In early 2009, the Chinese wordplay term "草泥馬" (literally 'grass mud horse'; Hanyu Pinyin 'cǎonímǎ') was coined by netizens on Baidu's Tieba forums. Since that time, it has become widespread in online chat rooms and forums. The term is a pun on the Mandarin profanity, "操你媽" (literally 'fuck your mother', Hanyu Pinyin 'càonǐmā'). Initially, people used the term to skirt censorship. The grass mud horse's image as an alpaca or llama, outwardly docile but ready to fight back by spitting, has given the term a political flavor.

Soon, there was a song called "Song of the Grass Mud Horse" circulating on the Internet. The lyrics include reference to the Grass Mud Horse's enemy, the "river crab" (a pun for "harmony", related to the "harmonious society" concept advocated by the Hu Jintao/Wen Jiabao government). In the song, the Grass Mud Horse was given the mission to protect the "reclining grass" (also a pun, this time for "fuck me!" or "holy crap!") and drive the "river crab" out of the "Gobi [Desert]" (yet another pun, this time for "your mother's cunt"). The politically rebellious intent is self-evident; the sarcasm was aimed squarely at Internet censorship. At that time, although online freedom of speech was already severely restricted, netizens could still rebel indirectly using metaphor and satire. In just one month, the song received 1.4 million hits. A gaggle of businesspeople also seized the opportunity to develop stuffed toys based on the Grass Mud Horse.

In 2010, well-known Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei also started to participate in promoting "Grass Mud Horse Culture". He promoted a "River Crab Banquet" event, a "Grass Mud Horse Style" video (based on "Gangnam Style"), and the documentary film "Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry" (which was released as "Ai Weiwei: Grass Mud Horse" in Taiwan). These actions affected a large number of dissident netizens. In the "River Crab Era", dissident netizens called themselves "Grass Mud Horses" or part of the "Grass Mud Horse Family", as a powerful source of pride and self-identification.

References: [中國數字時代("China Digital Times")(Chinese)] (https://www.facebook.com/116074015087492/photos/a.619748821386673/4293880117306840/); "Apple Daily"; [BBC中文網("BBC News Chinese Edition")(Chinese)] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/chinese/trad/hi/newsid_7940000/newsid_7948300/7948369.stm); [端傳媒("Initium Media")(Chinese)] (https://theinitium.com/article/20180327-notes-china-censorship/)