Showing off one’s self in the best possible light is a natural human attribute. But, just as with everything else, in China that concept is taken to new levels. Political correctness be damned; body pride is the way to go. Here, it’s every [wo]man for [her]himself.
以最好的眼光炫耀自己是人类天生的特质。 但是，就像其他一切一样，在中国，这个概念被提升到了一个新的水平。 政治正确性该死；身体骄傲是要走的路。 在这里，每个[女人]男人都是为了[她]自己。
Conformity to the standards of beauty accepted by the Middle Kingdom for eons is where it’s at. Most recently, we have seen fads such as the “A4 waist” and the “¥100 wrist”, whereby females aspire to the slimmest form possible.
符合中王国接受的美的标准是它所处所处的。 最近，我们看到了“A4腰”和“¥100手腕”等时尚，女性渴望尽可能苗条的身材。
And when it comes to inking oneself, albeit in the temporary sense, guess what folks, it’s the Year of the Dragon! And you know what that means.
说到自己墨墨，尽管是暂时的，你猜怎么着，伙计们，今天是龙年！ 你知道那是什么意思。
Movie review site Rotten Tomatoes describes The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo as “both a great adaptation of a fantastic book but also a disturbing look in to the human psych”. This year, that’s to be taken very literally, as temporary tattoo vendors worldwide which scream slogans such as “Express Your Love for Asia with Temporary Tattoos” (sic?) commercialise that most respected of Chinese zodiacal animals.
电影评论网站烂番茄将《龙纹身的女孩》描述为“既是对一本奇幻书籍的伟大改编，也是对人类心理的令人不安的观察”。 今年，这要非常字面意思，是全球的临时纹身供应商，高呼口号是“用临时纹身表达你对亚洲的爱”（原文如此？） 商業化最受尊敬的中国十二生肖。
But recently, an even more troubling trend has emerged, one it would appear to thankfully be so far confined to the Middle Kingdom.
但最近，出现了一个更令人不安的趋势，值得庆幸的是，到目前为止，它似乎仅限于中王国。
Thank you, online shopping, for if we were to have in person requested the purchase of a set of fake belly buttons, at any vendor, irrespective of their particular trade or location in our fair City, we are fairly sure we would never, never, live down the embarrassment.
谢谢你，网上购物，如果我们亲自要求在任何供应商处购买一套假肚脐，无论他们在我们公平城市的特定行业或位置如何，我们很确定我们永远不会，永远不会，忍受这种尴尬。
But here they are, on the opposing page in all their glory, and they cost a mere ¥9.34. For that, [in complete secrecy and about 48 hours] we got 64 identical temporary navel tattoos and the procedure as to their use.
但他们在这里，在相反的页面上，他们只花了9.34日元。 为此，[完全保密，大约48小时]我们得到了64个相同的临时肚脐纹身及其使用程序。
They come complete with QR codes leading to instructional videos designed for a 4 year old, who of course has all the use in the world for a navel tattoo.
它们配有二维码，可为4岁孩子设计指导视频，当然，他拥有世界上所有用于肚脐纹身的用途。
The modus operandi is is to place the temporary navel tattoo a few centimetres above the real deal and then pull a skirt or pair of trousers/shorts up by the same amount to obscure the latter. Hey presto; longer legs!
操作方式是将临时肚脐纹身放在真实纹身上方几厘米处，然后将一条裙子或一条裤子/短裤拉起来，以掩盖后者。 嘿，presto；长腿！
Meanwhile, the fake tattoo was not meant to also be spirited away; it needs to be shown off in style. Midriff revealing crop tops are also the way to go here as the perfect match for that now slimmed-down silhouette. And just to be sure, some of China’s fairer sex apply makeup around the tattoo to ensure a more genuine appearance.
与此同时，假纹身并不是要被带走的；它需要以时尚的方式展示。 露出腹部的短上衣也是这里的选择，与现在瘦身的轮廓完美搭配。 可以肯定的是，中国一些更公平的性爱者在纹身周围化妆，以确保看起来更真实。
Optical illusion? Kind of. But one of course could just wear shorter trousers or take up the hem, but why simplify things?
视觉错觉？ 有点。 但当然，一个人可以只穿短一点的裤子或收起下襬，但为什么要简化事情呢？
There is also another likely reason for the navel tattoo taking off in China as opposed to the west; almost every female in the Middle Kingdom knows darn well that the gods of Traditional Chinese Medicine shall frown down in disdain were they not to cover their abdomen to keep it warm.
肚脐纹身在中国与西方相比，还有另一个可能的原因；中王国的几乎每个女性都很清楚，如果他们不遮住腹部保暖，中医之神会不情地皱着眉头。
But come on, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Going down the line a bit and assuming any form of intimacy was ever going to take place, the presumed reaction of any given partner upon discovery of the original navel would be, “What the ****?! Two?! What is this? The Man with the Golden Gun?”.
但来吧，让我们进入要点。 稍微往下走一点，假设任何形式的亲密关系都会发生，任何给定的伴侣在发现原始肚脐时的假定反应将是，“什么****？！ 两个？！ 这是什么？ 持金枪的人？”。
It’s a joke that was also not lost on a user of China’s Instagram, Xiaohongshu. “Every beauty has two belly buttons! Here’s the secret to lengthening your legs!”, they said, as Premium Beauty News reported last year.
这是一个在中国Instagram用户小红书上也没有失去的笑话。 “每个美女都有两个肚脐！ 正如Premium Beauty News去年报道的那样，这就是延长腿部的秘诀！”他们说。
So between the dragons, navels, waists and wrists, China once again has, this time in the Department of Supposed Beauty, aced it like no other country ever could. But what any horned, toothed and fire-breathing serpent in the Middle Kingdom is supposed to do with a second belly button is beyond us.
因此，在龙、肚脐、腰部和手腕之间，中国再次，这次在假定的美部，比其他任何国家都能做到。 但是，在中王国，任何有角、有牙齿和喷火的蛇都应该用第二个肚脐做什么，这超出了我们的想象。