Dogs As Used In The Chinese Language

According to Chinese writer Fu Zhongshi (符中士), dogs must be the most maligned creatures in China.

In various Chinese idioms and expressions, the word "dog" (狗) is often used in a derogatory manner, Fu noted in his book 吃的自由 (The Freedom of Eating, People's Literature Publishing Press, 1999).

走狗 - "running dog", used to describe a traitor who works for the enemy

狗屁 - "dog fart", used to describe something ludicrous

狗东西 - "dog thingy", used to describe someone worthless/deplorable

狗腿子 - "dog leg", another description for a "running dog"

落水狗 - "a dog that had fallen into the water", to mean that someone had fallen into disgrace

癞皮狗 - "lai pi dog" - a kind of dog to imply that someone is shameless

哈巴狗 - "ha ba dog" - another kind of dog to mean the shamelessly demeaning and lowering of oneself in order to curry the favor of someone more powerful/important

狗屎堆 - "a pile of dog shit" - versatile expression that means hogwash

狗娘养的 - "raised by a bitch" - self-explanatory

狗头军师 - "dog-head military commander" - someone who gives lousy advice

狗仗人势 - "dog relying on the power of humans" - someone who acts arrogantly because he had the backing of someone more powerful

狗急跳墙 - "a cornered dog jumping the wall" - someone who does drastic things at wits' end

狐群狗党 - "a group of foxes and dogs" - to mean dubious and questionable company/friends/allies

狼心狗肺 - "wolf's heart and dog's lungs" - to use on someone who is evil, heartless and diabolical

狗眼看人低 - "a dog's eye looking down on people" - self-explanatory

狗改不了吃屎 - "a dog can never stop eating shit" - used on people who cannot break their nasty/diabolical ways, habits and practices

狗嘴里吐不出象牙 - "elephants' teeth cannot come out of a dog's mouth" - to mean that something valuable and precious cannot come out of something lowly and humble.

闻到狗肉香, 和尚也跳墙 - "with the fragrance of dog meat, a monk would also jump over the wall" - self-explanatory.

猪朋狗友 - "pig friends and dog pals" - fair-weathered friends

挂羊头, 卖狗肉 - "hanging a goat's head, and selling dog meat" - having a respectable facade so as to hide one's sinister motives/intentions.

Yet when it came to the naming of dog meat dishes, fanciful or at least nice-sounding names were used. These include "地羊肉" ("ground goat's meat") or "三六味" ("three-six taste").

As Fu concluded: "幸好狗不懂话, 不识字. 如果它知道忠心耿耿为人"效犬马之劳"换来的, 是什么坏事都要把它挂上, 纵算不集体自杀, 也会全部气成疯狗."

(Thank goodness dogs don't know what we say, nor can they read. If only they had known that their utmost loyalty towards humans had resulted in all these derogatory expressions. Even if they won't commit mass suicide, they'd be so fuming mad that they'd all turn into mad dogs.")