Shānzhài Jī Renegade Means Kěn Ken Gee 山寨 

山寨 

shānzhài 

Literally “mountain stronghold,” alluding to a period in China’s history when various areas were controlled by renegade warlords (with mountain strongholds); that is, outside official control. Today shānzhài retains that renegade idea but means “knockoff” or “fake.” It can also mean “inferior” or “cheap,” though more recently the word has taken on a more positive connotation, suggesting ingenuity and a sense of humor, as people begin to embrace “shānzhài culture.” Knockoff mobile phone makers extoll the shānzhài nature of their products, arguing that they are making high-end products accessible to the masses, and some companies even cheekily use shānzhài spokespeople—that is, celebrity look alikes—to endorse their products. One especially hilarious example of shānzhài culture’s tongue-in-cheek nature: KFC’s Chinese name is 肯德基 Kěn Dé Jī (ken duh gee), but one shānzhài business, also serving fried chicken and fast food, calls itself 啃他鸡 Kěn Tā Jī (ken tah gee), which sounds similar but means “nibble his chicken” and is a dirty double entendre, since 鸡 jī (gee) is a slang term for “penis.”