The Baidu 10 Mythical Creatures (), alternatively Ten Baidu Deities, was a humorous

hoax A hoax (plural: hoaxes) is a widely publicised falsehood created to deceive its audience with false and often astonishing information, with the either malicious or humorous intent of causing shock and interest in as many people as possible. S ...

from the interactive encyclopedia

Baidu Baike Baidu Baike (; zh, c= 百度百科, p=Bǎidù Bǎikē, l=Baidu Encyclopedia, also known as Baidu Wiki) is a semi-regulated Chinese-language collaborative online encyclopedia owned by the Chinese technology company Baidu. Modelled after Wiki ...

which became a popular and widespread

Internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in early 2009. These ten hoaxes are regarded by

Western media Western media is the mass media of the Western world. During the Cold War, Western media contrasted with Soviet media. Western media has gradually expanded into developing countries (often, non-Western countries) around the world. History T ...

as a response to online censorship in China of profanity, and considered as an example of citizens' clever circumvention of censorship.

Details

Arising in early 2009, the meme began as a group of vandalised contributions to

. A series of humorous articles was created describing fictional creatures, each animal with a name vaguely referring to a Chinese profanity (utilizing homophones and characters having different tones). Eventually, images, videos (such as faux-documentaries) and even a song regarding aspects of the meme were released. It was thought that the Baidu hoaxes were written in response to recent strict enforcement of keyword filters in China, introduced in 2009, which attempted to eliminate all forms of profanity. The Baidu Baike "articles" initially began with "Four Mythical Creatures" (The "Grass Mud Horse", "French-Croatian Squid", "Small Elegant Butterfly" and "Chrysanthemum Silkworms"), and were later extended to ten. The memes were widely discussed on Chinese Internet forums, and most users concluded that the initial aim of the hoaxes was to satirise and ridicule the pointlessness of the new keyword filters. The meme is interpreted by most Chinese online as a form of direct protest rather than motiveless intentional disruption to Baidu services. After the hoaxes were posted, news of the articles spread quickly online on joke websites, popular web portals and forums such as Baidu Tieba, while a large number of posts were sent on the

Tencent QQ Tencent QQ (), also known as QQ, is an instant messaging software service and web portal developed by the Mainland Chinese technology company Tencent. QQ offers services that provide online social games, music, shopping, microblogging, movies, ...

Groups chat service. There have also been various parodies of the meme created (such as the ''"Baidu 10 Legendary Weapons"'' and ''"Baidu 10 Secret Delicacies"''). Meme references can be found throughout Chinese websites.

The 10 Mythical Creatures

The mythical creatures have names which are innocuous in written Chinese, but sound similar to and recognizable as profanities when spoken. References to the creatures, particularly the Grass Mud Horse, are widely used as symbolic defiance of the widespread

Internet censorship in China The People's Republic of China (PRC) internet censorship, censors both the publishing and viewing of online material. Many controversial events are censored from news coverage, preventing many Chinese citizens from knowing about the actions of ...

; censorship itself is symbolized by the river crab, a near-homophone of ''harmony'' (a euphemism for censorship in reference to the

Harmonious Society The Harmonious Society (also known as Socialist Harmonious Society) is a socioeconomic concept in China that is recognized as a response to the increasing alleged social injustice and inequality emerging in mainland Chinese society as a result ...

Cao Ni Ma

Cao Ni Ma (, ), literally 'Grass Mud Horse', was supposedly a species of

alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. Traditionally, alpacas were kept in herds that grazed on the level heights of the Andes of Southern Peru, Western Bolivia, Ecuador, and Northern Chile. More recentl ...

. The name is derived from cào nǐ mā (), which translates to 'fuck your mother'. Note that the comparison with the "animal" name is not an actual

homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning or in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (past tense of "rise"), or spelled differently, a ...

, but rather the two terms have the same consonants and vowels with different tones, which are represented by different characters. Their greatest enemy are " river crabs" (, , resembles meaning 'harmony', referring to government censorship to create a "harmonious society", while noting that river crabs are depicted wearing three wristwatches, vaguely referring to the

Three Represents The Three Represents, officially the Theory of Three Represents, is a political doctrine that defines the role of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Chinese society. It legitimized the entry of private business owners and bourgeois elements i ...

, where 'represent' and 'to wear a watch' are homophones, both pronounced ), and are said to be frequently seen in combat against these crabs. Videos of songs, as well as "documentaries" about "Grass Mud Horse" started appearing on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and elsewhere on the Internet. The video scored some 1.4 million hits; a cartoon attracted a quarter million more views; a nature documentary on its habits received 180,000 more. The "Grass Mud Horse" became widely known on the English-language web following the 11 March 2009 publication of a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' article on the phenomenon, sparking widespread discussion on blogs, and even attempts to create "Grass Mud Horse" themed merchandise, such as plush dolls.

Fa Ke You

Fa Ke You (, ), literally 'French-Croatian Squid' (with the name derived from the direct Chinese

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...

of ''fuck you'' in English), was supposedly a species of

squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

discovered simultaneously by France () and

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

(), hence the name. The Baidu Baike article claims that "Fa Ke You" is a species of

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

, aggressive

found in Europe. When agitated, it is said that they release a form of "white-coloured liquid", i.e.

semen Semen, also known as seminal fluid, is a bodily fluid that contains spermatozoon, spermatozoa which is secreted by the male gonads (sexual glands) and other sexual organs of male or hermaphrodite, hermaphroditic animals. In humans and placen ...

. These squids are said to cause great harm to humans when attacked. When some of these squids reached East Asia, it is said that they became hunted, and eaten with corn. Such a dish is known as (, "Corn French-Croatian Squid", referring to the fans of

Li Yuchun Li Yuchun ( zh, c=李宇春, p=Lǐ Yǔchūn; born March 10, 1984), also known by her stage name Chris Lee, is a Chinese singer, songwriter, DJ and actress. Her musical style is mainly based on electronic dance music and Chinese pop songs. She laun ...

, dubbed "corns"), being one of the world's top five greatest delicacies. An alternate name for the dish in question is (, 'Non-mainstream French-Croatian Squid'). This is apparently due to the behaviour of these squids, which do not inhabit major rivers, or the "main stream" of a river system, thus scientists dubbing them as squids with "deviant behaviour".

Ya Mie Die

Ya Mie Die (, ), literally 'Small Elegant Butterfly', is derived from Japanese (), meaning 'stop', a reference to the rape genre in

Japanese pornography In Japan, pornography has unique characteristics that readily distinguish it from western pornography. Pornographic films are known as " adult videos" (AV) in Japan, so Japanese adult videos (JAV) refers to the Japanese Adult Video industry. ...

and the common Chinese

stereotypes In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

of the Japanese as being erotomanic,

misogynistic Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practis ...

and perverted. It was supposedly a type of

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

discovered on 1 January 2009 on the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or Qingzang Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South, and East Asia. Geographically, it is located to the north of H ...

, and that legends state that there was once a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

girl who turned into these butterflies after harsh pressures during a romantic relationship. The original article states that these butterflies are able to change colour, and are

luminescent Luminescence is a spontaneous emission of radiation from an electronically or vibrationally excited species not in thermal equilibrium with its environment. A luminescent object emits ''cold light'' in contrast to incandescence, where an objec ...

, naturally emitting light from their wings. This is due to the cold temperatures and low

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

environment these butterflies live in. There are an estimated 14,000 butterflies living throughout the world, and thus are considered to be precious and highly uncommon.

Ju Hua Can

Ju Hua Can (, ), literally '

Chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums ( ), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia, and the center of diversity is in China. Co ...

Silkworms ''Bombyx mori'', commonly known as the domestic silk moth, is a moth species belonging to the family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. Silkworms are the larvae of silk moths. The silkworm is of ...

' (referring to pinworms, where the term ''Chrysanthemums'' (''júhuā'') is vulgar slang which refers to the

anus In mammals, invertebrates and most fish, the anus (: anuses or ani; from Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is the external body orifice at the ''exit'' end of the digestive tract (bowel), i.e. the opposite end from the mouth. Its function is to facil ...

). This referred to '' Chrysanthemum Terrace'', a song by

Jay Chou Jay Chou Chieh-lun ( zh, s=周杰伦, t=周杰倫, first=t, p=Zhōu Jiélún; born 18 January 1979) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actor, director, and businessman. Regarded as one of the most influential artists in the Chinese-speaking worl ...

, where the lyrics "" ("The chrysanthemums are scattered, the ground filled with the wounded") are re-rendered with homophones and similar sounds as "" ("Chrysanthemum (anus) worms, buttocks covered with wounds"). Ju Hua Can can also be interpreted as a pun on another homophone, , meaning 'broken chrysanthemum', which would be slang for a "broken anus", referring to (possibly painful)

anal sex Anal sex or anal intercourse principally means the insertion and pelvic thrusting, thrusting of the Erection, erect human penis, penis into a person's Human anus, anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.Sepages 270–271for anal sex inform ...

, as is a homophone meaning "broken". Such a phrase implies hopelessness, as once a person is given a "broken anus", they would find difficulty in sitting down, and so "broken Chrysanthemum" is a common (vulgar) Chinese idiom. These silkworms are said to feed on chrysanthemum flowers rather than

mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinat ...

leaves (from the article). The article also states that the usage of Chrysanthemum Silkworms dates back to 3000 years ago in Ancient China, and that they were the first cultivation method of silk obtained by early scientists. The silk produced by silkworms that feed on chrysanthemums rather than

are able to be produced at a much faster rate, are higher in

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

, are

fireproof Fireproofing is rendering something ( structures, materials, etc.) resistant to fire, or incombustible; or material for use in making anything fire-proof. It is a passive fire protection measure. "Fireproof" or "fireproofing" can be used as a ...

, protective against ionizing radiation,

bulletproof Bulletproofing is the process of making an object capable of stopping a bullet or similar high velocity projectiles (e.g. shrapnel). The term bullet resistance is often preferred because few, if any, practical materials provide complete protecti ...

, and lightweight. However, these silkworms are very difficult to maintain, and easily die. They are vulnerable to

cold Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjectivity, subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute t ...

heat In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...

, and are susceptible to changes in

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

, and thus are very costly to nurture. Noblewomen from ancient times are said to pay large sums of money for such types of silk.

Chun Ge

'' Chun Ge'' (, ), literally '

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...

pigeon Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

', is a homophone with ('Brother Chun'). This species of bird is apparently found only in

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

and

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

; formerly found in the area that is now the Republic of Yemen. The term ''Big Brother Chun'' () has been used to refer to the female singer

due to her apparent androgynous appearance. ''Yemen'' comes from the catchphrase (), meaning 'Brother Chun is a real man' — , meaning 'grandfather', can also be read as 'masculine' (young males in

Northeast China Northeast China () is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of three provinces Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of over . The regi ...

use the slang term 爷 as a

personal pronoun Personal pronouns are pronouns that are associated primarily with a particular grammatical person – first person (as ''I''), second person (as ''you''), or third person (as ''he'', ''she'', ''it''). Personal pronouns may also take different f ...

in an impolite context). The can also refer to (), which is slang for

sexual arousal Sexual arousal (also known as sexual excitement) describes the Physiology, physiological and psychological responses in preparation for sexual intercourse or when exposed to Sexual stimulation, sexual stimuli. A number of physiological response ...

– literally ' Spring has come'.

Ji Ba Mao

Ji Ba Mao (, ), literally 'Lucky Journey Cat' (a homophone with , referring to

pubic hair Pubic hair (or pubes , ) is terminal hair, terminal body hair that is found in the sex organ, genital area and pubic region of adolescent and adult humans. The hair is located on and around the sex organs, and sometimes at the top of the inside ...

, as the homophone () is a vulgar term for 'penis', while the definition of is 'hair' or 'fur'). The original article states that this cat lives in dark, damp environments and competes for food with the White Tiger (''white tiger'' is a slang term for a hairless/shaved

vulva In mammals, the vulva (: vulvas or vulvae) comprises mostly external, visible structures of the female sex organ, genitalia leading into the interior of the female reproductive tract. For humans, it includes the mons pubis, labia majora, lab ...

). Additionally, the Ji Ba Mao is claimed to have flourished during the reign of the

Zhengde Emperor The Zhengde Emperor (26 October 149120 April 1521), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Wuzong of Ming, personal name Zhu Houzhao, was the 11th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1505 to 1 ...

Wei Shen Jing

Wei Shen Jing (, ), literally 'Stretch-Tailed Whale' (a near-homophone with , , referring to

menstrual pad A menstrual pad is an absorbent item worn in the underwear when menstruating, bleeding after giving birth, recovering from gynecologic surgery, experiencing a miscarriage or abortion, or in any other situation where it is necessary to absorb ...

s). From the Baidu Baike article, it was first discovered by

Zheng He Zheng He (also romanized Cheng Ho; 1371–1433/1435) was a Chinese eunuch, admiral and diplomat from the early Ming dynasty, who is often regarded as the greatest admiral in History of China, Chinese history. Born into a Muslims, Muslim famil ...

during his maritime adventures. According to the article this creature was hunted for clothing material to manufacture women's

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...

Yin Dao Yan

Yin Dao Yan (, ), literally 'Singing Rice Goose' (a homophone with , meaning a

vaginitis Vaginitis, also known as vulvovaginitis, is inflammation of the vagina and vulva. Symptoms may include itching, burning, pain, discharge, and a bad smell. Certain types of vaginitis may result in complications during pregnancy. The three mai ...

infection). From the article on , in the Kangxi era, a large goose dived into a certain field, damaging it and causing the local farmers to come down with a strange sickness.

Da Fei Ji

Da Fei Ji (, ), literally 'Intelligent Fragrant Chicken' (a homophone with , slang for masturbation while literally meaning 'shooting at the airplane'). According to the original article, Da Fei Ji is a species of bird that likes

exercise Exercise or workout is physical activity that enhances or maintains fitness and overall health. It is performed for various reasons, including weight loss or maintenance, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardio ...

, and the

males Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

use neck spasms to spit out a white secretion to impress females during mating seasons.

Qian Lie Xie

Qian Lie Xie (, ), literally 'Hidden Fiery Crab', closely resembles (), which translates to '

prostate The prostate is an male accessory gland, accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found in all male mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemica ...

glands'. According to the article, this is a legendary crab that once stopped up the Grand Canal (referring to the

urinary tract The human urinary system, also known as the urinary tract or renal system, consists of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and the urethra. The purpose of the urinary system is to eliminate waste from the body, regulate blood volume and blood pressu ...

).潜烈蟹 - Baidu Baike (Past Screenshot)
/ref>

Official reactions

The

State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television The National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) is a ministry-level executive agency controlled by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its main task is the administration and supervision of state-own ...

issued a directive on 30 March 2009 to highlight 31 categories of content prohibited online, including violence, pornography, content which may "incite ethnic discrimination or undermine social stability". According to reports, the instruction follows the official embarrassment over the rise of the "Grass Mud Horse" phenomenon.