UPM Book Series on Music Research, No. 6, 2014 – ISSN 2289-3938. Songs about ‘Mother’ at the Verge of Being ‘Harmonised’: Propagation of Resistance against the Great Firewall of China Chow Ow Wei Since March 2009, ȁgrass mud horseȂ, one of the so-called 10 mythical creatures created as an internet meme, has spread widely among Chinese internet users. Its popularity has increased dramatically through netizens, internet users who have enabled numerous creative spoofs in the format of music videos, documentaries, cartoons, calligraphies, seal stamp etchings, essays and encyclopedia entries going viral in Chinese social media. The mascot image of ȁgrass mud horseȂ is a collage of elements that gives the appearance of a species of alpaca. Texts in both the literature and musical works are constructed using homophones that make a humiliating reference to ȁmotherȂ, a common derogatory type of profanity used in Chinese. As variants of ȁgrass mud horseȂ are continuously invented, many speculate ȁgrass mud horseȂ and other mythical creatures emerged as a result of internet censorship by the State Internet Information Office which is the current agency in charge of the Chinese Government. It is controlled by the leading group in the Chinese Communist Party, 1 and has shutdown numerous chat rooms and forums. Netizens and the content providers are often watched by the censors, which are also known as the Great Firewall of China. The firewall attempts to prevent netizens from accessing or posting ȁsensitiveȂ or ȁharmfulȂ materials. ȁGrass mud horseȂ, an internet meme with layered meanings, surpasses the firewall filter that monitors chat rooms for obscenity and vulgarity. On the one hand it has created a loophole in the censorship blockade, but on the other hand, it has also come to be regarded as a symbolic rebellion against the diminishing freedom of expression on the internet. 2 1 In the following named as SIIO of the Chinese Government. The SIIO of the Chinese Government is following the former State Council Information Office in this function. 2 Songs about ȁgrass mud horseȂ are initially noted in two versions. “i Weiwei added up a new one appearing as parody of a song popularised outside the Chinese border, but an immediate block by the SIIO of the Chinese Government still echoes the unchanged reality. 13