The Many Meanings of 折腾 (Zhēteng): How Native Speakers Actually Use It (With Movie Clips)
In late 2008, Chinese political speechwriters presented the world’s diplomatic translators with an impossible riddle. During an official keynote addressing the nation’s modernization, the government announced the core principle of “不折腾” (bù zhēteng). Major international news outlets panicked. The New York Times, BBC, and international linguists spent weeks debating how to translate it: “Do not get sidetracked?” “Avoid self-inflicted chaos?” “Don’t flip-flop or cause unnecessary agitation?” Eventually, many official Chinese diplomatic releases gave up and simply transliterated it as “Buzheteng”. ...