草泥马 (草泥马)

cǎonímǎ | 草泥马

Grass-mud horse tank man (Smurfs Will Be Free!)
Mascot of Chinese netizens fighting for free expression, symbolizing defiance of Internet censorship.

The grass-mud horse, whose name sounds nearly the same as "fuck your mother" (cào nǐ mā 肏你妈), was originally created to skirt government censorship of vulgar content. Film scholar Cui Weiping draws a direct connection between the launch of the "Special Campaign to Rectify Vulgar Content on the Internet" in early 2009 and the appearance of the Song of the Grass-Mud Horse in February of that year. The idea caught fire after netizens made a video depicting the grass-mud horse defeating the river crab (héxiè 河蟹), whose name is a near-homonym for the propaganda catchword "harmony" (héxié 和谐). Netizens continually expanded the lore of the grass-mud horse by composing catchy songs, photo albums of its natural habitat, and fake nature documentaries.

The Communist Party is often described as the "mother" of the people, so saying "fuck your mother" also suggests "fuck the Party."