appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

Fran Lu

A Chinese noodle restaurant has come under fire for displaying a slogan that appears to condone domestic violence.
The restaurant in Xining, northwestern China’s Qinghai province put up a banner which read “beaten wife, kneaded dough”.
The slogan refers to an old saying from the Guanzhong plain region, which goes “the more a dough is kneaded the better the noodles taste, the more a wife is beaten the more docile she gets.”

The shop was slammed across mainland social media for trying to rationalise domestic violence and objectify women.
“Noodles get tastier when they are kneaded, but women get wounds and fear when they are beaten,” one online observer said.
On April 13, the local market supervision administration demanded the eatery to take down and destroy the banner.
The authorities also educated its responsible person. It said the shop had violated the Advertising Law.
Some comments expressed shock over the fact that such an outdated slogan is still used publicly today.

It is not the only idiom that encourages domestic violence.
Other offensive sayings circulate in less-developed areas, such as “a wife is a horse that one can ride and beat however he wants”, and “a wife cannot be beaten to death and peppers cannot burn in the sun”.
Such sayings were also used as slogans at restaurants in northwestern China.
An online observer said a restaurant had put up a slogan that says “a mother’s hard work leads to the whole family’s happiness”.
“It is a horror story,” said artist Qiu Taozi.

Qiu, a graduate from the Xian Academy of Fine Arts in northwestern China’s Shaanxi province, created an art project that invites rural women to make huamo, or flower steamed buns, that re-enact scenes of domestic violence.
She said the work was inspired by the ‘kneaded dough’ saying and she was told that all of those taking part had heard the saying when they were young.
In 2016, China enacted its first national anti-domestic violence law.
According to China’s Supreme People’s Court, the country had issued 33,000 personal safety protection orders in the past decade.
Statistics from the All-China Women’s Federation and the National Bureau of Statistics in 2011 showed that 24.7 per cent of women experienced domestic violence.
This includes physical and mental violence, economic control and forced sexual intercourse during marital life.
In 2021, that dropped to 8.6 per cent, which was reportedly calculated according to the definition included in the Anti-Domestic Violence Law.

Some online observers said that the law’s definition of domestic violence is incomplete, and in some cases vague, such as in terms of economic violence. It also fails to include violence against unmarried partners.
On a practical level, some women were also coerced into believing that their husbands’ violence is normal, or were afraid of retaliation and did not report their plight to the officials.
“Such slogans are nothing but cultural dregs and should be ditched,” said one person online.
“We are what we say. If we keep letting these slogans circulate it will be harder for women to realise domestic violence is wrong,” said another.


China limbless mum sews with mouth, uses limb stumps for daily tasks, raises 3 kids alone

China eatery sparks outrage for ‘beating wife’ sales slogan hinting domestic violence approval

China family buries luxury car as offering, prompting government reprimand, public apology

‘Fire Roses’: China only all-female cremation team challenges stereotypes, reshapes mortality views

Trending in China

A Chinese noodle restaurant sparked public outrage after displaying a slogan that condoned domestic violence, shocking many that such an outdated phrase is still used publicly today. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock

The restaurant’s offensive banner, above, has sparked widespread anger. Photo: Douyin

The banner’s reference to kneading dough refers to an old Chinese saying. Photo: Shutterstock 

A traditional noodle shop in a street food night market in China.   Photo: Shutterstock 

A family sitting down playing cards in a rural village in Hunan province, southern China. Photo: Shutterstock 

Mastering the shadows: explore lives, extraordinary skills of ancient Chinese thieves

Ancient Chinese thieves, known for skills like qinggong and clever tactics, followed a strict code: never stealing from the vulnerable. Photo: SCMP composite/research.sinica.edu.tw/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

In ancient China, burglars were expected to master qinggong, enabling them to glide effortlessly across rooftops, walls, and trees. Photo: sohu.com

Some practitioners were said to engage in “bone-compressing skills,” utilising extreme flexibility and precise joint control to slip through narrow gaps and evade capture. Photo: sohu.com

Thievery is indeed a deeply rooted crime that has persisted throughout human history, with pickpocketing characterised more by stealth and technical skill than by violence. Photo: Shutterstock

Chinese man, 32, suffers stomach pain, discovers thermometer swallowed as child still inside him

A 32-year-old Chinese man sought medical attention for stomach pain and was astonished to learn that a thermometer he had swallowed when he was 12 years old had remained inside him for 20 years. Photo: SCMP composite/Weibo

An X-ray image, above, shows the thermometer lodged inside Wang’s body. Photo: Weibo

The thermometer, above left, was removed intact but its markings had faded. Photo: Weibo

A sick boy has his temperature taken. Wang swallowed the device when he was 12 years old. Photo: Shutterstock

In a separate case last year, a man had a toothbrush removed that had been stuck in his intestines for 52 years. Photo: Douyin

Japan-based China nurse criticised for posting work clips, raising privacy, ethics concerns

A Tokyo-based Chinese nurse, who regularly shares vlogs on mainland social media detailing her work, has been criticised by Japanese netizens for disclosing patients’ personal and medical information. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin

The nurse behind the vlog pictured sitting down and writing while at work. Photo: X @bakusai_hodo

The Tokyo-based Chinese nurse, above, sorts out medication during one of her shifts. Photo: X @bakusai_hodo

The nurse, who uses the name “Zhaozhaozzz” online, carries out a task wearing protective gloves. Photo: X @bakusai_hodo

The nurse at the centre of the controversy writes up a report while sitting at a computer. Photo: X @bakusai_hodo

Bikes, books and ambitions: how Zhang Xue and Zhang Xuefeng inspire a generation in China

The founder of ZXMOTO, Zhang Xue, right, and the late education innovator Zhang Xuefeng are inspiring an entire generation in vastly different ways. Photo: SCMP composite/Weibo/Sohu

Born into a humble family in rural Hunan province, Zhang Xue’s mother gifted him a bicycle, sparking his passion for two-wheeled vehicles and leading him to apprentice at a motorcycle shop. Photo: Xinhua

Zhang Xue, centre, poses for a photo with his son and French rider Valentin Debise, who helped bring Zhang’s dream of creating a world-class Chinese motorcycle brand closer to reality. Photos: Courtesy of the Evan Bros team

Hailing from a struggling family in Heilongjiang, the northernmost province in China, Zhang Xuefeng’s family once survived on just 600 yuan (US$87) a month. Photo: Handout

Mourners laid bouquets at the Suzhou Funeral Home during the public memorial service for Zhang Xuefeng on March 28. Photo: Instagram/johnny_1987226

During a memorial service in Suzhou, thousands gathered with flowers to honour Zhang Xuefeng, with mourners queuing for nearly two kilometres outside the funeral home. Photo: Instagram/johnny_1987226

Celestial craftsmanship: discoveries from China Sanxingdui unveil secrets of meteorite axe

Various meteoric iron artefacts have been discovered in China, with the latest finding revealing how the inhabitants of Sanxingdui forged an axelike tool from a meteorite. Photo: SCMP composite/Archaeological Research in Asia/Shutterstock

A preview of the new special exhibition, “Gazing at Sanxingdui: New Archaeological Discoveries in Sichuan,” at the Hong Kong Palace Museum in West Kowloon in September 2023. Photo: SCMP/Jonathan Wong

Three pieces of meteoric iron artefacts from China, including those from Sanxingdui, have been unearthed. Photo: Science Alert

An illustration depicts a green comet with a glowing trail flying through a starry sky, capturing the essence of astronomy and meteor phenomena. Photo: Getty Images

News

People & Culture

Gender & Diversity

Other offensive sayings surface, like ‘a wife cannot be beaten to death and peppers cannot burn in the sun’, ignite online anger


Other offensive sayings surface, like ‘a wife cannot be beaten to death and peppers cannot burn in the sun’, ignite online anger.


Women and gender

China eatery sparks outrage for ‘beating wife’ sales slogan hinting domestic violence approval

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Other offensive sayings surface, like ‘a wife cannot be beaten to death and peppers cannot burn in the sun’, ignite online anger

Other offensive sayings surface, like ‘a wife cannot be beaten to death and peppers cannot burn in the sun’, ignite online anger