Our phrase of the week is: hex technology (海克斯科技 hǎi kè sī kējì).
Context
A Chinese soy sauce brand has been caught up in a social media storm during the National Day holiday week.
The company that owns the brand, Haitian Flavoring and Food Co (海天味业 hǎi tiān wèi yè), was accused on social media for having “double standards” (双标 shuāng biāo) for its domestic and overseas products.
According to videos posted online, the Haitian soy sauce sold in Japan contains only natural ingredients such as water, soybeans, and wheat. The same product in China, however, contains additives like flavor enhancers, preservatives, and sweeteners.
In response, Haitian released a statement saying that all its products comply with China’s Food Safety Law and are subject to supervision and inspection by Chinese authorities. A second statement explained that additives are widely used in food manufacturing in markets around the world, with each country having clear regulatory standards that the company complies with.
The posts went viral fueled by consumers’ long-standing food safety concerns and suspicions of Chinese brands using inferior ingredients for the domestic market compared with those for overseas markets.
The term hex technology (海克斯科技 hǎi kè sī kējì) was a trending hashtag on Douyin and Weibo:
In the past few days, ‘hex tech,’ a term trending on social media, has become a negative label for Haitian and other food products.
这几天，“海克斯科技”一词火了起来，成了海天味业及其他工业食品的标签。
Zhè jǐ tiān,“hǎi kè sī kējì” yì cí huǒle qǐlái, chéngle hǎitiān wèi yè jí qítā gōngyè shípǐn de biāoqiān.
Translation
The phrase hex technology, or hex tech, can be broken down into two parts — 海克斯 hǎi kè sī, which is a Chinese transliteration of the English for hex, and technology 科技 kējì.
It originated in the hugely popular game League of Legends (英雄联盟 yīng xióng lián méng), first released in China in 2008 by Riot Games, which then became a subsidiary of Tencent’s in 2011.
In the game, hex tech is a new fusion of magic and technology that anyone — not just the very few with special skills — can use to create beautiful works of art and craft.
In August and September this year, a Douyin user, Xīn Jífēi 辛吉飞, posted short videos highlighting common food products in China, such as soy sauce, which are packed full of additives. He described them as being made with “hex tech,” with the term first going viral on the video-sharing platform.
So, Haitian soy sauce being described as hex tech is not a good thing. The phrase has gained a new, critical meaning:
Foods made with artificial additives
以食品添加剂合成的食品
Yǐ shípǐn tiānjiājì héchéng de shípǐn
With food safety concerns remaining high in China, this new twist on the meaning of a gaming phrase — foods made with artificial additives — is likely to come into mainstream use as consumers continue to call out Chinese brands.
