Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui makes various facial expressions after the semifinals in the Women's 100-meter backstroke. (Photo/Chinanews.com)
Who would have thought that the biggest Chinese star to emerge from Rio 2016 is not one of the world's fastest or otherwise most competitive. But Fu Yuanhui is in a league of her own.
In one fell swoop the 20-year-old swimmer knocked down from the pedestal the rigidly hallowed image of the Chinese sportsman as the solemn embodiment of a nation's hope and put fun back into sports.
And she did it without knowing the aftermath－just like she did not know she had won the third place in the women's 100m backstroke semifinal on Aug 8 when she was interviewed.
It was the video clip that gave full play to Fu's unique brand of charm, a rarity among Chinese athletes.
At the start of that post-swim interview, she knew she had broken her own record, but not that she was tied for third place. Given China's traditional emphasis on gold medals, a shared bronze medal did not seem enough cause for celebration. But Fu's spontaneous jubilation at her achievement－breaking her own record－put a human face on the catchphrase "be the best you can be!"
The reporter seemed to prod her into an alley of cliches－excuses such as "I did not sleep well last night" or "I've been suffering from a mysterious pain all week"－to hint at a better performance in an ideal situation.
But no, Fu did not take it. She uttered something that has since turned into a nationwide meme, covered by the international press and parsed by the translation community.
"I've been utilizing prehistorical powers," as she was translated by CCTV.
BBC retained this translation while The Guardian used "mystic energy".
It was a colorful way of saying "I've done my best" or "I've played to my full potential".
But that would have removed the sizzle from the steak. As a rule of thumb, I would tone down purple prose in translation and get to the point as much as possible.
But not this time, the hyperbole is such an essential part of her infectious persona that, if the word honghuang is not rendered more or less verbatim, it would have lost the raison d'etre for the moniker "honghuang girl".
Honghuang, literally flood and wilderness, refers to time immemorial. So, CCTV's "prehistorical" is not really wrong. Yet it could be misleading because it could also mean outdated. Another word that conjures up the image of flood is antediluvian, which also carries the connotation of old-fashioned.
What Fu meant was, "I've been availing myself of all the strengths, forces and energy that I've been gathering since ancient times".
So, primeval or primordial seems to be a good trade-off between the mythological images of flooding and the distracting meaning of obsolescence.
And "mystic energy" actually hits the right note because the current use of the Chinese term is from a Taoism-accentuated TV drama of flying swords and age-defying fantasy.
