Beijing Newspeak

Anyone in China thinking of downing a few amphetamine cocktails and tearing around the animal market in Kashgar, armed with a pair of scissors and the intention to shear 51 sheep in eight hours in order to enter the Guinness Book of World Records (current record is 50 held by Janos of Hungary), is advised to read the small print on the record application form.

Last weekend, Xinhua released what was one of its better stories about the Chinese media getting all worked up at an attempt by a group of firecracker factories in Liuyang, Hunan, to set a Guinness world record for the longest string of firecrackers - an incredible 20 kilometers - in an unabashed publicity campaign involving local government money.

Chinese media have blasted an attempt by a Chinese city in Hunan province to set a world record for the longest string of firecrackers, labeling it “ridiculous” and a waste of money.

A 20-km string of firecrackers, stretching from Dayao Town to the downtown area of Liuyang City, home to China’s largest firecracker production base, went up in smoke on Friday afternoon, exploding for 68 minutes and littering the ground with red debris, as organizers sought to gain publicity for the city and its local fireworks industry.

The event, organized by several firecracker plants and partly sponsored by the local government, cost more than 800,000 yuan (about 107,000 U.S. dollars), including 580,000 yuan for the firecrackers themselves and the remainder to stage the event and ensure the fire service was on standby.

“The production of firecrackers is one of the city’s main industries. We hope the success of making the longest firecracker will increase the confidence of the producers and make our city well-known across the country,” said Xu Qiangguo, head of the Liuyang Firecrackers Bureau.

The Changsha Evening News had billed the event as a world record bid, saying the organisers had applied for officials from the Guinness Book of Records to be present to adjudicate. Xinhua clarifies the situation:

But the event, billed by local media as a Guinness World Record attempt, was not attended by an official Guinness World Records representative after it ignored a request from the organizers to attend.

Instead, a representative from the unofficial Shanghai Great World Guinness Book of Records turned up to present them with a certificate bestowing upon the city the honor of having only “the country’s longest string of firecrackers”.

“I can only ensure you that it’s the longest firecracker in China and I dare not say it’s the world’s longest,” said the Shanghai office’s representative Wang Yizhuo.

The “Shanghai Great World Guinness Book of Records” has been confusing the media and the public for years. As the Xinhua article explains, Guinness’ official representative in China is Liaoning Education Press which has been ”the real Guinness Book of Records representative in China since Shanghai Great World Guinness and the Guinness Book of Records split in 1996″. When the two organisations parted, the Shanghai office changed the “Guinness” part of its name from ji (1st tone) ni (2nd tone) si (1st tone) to ji (2nd tone) ni (2nd) si (1st) - ie a different first character with a slightly different pronunication. Cunning.

From then on, the state media, known fondly for its frequent displays of gullibility, and of course patriotism, were happily oblivious to the newly created discrepancy, coming up with stories like this:

Tianchi, a lake on the top of Mount Changbai in northeast China’s Jilin Province, has been recognized as the highest volcanic lake in the world.

A nearby waterfall, which plunges 68 meters over a cliff, is also regarded as the largest waterfall originating from crater lakes.

The Shanghai Office of the Guinness Book of World Records has granted certificates to these two scenic spots in Mount Changbai recently…

…Experts believe that now Mount Changbai has found an entry in the Guinness Book of Records, it will become better known throughout the world and help boost the local tourism industry.

Chinese media refer to Leshan resident Du Pinhua as the world’s oldest person, citing the Guinness Book of Records. That fount of indisputable fact Wikipedia has more:

Du Pinhua of China (born April 22, 1886?) is a claimant to the world’s oldest person title and lives in Leshan. According to the Shanghai branch of Guinness World Records (and in apparent defiance of Guinness’ London headquarters), Du Pinhua was proclaimed the world’s oldest person in 2002. The claim disappeared for almost four years before resurfacing in April 2006, when it was claimed that Du celebrated her 120th birthday. Again, her age has not been internationally recognized.

It seems the last media source to be duped was the Shanghai Daily back in May of this year, which ran the headline, “Kids in Shanghai Grab Guinness Record for Pinwheels”. Unsurprisingly, the record was approved by Shanghai Great World Guinness. Maybe the newspaper let it go because it was done for charity.

Back in 2003, the Shanghai Guinness office was actually taken to court by a disgruntled bungee jumper, according to this report from eastday.com.

With dreams of seeing his name in the Guinness Book of World Records, a middle-aged businessman from Beijing bungee jumped from a helicopter in Handan, Hebei Province, last August after paying a registration fee to a Shanghai-based company he thought was affiliated with the Guinness publishers.

The jump was a success, but his dream remains unrealized, so Zhang Di is taking the local firm, Shanghai Great World Guinness Office, to court.

Zhang said he has discovered the company isn’t affiliated with the Guinness Book and he wants it to pay him compensation of 57,800 yuan (US$7,000) for expenses and mental anguish.

Zhang paid 1,800 yuan (US$217) to register his leap from a helicopter 80 meters above the ground, claiming it was the first bungee jump from a moving aircraft in history.

However, Zhang discovered his death-defying act might not be recognized as a world record when a Beijing newspaper reported last September that “Shanghai Guinness is not an authorized agent of the Guinness Book of World Records and has been misleading the public.”

“I knew of Shanghai Guinness through the media and contacted the office last May. Its officials confirmed to me that the office is the authorized agent of the Guinness Book,” said Zhang….

…”I knew of Shanghai Guinness through the media and contacted the office last May. Its officials confirmed to me that the office is the authorized agent of the Guinness Book,” said Zhang.

I don’t know the outcome of the trial but it seems Shanghai Great World Guinness is now adopting a more honest approach to record breaking, flourishing “China’s longest firecracker” certificates instead of ones that encompass the globe. However, organisers of these ridiculous events are happy to dish out flyers emblazoned with “Guinness Book of World Records” and the local media lap it up.

Shanghai Great World Guinness has done an excellent PR job. People turn to them without even knowing about the official branch in Liaoning. Shanghai charges an application fee, Liaoning Education Press does not. And Shanghai Great World Guinness enjoys illustrious connections. It comes under the authority of the Shanghai Communist Youth League.

Newspapers around China criticized the firecracker stunt in Liuyang saying it was a waste of money, particularly as it was partly funded by the local government. Add to that, it wasn’t even an official world record. But in this case, the organizers and local government couldn’t care less - after the event they phoned Xinhua to say their factories had received 30 million yuan in orders as a direct result of their big bang.