Eye-field

目田 (mù tián) eye-field

“Beheaded ‘freedom’” becomes “eye-field.’”

“The people do not need freedom.” —Eye-Field Clan King (Weibo)

If two small strokes are added to the top of each of these characters, they become 自由 (zìyóu), “freedom.” Together, the characters have come to represent “freedom” decapitated. The term was originated by players of the game World of Warcraft, immensely popular in China. In September of 2010, gamers were dismayed to learn that many words were being blocked, including some that were part of their online characters’ names. This caused difficulty logging in, annoying many who had spent considerable time developing their characters. “Freedom” was among the newly-blocked words, and “eye-field” was used as both a substitute and a veiled jab at the government.

Weibo users will sometimes write about the eye-field clan king (目田氏王), who, with one small change made to each character in his name, becomes “freedom and democracy” (自由民主). The eye-field clan king is sometimes used to signify freedom and democracy, other times to represent its antithesis.

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