Give it to the State

It’s hardly rare to hear that unclaimed properties are often “handed to the state treasury”. But, you may have noticed recently that folks around you have been handing just about everything over to the country—unwanted gifts, annoying suitors, perhaps even a noisy baby. This is not, as one might expect, patriotic zeal buoyed by socialist core values; rather, it’s a new buzzword of late that people are taking a bit too far: “hand it to the state (上交给国家 shàngjiāo gěi guójiā)”.

This term comes from the TV show The Lost Tomb, which was adapted from the best-selling novel The Grave Robbers’ Chronicles (《盗墓笔记》). The original novel tells the tale of adventurous grave robbers, but once it hit the screen, the characters had all turned into protectors of the nation’s cultural relics. The once churlish leading male role declares over and over that he plans to turn what he steals over to the state. Thus anesthetized, the show received a great deal of criticism and the line “hand it to the state” went viral.

Furious fans of the novels commented that it was the screenwriter and the director who should be “handed to the state”. But, common sense dictates that this was hardly an artistic decision; screenwriter Bai Yicong responded, saying the changes were due to the authorities not being appreciative of glamorizing grave robbing. This new slang term enjoyed overnight success, and now it seems everyone is using it to express their disapproval.

You might, for example, hear an angry girlfriend online complaining about her boyfriend’s thoughtless gift: “A vacuum cleaner for my birthday? Should I hand in the machine or my boyfriend to the state?” (送我的生日礼物是吸尘器?我是该把这机器还是我男朋友上交给国家? Sòng wǒ de shēngrì lǐwù shì xīchénqì? Wǒ shì gāi bǎ zhè jīqì háishi wǒ nánpéngyǒu shàngjiāo gěi guójiā?)

And, after that girl breaks up with the boyfriend, and he keeps sending her letters and emails to reconcile, you might put your two cents in by telling her: “Hand these letters to the state.” (把这些情书上交给国家吧。Bǎ zhèxiē qíngshū shàngjiāo gěi guójiā ba. )

Assuming that the two can settle their differences anyway, perhaps they’ll get married and have a beautiful baby together. Well, when the baby is up crying all night, the new mom might say: “The baby cried all night last night! I really wanted to hand him to the state!” ( 昨晚这孩子哭了一夜!真想把他上交给国家算了! Zuówǎn zhè háizi kūle yí yè! Zhēn xiǎng bǎ tā shàngjiāo gěi guójiā suàn le!)

The phrase is often used more for annoyance than outright anger—a sentiment probably not shared by jilted fans of The Grave Robbers’ Chronicles. So, feel free to hand whatever annoys you over to the state in the clear and present knowledge that the state wants it even less than you.