Xianxingzhe
Encyclopedia
Xianxingzhe is the first bipedal humanoid robot
in China
, created in 2000 by the Chinese
National University of Defense Technology
in Changsha, Hunan
. The robot, standing 140 cm
tall and weighing 20 kg, walks at a pace of two steps per second. It was satirized
in Japan
, where, known as , it became an internet phenomenon; one article described the protruding joints near the robot's crotch
as a "cannon
", resulting in internet games based on the concept.
's and America
's robots in the Expo '85
world fair in Tsukuba
, Japan. On 31 December 1987, the Chinese robot's legs were successfully programmed. By 1989, the team moved onto the robot's synchronization of the hands, nervous system, and visual sensors, thus steering the project into the direction of making a humanoid robot. On 29 November 2000, the robot was complete, and the team named it "Xianxingzhe", meaning forerunner, as the robot was hailed as a major technological breakthrough in China.
that was made on it.
's ASIMO
and Sony
's QRIO
SDR-3X for juxtaposition.
Later, in a separate article, the site "revealed" that the Senkousha was actually a military weapon, and elaborated on the protruding joint on the robot's crotch. According to the page, the Senkousha would first rattle the ground with its feet to stir the energy resting on the ground, then it will do squats to harness that energy and transfer them to its crotch cannon, then finally fire that energy in a massive white beam with a pelvic thrust
. In conclusion, the author of the article expressed his worries about world peace
, seeing the destructive power that the robot possesses (including the ability to make people die laughing).
With the article, Samurai Damashii exceeded 10,000 pageviews per day, which is rare in personal webpages. It was said that a peak level of 200,000 pageviews per day was recorded. (In Japan, in the past, a personal webpage with 1,000 pageviews per day was considered successful. Now, because of Senkousha, that standard has risen to 10,000.) The articles officially started the Senkousha craze in Japan, and later Taiwan
.
s; but CD-rom
versions can be purchased for additional features. In the games, the player controls the Senkousha sprite
in a 2.5D
environment and battles robots similar to ASIMOs and AIBO
s. The objective of the games is to destroy as many enemy units as possible, until the Senkousha is destroyed. Players can also compare scores on the internet ranking chart.
In the games, many additions were made on the Senkousha, for example, the Chinese Drill, the Chinese Chop, a Gatling gun
(in the cannon), a self-destruct
button, a jet pack
, etc. Upgrades are available for the Chinese Drill, the Gatling gun, and the Chinese Cannon throughout the game. The technology of the Senkousha is attributed to research in a Tao
system.
The plot of Senkousha Game 1 follows the fictitious "Asia One Year Conflict" (アジア一年紛争). In 2003, the nation of Japan declared bankruptcy
. This led to a crash in the Asian economy. To ensure their survival, the Asian corporate giants underwent a series of M&A, forming conglomerates
with various militaries of Asian countries. These companies later developed Robot Army (RA) units for military uses. Because of the chaos, terrorism
and territorial dispute
s were frequent. On the surface they are only minor regional conflicts, but in reality they are corporate wars between the enterprises of different nations. In the end, it was said that it wasn't American intervention or nuclear bombs that ended the war, it was a new Communist
robot and an Ace pilot that did.
The plot of Senkousha Game 2 takes place ten years after the events of Senkousha Game 1, and follows the "Kawamura Rebellion" (川村の反乱). After the Asia One Year Conflict, the RA Treaty was signed to abolish the development and use of RA weapons, and their programmers were prosecuted. But on 20 July 2013, during an end-of-war memorial parade in Tiananmen Square
, an unknown armed RA unit opened fire on the parade. Following this violation of the RA Treaty, the sealed Senkousha emerges from its hangar to fight once again.
s like 2channel
, achieving meme stature. Using the plot from the games, fans even wrote a theme song for Senkousha, and subsequently used the song to make a fake tokusatsu
opening animation, spreading the meme even further.
Other appearances include:
Humanoid robot
A humanoid robot or an anthropomorphic robot is a robot with its overall appearance, based on that of the human body, allowing interaction with made-for-human tools or environments. In general humanoid robots have a torso with a head, two arms and two legs, although some forms of humanoid robots...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, created in 2000 by the Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
National University of Defense Technology
National University of Defense Technology
National University of Defense Technology is a comprehensive national key university based in Changsha, Hunan Province, China.It is under the dual supervision of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education, designated for Project 211 and Project 985, the two national plans for...
in Changsha, Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
. The robot, standing 140 cm
Metre
The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units . Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole , its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology...
tall and weighing 20 kg, walks at a pace of two steps per second. It was satirized
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where, known as , it became an internet phenomenon; one article described the protruding joints near the robot's crotch
Crotch
The term crotch may be used to describe the region of an object where it splits into two or more limbs. This can include trees, animals, buildings, in wiring diagrams, etc....
as a "cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
", resulting in internet games based on the concept.
Development
China's robotics research began during the 1980s, and their resources at the time were primitive compared to other countries'. Nonetheless, the National University of Defense Technology was determined to make a robot for China, after seeing JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's and America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
's robots in the Expo '85
Expo '85
Expo '85, officially called , was a world's fair held in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan between Sunday, March 17 and Monday, September 16, 1985. The theme of the fair was "Dwellings and Surroundings - Science and Technology for Man at Home"...
world fair in Tsukuba
Tsukuba, Ibaraki
is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. It is known as the location of the , a planned city developed in the 1960s.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 207,394 and a population density of 730 persons per km². Its total area is 284.07 km².Mount Tsukuba, particularly well-known...
, Japan. On 31 December 1987, the Chinese robot's legs were successfully programmed. By 1989, the team moved onto the robot's synchronization of the hands, nervous system, and visual sensors, thus steering the project into the direction of making a humanoid robot. On 29 November 2000, the robot was complete, and the team named it "Xianxingzhe", meaning forerunner, as the robot was hailed as a major technological breakthrough in China.
Parody
Though a significant advance in robotics in China, the robot was truly famous for the spoofParody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
that was made on it.
Samurai Damashii
On 3 March 2001, the Japanese website Samurai Damashii (侍魂) posted a page ridiculing the Senkousha (Japanese reading of the Chinese characters for Xianxingzhe) in response to the Chinese enthusiasm. In that page, Samurai Damashii exaggerated the Senkousha as "the crystallization of China's four thousand years of scientific knowledge", commented on the crude design (e.g. the "Chinese Cannon" on its crotch), and put its image among images of HondaHonda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
's ASIMO
ASIMO
is a humanoid robot created by Honda. Introduced in 2000, ASIMO, which is an acronym for "Advanced Step in Innovative MObility", was created to be a helper to people. With aspirations of helping people who lack full mobility, ASIMO is used to encourage young people to study science and mathematics...
and Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's QRIO
QRIO
QRIO was to be a bipedal humanoid entertainment robot developed and marketed by Sony to follow up on the success of its AIBO toy. QRIO stood approximately 0.6 m tall and weighed 7.3 kg...
SDR-3X for juxtaposition.
Later, in a separate article, the site "revealed" that the Senkousha was actually a military weapon, and elaborated on the protruding joint on the robot's crotch. According to the page, the Senkousha would first rattle the ground with its feet to stir the energy resting on the ground, then it will do squats to harness that energy and transfer them to its crotch cannon, then finally fire that energy in a massive white beam with a pelvic thrust
Pelvic thrust
The pelvic thrust is the thrusting motion of the pelvic region, which is occasionally used in sexual intercourse.-Dance:Pelvic thrusts can also be used as a dance move, often as part of bump and grind. It is explicitly referred to in the song "Time Warp" from the 1970s The Rocky Horror Picture Show...
. In conclusion, the author of the article expressed his worries about world peace
World peace
World Peace is an ideal of freedom, peace, and happiness among and within all nations and/or people. World peace is an idea of planetary non-violence by which nations willingly cooperate, either voluntarily or by virtue of a system of governance that prevents warfare. The term is sometimes used to...
, seeing the destructive power that the robot possesses (including the ability to make people die laughing).
With the article, Samurai Damashii exceeded 10,000 pageviews per day, which is rare in personal webpages. It was said that a peak level of 200,000 pageviews per day was recorded. (In Japan, in the past, a personal webpage with 1,000 pageviews per day was considered successful. Now, because of Senkousha, that standard has risen to 10,000.) The articles officially started the Senkousha craze in Japan, and later Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
Senkousha Games
Following Samurai Damashii's articles, the Silchov Brothers (シルチョフ兄弟社) made the doujin "Senkousha Games" and hosted them on their website. The Senkousha Games are free to the public, and run on Java appletJava applet
A Java applet is an applet delivered to users in the form of Java bytecode. Java applets can run in a Web browser using a Java Virtual Machine , or in Sun's AppletViewer, a stand-alone tool for testing applets...
s; but CD-rom
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
versions can be purchased for additional features. In the games, the player controls the Senkousha sprite
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
in a 2.5D
2.5D
2.5D , 3/4 perspective and pseudo-3D are terms used to describe either:* 2D graphical projections and techniques which cause a series of images or scenes to fake or appear to be three-dimensional when in fact they are not, or* gameplay in an otherwise three-dimensional video game that is...
environment and battles robots similar to ASIMOs and AIBO
AIBO
AIBO was one of several types of robotic pets designed and manufactured by Sony...
s. The objective of the games is to destroy as many enemy units as possible, until the Senkousha is destroyed. Players can also compare scores on the internet ranking chart.
In the games, many additions were made on the Senkousha, for example, the Chinese Drill, the Chinese Chop, a Gatling gun
Gatling gun
The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...
(in the cannon), a self-destruct
Self-destruct
A self-destruct is a mechanism which causes a device to destroy itself under a predefined set of circumstances.Self-destruct mechanisms are also found on devices and systems where malfunction could endanger large numbers of people...
button, a jet pack
Jet pack
Jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack, and similar names are various types of devices, usually worn on the back, that are propelled by jets of escaping gases so as to allow a single user to fly....
, etc. Upgrades are available for the Chinese Drill, the Gatling gun, and the Chinese Cannon throughout the game. The technology of the Senkousha is attributed to research in a Tao
Tao
Dao or Tao is a Chinese word meaning 'way', 'path', 'route', or sometimes more loosely, 'doctrine' or 'principle'...
system.
The plot of Senkousha Game 1 follows the fictitious "Asia One Year Conflict" (アジア一年紛争). In 2003, the nation of Japan declared bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. This led to a crash in the Asian economy. To ensure their survival, the Asian corporate giants underwent a series of M&A, forming conglomerates
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
with various militaries of Asian countries. These companies later developed Robot Army (RA) units for military uses. Because of the chaos, terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and territorial dispute
Territorial dispute
A territorial dispute is a disagreement over the possession/control of land between two or more states or over the possession or control of land by a new state and occupying power after it has conquered the land from a former state no longer currently recognized by the new state.-Context and...
s were frequent. On the surface they are only minor regional conflicts, but in reality they are corporate wars between the enterprises of different nations. In the end, it was said that it wasn't American intervention or nuclear bombs that ended the war, it was a new Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
robot and an Ace pilot that did.
The plot of Senkousha Game 2 takes place ten years after the events of Senkousha Game 1, and follows the "Kawamura Rebellion" (川村の反乱). After the Asia One Year Conflict, the RA Treaty was signed to abolish the development and use of RA weapons, and their programmers were prosecuted. But on 20 July 2013, during an end-of-war memorial parade in Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world...
, an unknown armed RA unit opened fire on the parade. Following this violation of the RA Treaty, the sealed Senkousha emerges from its hangar to fight once again.
Influence
The Senkousha craze quickly spread into Japanese internet forumInternet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
s like 2channel
2channel
is a Japanese textboard. In 2007 there were 2.5 million posts made every day. Launched in 1999, it has gained significant influence in Japanese society, comparable to that of traditional mass media such as television, radio, and magazines. As of 2008, the site generates revenue upwards of ¥100...
, achieving meme stature. Using the plot from the games, fans even wrote a theme song for Senkousha, and subsequently used the song to make a fake tokusatsu
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....
opening animation, spreading the meme even further.
Other appearances include:
- Netrunner, a Japanese magazine, quick to respond to internet culture, made models of the Senkousha for sale. The magazine also featured Senkousha in its anime OVA, Netrun-monNetrun-monis a single-episode Japanese original video animation which was created to celebrate the fifth anniversary of NetRunner magazine. NetRunner is a controversial publication since some articles promote hacking. Characters that are used to promote the magazine and are sold as merchandise have been...
. - Hyper Octagon Station, a doujin circle, created a 3D Senkousha online gameOnline gameAn online game is a game played over some form of computer network. This almost always means the Internet or equivalent technology, but games have always used whatever technology was current: modems before the Internet, and hard wired terminals before modems...
, with robots dueling each other in the Yokohama ChinatownYokohama ChinatownYokohama Chinatown is located in Yokohama, Japan, which is located just south of Tokyo. Its history is about 150 years long...
. - The robot is depicted in the animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
Puni Puni PoemyPuni Puni Poemyis a two-part original video animation spin-off from the Excel Saga manga and TV animation. It features some of that series' secondary characters and many of its staff, primarily director Shinichi Watanabe...
dancing past the Aasu's house. - In the anime and mangaMangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
Yakitate!! JapanYakitate!! Japanis a manga, authored by Takashi Hashiguchi, serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday, which has been adapted into a television anime series by Sunrise. The manga has spanned 25 tankōbon volumes, as of January, 2007, while the weekly serialization of the manga has ended as of January 10, 2007...
, Azuma and Kawachi thought of a robot that looked awfully similar to the Senkousha when told that they are only bread-making machines. - In episode 14 of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone ComplexGhost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complexis an anime television series produced by Production I.G and based on Masamune Shirow's manga Ghost in the Shell. It was written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama, with original character design by Hajime Shimomura and a soundtrack by Yoko Kanno...
, there is an android related to the Chinese mafia named Pioneer which has a cannon protruding out of its groin area. - In the first episode of Negima!?Negima!?is an alternate retelling of the manga series Negima! Magister Negi Magi. The anime, directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, aired October 4, 2006 to March 28, 2007 in Japan. It is accompanied by a new monthly manga series by Takuya Fujima called Negima!? neo. Both series feature the same characters and...
, a model of Senkousha is seen standing on Chao Lingshen's desk. - In the twenty-third episode of RizelmineRizelmineis a manga series written and illustrated by Yukiru Sugisaki. The manga was originally serialized for six chapters in the Kadokawa Shoten magazine Ace Next from November 2001 to April 2002 with a single tankōbon collection released on March 22, 2002. The manga has was translated into English and...
, Lan-lan, the artificial human from China is seen riding on top of a robot who looks like Senkousha during the chase scene. - Norikuni Iwata from Excel SagaExcel Sagais a manga series written and illustrated by Rikdo Koshi. It has been serialized in Young King OURs since 1996, with individual chapters collected and published in tankōbon volumes by Shōnen Gahosha. The series follows the attempts of Across, a "secret ideological organization", to conquer the city...
received a Senkousha figurine from his co-worker, Daimaru Sumiyoshi, out of pity in Volume Eight of the mangaMangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
. It appears on pages 76 and 83 of both the Japanese and American version. - A modification called Parallel Worlds for Battlefield 1942Battlefield 1942Battlefield 1942 is a 3D World War II first-person shooter computer game developed by Swedish company Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh . The game can be played in singleplayer mode against the computer game AI or in multiplayer mode...
features the Senkousha as an operable vehicle, complete with crotch mounted cannon. - In episode 3 of R-15R-15The R-15 was a submarine launched ballistic missile design from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was not deployed.The R-15 was a project to develop an SLBM complex D-3 with the capability to be launched directly from the submarine while submerged...
, there is a robot with a crotch drill in one of Takuto's day dreams.