雖然網絡表情不是中國人的發明，但表情包文化已經在中國成為一種流行文化。幾乎所有年輕人的社交軟體中都保存著各種下載或自製的表情，網上群聊往往就是一場表情包鬥圖大會。那麼，為什麼中國的年輕人如此熱衷於使用和生產表情包？難道，沒有表情包就不能好好聊天了嗎？
It is probably no exaggeration to say that, these days, anyone who uses the internet on their phone understands the formidable power of a deftly deployed cat GIF, a knowingly dropped 「crying with laughter」 smiley, or a casually placed icon of a minuscule rose, watermelon, or cup of coffee. Today's world is one in which the emoji reigns supreme.
可以毫不誇張地說，如今，任何用手機上網的人都知道一個熟練發出的小貓動圖、一張故意留下的「哭笑不得」的笑臉，或是隨便加的小玫瑰、西瓜、咖啡的巨大影響力。當今世界是一個被emoji表情主宰的世界。
「Emoji」 is a Japanese word meaning 「pictograph,」 composed of the Japanese characters e, meaning 「picture,」 and moji, meaning 「written character.」 In Japan, it originally referred to the ideograms and smileys used on mobile phones in the late 1990s. Since Apple added emojis to an iPhone update in 2011, they have taken the world by storm. One could say that, in the internet age, emojis are the world's most widely understood language.
「emoji」是一個日語單詞，意思是「象形文字」，日文漢字e代表「圖片」，moji的意思是「文字」。在日本，emoji原指上世紀90年代末在手機上使用的表意符號和微笑符號。自2011年蘋果公司在iPhone中添加了emoji表情更新後，這些表情符號就開始在全世界風靡。可以說，在網際網路時代，emoji表情是全球最通用的語言。
However, on Chinese social media, just understanding how to use emojis is not enough. Recently, young Chinese have become infatuated with an even more complex form of emoji called biaoqingbao, or sticker sets.
然而，在中國的社交媒體上，單單了解如何使用emoji表情是不夠的。最近，中國年輕人迷戀上一種更複雜的表情符號「表情包」。
Much like emojis, sticker sets are groups of graphics used to express emotions. However, emojis tend to come in uniform sets distributed by phone manufacturers as part of their products' operating systems, making them centralized, standardized, and limited in quantity. In contrast, the power to create and distribute sticker sets doesn't lie in the hands of corporations — anyone can create them. Sticker sets are therefore decentralized: They generally comprise images or animated GIFs of popular celebrities, viral quotes, anime scenes, or TV and film stills, frequently paired with a line of text. In essence, sticker sets are considerably more diverse and individualized than emojis.
表情包和emoji表情很相似，就是一組用來表達情感的圖形。然而，emoji表情一般是手機廠商在其產品的作業系統中發布的統一圖組，這些表情集中統一、數量有限。相比之下，創建和發布表情包並不需要依賴手機廠商。任何人都可以製作表情包。因此，表情包是多種多樣的，通常包括名人、流行語、動畫場景或影視劇畫面的圖像或動圖，往往還會配上一串文字。從本質上講，表情包比emoji表情更加多樣化、個性化。
Sticker sets have come to dominate the social networks of young Chinese people, especially those born in the 1990s. For some of them, verbal and text-based conversations have given way to a barrage of stickers, furiously posted in a kind of competition to see who has the most or the funniest.
表情包已經佔領了中國年輕人的社交網絡平臺，特別是90後。對於一些90後來說，語言文字交流已經被表情包鬥圖所取代。他們會發一大堆表情包，比賽看誰的表情包最多、最有意思。
During a recent conversation with an acquaintance of mine — a '90s kid — over messaging app WeChat, I wrote that I disagreed with something he had said. In response, he shot back a rapid volley of stickers. The first was a screenshot taken from the hit Chinese political drama 「In the Name of the People,」 in which an actor, Xu Yajun, purses his lips in a look of suspicion. Next came a popular internet meme of a floppy-limbed girl pulling a face of exaggerated exasperation, followed quickly by an image of a ginger cat whose comically drawn-on frown was supplemented by a single character meaning 「Hmmph!」 Last but not least, my phone lit up with the pouting baby face of Huang Zitao, a Chinese singer and actor best known for his involvement in popular boy band EXO. None of these stickers expressed genuine anger, despite their obvious petulance. Instead, they were meant as a rather coy way of saying: 「Why don't you agree with me?」
最近我和一個90後熟人在微信上聊天時，我說我不同意他的觀點。他則迅速連發一串表情包回擊我。第一個是演員許亞軍撇著嘴一臉懷疑的表情，這個截圖來自國內熱播政治劇《人民的名義》。第二個表情是一張網上流行的惡搞圖片，圖中女孩四肢癱軟，臉上透著誇張的憤怒，緊接著下一個表情是一隻畫了卡通眉毛的橘貓圖片，上面加了一個「哼」字。我手機上出現的最後一個表情是中國歌手兼演員黃子韜的傲嬌寶寶臉，他因在人氣男子組合EXO的活動而為人熟知。儘管這些表情包明顯是在鬧情緒，但都沒有表達真正的怒意。相反，它們是用一種委婉的方式表示：「你為什麼不同意我呢？」
Chinese people born in the '90s grew up in a fundamentally different environment from their elders. Today, connected to a veritable ocean of online information and surrounded by the clamor of differing opinions, new youth subcultures have emerged, challenging the previously hegemonic power of central ideology and opening up space for greater individualism and creativity.
中國90後和他們的長輩的成長環境完全不同。當今世界與網絡信息海洋互聯互通，充斥著各種不同的聲音，新青年亞文化在這種背景下應運而生，挑戰著此前佔據主導的核心意識形態，並為更強的個人主義和創新思維開拓空間。
Young people have used this technology to construct their own system of expression and communication, complete with unique aesthetic and value systems. The internet has, in many ways, given them a means of constructing new cultural identities. It is precisely for this reason that sticker sets have won their affection. Socializing in China traditionally places a great emphasis on established etiquette that governs everything from what you wear, to how you sit, to how you treat your elders. Unsurprisingly, young people tend to dislike such over-elaborate formalities.
年輕人用表情包建立了具有獨特審美和價值體系的專屬表達交流系統。網際網路以各種不同的方式賦予他們構建新的文化認同的途徑。正因如此，表情包才能贏得年輕人的喜愛。中國傳統社交特別注重禮節，從穿著打扮、坐姿到與長輩的相處之道，人們的一舉一動都受其約束。而毋庸置疑，年輕人往往不喜歡這些繁文縟節。
Online messaging frequently lacks the context clues and mood indicators that we take for granted in real life, such as facial expressions, tone of voice, and pauses in speech. In China, the solution is to employ cheerful, entertaining, and tongue-in-cheek sticker sets. A skillfully used sticker is capable of accurately expressing the speaker's state of mind without risking the tension or awkwardness that comes with social misunderstanding. They serve the same purposes as mood indicators.
網上聊天一般缺乏現實生活中我們習以為常的語境和面部表情、語調、講話停頓等情緒暗示。對此，在中國應對之策就是使用歡脫搞笑的表情包。表情包能起到暗示情緒的作用。巧妙運用表情包可以準確傳達講話者的心情，不會產生社交誤解，導致氣氛變得緊張尷尬。
To give another example, this sticker serves to put an end to the conversation when its user is ready to go to bed. Between close friends or in the context of a romantic relationship, merely saying 「Goodnight」 might seem perfunctory. Instead, the image shows a man in bed, his face flushed, accompanied by deliberate sexual innuendo: 「I'm off to bed — I'll leave the door open though.」 Not only is this sticker able to effectively terminate the conversation, but it also reaffirms a degree of intimacy between speakers. It lets the recipient know that, in the other person's eyes, they are more than just a random acquaintance.
再舉個例子，當你準備休息時，可以用表情包結束對話。如果是親密的朋友，或是情侶，僅僅說一聲「晚安」似乎太敷衍了。相反，如果發一個人紅著臉躺在床上的人，再配上一句挑逗的文字「好睏，我先睡辣，我房門沒關哦」，不僅能有效終止對話，而且還強調了雙方的親密關係。收到這個表情的人會覺得，在對方眼裡，他們的關係不僅僅是普通朋友。
Sticker sets are the new language of China's youth. Some of the country's scholars are concerned that young people's literacy skills will decline as stickers continue to dominate social media. While these concerns are not completely unfounded, they are somewhat excessive. What China's youths need now is more channels of self-expression. We must allow them to speak more freely and independently, so that their unique subcultures may challenge mainstream culture and make mainstream values more relaxed, diverse, and tolerant. For the moment, at least, sticker sets are playing this critical role.
表情包是屬於中國年輕人的新語言，國內有一些學者擔心，如果表情包繼續在社交媒體上佔據主導地位，可能會導致年輕人的識字能力下降。雖然這些擔心並非完全沒有根據，但有些誇大其詞。中國年輕人現在正需要更多表達自我的渠道，我們必須讓他們更加自由獨立地表達，這樣年輕人獨特的亞文化才可能挑戰主流文化，使得主流價值觀更加輕鬆、多元、包容。至少，目前表情包正發揮這個關鍵作用。
英文來源：Sixth Tone
翻譯&編輯：董靜
審校：丹妮