The Rise of Shanzhai Culture

The vast array of knockoff name-brand products, such as cell phones, DVDs, MP3 players, have made”shanzhai” the hottest word of the year. Now we wear shanzhai watches, talk through shanzhai cell phones, play shanzhai video games, use shanzhai computers, even watch shanzhai TV shows. once a term used before some electronic products to suggest a copycat version of inferior quality, shanzhai now suggests to many chinese creativity and trendiness. With the media all over the rise of shanzhai culture, public opinions are clearly divided.

Advocates invariably associate it with innovation, stylishness, the DIY spirit, open-mindedness and practicality, as shanzhai products often mix imitation with innovation – a similar skin but a different heart. The final products are usually more functional and much cheaper than the original. Besides, they respond to the market more swiftly and they are more considerate in design. Thanks to them, more people at the grassroots level can enjoy the benefit of modern technology.

However, other people, including myself, hold more reserved attitudes towards the shanzhai fever, for all the popularity it has won, a copycat is a copycat. The mockery of the prestige products not only steals their profits but also upsets market competition. Moreover, shanzhai products thrive on the current legal loopholes. Under the disguise of anti-dominance slogans, they make illegal profits by violating intellectual property rights and evading taxes. And to top it off, the so-called innovation is only senseless talk as true innovation always faces huge costs and potential failures, while plagiarism simply builds success on other people’s risks.

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　　山寨文化的兴起

仿冒名牌产品繁多，如手机，DVD，MP3播放器，这些使得“山寨”成了一年中最热的词。现在我们带山寨手表，通过山寨手机交谈，玩山寨视频游戏，使用山寨电脑，甚至观看山寨电视节目。在使用一些电子产品时，山寨版意味着的质量低劣，山寨现在中国却是有创意和时尚的。随着山寨文化媒体的遍地兴起，公众的观点明确区分开来。

支持者总是把创新，时尚，DIY精神，开放性和实用性联系在一起，山寨产品往往混合模仿与创新——类似的外表但不同的核心。最终产品通常比原来的拥有更多的功能和更便宜。此外，他们对市场的反应更迅速，设计更周到。多亏了他们，更多在基层的人可以享受到现代科技带来的好处。

然而，其他人，包括我自己，对山寨热持有更多的保留态度，因为它所获得的人气来说，山寨的就是山寨。对于产品声誉的嘲讽是山寨不仅窃取他们的利益，而且也扰乱了市场竞争。此外，山寨产品的蓬勃发展显示了现行法律的漏洞。抗优势口号的伪装下，他们通过侵犯知识产权和逃税来达到非法获利。而最糟糕的是，所谓的创新只是毫无意义的大话，因为真正的创新总是面临巨大的成本和潜在的故障，而抄袭只是建立在其他人成功的风险上。

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