SINGAPORE: Are you “becoming Chinese”?
If you drink hot water regularly, prefer having rice or congee for breakfast, or even enjoy soothing foot baths, some social media users might say you are.
The newly-coined phrase, also referred to as “Chinamaxxing”, exploded online in January – gaining traction particularly among Gen Z TikTok users in the West.
It has since spawned other variations like “you met me at a very Chinese time of my life” and “transforming into a Chinese baddie” – with posts and videos often showing people, many of them non-Asian, embracing traditional Chinese day-to-day habits as part of their everyday routines.
The playful trend has also sparked debate over cultural appreciation – and whether this surge of online curiosity can shape long-term perceptions or simply reduce complex traditions to “superficial symbols”.
While some analysts argue that greater visibility is “better than nothing” in fostering cultural awareness, others caution that surface-level adoption risks misappropriating an identity that has at times faced discrimination.
“CHINA-MAXXING”
TikTok users and media reports have attributed the trend to Sherry Zhu, a 23-year-old Chinese American TikTok influencer.
In a video shared on Jan 15 which has since gone viral – amassing more than 530,000 likes and 3.1 million views on TikTok, Zhu joked: “As a Chinese baddie myself, I’m here to tell you that the minute you turn Chinese, you’re coming with us to hotpot.”
“I tell you to drink your hot water, I tell you to wear the house slippers, this is part of the culture,” she added.
Read the full article here
