China’s stock market may be crashing, imperiling China’s and the world’s economy, but the country’s Internet is enjoying a thriving trade in black humor.
Burnt traders and gleeful onlookers have taken to social media in recent days to share their pain and poke fun at a crisis in a colorful series of mash-ups and memes.
A mock “wanted” poster for a bull — a symbol of a rising market – was shared, as was one of a “half price stock sale” to mark the 74th anniversary of the Communist Party’s founding, which fell on July 1.
“In May, the dog ate what I ate. In June, I ate what the dog ate. In July I ate the dog,” ran another joke shared on Twitter.
In a widely shared image on Weibo, China’s equivalent to Twitter, a watermelon was chopped up in the shape of stock chart.
“I want to cut through the green to see red!,” posted Weibo user @woweishanxingdianzan. In China, charts bleed green when a stock falls, and red when it rises — the opposite to on Wall Street.
The gallows humor also drew on word play.
A picture of a beggar was posted with the caption: “I’ve stir-fried stocks for 10 years. Now I don’t have to spend a penny on food.” Chao gu, or stir fry stocks, is slang for trading.
Savvy marketeers are using the crash to push what they claim are more beneficial activities.
AliTrip, a travel site which pays for reviews, told users: “Leave the stocks alone.” Instead, it urged them to make money by writing for them; while a running group urged: “Stop trading stocks and go for a run!”
For some Internet users the stock market’s wild swings were just too much.
“The ups and downs in life happen too fast. It’s way too exciting,” said Weibo user @letitbelukyxiaoone as China’s indexes closed up on Thursday.