Tuesday was ugly for Chinese A-shares. Here are the hard numbers, then the interesting part: what 800+ retail investors actually said while it happened.

The numbers

Shanghai Composite: 3658.03, -1.48%

Shenzhen Component: -2.96%

ChiNext: -4.37% (lost the 2600 level)

STAR 50: -2.78%

Limit-down stocks: 49 vs limit-up: only 33

Margin trading balance: -5.53 billion yuan in a single day (deleveraging)

The 4 biggest equity ETFs (ChiNext ETF, STAR50 ETF, CSI300 ETF, KWEB): -5.51 billion yuan net outflow

The sentiment paradox

I run a daily sentiment scraper over Chinese retail forums (Sina Guba, East Money Guba). Yesterday's 24-hour window pulled 800+ comments across 5 platforms .…