subversive and liberating, and as an attempt to “normalize” the “say-
ing” of the date as a possible first step toward writing about it in a more
meaningful manner. Blue Butterfly is also noted for creating poems out
of numeric codes and for the introduction of Chinese Internet terms into
his poetry, such as “ou”偶instead of “I,” or “wo”我.
Amateur–avant-garde interaction is among the factors that have led
to the development of Internet writing styles. This trend is evident in
the work of those who have learned to write poetry or primarily
publish in Internet forums such as Blue Butterfly. Writing about com-
puters and the Internet, featuring terminology that is commonly used
there, is an inevitable result:
Program of Life Nc的æ
Plug in the universal port ̧的
Connect to the machine’s power source 器的电
Open the device of life 打½Nc的
Enter the username on the ID card 入的用户Õ
And the self-centered code we’ve cooked up É我D 造的Ã !码
Bring up the desktop of lies 刷$I%面 Arrange the icons of authority 排列权)*标 Cooling sperm and eggs ,却的[卵 Stiffening hands and feet .化的/ Create a new file 0 成@文1夹
Copied greetings 制的候
Pasted happy faces 34 的5脸
Sent to the body’s other 送到£的Ô@
Stored on hard drive 89:O
The soul of error code 错码的.灵
Place in an attachment and zip 打包=>
Delete at a set time M?删除
Dump it in the recycle bin and B入 收ó候^C
wait for it to clear QRDKC
Thought is often `的¡Ë指
Fully formatted 全9EF化
By new state directives [\的¡G
Viruses of the spirit êH版J9
Invade the operating system of the brain K入大脑的M|æ
Through pirated software K入大脑的M|æ
The system is infected ye2
The world is a black screen 然èO关
Turn off the machine by force NP料áz
And all data of life 全ÝR失
Are lost as a result
(Little Prince}T)
Online Avant-Garde Poetry in China Today 213