Shanzhai

An Anycool V876 mobile phone featuring a rotatable screen. The name "Anycool" was meant to copy Anycall, Samsung's brand for phones in South Korea and Greater China. The addition of extra features not found in authentic products is indicative of shanzhai electronics, particularly in the 2000s.

Shanzhai (Chinese: 山寨; pinyin: shānzhài; Cantonese Jyutping: saan1 zaai6; Vietnamese: sơn trại) is a Chinese term literally meaning "mountain fortress" or "mountain camp", whose contemporary use usually encompasses counterfeit, imitation, or parody products and events and the subculture surrounding them.[1] Shanzhai products can include counterfeit consumer and electronic goods, which can involve the imitation and trademark infringement of brands and companies.[2] The term's modern usage grew around 2008 when shanzhai smartphones reached their greatest domestic use.[3][4][5] Today, some relate the term with grassroots innovation and creativity rather than with falsehood or imitation.[6][7]

  1. ^ Landsberger, Stefan (2019), de Kloet, Jeroen; Fai, Chow Yiu; Scheen, Lena (eds.), "Shanzhai = Creativity, Creativity = Shanzhai", Boredom, Shanzhai, and Digitisation in the Time of Creative China, Amsterdam University Press, pp. 217–224, doi:10.2307/j.ctvqr1bnw.17, hdl:1887/80088, JSTOR j.ctvqr1bnw.17, S2CID 241979497
  2. ^ Schmidle, Nicholas (2010-08-19). "Inside the Knockoff-Tennis-Shoe Factory". New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  3. ^ Gamsa, Mark (2011). "Translation and Alleged Plagiarism of Russian Literature in Republican China". Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews. 33: 151–171. ISSN 0161-9705. JSTOR 41412924.
  4. ^ Raustiala, Kal; Sprigman, Christopher (2013). "Fake It Till You Make It: The Good News About China's Knockoff Economy". Foreign Affairs. 92 (4): 25–30. ISSN 0015-7120. JSTOR 23526905.
  5. ^ Liao, Zhimin; Chen, Xiaofang (2011). "Why the Entry Regulation of Mobile Phone Manufacturing in China Collapsed: The Impact of Technological Innovation". The Journal of Law & Economics. 54 (4): S207–S228. doi:10.1086/662991. ISSN 0022-2186. JSTOR 10.1086/662991. S2CID 154965373.
  6. ^ Scheen, Lena (2019). "'Isn't that funny?'". In Scheen, Lena; de Kloet, Jeroen; Fai, Chow Yiu (eds.). 'Isn't that funny?': The Unsettling Effect of Shanzhai Products. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 211–216. doi:10.2307/j.ctvqr1bnw.16. JSTOR j.ctvqr1bnw.16. S2CID 230432647. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  7. ^ Liao, Sara (2020). Fashioning China: Precarious Creativity and Women Designers in Shanzhai Culture. Pluto Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctvx077vn. ISBN 978-0-7453-4070-8. JSTOR j.ctvx077vn. S2CID 240683065.