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Bilibili, Weibo remove Ma Baoguo videos amid state media criticism of tai chi ‘master’
Bilibili and Weibo have removed user-generated videos of a self-proclaimed tai chi master after state media accused companies of hyping him up for profit
‎‎Ma Baoguo went viral in May when the 69-year-old was quickly defeated in a fight, spurring countless viral videos
Xinmei Shen
Published: 5:00am, 1 Dec, 2020


A still from the video of tai chi master Ma Baoguo talking to the referee ahead of his embarrassing 30-second knockout. Photo: Handout
Streaming-media platform Bilibili and microblogging site Weibo have removed user-generated videos of a 69-year-old tai chi master, Ma Baoguo, who state media accused of “poisoning” China’s values.
The two popular internet platforms said over the weekend that they are trying to stop people from hyping up Ma after a People’s Daily report criticised companies for trying to profit off of Ma.
While Ma has promoted himself as a martial arts master, his fame online is largely due to his sensationalist remarks and stunts. In recent months, Ma has shown up in spoof videos, with some platforms looking to use Ma to draw attention.
“If someone can make waves by grandstanding and expand their business by swindling and bluffing, what kind of value orientation is this?” wrote Qin Chuan, the author of the People’s Daily article. “For those internet platforms that crave traffic and fuel the flames, if they have a basic sense of social responsibility, they should immediately stop facilitating the spread of this kind of ‘disgraceful conduct’ and ‘farce.’”
In a statement published on Saturday, Bilibili said that it is “vehemently against such values and behaviour” and that it would “leave no opportunities” for people trying to hype up the topic. The company said it will check and manage videos related to Ma. Weibo said it would also check related videos and disband fan groups for Ma.
Ma, known for taunting and challenging other fighters online, gained notoriety in May when he entered a domestic martial arts tournament. Ma said on Weibo that he hoped to “defend the honour” of his craft, called hunyuan xingyi tai chi. Ma was quickly knocked unconscious in three strikes from his opponent, a former martial arts coach and amateur fighter.
Video of that fight debut made the rounds online. In November, coinciding with the six-month anniversary of his loss, Ma was the focus of a fresh round of online ridicule when some netizens shared more videos of him. In one video that went viral, Ma spoke on camera with a black eye, saying he lost a fight with two younger men because of a “sneak attack”.
Phrases Ma used in that video, such as “young people have no martial art ethics”, became viral slang. One popular phrase is hao zi wei zhi, which means “be responsible for your own actions”. But netizens shared it as “rat tail juice”, which in Chinese sounds similar to Ma’s accented version of the original phrase.
Netizens also started inserting Ma into scenes from famous films like The Godfather and created guichu videos, a type of comedic video made from clips that are mashed together in quick, repetitive patterns. Before they were removed, user-generated videos poking fun at Ma racked up tens of millions of views, and Ma-related topics repeatedly trended on Weibo.
The main issue for authorities, though, appears to be companies trying to make money off the attention surrounding Ma. State-run outlet Xinhua reported that some people quickly applied for “rat tail juice” trademarks and registered it as the name of new companies. Xinhua said some internet platforms and media organisations “actively” promoted Ma for attention, and it criticised a recent decision to offer Ma a part in an upcoming kung fu film.
Now when searching for Ma Baoguo on Bilibili, the platform only surfaces videos about the People’s Daily criticism. Most user-generated videos about Ma are no longer available. And while Ma still has his personal Weibo account, the most popular posts about him on the platform now are also related to the People’s Daily article.