<p>That is the tricky part of the Chinese. Words often appear to be &quot;left&quot;, but are actually &quot;right&quot;.</p>
<p>原则上不行 (In principle, no) means &quot;Ok in reality&quot;
原则上可以 (In principle, it is ok) means &quot;In reality, no&quot;.</p>
<p>发挥主人翁精神 (act like the owner) means you are not the owner, otherwise, you don't need to act like that.</p>
<p>发挥主人翁精神 is a set phrase. It means doing your job well in your position(like you are the owner).  I believe this expression is invented by an official writer.</p>
<p>主人翁 appears to be the host or owner, but not actually, as 发挥 means to act. Acting like a host means you are not the host or owner.</p>
<p>But why not 主人精神? This is bad, it reminds slaves and masters.</p>
<p>Why do they want you to be a host or owner? Cuz in the old times, the means of production are publicly owned.</p>
<p>Workers don't own anything and don't care about their job under the circumstances. In order to motivate workers, official documents claim:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>你们要发挥主人翁精神.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Do your job like you are the owner (although you're not)</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-25T14:05:03.293Z
Wow, never noticed this before, mind opening for me
lilysirius
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-25T14:11:55.913Z
@lilysirius I am not sure if my answer is appropriate, cuz my point depends on how the language is used by people, not the language itself.
sfy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-24T19:18:25.233Z
2023-07-24T19:18:25.233Z
sfy
<p>In modern Chinese:</p>
<p>主人 = master; owner; host</p>
<p>主人翁 = 1. protagonist (same as 主角 = lead role)/ 2. 主人 (with 翁 as an honorific)</p>
<p>「主人翁」一般指「主角」，但某些情況下可解作「主人」較為恭敬的叫法</p>
<p>&quot;主人翁&quot; generally refers to the &quot;主角&quot;, but in some cases, it can be interpreted as a more respectful address for &quot;主人&quot;.</p>
<p>发扬主人翁精神 sounds like &quot;Promote the spirit of the hero&quot; because a host (主人) does not use the 翁 honorific to describe himself, he would call himself 主人家 (the host's side)</p>
<p>The most likely scenario is the writer mistakenly added 翁 to 主人(host), It is like Mr.Ho calling himself &quot;I, Mr.Ho&quot;</p>
<p>发扬東道主精神 = &quot;Promote the spirit of the host&quot;</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-24T09:55:01.893Z
I did see  "当好东道主,热情迎嘉宾", so I  believe 东道主 is opposed to guests from outside, but they will not use 主人翁 in this context, or at least I haven't seen it with my own eyes.
NanningYouth
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-24T14:52:22.117Z
主人翁精神 is a pretty established phrase in recent years; I wouldn't call it a mistake.
L. F.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-24T03:45:29.613Z
2023-07-24T04:25:31.327Z
2023-07-24T04:25:31.327Z
Tang Ho
<p>As we know 主人is the host,主人翁the old male host, is it necessary to stress the gender and age in the slogan 发扬主人翁精神 that can often be seen in official documents or mainstream news reports? What is the difference?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-24T04:37:06.600Z
There’s also 主人公, which I think is the same (?).
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-24T04:59:14.573Z
Yes 主人公 = 主人翁 = protagonist
Tang Ho
<word-choice>
Why is 主人翁 used instead of just 主人 in 发扬主人翁精神?
# Why is 主人翁 used instead of just 主人 in 发扬主人翁精神?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-07-24)

As we know 主人is the host,主人翁the old male host, is it necessary to stress the gender and age in the slogan 发扬主人翁精神 that can often be seen in official documents or mainstream news reports? What is the difference?

**Tags:** word-choice

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: There’s also 主人公, which I think is the same (?).  
> **username_2**: Yes 主人公 = 主人翁 = protagonist  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2023-07-24. Score: 2

That is the tricky part of the Chinese. Words often appear to be "left", but are actually "right".

原则上不行 (In principle, no) means "Ok in reality"
原则上可以 (In principle, it is ok) means "In reality, no".

发挥主人翁精神 (act like the owner) means you are not the owner, otherwise, you don't need to act like that.

发挥主人翁精神 is a set phrase. It means doing your job well in your position(like you are the owner). I believe this expression is invented by an official writer.

主人翁 appears to be the host or owner, but not actually, as 发挥 means to act. Acting like a host means you are not the host or owner.

But why not 主人精神? This is bad, it reminds slaves and masters.

Why do they want you to be a host or owner? Cuz in the old times, the means of production are publicly owned.

Workers don't own anything and don't care about their job under the circumstances. In order to motivate workers, official documents claim:

> 你们要发挥主人翁精神.

> Do your job like you are the owner (although you're not)

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Wow, never noticed this before, mind opening for me  
> **username_3**: @username_4 I am not sure if my answer is appropriate, cuz my point depends on how the language is used by people, not the language itself.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2023-07-24. Score: 2

In modern Chinese:

主人 = master; owner; host

主人翁 = 1. protagonist (same as 主角 = lead role)/ 2. 主人 (with 翁 as an honorific)

「主人翁」一般指「主角」，但某些情況下可解作「主人」較為恭敬的叫法

"主人翁" generally refers to the "主角", but in some cases, it can be interpreted as a more respectful address for "主人".

发扬主人翁精神 sounds like "Promote the spirit of the hero" because a host (主人) does not use the 翁 honorific to describe himself, he would call himself 主人家 (the host's side)

The most likely scenario is the writer mistakenly added 翁 to 主人(host), It is like Mr.Ho calling himself "I, Mr.Ho"

发扬東道主精神 = "Promote the spirit of the host"

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I did see  "当好东道主,热情迎嘉宾", so I  believe 东道主 is opposed to guests from outside, but they will not use 主人翁 in this context, or at least I haven't seen it with my own eyes.  
> **username_5**: 主人翁精神 is a pretty established phrase in recent years; I wouldn't call it a mistake.  

---

