**“Comrade” **is making a comeback in China Or so the government hopes Jul 24th 2025|Beijing DURING THE decades when Mao Zedong ruled China, it was common for people to address each other as tongzhi: “comrade”. Like its English equivalent, the word has an egalitarian ring, as well as a hint of revolutionary fervour. But after Mao’s death in 1976, and the market reforms that followed, the term tongzhi started to feel a little dated. Less** ideological** greetings took its place: like xiansheng (“mister”), meinu (“beautiful woman”) and laoban (“boss”). So** it caused a stir **when the People’s Daily, a Communist Party mouthpiece, published an opinion piece this month calling for the word tongzhi to return to everyday speech. Modern greetings can sound frivolous or phoney, the author complained. Some are even “sugar-coated bullets”, they warned, using a Maoist term for bourgeois customs that *corrupt* the working class. Better, then, to return to the greeting used “back when people were simple and honest”. The party often tries to stoke nostalgia for the days of high socialism in order to bolster its support. In recent years local governments have encouraged “red tourism” at sites like Mao’s hometown to teach people about the history of the party (needless to say, they are given a version without all the bloodshed). Some firms send employees on “red” teambuilding courses where they dress up as **guerillas **from the 1930s and trek along muddy mountain paths. In 2015 party members, though not the general public, were told to call each other tongzhi again as a way of “purifying” political culture. The term seems unlikely to make a comeback outside the party, however. For one thing, since the 1990s tongzhi has become a popular slang term for gay people, catching on because it sounded neither pejorative nor clinical, unlike most of the alternatives. For a time one of China’s biggest LGBT-rights organisations, based in the capital, was known as the “Beijing tongzhi Centre” (it closed in 2023 under political pressure). But many people have criticised the idea for another reason. Since the death of Mao, China has become far richer—but the wealth has not been spread evenly. The country’s Gini coefficient , a common measure of** income inequality,** rose sharply in the 1990s and is now higher than that of America, according to official estimates. Inequalities have particularly started to sting as the economy has sputtered. “Who should you call tongzhi?” asked one person in a post on Weibo, a social-media platform. “Someone with the same rights, assets…work and salary. Those earning 2,000 yuan ($280) a month can hardly call those earning 20,000 yuan their tongzhi.” There is little sense of camaraderie between China’s haves and have-nots. ■ 「同志」在中國重現風潮？ ** 政府寄望重新流行** ** 2025年7月24日｜北京** **在毛澤東主政的數十年間，中國人彼此之間常以「同志」相稱。這個詞彙與英文 **comrade 相似，既帶有平等意味，也蘊含革命熱情。然而， 1976年毛澤東逝世、隨後市場改革推行後，「同志」逐漸顯得過時，取而代之的是更少意識形態色彩的稱呼，例如「先生」、「美女」與「老闆」。 因此，當中共喉舌《人民日報》本月發表評論文章，呼籲讓「同志」回歸日常用語時，引起了社會關注。文章批評現代稱呼顯得輕浮甚至虛假，部分更是「糖衣炮彈」——這一毛澤東時期的用語指資產階級風俗對工人階級的腐蝕。評論認為，應回到「人們樸實誠懇的年代」的稱呼方式。 中共時常試圖喚起對高社會主義時代的懷舊情緒，以鞏固支持。近年地方政府推廣「紅色旅遊」，引導民眾參觀毛澤東故鄉等景點，學習黨史（當然，版本中略去血腥部分）。部分企業也會安排員工參加「紅色」團建活動，換上上世紀三○年代游擊隊裝束，踏上泥濘山道。2015年，黨員（但非公眾）曾被要求恢復以「同志」相稱，以「純化」政治文化。 然而，「同志」重回大眾語境的可能性似乎不大。其一，自1990年代起，「同志」在中國成為同志族群的流行稱謂，因為它既不帶貶義，也不似其他詞語般生硬。一度，中國最大之一的同志權益組織——「北京同志中心」便以此為名（該中心於2023年在政治壓力下關閉）。 此外，更多人批評的原因在於現今社會的巨大貧富差距。毛澤東去世後，中國雖然更加富裕，但財富分配並不均衡。中國的吉尼係數 (收入平等的指數) 在1990年代急劇上升，目前官方估計高於美國；相比之下，。隨著經濟放緩，不平等感尤為強烈。有人在社交媒體微博上發文質疑：「你要叫誰同志？權利、資產、工作和薪水都一樣的人嗎？月薪2000元的人，怎麼能叫月薪2萬元的人同志？」如今，中國的貧富兩端之間，已難再找到真正的同志情誼。 ■ -> 小分享 男性廢退：失落、孤僻、漫無目的，生而為「男」我很抱歉？苦苦掙扎的男性困境，我們能怎麼做。 Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It -- Hosting provided by SoundOn