Heard the one about the pork Chinese soup?
FORGET the Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman – the jokes of tomorrow could be all about the Beijinger and the Shanghainese. Well, what with China’s increasing global influence, and the fact that Shoreditch-based creativity bazaar Mother has released a book of translated Chinese jokes.
“If China is going to rule the world, we thought, we want to be laughing with them…” it said.
The book, Made In China, was released to coincide with the Chinese New Year, but was inspired by a desire to understand Chinese culture a bit better. It contains 50 jokes covering a range of topics from sex to the environment and for a tenner could be a smart purchase before your next business trip to Shanghai.
Here’s one of the gags: “A Beijinger is talking to a Shanghainese. The Beijinger says ‘We are the happiest people in China. We can get a free smoke and all we have to do is open the windows.’ The Shanghainese replies ‘That’s nothing. If we want some pork soup, we just turn on the tap.”
Sides not splitting? Yep, us neither, but we’re sure it’s a classic in downtown Beijing.