Tag: memes

Ethnography of Tech

Unofficial Rules of the Road for Americans on Rednote

Posted on by Jason Li

A drawing of the Rednote icon with shouty arms sticking out of it next to a smiling blob. Speech bubbles are coming out of the app icon with previews of some the rules outlined later in the article.

Last month, a wave of TikTok users flocked to Rednote (小红书) during its short-lived ban in the US, coalescing under the hashtag #TikTokRefugee. The Chinese social networking platform subsequently topped US mobile app store charts, and the predominantly Chinese-speaking and China-based users on Rednote welcomed their foreign visitors. As the latest episode from the 新新人类 Pixel Perfect podcast points out,…

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China Meme Report

Chaoyang Trap: a newsletter about the latest internet memes, media and subcultures in China today

Posted on by The Editor

Editor’s note: Below are some excerpts from the second issue of Chaoyang Trap about trending memes and subcultures on China’s internet. For more consider subscribing to their newsletter.

Nisu (泥塑) is an online subculture of female fans fantasizing about male celebrities being female, often in the role of a lover, a sister, a…

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China Meme Report

From rice bunnies to grass mud horses, an interview with An Xiao Mina

Posted on by An Xiao Mina

In this Refinery 29 podcast, host Elisa Kreisinger speaks with An Xiao Mina about how internet memes and social movements are intertwined in China.

Topics cover include:

  • How the #MeToo movement tripped up trying to cross the Great Firewall only to emerge as a series of cute homonymic emojis: 🍚🐰 (rice bunny)
  • How An’s…

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China Meme Report · Ethnography of Tech

Follow the Magpie, a rare stream of primary research about social media in China

Posted on by Jason Li

Christina Xu, Tricia Wang, and Pheona Chen just launched a new newsletter about the conversations and trends happening on the internet in China today and we should all subscribe now.

In their opening essay about the project, they write:

Our goal is to create something…

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Digital murals of Cantonese proverbs and profanity… translated

Posted on by Jason Li

Digital mural of Cantonese profanity By Ahto

Graphic artist Ahto (阿塗) has just released his second digital mural documenting modern Cantonese in Hong Kong: this time, it features Cantonese profanity. Originally featured in City Magazine, Ahto has released an animated version online!

Kind commenters on the Cantonese subreddit have translated some of the terms depicted above. Here’s a selection of…

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Upcoming event: memes, puns and selfies, a look at Chinese digital culture

Posted on by The Editor
Illustration draft
Illustration by Jason Li.

Our very own An Xiao Mina will be hosting an evening at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco next week (July 2). From their website:

Writer, critic, artist and technologist An Xiao Mina has designed an interactive program that will explore the visual culture of the Chinese Internet. First,…

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China Meme Report

How the Umbrella ‘Revolution’ meme hurt the movement in Hong Kong

Posted on by Jason Li

HKClassBoycottSelfies

 

The ongoing protests for democracy in Hong Kong have been dubbed by many as the “Umbrella Revolution.” But days before the term was created, the dominant internet meme supporting the protests was built around student selfies accompanied by hashtags #HKClassBoycott and #HKStudentStrike. This was in line with what was then a students-only protest. Supporters participated by finding a photo…

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China Meme Report

Four Thoughts on Ai Weiwei’s Gangnam Style: Meme-ing as Activism

Posted on by An Xiao Mina

China Meme Report banner

Until recently, I hadn’t seen Ai Weiwei’s Gangnam Style remix, but I definitely heard about it.  Everyone on my social media feeds has been talking about, and people have emailed it to me.  I’ve seen hilarious-looking pictures and read the commentary. But I’ve just not been able to sit down and watch it.

Why…

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