Homophonic puns in Standard Chinese

Standard Chinese, like many Sinitic varieties, has a significant number of homophonous syllables and words due to its limited phonetic inventory. The Cihai dictionary lists 149 characters representing the syllable "yì". (However, modern Chinese words average about two syllables, so the high rate of "syllable" homophony does not cause a problem for communication.) Many Chinese take great delight in using the large amount of homophones in the language to form puns, and they have become an important component of Chinese culture. In Chinese, homophones are used for a variety of purposes from rhetoric and poetry to advertisement and humor, and are also common in Chinese loans, for example phono-semantic matching of brand names, computer jargon, technological terms and toponyms.
This article is intended to present a list of common or representative homophonous puns in Mandarin Chinese, though many of the examples given are often homophones in other varieties as well. Asterisks before the entry denote near homophones.
Terms in Chinese.
There is no common Chinese word for "pun" in the oral language, although the phrase 一 may sometimes be used. has the same meaning as a pun but has a more formal or literary register, such as 'double-entendre' in English. It typically refers to the creation of puns in literature. Homophonic puns in particular are called or more simply while homophonic characters are called .
Spring Festival traditions.
Chinese New Year, known in China as Spring Festival, has an abundance of unique traditions associated with it. Some of these traditions are more widespread than others. Among the many New Year's customs are a few whose meaning is derived from puns of Mandarin words.
Circumventing internet censorship.
Homophonic puns are often used to get around various forms of censorship on the internet.
Text-messages and internet chat.
Shortening words and phrases is a common and often necessary practice for internet chat and especially SMS text-messages in any language. Speakers of Mandarin Chinese have also developed conventional abbreviations for commonly used words. Some of these are based on homophony or near-homophony. 
Political criticism.
Critics of government policy in China have frequently employed puns as a means of avoiding criticizing the government too directly. 
Gifts.
In Chinese culture the giving of certain gifts is traditionally avoided because of unfortunate homophony or near homophony.
It is undesirable to give someone a clock or (depending on the region) other timepiece as a gift. Traditional superstitions regard this as counting the seconds to the recipient's death. Another common interpretation of this is that the phrase "to give a clock" () in Chinese is pronounced "sòng zhōng" in Mandarin, which is a homophone of a phrase for "terminating" or "attending a funeral" (both can be written as (traditional) or (simplified)). Cantonese people consider such a gift as a curse.
This homonymic pair works in both Mandarin and Cantonese, although in most parts of China only clocks and large bells, and not watches, are called "zhong", and watches are commonly given as gifts in China.
However, should such a gift be given, the "unluckiness" of the gift can be countered by exacting a small monetary payment so the recipient is buying the clock and thereby counteracting the ("give") expression of the phrase.
Objects of good fortune.
A symbolic language of prosperity and good fortune has evolved over the centuries from the similarity in pronunciation between some every day objects and common lucky words. Examples are especially common in the decorative arts.
Other notable puns.
The "Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal" for December 1882, claims that the residents of the western hills outside Beijing were not allowed to store ice at that time because of the similarity between the word for "ice" (, "bīng") and the word for "soldier" (, "bīng"). At this time the capital was under considerable threat of rebellions. The rule is presumably an attempt to avoid confusion between troops convening outside the city ahead of an invasion and the otherwise common practice of storing large quantities of ice for the preservation of meat and vegetables.
Following the Cultural Revolution, the Communist Party of China vigorously promoted the slogan " (") meaning "Look forward [to the future]". The slogan was an oft-repeated encouragement which emphasized working toward a common destiny and discouraged deep analysis of past policies. Today it is common to hear ", but it is often accompanied by a gesture of thumb and fore-fingers rubbing together to indicate that the speaker is talking about money. The new phrase, " is pronounced exactly the same, but its meaning, "look for the money," contrasts sharply with the old slogan. The popularity of this pun is explained as a result of the dramatic move towards capitalism that took place in China following the country's "reform and opening up".
Project 571 (), the numeric codename for an alleged plot by supporters of Lin Biao to attempt a coup d'etat and overthrow Mao Zedong in 1971, was named by Lin Biao's son Lin Liguo as a play on its near-homonym of "armed uprising" ( or ).
It is common in China to give apples on Christmas Eve. The custom originates from the similarity of the Mandarin words for "apple" () and "Christmas Eve" (). The first syllable of each word sounds identical.