The Fruits of Peace: IN YOUR FACE!

This propaganda poster cracks me up every time I see it around Shanghai:

Share the Fruits of Peace

The Chinese reads:

严惩黑恶势力 (Yánchéng hēi‘è shìlì) Severely punish evil power
共享平安成果 (Gòngxiǎng píng’ān chéngguǒ) Share the fruits of peace

OK, so I’m not really trying to make that propaganda sound less ridiculous in English, but look at that picture. That’s “super police” (his chest has a 警 in it for 警察, “police”). This is “sharing the fruits of peace”?

I have to chuckle, wondering if the copy writer had any clue what the illustration would be like.

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John Pasden

John is a Shanghai-based linguist and entrepreneur, founder of AllSet Learning.

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