In fact, "Old buffalo eats young grass" has a much broader meaning, referring to older men who like young women, not just overseas Vietnamese men. This proverb is somewhat similar to the saying "Old people play drums", meaning "old people still desire things that are not suitable for their age" because drums are drums made of paper, just a toy for children.
In terms of origin, the saying "Old buffalo eats young grass" did not appear in the 1980s - 1990s, but from the time of Su Dongpo in China, far away, that is, from the 11th - 12th century.
The old cow eats young grass is a translation of the meaning of a poem by Su Dongpo from the Song Dynasty: Lao ox eats young grass (老牛吃嫩草), which means "The old cow eats young grass". (Please note, in the past many people thought that ox (牛) was a buffalo, but in fact ox (牛) is a cow, and water ox (水牛) is a buffalo).
Zhang Xian was a famous poet, a friend of Su Dongpo. One day, Zhang Xian (80 years old) invited Su Dongpo to attend his concubine's wedding party, but did not specify that the bride was only... 18 years old. Su Dongpo arrived, stunned by the scene of "an old man marrying a young girl". Understanding his friend's intention, Zhang Xian smiled and immediately recited four lines: "I am eighty years old, you are eighteen, She is a beautiful woman, I have white hair. Going crazy with her, we are the same age, only sixty years apart".
Seeing Zhang Xian pleased with the scene of "Old cow eating young grass", Su Dongpo mocked him: "The bride is eighteen, the groom is eighty, Silver hair next to red jewelry; The mandarin ducks are trapped under the blanket at night, A pear blossom tree presses down on the rose apple". When composing the sentence "One pear blossom tree presses down on the rose apple" (一树梨花压海棠), Su Dongpo meant that Zhang Xian was the "pear tree" and the bride was the "rose apple". The pear blossom tree pressing down on the rose apple implied "Old cow eating young grass". Since then, the phrase " Old ox kidney and tender grass" (老牛吃嫩草) spread throughout China and was later recorded in the Hakka Common Use Dictionary of the Taiwan Ministryof Education .
In English, there are also idioms that correspond to the phrase "Old buffalo eats young grass " or "Old cow eats young grass" , such as May December Romance, May-December relationship. "May" refers to a young woman, while "December" refers to an old man. It is believed that the term May December Romance comes from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer in the Middle Ages. The term is also simply called May December or to rob the cradle, meaning to marry/have a relationship with someone younger than you.
On the other hand, if an older woman has an affair or marries a younger man, she is called "Old woman's plane pilot". This is a metaphor in Vietnam: pilot (young man), old woman (old woman). In Cantonese, there is also an idiom for this case: bao lao nguu (煲老藕, bou1 lou5 ngau5), meaning "boil old lotus root", meaning "old wife marries young husband".
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