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Q: From where did the phrases "This is China" and "Bad China Day" originate?
Is there an identifiable"origin" for either of these phrases? Like a blog post or 4chan/reddit thread or something? Or are these phrases much older than that?
Add, "In China...." to that and you have the trifecta.
I believe the original phrase was from 1275: "Cina Bad Day" said by Marco Polo as he returned from a long day trying to find real silk.
The other sayings were coined by his sailors as they stumbled out of massage parlors and KTV clubs.
There is also "Get out of China'' and "You don't Know China", that I heard alot,
I heard TIA before I ever heard TIC, so maybe it came from Africa like the rest of the human race.
I have been traveling for twelve years and I have heard both of those in several countries. They are old.
I recall the day. I was at Tim's Texas roadhouse and we were having a meeting about buzz phrases to describe China. My buddy, Rick came up with TIC between shots of vodka and some drunk tourist just mentioned "bad China day" after a shit afternoon at the silk market. It went from there. You're welcome.
When I first came to China, an old China hat (lived in Hong Kong for 10 years, to and from China Mainland for many more) taught me TIC (This Is China). He also taught me TIFC, for those especially memorable times....you can guess what the F stands for 
Isn't "Made In China" a more recognizable way of describing just about anything that is JUNK?
I know I use it often when working on things... ..plumbing, heating electrical, cupboards, doors, beds..........at least I can laugh at it now.
TIC is changed from T.I.A. This is Africa, from the movie Blood Diamonds. People *might* have been saying it before that, but it didn't become "common" until after that movie was out, circa 2006. As for "BCD" the earliest reference I remember is hearing about someone complaining about how no matter what they did on a day, nothing went right, like having a bad hair day, but about China.
I can't verify either of these, just telling you what I've heard/seen/experienced.
As a matter of fact the first time the phrase 'This Is China' was used on this site was when it was referenced (from the movie 'Blood Diamonds'), quite ironically, by a certain fellow named mArtiAn. He felt a little silly using it, as problems in China do not hold the same weight as those in the land of its African cousins, but use it he did, only to see it used once again by his own friend Hugh G Rection. This surprised and pleased him a little, and...............the rest is history.
His parents are very proud.
