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Question about "memes" of Chinese government officials (lemmygrad.ml)

submitted 2 years ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I have some questions about the "funny memes" about President Xi as Winnie the Pooh or Chairman Mao as a cat (I'm sure there are many more, for example I heard some people call President Xi an "accelerator in chief", a very narrow minded and rude term in my opinion).

I basically only know the western narrative about those memes, I want to learn about how they are regarded in China, if they are actually illegal and/or "censored" and why, what their origins are, what they mean (I know from my scarce knowledge of Hanyu that Mao also means cat for example), and who made them.

I am trying to "de-propagandize" my mind, since I grew up only being taught the opposing side's narrative. I don't want to be disrespectful, and if I am please tell me, it is not my goal to be rude.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Mao kinda sounds like "meow" (for English speakers at least) so I believe that's why there are some memes like this that portray him as a cat.

I don't know a whole lot about the meme itself, but the idea that Winnie the Pooh is banned in China is just made up and has no basis in reality. Xi has better things to do than ban cartoon characters that western libs associate him with.

By the way, good on you for asking questions and trying to learn. Please don't be ashamed or afraid of asking questions, people here are very kind and friendly!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

There are Chinese memes of Mao being depicted as a cat as well because his name is actually very close in spelling to the Chinese word for cat, Māo. No one would actually mistake "Mao" and "Māo" in conversation.