Do you have anything to “上交给国家”?

It's hardly rare to hear that unclaimed properties are often "handed to the state treasury". But, you may have noticed recently that folks around you have been handing just about everything over to the country—unwanted gifts, annoying suitors, perhaps even a noisy baby. This is not, as one might expect, patriotic zeal buoyed by socialist core values; rather, it's a new buzzword of late: "hand it to the state (上交给国家 shàngjiāo gěi guójiā)".

你可能经常听说应当将无主财产“上交给国家”。但是，最近你可能发现你身边的人几乎要把所有的东西都上交给国家 —— 不想要的礼物、恼人的追求者、甚至吵闹的婴儿。然而，这并不是社会主义核心价值观引发的爱国热情。实际上，“上交给国家”是最近流行的网络热词。

This term comes from the TV show The Lost Tomb, which was adapted from the best-selling novel The Grave Robbers' Chronicles (《盗墓笔记》). The original novel tells the tale of adventurous grave robbers, but once it hit the screen, the characters had all turned into protectors of the nation's cultural relics. The once churlish leading male role declares over and over that he plans to turn what he steals over to the state. Thus anesthetized, the show received a great deal of criticism and the line "hand it to the state" went viral.

该词来源于电视剧《盗墓笔记》台词。该剧改编自同名畅销网络小说。该小说主要讲述盗墓者的冒险故事，但是，搬上荧屏之后，所有的盗墓者反而成了国家文物的保护者。原本凶恶的男主角却口口声声宣称要把盗来的宝物上交给国家。经过这样改编之后，该剧引来了大量的吐槽，台词“上交给国家”也由此流行起来。

Furious fans of the novels commented that it was the screenwriter and the director who should be "handed to the state". But, common sense dictates that this was hardly an artistic decision; screenwriter Bai Yicong responded, saying the changes were due to the authorities not being appreciative of glamorizing grave robbing. This new slang term enjoyed overnight success, and now it seems everyone is using it to express their disapproval.

原著迷看了电视剧版之后吐槽该“上交给国家”的应该是编剧和导演。但是编剧白一骢回应称，这种改编并非是为了艺术效果，而主要是因为大肆美化盗墓不能通过当局的审核。“上交给国家”一词在一夜之间炙手可热，似乎所有人都在用这句话来表达自己的不满。

You might, for example, hear an angry girlfriend online complaining about her boyfriend's thoughtless gift: "A vacuum cleaner for my birthday? Should I hand in the machine or my boyfriend to the state?" (送我的生日礼物是吸尘器?我是该把这机器还是我男朋友上交给国家? Sòng wǒ de shēngrì lǐwù shì xīchénqì? Wǒ shì gāi bǎ zhè jīqì háishi wǒ nánpéngyǒu shàngjiāo gěi guójiā?)

假设男朋友欠缺考虑，给女朋友送了一个吸尘器作为礼物，你可能就会听见女朋友在网上抱怨“送我的生日礼物是吸尘器?我是该把这机器还是我男朋友上交给国家?（Sòng wǒ de shēngrì lǐwù shì xīchénqì? Wǒ shì gāi bǎ zhè jīqì háishi wǒ nánpéngyǒu shàngjiāo gěi guójiā? A vacuum cleaner for my birthday? Should I hand in the machine or my boyfriend to the state?）

And, after that girl breaks up with the boyfriend, and he keeps sending her letters and emails to reconcile, you might put your two cents in by telling her: "Hand these letters to the state." (把这些情书上交给国家吧。Bǎ zhèxiē qíngshū shàngjiāo gěi guójiā ba. )

当这个女孩和男朋友分手之后，男朋友不断地写信发邮件给她请求复合，你可以发表意见，对她说“把这些情书上交给国家吧”（Bǎ zhèxiē qíngshū shàngjiāo gěi guójiā ba. Hand these letters to the state.）

Assuming that the two can settle their differences anyway, perhaps they'll get married and have a beautiful baby together. Well, when the baby is up crying all night, the new mom might say: "The baby cried all night last night! I really wanted to hand him to the state!" ( 昨晚这孩子哭了一夜!真想把他上交给国家算了! Zuówǎn zhè háizi kūle yí yè! Zhēn xiǎng bǎ tā shàngjiāo gěi guójiā suàn le!)

假设那对情侣解决了他们之间的问题，之后结了婚，还生了一个漂亮的小孩。但是小孩整晚上不睡觉，一直哭，新手妈妈可能就会说“昨晚这孩子哭了一夜！真想把他上交给国家算了！（Zuówǎn zhè háizi kūle yí yè! Zhēn xiǎng bǎ tā shàngjiāo gěi guójiā suàn le! The baby cried all night last night! I really wanted to hand him to the state!）

The phrase is often used more for annoyance than outright anger. So, feel free to hand whatever annoys you over to the state in the clear and present knowledge that the state wants it even less than you.

该短语所传递的更多的是烦恼而非愤怒的情绪。因此你可以将所有恼人的东西“上交给国家”，表示国家更不想要那些东西。

Translated from: theworldofchinese.com