卑微文学bēi wēi wén xué

Humble literature

bǎo, wǒ tài bēi wēi le.宝，我太卑微了。Babe, I’m so lowly.

卑微文学, “humble literature”, is a style of mock love note in which the writer grovels to a partner who does not care. The lines usually start with 宝, “babe”, and often end with a pun.

Took off: 2021
Started in: Douyin videos
Today: Fading

What it means

卑微 means lowly or humble. The posts play a lover who gives everything, gets nothing back and still finds a way to feel fine. They are written to be funny: the more devoted the line, the better.

A typical line, quoted by 36Kr: 宝，我今天去输液了。输的什么液？想你的每一夜。 “Babe, I got an IV drip today. What was in it? Every night I miss you.” The joke is that 液, “liquid”, sounds like 夜, “night”.

How people use it

The video trend has faded. 卑微 itself is still common: 我太卑微了, “I’m so lowly”, is an ordinary sigh when you have to beg for something small, such as a reply or a day off.

里昂

你给老板发消息了吗？
nǐ gěi lǎo bǎn fā xiāo xi le ma?
Did you message your boss?
发了三条，他还没回
fā le sān tiáo, tā hái méi huí
Three messages. He hasn’t answered.
你写的什么？
nǐ xiě de shén me?
What did you write?
老板您好，明天能请半天假吗？不行也没关系
lǎo bǎn nín hǎo, míng tiān néng qǐng bàn tiān jià ma? bù xíng yě méi guān xi
“Hello boss, could I take half a day off tomorrow? It’s fine if not.”
哈哈，这是卑微文学吧
hā hā, zhè shì bēi wēi wén xué ba
Ha, that’s straight out of humble literature.
没办法，请个假都这么卑微
méi bàn fǎ, qǐng gè jià dōu zhè me bēi wēi
What can I do? Even asking for time off means groveling.

More examples

宝，我等你的消息等到半夜。
bǎo, wǒ děng nǐ de xiāo xi děng dào bàn yè.
Babe, I waited for your message until midnight.
为了请一天假，我太卑微了。
wèi le qǐng yì tiān jià, wǒ tài bēi wēi le.
All this to get one day off. I’m so lowly.

Where it came from

From March 2021, Douyin had many comic videos in this style, according to 36Kr. It came a few months after 凡尔赛文学, the humblebrag style of late 2020, and many users copied it fast.

Its Douyin hashtag passed a billion plays by June 2021, according to 36Kr. Articles from that year give different counts, taken on different dates.

The original. Short videos in which a creator reads a groveling love note to a partner who never answers, often opening with “babe”. 36Kr described the trend in June 2021. 36Kr (in Chinese)