打肚皮官司 To fight a lawsuit in the belly. To keep one’s words shut inside and not say them.
情面 Feeling and face. The goodwill and face between people. To expose mistakes “without regard to qingmian” is to ignore them.
磨不开 Unable to grind it open. To feel too embarrassed to do or say something.
当面锣，对面鼓 A gong to the face, a drum opposite. To settle a disputed matter face to face.
On February 10, 1964, People’s Daily published an article called “The Road of Dazhai” (大寨之路) about the advanced deeds of the people of Dazhai, a village in Shanxi. An editorial titled “A Good Model for Building Mountain Areas With Revolutionary Spirit” called on the whole country to learn the revolutionary spirit of the Dazhai people. The slogan became “In industry, learn from Daqing. In agriculture, learn from Dazhai.”
In 1959, the sanitation worker Shi Chuanxiang attended the national “heroes’ conference” in Beijing as a national advanced producer. He was elected to its presidium. Head of State Liu Shaoqi once took his hand and said: “As a cleaner, you are a servant of the people. As chairman, I am also a servant of the people.”
Since 1954, schools across China have chosen “three-good students” (三好学生), with fixed quotas and largely the same standards everywhere. The three goods are good moral character, good study and good health. In May 1982, the Ministry of Education and the Communist Youth League issued trial rules for choosing three-good students in middle schools.
见贤思齐焉，见不贤而内自省也 On seeing a worthy person, think of becoming his equal. On seeing an unworthy one, look within and examine oneself. (Analects)
榜样的力量是无穷的 The power of example is boundless. Xi Jinping used the line at a study session of the Politburo on February 24, 2014.
标兵 A marker soldier, one who marks the line on a parade ground. Also a person or group held up as a model.
In October 2016, CCTV broadcast Forever on the Road (永远在路上), an eight-part series made with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The team interviewed more than ten fallen officials of provincial or ministerial rank, among them Su Rong, Zhou Benshun and Li Chuncheng.
In February 2026, an article in the Study Times called negative examples “the most vivid warning teaching material and the most effective sobering agent.”
Each year, the news center of China’s state broadcaster chooses the people who have “moved the public and moved China” (感动公众，感动中国). The first selection, for 2002, announced its results in January 2003. Usually ten individuals and one group are chosen, and the candidates are presented on CCTV before the vote.
After the defeat at Jieting, Zhuge Liang executed Ma Su and wrote to the throne. “The fault lies wholly with me, for I made appointments without method,” he wrote. “I ask to be demoted three grades, to answer for my fault.” (请自贬三等，以督厥咎) He was made General of the Right, but still acted as chancellor, with all his former powers.
According to the Han-Jin Annals, he asked all who were loyal to the state to “diligently attack my shortcomings.” He took the blame on himself and made his failings known to the whole realm.
As a young man, Zhou Chu was violent, and his home district suffered from him. A flood dragon in the river and a tiger in the hills also harmed the people. They called the three “the three scourges,” and Zhou Chu was the worst. Someone urged him to kill the tiger and the dragon. He fought the dragon in the water for three days and nights, and the villagers, thinking him dead, celebrated.
When he came back and heard them celebrating, he understood for the first time how much he was hated. He went to the Lu brothers, two scholars of Wu, and told one of them everything. He wanted to reform, he said, but feared it was too late. The story is in A New Account of Tales of the World (世说新语).
On January 17, 2018, Huawei sent a notice to all its staff. “In recent years, some business units have had quality accidents and faked business results. The company’s management bears responsibility for weak management.” The standing committee of the board had decided to hold the main responsible leaders to account. The founder, Ren Zhengfei, was fined one million yuan, according to Reuters.