7, Growth of grassroots cultural movements
The Chinese word "Shanzhai" literally means a small mountain village, but it's now used to describe products that have names similar to famous brands or people who imitate celebrities. It became an accepted name for fake goods after "Shanzhai Cellphones" produced by small individual workshops in southern China became popular in the mainland market over the past two years. Besides Shanzhai electronic products, of which there are many, there are "Shanzhai" movies, "Shanzhai" stars and even a "Shanzhai" Spring Festival Gala, a copy of the 25-year-old traditional show presented by CCTV on Chinese Lunar New Year's eve. Some among these things are really talented. "Shanzhai" has become a culture of its own, symbolizing anything that imitates something famous for fun, for irony and for parody. Many strange and funny words, including "Shanzhai" were born on Internet message boards and chatrooms. Words that don't follow traditional grammar and have new and bizarre meanings, have started to enter the Chinese language and shape modern culture; if you don’t know them you are outdated. Grassroots cultural movements continue their growth in 2008 thanks to the power of info sharing on the World Wide Web.
