SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
In many parts of Asia this week, people are celebrating the Lunar New Year. In China, the Year of the Fire Horse has an uncanny association with a "Harry Potter" character. Ashish Valentine brings us to this story.
ASHISH VALENTINE, BYLINE: On Lunar New Year, it's traditional to play mahjong, feast on traditional foods and give each other money in red envelopes. What's not as traditional is a certain British wizard.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE")
TOM FELTON: (As Draco Malfoy) And I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.
RUPERT GRINT: (As Ron Weasley, laughing).
FELTON: (As Draco Malfoy) Think my name is funny, do you?
VALENTINE: In China, they certainly do.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE")
FELTON: (As Draco Malfoy) Saint Potter.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
VALENTINE: AI clips like these are all over social media. On doorways, apartment buildings and shopping malls, you can see Malfoy's face on many traditional New Year decorations. Why? Well, in Chinese, Malfoy's name is pronounced (non-English language spoken).
JUSTINE POPLIN: Ma is horse, and fu is close - loosely associated with good fortune or luck.
VALENTINE: That's Justine Poplin, a researcher specializing in Chinese visual culture at Southern Cross University in Australia. The name's a perfect fit for the Year of the Horse, she says, and it's only the latest example of a Western cultural reference that took on a life of its own in China.
(SOUNDBITE OF KENNY G'S "GOING HOME")
VALENTINE: This is American saxophonist Kenny G's song, "Going Home." Since the '90s, it's been played at shops, restaurants, events anytime the venue wants to tell customers it's time they quite literally should be going home.
YI-LING LIU: So, like, when planes land, they'll play it. And I didn't realize this, but I grew up, like, taking Air China planes, and that song would really annoy me.
VALENTINE: That's Yi-Ling Liu, who writes about AI and the internet in China. She says Malfoy's part of a longer history of wordplay in China, which can also showcase creativity in getting around internet censorship. A few years ago, Chinese internet users started sharing emojis of rice bowls and rabbits, seemingly innocuous until you sound it out, says Poplin.
POPLIN: Mi, rice. And tu, is the tuzi, the rabbit.
VALENTINE: In other words, a way of showing support for the #MeToo movement, which took place in China as well.
POPLIN: Like, it looks harmless, but it actually is saying things visually, like, that possibly can't be said in words.
VALENTINE: But fast-forward a few years, and the mood changed. Memes reflected an overwhelming feeling of pessimism as the economy slowed down. Here's Yi-Ling Liu again.
LIU: By 2022, you had bai lan, let it rot. And then you had, like, we are the last generation, around 2022. And then you had something like, in 2023, garbage time. Like, they're all riffing on the same theme, right?
VALENTINE: In other words, a meme is worth a thousand words. For NPR News, I'm Ashish Valentine.
(SOUNDBITE OF FLOWERING INFERNO AND QUANTIC'S "WESTBOUND TRAIN") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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