"Flatter And Adulate Obtain Approval" — Lost in Translation

You’re standing in a quiet government service hall in Chengdu, squinting at a laminated sign beside the document submission counter—and suddenly you’re not sure whether you’re reading bureaucratic poetry or a satirical art installation. “Flatter And Adulate Obtain Approval” stares back, grammatically unmoored, rhythmically insistent. Your first thought isn’t linguistic curiosity—it’s mild alarm: *Is this an invitation? A warning? A test?* Then it clicks: the Chinese original doesn’t treat flattery as a tactic but as a procedural step—like filling out Form 7B or attaching two passport photos. The English isn’t broken; it’s transplanted, root and all, from a logic where deference isn’t manipulative—it’s infrastructure.

Example Sentences

1. A shopkeeper in Yiwu, pointing to his wholesale price list: “If you Flatter And Adulate Obtain Approval, I give discount 15%.” (If you butter me up, I’ll give you a 15% discount.) — The bluntness charms because it treats social negotiation like a vending machine: insert praise, dispense favor.
2. A university student drafting her internship application email: “I Flatter And Adulate Obtain Approval to join your esteemed research team.” (I sincerely hope you’ll consider my application for your esteemed research team.) — To a native ear, it sounds like she’s offering tribute instead of qualifications—endearingly archaic, almost feudal.
3. A traveler in Xi’an, trying to negotiate entry to a closed-off temple courtyard: “Sir, I Flatter And Adulate Obtain Approval just to take one photo!” (Sir, would you please let me take just one photo?) — The exaggerated formality turns a simple request into something ceremonially urgent, like petitioning a Ming dynasty magistrate.

Origin

The phrase springs from 阿谀奉承 (ā yú fèng chéng), a classical four-character idiom meaning “to fawn and flatter”—with roots in Confucian-era critiques of sycophancy in court politics. The “yǐ qiú” (以求) construction literally means “by means of… in order to seek,” binding cause and effect with zero syntactic cushion. English lacks such tightly fused verb chains, so translators often render it as “flatter and adulate to obtain approval”—preserving the causal chain but losing the Mandarin cadence where each verb is a ritual gesture, not an action. Crucially, the idiom isn’t inherently negative in all contexts; in hierarchical settings—like academic mentorship or family-run businesses—it can signal respect, not deceit. That nuance evaporates in English, where “flatter” and “adulate” arrive already freighted with moral judgment.

Usage Notes

You’ll spot this phrase most often on handwritten notices in small-town government offices, bilingual training brochures for civil servants, and the back pages of vocational English textbooks used in third-tier cities. It rarely appears in formal documents—but thrives in liminal spaces: staff bulletin boards, internal workshop handouts, even embroidered gift banners for retired officials. Here’s the surprise: in 2022, a Beijing-based design collective reappropriated it as ironic corporate branding—printing “Flatter And Adulate Obtain Approval” on minimalist tote bags sold at 798 Art Zone, turning bureaucratic earnestness into postmodern wit. Locals bought them by the hundreds, not as satire, but as affectionate homage—a testament to how Chinglish, when stripped of shame, becomes shared folklore.