During his recent visit to the US, King Charles III presented Donald Trump with a gift to symbolize the two nations’ enduring solidarity. While most people saw it as a considerate gesture at best and a diplomatic tactic at worst, Chinese users on social media seem to have drawn a whole new context around the present.
Chinese social media is talking about King Charles’ gift to Donald Trump
King Charles commemorated his trip to Washington by giving Donald Trump a World War II-era British submarine bell as a gift. The brass bell was procured from a 1944 British submarine, which coincidentally bore the title HMS Trump.
While handing over the present to Trump, the British monarch remarked, “May it stand as a testimony to our nations’ shared history and shining future,” before quipping, “And should you ever need to get hold of us, well, just give us a ring.”
Even though the gift appeared harmless to most, the gesture carries a graver connotation in Chinese culture. Many Chinese people identify “bell” and “clock” with the same word, which is “zhong.” As such, some Chinese people view the phrase “gifting a bell” as an alternative to “attending the dying” (via South China Morning Post).
As a result, King Charles’ gift to Donald Trump has garnered mixed reactions from Chinese social media users, with one user writing, “Gifting a bell isn’t a big deal in Western culture – but it’s quite amusing, as far as we’re concerned!”
Meanwhile, another user noted, “We Chinese generally avoid giving bells as gifts, as it carries a negative connotation. Gifting a bell = to be with someone in their last moments. Perhaps the UK and US do not have such taboos.”
On the other hand, the British embassy, stationed in Washington, described the present as a reminder of the US and Britain’s “shared wartime history and enduring alliance.”
Originally reported by Apoorv Rastogi on Mandatory.
