The Curiosity Chronicles

Curious About…Shanzhai Pets.

The Chinese have an um, complicated relationship with their canine friends. While in some provinces dog is still an acceptable food group, at the other end of the spectrum we have high-end dogs treated as the ultimate fashion accessory with thousands of dollars lavished on dyeing, grooming and transforming them into fantasy hybrid animals. For the record, all of the dogs in these pictures are real, none of this is Photoshopped.

Shanzhai (山寨) refers to Chinese imitation and pirated brands and goods, particularly electronics. Literally “mountain village” or “mountain stronghold”, the term refers to the mountain stockades of regional warlords or bandits, far away from official control. “Shanzhai” can also be stretched to refer to people who are lookalikes, low-quality or improved goods, as well as things done in parody. The frequent reference to shanzhai cell phones on the internet and in traditional media made people start labeling low-cost imitation cultural activities as shanzhai as well. Some of the most well-known events include the shanzhai National Spring Gala, the shanzhai Lecture Room, the shanzhai Olympic Torch Relay and even the shanzhai Nobel Prize. One thing these events have in common is that they all imitate high-end, popular yet authoritative events in which grass-roots power usually has no participating role. Some low-end performing agencies have made a business out of hiring people who look like pop stars to perform in rural areas, where people cannot afford to watch the performance of the actual stars. Thus shanzhai Jay Chou (“山寨周杰伦”), shanzhai Andy Lau (“山寨刘德华”) and shanzhai Faye Wong (“山寨王菲”) can be seen performing in many underdeveloped places in China.

The trend for the last couple of years here has been to trim and dye dogs to resemble shanzhai versions of other animals - pandas being top of the list of course, but also tigers, bison, lions, even camels. Wildly popular with locals, especially children, shanzhai pets are a huge phenomena here and there are frequent pet fairs, shows and events to showcase them and their owners.

What Of It? I’m certainly not condoning dyeing animals with toxic chemicals or even shaving their coats (you only have to look at the bison dog’s face above to see how unhappy he is) but there is something interesting to me behind shanzhai - it’s a uniquely Chinese way of not having to compromise. You want a dog that’s also a tiger? Why choose? Have both! Shanzhai is, for me, moving beyond fakery and into something else - uniquely ground-up and Chinese way to somewhat cheekily and innocently create something new from found resources.

I Am Curious about culturally-relevant approaches towards innovation, how one mans fake is another’s original creation, how concepts such as shanzhai can be perceived less as stealing and more as an original process of creation in its own right.

Curious about…老百姓 Laobaixing.

Lao baixing (老百姓; lit. “old hundred surnames”) in Chinese means “ordinary folks”, “the people”, or “commoners.” The word Lao (Chinese:老) is used here as an adjective, which give it a warm and friendly touch. To me it meant “everyday people” and was evident everywhere as simple, human touches that were added to things: a lid for your tea to keep it warm, the raucous wet markets with the haggling and ensuing laughter that went on there, the ballroom dancing in Fuxing Park, everyone swaying together, their eyes closed, dreaming of better times. Design has mainly forgotten the laobaixing, preferring to design seemingly sophisticated products for elite people, but I wondered the entire time I was in China who was designing laobaixing: everyday products for everyday people. a billion of them. I want us to. 

What of It? There are a billion consumers in China who need products, services and experiences designed by, with and for them. To not engage with Loabaixing is not not engage in the real China, or the possibility of being a small part of a billion people’s everyday lives.

Curious about…Innocent Innovation.

What Of It? Everywhere you go in China there is abundant Innocent Innovation. People using, adapting, co-opting and collectively redesigning their immediate surroundings. And the logic of it is fantastic: of course you should dry a coat like this.

[Flash 10 is required to watch video]

Curious about…China.

What Of It? The innocence of exercise, the lack of inhibition, the collective purpose. Nobody judging, age respected, harmony and balance.

The simplicity of this brought me to tears.