothing to do and am feeling bored, around noon I’ll flip through the list of dynasties, and whichever one my finger lands on, I’ll time-travel to. For example, I’ll travel to the Tang Dynasty, and spend an afternoon alone, silently sitting among the bubbles of a jade-inlaid hot spring bath. Then that night I’ll time travel back as if nothing as happened. And I’ll suddenly think—that’s called living!)

Today, someone even posted a job ad that starts off using the font:

“闷了，会临时去机场，随便赶趟飞机，比如飞到横店，独自到明清宫看一下午明星拍戏，不发一语，当晚再飞回北京，当没事发生过，突然觉得这才叫工作！”

(When I’m bored, sometimes I’ll just go to the airport and get on whatever airplane I find. For instance, I’ll fly to Hengdian, and spend an afternoon alone at the Ming and Qing palaces, silently watching a movie star filming. Then that night I’ll fly back to Beijing as if nothing happened. And suddenly I’ll think—this is a real job!)

Though Leung has already kind-of denied the quote (in a December interview, he amended, “It’s not to that extent, but sometimes I really do suddenly get the inspiration to fly someplace. For example, I’ll go to New York for a few days or a week just to rest and be someplace where people don’t know me”), the story had already taken on a life of its own. And while a number of netizens have enjoyed satirizing the actor’s rather inexcusable extravagance, others have greeted it with a measured wryness that arguably captures more reality than the sillier spoofs.

“人生当如此惬意度过。”

(We should all try to spend our lives so pleasantly.)

“原来我从未‘生活’过。”

(It turns out I never “lived.”)

“唉，我们都是被日子给过了。”

(Alas, the days are passing us all by.)

“亲们，有木有当场泪崩的感觉？人家这才叫生活呐。”

(Dears, when you read this did you suddenly feel like releasing a flood of tears? Man, that’s called living!)