among the thousands of ephemeral terms coined by Chinese netizens, there’s one that has lasted over a decade—馬甲(m2ji2, literally“waistcoat”), a term that refers to fake accounts created for the purpose of trolling forums. What’s so two-faced about waistcoats, you ask? It all goes back to a sketch from the 2000 Spring Festival Gala, in which a character jokes about a snake disguising itself as a tortoise by wearing a 馬甲: “小樣兒,你穿個馬甲,我就不認識你啦?”(Xi2oy3ngr, n@ chu`n g- m2ji2, w6 ji b% r-nshi n@ la?),“You think if you wear a waistcoat I can’t tell who you are?”馬甲’s are generally used to write negative posts or launch personal attacks without sullying one’s good username. If forum users suspect a poster is fake, they may complain,“這個帖子真夠坑爹的!肯定是用馬甲發的!” (Zh-ge ti0zi zh8n g7u k8ngdi8 de! K0nd#ng sh# y7ng m2ji2 f` de!), “This post is so tricky, it must be posted through an alternative account!” It’s then the admin’s job to close the account (known as “shooting the waistcoat,” 槍斃馬甲, qi`ngb# m2ji2), so the owner of the 馬甲 will never be able to post again. - hu yIjun (胡逸君)
漢語世界(The World of Chinese)2012年2期