The humble watermelon。 The epitome of summer。 But how do you know if it’s perfectly ripe? Well， one theory is that if you knock hard on the outside， the sound you hear will help determine if it’s ready to eat。

　　普普通通的西瓜，是夏天的标志。但是怎样才能知道西瓜是否熟透呢?有一个办法：敲一下西瓜，你能根据声音判断西瓜是否熟了。

　　That theory lead to a huge online debate in China about what kind of people engaged in the art of ’watermelon knocking’?

　　这种办法在中国网上引起了热烈的讨论，哪里的人才懂得“敲西瓜”的技巧?

　　The discussion， which thousands of people contributed to on the Chinese micro blogging site Sina Weibo， was kicked off by an obscure event thousands of miles away in Italy。

　　远隔万里的意大利发生了一件令人费解的事件，引起了成千上万中国人在新浪微博上的讨论。

　　It all began when a Chinese social media user posted the picture below of a sign in an Italian supermarket asking customers not to knock on the watermelons。 The sign was stuck in a crate full of watermelons which read： “please stop knocking on the watermelons， they will not respond to it!”

　　事情的起因是一位中国网友在网上发了一张照片，一家意大利超市立起牌子，要求顾客不要再敲西瓜了。牌子插在装满西瓜的板条箱里，上面写着：“尊敬的顾客，请您不要再敲西瓜了，它们是真的不会回应的!”

　　There is no indication that the supermarket was targeting this message at customers with Chinese heritage。 The sign was in Italian not Mandarin。 But somehow it was taken as an attack on a practice which some Chinese observers regarded as being unique to their national customs。

　　没有证据表明这家超市针对的是中国顾客，牌子上写的是意大利语，不是中文。但是，一些中国人莫名其妙地将其视为对中国独一无二的传统风俗的攻击。

　　According to What’s On Weibo， the photo was widely shared after Chinese media outlets reported that the notice was aimed directly at Chinese customers。 But some social media users were quick to establish that the art of knocking watermelons is not exclusive to China and is in fact universal。 The viral photo was originally posted by a user on Weibo who calls himself ’Isolated Guardian’。 He is allegedly a Chinese man living in Milan。 The photo has since been removed from his page。

　　据What’s On Weibo称，一些中国媒体认为牌子上的警告是针对中国顾客，之后这张照片在网上被频频转发。但是一些网友很快表示，并不只是中国人敲西瓜，很多其他国家也使用这个小技巧。这张广为传播的照片最初是由一名微博账号为“孤岛守护者“的网友发布的。据称，他是一位生活在米兰的中国人，已经将照片从微博上删除。

　　The topic of watermelons is another example of how some people in China are concerned about how they are perceived around the world。 Recently， China’s foreign ministry denied reports that Chinese food companies were canning human flesh and selling it in Africa as corned beef。 The K Zambian tabloid ACHEPA has since issued an apology。 Chinese tourists were also under fire from a model in Thailand who accused them of stepping on her feet and pushing their way to the front of the line。 She also blamed them for dirty airport toilets。

　　一些中国人非常在乎外国人如何看待自己，敲西瓜事件只是其中一个例子。最近，中国外交部否认了中国食品公司用人肉制成罐头牛肉并出口到非洲的报道。赞比亚当地小报ACHEPA为此表示歉意。一位泰国模特批判中国游客踩着她的脚随意插队，并斥责中国游客将机场的厕所弄脏。

　　Chinese social media users are keen to address and restore their reputation online。 Online users are keen to show they know better， especially on the subject of watermelons。

　　中国网友希望在网上重塑形象，也希望展现出他们懂得更多，尤其是在敲西瓜这件事儿上。

（编辑：何莹莹）