Taiwan, Where the 'Grass Mud Horse' Alpaca Meme Roams Free
The colloquial Mandarin name for alpacas and their llama cousins is "grass mud horse," which sounds phonetically similar to an obscenity. This led it to be censored by the Chinese Communist Party after it was used subversively by Chinese netizens. But the animals themselves are now a common sight across Taiwan, where people enjoy their cuteness.
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00:00 Rolling around in the dirt, these woolly creatures are drying themselves out in the tropical
00:07 humidity.
00:08 Native to the dry South American Andes on the other side of the world, alpacas are becoming
00:13 a common sight in Taiwan, but purely for amusement.
00:17 "They should be in high altitude areas.
00:20 When they come to Taiwan, it's too hot in the summer, so we shave their hair.
00:24 Some warm-blooded alpacas have beautiful hair."
00:29 It's unknown exactly how many alpacas there are in Taiwan now, but they can be spotted
00:34 across the country at cafes and petting zoos.
00:37 These resilient creatures are adapted to life at high altitudes, but they're also happy
00:42 grazing in Taiwan's tropical climate.
00:45 Perhaps surprisingly, they've taken Taiwan by storm.
00:48 And not just because they're cute.
00:51 In Mandarin, these camelids are colloquially known as "taonimā" or "grass mud horse,"
00:57 which sounds phonetically similar to "an obscenity we can't say on public television."
01:06 It's a term that's been censored in China after it was used in a subversive song criticizing
01:11 the Communist Party.
01:20 It was also popularized by the dissident artist and activist Ai Weiwei.
01:24 "Everybody knows that an alpaca meme actually refers to the protesting attitude toward the
01:34 state's censorship nowadays."
01:37 In Taiwan, the alpaca's popularity is in part due to this cheeky double meaning that got
01:42 it banned by its authoritarian neighbor.
01:45 "There were videos in China or Taiwan where they would roll on the ground and call it
01:53 grass mud horse.
01:54 I thought that was a bad word in Taiwan.
01:55 People would say, 'Oh, that's a funny name,' and would want to come and see them."
02:03 It was this satirical humor that raised eyebrows when an alpaca appeared alongside prominent
02:08 Taiwanese politicians.
02:10 But linguistically speaking, China and Taiwan curse differently.
02:14 And Taiwan's more liberal society means the grass mud horse meme may not have the same
02:19 subversive impact on this side of the strait.
02:22 "Taiwanese people do not experience the same kind of strict censorship as the Chinese netizens
02:30 experienced.
02:31 So I guess the political meaning of an alpaca is not really relevant to Taiwanese people's
02:40 everyday life."
02:41 For Taiwan's alpaca enthusiasts, the main reason for coming to see them is nature education
02:50 and fun.
02:51 "We came to play with the whole family."
02:52 "Because they are so cute.
02:53 They look like cotton."
02:54 "If you come here, you can easily get to know these animals.
02:55 So you can get to know nature from a young age."
03:08 The grass mud horse meme is already much older than many of these visitors and the alpacas.
03:14 But with their popularity in Taiwan showing no signs of diminishing, the dirty words "cheeky
03:19 playfulness" may be here to stay.
03:24 John Su and Sally Yenson in Hsinchu County for Taiwan Plus.
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