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On Reddit's r/China_irl, I saw a poll about the US election in November. What surprised me is that Donald Trump seems to be called 川皇. Searching for 川皇 on Google indicates it's not just a typo, so I'm fairly confident it's some kind of slang expression.

Question: What is the meaning behind 川皇, which is some kind of slang for "Donald Trump"?

I noticed it looks visually somewhat similar to 川普 which is a transliteration of Trump (along with 特朗普), so maybe the 皇 ("emperor") is an insult aimed at his authoritarian tendencies (along the lines of "Emperor Trump"). Just my guess at this point.

Screenshot:

Screenshot of the poll showing 川皇 (Trump) vs. 拜登 (Biden)

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  • It's not just about his behavior -- I'm sure it also has a lot to do with his affinity and appreciation for other authoritarian figures. He has expressed appreciation for Putin, Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping, Rodrigo Duerte, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Erdogan -- all figures who might also be similarly described using 皇.
    – Marko
    Jun 9, 2020 at 6:39

3 Answers 3

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Chinese people use *皇 to describe the dominant person in some areas, 詹皇(LeBron James), but this kind of name can either be adoring or irony, each individual would interpret it subjectively.

So you would see that both supporters and haters all use 川皇.

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First, people in China think, Trump does everything in his own way, never listen to others, like a emperor in ancient China.

Second, they think Trump is arrogant, regarded himself as the king of the world. enter image description here

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  • "可以形容川普的成語" -- LOL!, 让美国再次伟大！(MAGA) Seeing all the Trump bashing, it reminds me of a saying -- "Trump is like weeds; the more you hate him, the taller he grows" I wonder whether there is a Chinese idiomatic equivalent?
    – Wayne Cheah
    Jun 8, 2020 at 3:43
  • may be「野草焼不盡，春風吹又生。」Trump is a symptom, not the cause. The real problem is not him, but all the supporters and enablers around him
    – Tang Ho ♦
    Jun 8, 2020 at 5:52
  • Thanks for the idiomatic effort. I was thinking -- 野草焼不盡, 仇恨而成长.
    – Wayne Cheah
    Jun 8, 2020 at 7:26
  • @TangHo Someone flagged your chengyu comment as "harassment, bigotry, or abuse." And to be fair this is not really the place for political opinions, regardless of the stance. JSYK why it got deleted.
    – Mou某 ♦
    Jun 12, 2020 at 17:37
  • Would they delete a post stating "Nazi is evil'?
    – Tang Ho ♦
    Jun 14, 2020 at 23:11
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It's simply Chinese shorthand for "emperor Trump", i.e. 川普皇帝

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  • Please explain more on this...
    – zyy
    Jun 8, 2020 at 4:30
  • (川)普(皇)帝 is that clear enough?
    – Kasey Chang
    Jun 8, 2020 at 8:04
  • I think the original poster is asking for what is behind 川皇。
    – zyy
    Jun 8, 2020 at 13:39
  • As in WHY would people come up with a term such as "Emperor Trump"?
    – Kasey Chang
    Jun 8, 2020 at 17:46

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