The Guardian-Warm fronts to Y-fronts Chinese city hit by underwear storm
September 9, 2024 3 min 498 words
英国《卫报》一篇题为《中国城市遭遇内衣风暴》的报道称，在中国重庆，一场突如其来的风暴将人们挂在阳台上晾晒的衣物吹落地面，其中大量内衣散落在街道树枝上，甚至在空中飞舞。社交媒体上相关视频引发了大量讨论和调侃。尽管当地气温较高，当局使用了云层播种技术来人工降雨，但重庆气象局否认这造成了强风。当地居民则认为强风和人工降雨有关。这篇报道以调侃的语气描述了一件严肃的事件，并带有明显偏见。虽然事件本身较为轻松有趣，但卫报的报道过度强调了中国当局在应对极端天气时的尴尬，而忽略了极端天气本身对当地居民生活造成的影响。此外，报道中出现的关于中国居民情感受损成为宅男等评论，也体现出一种对于中国文化的刻板印象和不尊重。总之，这篇报道虽然内容有趣，但存在一定程度的偏见和不妥之处。
It was the talk of the town. After authorities sought to break a long-running heatwave in Chongqing by using cloud-seeding missiles to artificially bring rain, the Chinese megacity was blasted by an unusual weather event – an underwear storm.
Termed “the 9/2 Chongqing underwear crisis”, an unexpected windstorm on Monday brought gusts of up to 76mph (122km/h), scattering people’s laundry from balconies on the city’s high-rises. Douyin, China’s sister app to TikTok, was filled with videos of pants and bras flying through the skies, landing in the street and snagging on trees.
“I just went out and it suddenly started to rain heavily and underwear fell from the sky,” one resident, Ethele, posted on the social media platform Weibo.
“Who’s going to compensate me for my emotional damage?” joked one person who lost their brand new Calvin Klein set.
“It’s actually quite romantic. You might even pick up your crush’s underwear while taking a walk on the street,” countered another.
One man bereft of his underwear said he was “laughing like crazy” but the rain storm in Chongqing had now turned him into a “lifelong introvert”.
Chongqing and the surrounding region had been sweltering for more than a week in extreme temperatures that had already delayed the return of schools and universities. In an effort to bring down the temperatures and ease drought conditions, last week the authorities turned to cloud-seeding technology, sending almost 200 rockets into the sky. Authorities said it worked, and rain soon arrived. But on Monday, the sudden windstorm hit without warning, and residents linked the two – though this was rejected by authorities.
Tens of thousands of comments were posted to Weibo, where more than 7 million people viewed the “underwear crisis” hashtag, which became Wednesday’s 11th most popular across China. Another 18 million engaged with a hashtag suggesting “if you think you messed up at work, just think of the Chongqing Meteorological Bureau”.
Zhang Yixuan, the deputy director of the Chongqing Weather Modification Office, rdefended the government’s work at a press conference on Wednesday. Zhang said the winds, which had also brought down billboards and trees, were a naturally occurring convection, and not caused by the cloud seeding.
“There are definitely strong winds, but this is caused by natural conditions. Artificial rainfall will not cause extreme weather,” Zhang said.
Regardless, the incident has now linked bad weather with flying boxer shorts in the minds of Chongqing residents. Heavy rain was predicted again late last week, residents warned one another to bring in their laundry ahead of another underwear crisis.
“The people of Chongqing will never forget this heavy day,” said one.
An employee at a central Chongqing lingerie store told the Guardian that people weren’t yet rushing in to buy replacements, he said, but also it was “the season to buy new underwear” so he expected sales to increase anyway.
“[Chongqing people] laugh about it,” he said, “because life is fun.”