{"id":8336,"date":"2019-10-21T23:05:10","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T23:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/chinese-reading\/learning-chinese-viral-piracy\/"},"modified":"2019-10-21T23:05:10","modified_gmt":"2019-10-21T23:05:10","slug":"learning-chinese-viral-piracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/my\/learning-chinese-viral-piracy\/","title":{"rendered":"[Learning Chinese] Viral piracy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The 23-year old bank clerk, surnamed Zhang, never thought that he would become a<\/span> <\/span>victim<\/span><\/b> of<\/span> <\/span>piracy<\/span><\/b>. Zhang had been posting witty reviews under his alternate identity of "Mr Q" on Sina Weibo, China’s twitter like microblogging service. But it was o<\/em>nly when he posted a review of popular Chinese TV series Tale of Zhenhuan on douban.com, that he discovered he had sailed out into unprotected waters.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Two days later the review was all over Weibo,<\/span> <\/span>reposted<\/span><\/b> by thousands of people around the country, the difference this time, was that Zhang’s name was absent. Upset, he tried to claim ownership, much to the scorn of China’s o<\/em>nline community.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

"Many people didn’t believe me, some even sent me private messages, calling me out for plagiarism," said Zhang. "I was really disappointed; I never thought I would be treated like that."<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Zhang is not alone in his disappointment. Since the advent of microblogging in China in 2009, the flow of free information has accelerated rapidly, but so has China’s trend of piracy and plagiarism, which has discouraged intellectual creativity online.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Authorial agony<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Ma Boyong, a fiction writer and Weibo lover, has been writing micro-novellas (a story within the 140 character-microblog limit) for the last two years. His works usually get hundreds or even thousands of reposts. However, this has also made Ma a target of o<\/em>nline advertisers and marketers. <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

"I’ve had a story reposted <\/span>anonymously<\/span><\/b>, and when I complained, they reposted it with the byline ‘from a Web user.’ They late said I ‘had no idea of the sharing spirit online,’" said Ma, who claims to have encountered a lot of aggression while <\/span>defending<\/span><\/b> his <\/span>intellectual property<\/span><\/b>.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

The o<\/em>nline marketers work through Weibo, setting up accounts which collect funny jokes and interesting pictures to gain followers before bombarding them with adverts and product news. They rarely attribute what they post, much to the ire of the works’ creators, and don’t limit themselves solely to text. Photographs, scans and digital works are all fair game. <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Zhang Wang, illustrator and associate professor of art at Nankai University has fallen victim to o<\/em>nline intellectual property theft. Zhang is famous for his digital Chinese ink paintings, and discovered a piece of his work, depicting Chinese mythological figures, distributed namelessly through marketing Weibo accounts.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

The professor was less angry a<\/em>bout the ano<\/em>nymous nature of the work than the ill-fitting, often <\/span>ignorant<\/span><\/b> descriptions. He had made a great effort to paint 10 Chinese deities, and was disgusted to find them listed as "10 ancient monsters," a short and catchy title, but unrelated to his work.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

"This is not o<\/em>nly piracy," said Zhang, "it is a misleading, blasphemous pulping of traditions and culture."<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

The battle for originality<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The audience enjoying China’s burgeo<\/em>ning creativity are aware that co<\/em>ntinued piracy means a lot of angry authors and artists who are less inclined to create when their rights are at risk. In an attempt to solve the problem, a new campaign has sprung up to defend these rights in the form of Zuichaoxi (extreme privacy), a Weibo account which opened in February. They’ve already garnered 20,000<\/span> <\/span>followers<\/span><\/b> to their cause.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Over the past three mo<\/em>nths it has focused on <\/span>exposing<\/span><\/b> acts of piracy and helping to defend creatives against marketing accounts by taking cases to the websites’ management. Zuichaoxi’s operator, who referred to himself as Zui, told the Global Times that they cared a<\/em>bout the rights of<\/span> <\/span>g<\/span>rassroots<\/span> <\/span><\/b>writers.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

"Nothing is truly ‘micro’ on a microblog. Every short story is the product of the author’s wisdom, and illustrations are just as precious," said Zui. "Marketing accounts and celebrities should look to their <\/span>consciences<\/span><\/b> before they steal something valuable." <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Zui, works at an IT company and campaigns voluntarily. He believes that unattributed reposting is like stealing a product thousands of times over. Marketing accounts, he says, are using other people’s ideas to sells ads, while celebrities are trying to appear cute or clever. Both are running as a "business" says Zui.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

How to identify piracy, remains a problem. The virus-like spread of information is a common feature of microblogging, and like a game of Chinese whispers, information is lost along the way, including the author’s name.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Fiction-writer Ma was all in favor of sharing stories and information, as long as the poster is not seeking creative credit.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

"Let the post begin with ‘I heard this from a friend, or I saw this somewher else," he added, but warned that the very nature of celebrity and mass communication was also to blame. "These [marketing and celebrity] accounts are much more influential, and what they post can set a bad example, which of course others will follow."<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Applying new principles<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

So far Zuichaoxi has mainly been helping authors complain officially to Sina Weibo’s webmasters, but they have won some small victories<\/span>
<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Last month, Xiaoduolehuihuaiyun (laugh ’til you’re pregnant), a marketing account, was <\/span>blocked<\/span><\/b> from posting new messages for a week.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

According to a member of Sina staff who declined to be named, this is part of a new <\/span>management<\/span><\/b> policy.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

"We noticed the improper attribution by Xiaoduolehuihuaiyun which<\/span> <\/span>violated<\/span> <\/span><\/b>copyright," he said. "Sina is making regulations for its cyber <\/span>community<\/span><\/b>, and we have opened a special channel for users to report improper quotes or piracy. If it can be proven, the offenders will be punished."<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Xiaoduolehuihuaiyun’s founder, surnamed Li, 27, said that they now realize the im<\/em>portance of copyright.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Li said that marketing accounts attempt to post for jokes and other interesting information, yet due to amount of information it can be difficult to source all of them properly. He added that his team now sources most messages, and will remunerate authors if necessary.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

The problem of piracy may never cease, and starts off young, says professor Zhang.<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

"Many Chinese have been using pirated software since they were in school," said Zhang. "Thus when they grow up they naturally ignore other people’s intellectual property, and co<\/em>nsider piracy the norm."<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Chinese you need: <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em>ink2″>Victim<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\uff1a<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u53d7\u5bb3\u4eba<\/span> (shòu hài rén)<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>Piracy<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\uff1a<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u76d7\u7248<\/span> (d<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>à<\/span>o b<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u01ce<\/span>n)<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>Repost<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\uff1a<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u8f6c\u53d1<\/span> (zhu<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u01ce<\/span>n f<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u0101<\/span>)<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>Anonymously<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\uff1a<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u4e0d\u5177\u540d\u5730<\/span> (bù jù míng de)<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>Defend<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\uff1a<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u634d\u536b<\/span> (hàn wèi)<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>Intellectual property<\/span> <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\uff1a<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u77e5\u8bc6\u4ea7\u6743<\/span> (zh<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u012b<\/span> sh<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>í<\/span> ch<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u01ce<\/span>n qu<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>á<\/span>n)<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>Ignorant<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\uff1a<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u65e0\u77e5\u7684<\/span> (wú zh\u012b de)<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>Follower<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\uff1a<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u7c89\u4e1d<\/span> (f\u011bn s\u012b)<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>Expose<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\uff1a<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u66dd\u5149<\/span> (bào gu\u0101ng)<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>Grassroots<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\uff1a<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u8349\u6839\u9636\u5c42<\/span> (c<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u01ce<\/span>o g<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u0113<\/span>n ji<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u0113<\/span> c<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>é<\/span>ng)<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>Conscience<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\uff1a<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u826f\u5fc3<\/span> (liáng x\u012bn)<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>Block<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\uff1a<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u5c01\u9501<\/span> (f<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u0113<\/span>ng su<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u01d2<\/span>)<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>Management<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\uff1a<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u7ba1\u7406<\/span> (gu<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u01ce<\/span>n l<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u01d0<\/span>)<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>Violate<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\uff1a<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/em>ink1″><\/em>ink2″>\u4fb5\u72af<\/span> (q\u012bn fàn)<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Community<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/b>\uff1a<\/span><\/b>\u793e\u533a<\/span> (shè q\u016b)<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n