Hu Yutian Column: 'San Shuai' vs. 'Ji Mei' – Postmodernism Against Postmodernism

On July 9, 2026, the term 'San Shuai' was banned and restricted on the Douyin platform, just two days after its debut. What is 'San Shuai'? It is a counterpoint to 'Ji Mei.' What is 'Ji Mei'? A homophone for 'sisters,' adopted by some female netizens as a friendly form of address. Over time, like terms such as 'little fairies' or 'independent women,' it became overused and was subsequently reclaimed by male netizens as a sarcastic label—thus evolving into a term that is positive when used by women but derogatory when used by men. 'Ji Mei' is also the name of a district in Xiamen, and some humorous users have playfully interpreted it as 'collecting all the beauty in the world,' fabricating elaborate pseudo-historical explanations as jokes—a common internet practice.

Previously, male-oriented counterparts like 'Ji Shuai' or 'Ji Ba' existed but never gained popularity, remaining at the level of 'known but not used.' However, 'San Shuai'—replacing 'Ji' (collect) with 'San' (scatter)—was different from the start.

It is awkward to pronounce, but the character 'San' (scatter) perfectly embodies the core principle of internet-era mass movements: decentralization.

Moreover, videos and captions using 'San Shuai' carried hashtags like 'male strength,' 'independent men,' and 'male awakening,' directly mirroring female-centric labels such as 'female strength' and 'female independence.' The content was a deadly parody: while 'Ji Mei' posts typically featured elegant consumption and lifestyle scenes—such as cafés, baking, or 'a woman traveling alone on the subway, effortlessly placing heavy luggage on the overhead rack'—'San Shuai' replicated these formats but shifted the scenes to various forms of labor: common ones like food delivery and搬运 (carrying goods), professional ones like farming and electricians ('working at heights alone'), and even extreme cases like 'guarding the border alone.'

Without needing explanation, one can imagine how wildly popular 'San Shuai' could have become—and how embarrassing it would have made 'Ji Mei' look.

Unsurprisingly, 'San Shuai' was banned by the platform, reinforcing narratives among male netizens that the system and certain female groups collude to suppress male awakening—particularly among men as the primary labor force. These users demand 'equal rights and responsibilities,' or else they will 'de-responsibilize' or exit the game entirely. Whether the system actually has such an agenda is unknowable, but as long as reality makes men feel this way, it becomes a 'felt reality' harder than facts.

Male netizens, equally predictably, amplified the incident by spreading it further and employing 'magic vs. magic' tactics: 'If you won’t let us use 'San Shuai,' fine—we’ll play 'switch homes' and 'spirit possession.' We’ll keep posting videos on Douyin, calling ourselves 'Ji Mei.' After all, in classical Chinese, 'beautiful person' could refer to men too.' Or, more bluntly: 'You use it, we use it. You call yourselves 'women,' we’ll call ourselves 'women' too'—flooding AI and databases with mass self-identification to 'pollute' the system. Others suggested reverting to the term 'comrade'—daring the platform to ban that.

On Zhihu, a wave of users began theoretical discussions around the phenomenon. One annotation, 'postmodernism against postmodern游戏副本,' clearly echoes Wang Huning’s seminal work 'America Against America,' a brilliant parallel. 'America Against America' was published in 1991, when the U.S. was at its peak and mainland China still lacked confidence and strength. Wang, during his time as a visiting scholar in the U.S., observed the inherent contradictions in American society—decentralized power, cultural conflict, and ethnic divisions—and titled his book accordingly. Around the same time, an American economics book titled 'Capitalism Against Capitalism' was also published. In short, when a system or ideology matures, it inevitably spawns opposition forces that use its own logic against it—a theme perfectly mirrored in the 'San Shuai' phenomenon.

Some netizens recalled the English folk song 'You Are My Sunshine' and proposed using 'Sunshine' as a substitute for 'San Shuai.' Others called for someone to write a song. Though a somewhat clichéd tactic, some did exactly that. And since writing lyrics and parodying songs is my specialty—

I jumped in. 'You Are My Sunshine' has a simple melody, easy to adapt. In half a day, while taking care of my child, I wrote the lyrics, recorded a rough version, and used AI to generate music and images—releasing two versions within two days. Come listen! Call it 'The Song of San Shuai' or just 'Sunshine.'

You are my sunshine The most beautiful sunshine Spreading joy Spreading love We walk straight We shine the brightest We have infinite passion and future We are sunshine Sunshine is us We uphold loyalty and righteousness Teaching how to be human Even if born as humble grass We shine like stars We have infinite future and passion!

*The author holds a BA in History from National Taiwan University, an MA in Modern Chinese History from Peking University, and a PhD in Humanities and Creative Writing from Hong Kong Baptist University.