What's The 'Chinese Beaver' Meme? The Animation Of 'A Better Tomorrow' Featuring A Brown Bear, Gopher, Or Whatever It Is, Explained

An animation commonly referred to as the "Chinese Beaver" meme has taken over Twitter / X and the rest of social media. The brown bear, beaver, gopher, groundhog or whatever kind of animal it is, is based on a scene in the 1986 A Better Tomorrow film.

The beaver speaking Chinese has many wondering what he's saying. Whatever it is, many think it's probably emotional, expressed via memes and reactions that proclaim, "He's literally me," in both an ironic and seemingly earnest way.

So, what is this beaver saying and where did the animation come from? Let's explain.

What Movie Is The 'Chinese Beaver' Meme From?

The original movie scene without the beaver is from the 1986 film A Better Tomorrow which was created in Hong Kong and directed by John Woo. The film inspired a long-standing film series that has continued into the present day.

Where Did The Orignal 'Chinese Beaver' Animation Come From?

What's now known as the "Chinese Beaver" animation was created last year by a user named B teaches animation (乙人教动画) on the Chinese social media site Bilibili. On the website, the video received over 53,000 likes in a year.

Why Is The 'Chinese Beaver' A Meme?

The animation from Bilibili was reposted to TikTok about a month ago where it, along with a similar animation created by B teaches animation, gained virality among American internet users.

The TikTok videos were then reposted to Twitter / X where they gained even more acclaim, leading to memetic usage in late 2023. Overall, people found it funny that they didn't know what the bear was saying, referencing the catchphrase "This probably funny" as a way to humorously point out the obvious language barrier.

The "Chinese Beaver" has since become known as a so-called "Literally Me Guy," similar to other male idols like Ryan Gosling. The "Chinese Beaver" is a funny addition to this genre because his speech is seemingly emotional yet he's an animal speaking Chinese which is inherently nonsensical to the average English-speaking meme enjoyer.

lol same https://t.co/wtCBwjlCrj pic.twitter.com/HdtXcLdLRk

— The GM 🇨🇻 (@hibsidnolic) December 4, 2023

For the full history of the Chinese Beaver Animation, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.