‘Kick someone when they are down’ — Phrase of the Week
China's favorite table tennis star has got himself into trouble. His reputation is collapsing, and everyone is kicking him when he is down.
Our Phrase of the Week is: Kick someone when they are down (墙倒众人推 qiáng dǎo zhòngrén tuī).
The context
Former Olympic athlete turned entertainer Zhāng Jìkē 张继科 has been dropped by several major brands after accusations emerged that he had shared intimate videos of his former girlfriend, Chinese actress Jǐng Tián 景甜, with a loan shark to pay off his gambling debt.
The controversy surrounding Zhang has dominated Chinese media and social media discussions, with the most popular hashtag on Weibo garnering over 2.2 billion views.
The story has the makings of one of China’s biggest celebrity scandals of the year, with media commentators suggesting Zhang is finished:
It really is a case of when the wall falls, everyone pushes it, when a man falls, everyone kicks him. Zhang Jike has fallen from being a major star and world champion to someone whose reputation is in the mud and has been canceled by the internet.
真是墙倒众人推，鼓破众人锤。从名满天下的世界冠军，到如今声名狼籍的社死弃儿。
Zhēnshì qiáng dǎo zhòngrén tuī, gǔpò zhòngrén chuí. Cóng míngmǎn tiānxià de shìjiè guànjūn, dào rújīn shēngmíng lángjí de shèsǐ qì’ér.
And with that, we have our Phrase of the Week.
What it means
When the wall falls, everyone pushes it is a common colloquial phrase. It’s widely used when celebrities experience reputational collapse such as this.
The phrase first appeared in Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦 hónglóumèng), one of China’s four great classical novels. Written during the middle of the 18th century by Cáo Xuěqín 曹雪芹, the story follows the downfall of a powerful family during the time of the Qing empire, a metaphor for Cao’s own family, and that of the Qing dynasty, which eventually fell into decline.
When the wall falls, everyone pushes it is found in Chapter 69:
Even though he is good-natured, you should not be soft on him. Don’t go too far, or everyone will follow and push the wall down.
他虽好性儿，你们也该拿出个样儿来，别太过逾了，墙倒众人推。
Tā suī hǎo xìng’r, nǐmen yě gāi ná chū ge yàng’r lái, bié tài guòyu le, qiáng dǎo zhòngrén tuī.
Although the second part of the phrase, when the drum breaks, everyone keeps beating it (鼓破众人锤 gǔpò zhòngrén chuí) does not appear in the novel, it is often added for emphasis.
The phrase is best translated as kick someone when they are down, but it has a slightly different meaning than the equivalent in English. There is a sense of sympathy for the victim in the English phrase, whereas in Chinese, the one falling down deserves what they are getting.
That’s certainly how Zhang Jike’s scandal is seen in the Chinese media.
