ETYMOLOGY
The term's transformation mirrors China's culinary renaissance. Initially appearing in Ming Dynasty novels as 'glutton', it gained new life during the 2012 documentary A Bite of China. Food bloggers began reclaiming the term like how 'geek' evolved in the West.
Platforms like Dianping（大众点评）report 68% users self-identify as chihuo when searching restaurants. May 17th is unofficially 'Chihuo Day'（吃货节）with food delivery apps seeing 200% order surges.
Cultural nuance: Calling someone chihuo can be a compliment if said with smile, but offensive if used in formal contexts. As Shanghai food critic Chen Xiaohui says: 'Being chihuo means having PhD-level knowledge of soup dumplings'.