This is a world historic event folks. You should be on it. By the way the name xiaohongshu is a reference to Mao. Decades and weeks and all that.

Edit: Oh also there’s no private message or group chat on web version so you have to use mobile app!

  • Munrock ☭@lemmygrad.ml
    0·
    4 days ago

    Turns out that 小红书 isn’t a reference to Mao. 红宝书 is Mao’s book.

    In English we use “little red book” to refer to Quotations From Chairman Mao, but in Chinese they use 红宝书 which literally translates to “red treasure book” (or “red treasured book” with treasure being a verb)

    Although 小红书 can translate literally to the Western name for Mao’s quotes, the name actually alludes more to an award or certificate, in keeping with the app’s original concept as a social media platform for reviewing/previewing restaurants and services.

    • RedClouds@lemmygrad.ml
      0·
      1 day ago

      This little interaction where you corrected the translation is why I love this platform.

      It’s a simple translation misunderstanding, and when are corrected, we take it in stride and just say “oh that was silly”. Turns out it’s no big deal, and we laugh it off.

      My brain is still too primed from the rest of the internet where, hypothetically, calling this out, even when it’s true, would become a big controversy.

    • AstroStelar [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      It gets weirder:

      The Chinese name was inspired by two pivotal institutions in its co-founder Mao Wenchao’s career journey that both feature red as their primary color: Bain & Company, where he worked as a consultant, and Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he earned his MBA.

      The “Mao” in his name is the same character as in “Mao Zedong”.

      Source (via Wikipedia): https://web.archive.org/web/20250115024204/https://36kr.com/p/1724258762753

    • 矛⋅盾@lemmygrad.ml
      0·
      4 days ago

      was gonna comment this too thanks. It’s funny or whatever to think haha the typically anticommunists are flocking to the app with a revolutionary name but no… it’s just a very funny translation coincidence.