📖Written by: MSY

🗓️Published on: December 19, 2025

🌙 Moonlight Lovers, 🍵 Green Tea Schemes, 🌸 White Lotuses & 🖤 Black Lotuses: Chinese Slang in Manhua and Novels

If you’ve spent time reading Chinese manhua or web novels, you’ve probably stumbled across phrases that don’t translate neatly into English. They’re vivid, metaphorical, and packed with cultural nuance. For international readers, they can feel like puzzles—but once you crack them, they unlock whole new layers of meaning.

As both a translator and avid reader, I get to experience these terms from two sides: interpreting the cultural flavor for English readers, while also enjoying the emotional resonance they carry. Today, let’s explore four of the most iconic slang terms: Bai Yue Guang (白月光), Lu Cha Biao (绿茶婊), Bai Lian Hua (白莲花), and Hei Lian Hua (黑莲花). They’re everywhere in modern fiction and online culture, and understanding them will deepen your appreciation of storytelling in manhua and novels.

🌙 Bai Yue Guang – The Moonlight Lover

Origin: The phrase “white moonlight” comes from classical Chinese imagery. Moonlight symbolizes longing and melancholy—Li Bai famously wrote about gazing at the moon and missing home. Later, Eileen Chang’s novella Red Rose, White Rose gave it a modern twist. Pop dramas like Story of Yanxi Palace helped cement the term.

Modern slang: Refers to someone’s first love or idealized crush—beautiful, pure, and unreachable.

Translator insight: I often keep it as Bai Yue Guang with a footnote, or render it as “Moonlight Lover / First Love Ideal.”

Reader perspective: Nostalgic and poetic, but also frustratingly idealized. ✨

🍵 Lu Cha Biao – The “Green Tea” Schemer

Origin: First appeared on Weibo around 2013, describing women who pretended to be pure while scheming for wealthy partners.

Modern slang: Refers to anyone who acts sweet and harmless but manipulates behind the scenes.

Translator insight: Flattening it to “schemer” loses the bite. I usually keep “Green Tea” with a footnote.

Reader perspective: I love to hate these characters. Watching them get exposed is satisfying. 🍵

🌸 Bai Lian Hua – The White Lotus

Origin: The lotus symbolizes purity in Chinese culture. Zhou Dunyi’s essay On the Love of the Lotus praised it as noble. Modern slang flipped it: now it’s sarcastic shorthand for hypocrites.

Modern slang: Describes someone who maintains a “pure and flawless” persona while being manipulative or self-righteous.

Translator insight: I translate it as “White Lotus” but add context to convey sarcasm.

Reader perspective: Sanctimonious, moralistic, and secretly scheming—they’re perfect foils for protagonists. 🌸

🖤 Hei Lian Hua – The Black Lotus

Origin: A subversion of the White Lotus trope. “Black” signifies a hardened, calculating heart. Popular in revenge-themed stories.

Modern slang: A heroine who looks delicate but is fierce, vengeful, and highly capable.

Translator insight: “Black Lotus” carries immediate cool factor. I keep it literal.

Reader perspective: My favorite archetype! Nothing beats the catharsis of a bullied heroine turning into a Black Lotus. 🖤

✨Why These Became Slang

• Cultural repurposing: Classical symbols flipped into emotional archetypes.
• Internet spread: Weibo and Baidu turned them into memes.
• Storytelling shorthand: Instantly signals character types.
• Social critique: Exposes the gap between appearance and reality.
• Power fantasy: Black Lotus reflects desire for agency and revenge.

📖 Examples in Manhua and Novels

• A male lead’s Bai Yue Guang reappears, stirring conflict.
• A Lu Cha Biao rival pretends to faint, smirking when the heroine is scolded.
• A Bai Lian Hua teacher lectures morality while secretly playing favorites.

These archetypes aren’t just stereotypes—they drive plot tension and emotional resonance. ❤️

💭 Reader & Translator Thoughts

As a reader:

• Bai Yue Guang moments are nostalgic but frustrating.
• Lu Cha Biao rivals make me laugh and rage.
• Bai Lian Hua sanctimony makes me want to throw the book.

As a translator: Capturing the glow, sarcasm, and irony in English is a balancing act. 🎨✍️

📝 Wrapping Up

• Bai Yue Guang teaches us about longing 🌙
• Lu Cha Biao warns us about false innocence 🍵
• Bai Lian Hua critiques performative virtue 🌸
• Hei Lian Hua celebrates agency and revenge 🖤

Together, they enrich storytelling with metaphors instantly recognizable to Chinese readers but needing unpacking for international audiences.

🗣 Reader Engagement

Which archetype annoys you the most in manhua?

• Sigh at the Bai Yue Guang?
• Rage at the Lu Cha Biao?
• Roll your eyes at the Bai Lian Hua?
• Cheer for the Black Lotus?

Share your thoughts below—I’d love to hear which one makes you throw the book or keep turning the pages! 📚

*This article is an original commentary written for educational and discussion purposes.