중국밈 (향천재차오백년 노래)

"Joong-gook Mim" (meaning "Chinese Meme"), and the song title "Xiang Tian Zai Jie Wu Bai Nian" (pronounced roughly as "Shyang Tee-en Zai Jee-eh Woo Bye Nyan").

This meme began to gain significant popularity in Korea around 2023. Specifically, as TikToker Nitmoolcash started creating parody content of Chinese-style TikTok videos, 'Xiang Tian Zai Jie Wu Bai Nian,' used as background music in these videos, gained immense popularity. In May 2023, the lyrics of this song were also used in the web animation 'Beast Friends,' further increasing its public recognition.

'Xiang Tian Zai Jie Wu Bai Nian' (向天再借五百年) is the opening song for the 2001 Chinese drama 'Kangxi Dynasty,' released by Han Lei (韩磊) in 2004. The song, with its grand and solemn atmosphere, expresses a strong desire to borrow another 500 years from heaven to achieve a great ambition. In Korea, it became a meme when used as background music in Nitmoolcash's TikTok parody videos, representing the 'spirit of the continent' or exaggerated 'Chinese aesthetics.' Particularly, lyrics like "If only I could live for another five hundred years" or specific phrases like "Kan Tie Ti Zheng Zheng" (看鐵蹄錚錚) are used impressively.

Primarily consumed actively by young people aged 10 to 30. It spread through short-form video platforms like TikTok, and is widely used in popular culture content across various age groups, including by pro-gamers and popular animation channels.

This meme is primarily used as background music when one wants to express a situation or person in an exaggeratedly grand or solemn manner. For example, similar to Nitmoolcash's parody videos, it's used in videos titled 'Reasons why you shouldn't ignore ○○;;' to emphasize the dignity or ability of a specific subject. Furthermore, just as the lyric 'Kan Tie Ti Zheng Zheng' is inserted into absurd situations in the web animation 'Beast Friends' to evoke laughter, it can appear in unexpected places, adding a twist.

While this meme is primarily used in a humorous context, there is a possibility that it could cause misunderstandings when exaggerating the sensibilities of a particular culture. Therefore, when using it, it is advisable to be careful not to lose respect for the culture and to ensure that the satirical intent is clearly conveyed.