About
Perfect Splits refers to a Chinese photo fad that involves photographing oneself while performing a split, sometimes while multi-tasking other mundane activities such as talking on the phone or eating.
Origin
In early September 2012, a photograph of a young female performing a 45 degree angle split between two bunk bed ladders began to spread on the Chinese social networking site Weibo. Though her identity is not currently known, she is allegedly a junior art student from Shandong University at Weihai.[18]
Spread
The photo quickly spread beyond Weibo and reached Chinese internet humor forums, where many users began praising the form of the mysterious girl’s perfect leg split, or locally referred to as “一字马,” a type of gymnastic technique in which one’s legs are stretched out far in a single line. Throughout the month of September, the original photo continued to spread on the photo sharing site KL688[1], Rum Soaked Fist forum[2], Chinese-American forum mittbbs[3], Mop.com[4], 铁血社区 forums[5] and the xunkoo BBS[6] among others.
Meanwhile, the photo’s popularity on Weibo soon led many other female Internet users to imitate the split and share their iterations online, which were submitted to the CK101 forums[7] and the cnool BBS[8] as early as September 25th, with additional compilations appearing on the Van698 forum[9] and ETtoday[11] the next day. On September 27th, a news article about the “perfect split” fad was posted on the Beijing Sina blog[10] and the first English-language report on the photo fad appeared on Shanghaiist.[12] In early October, the meme was picked up by numerous English language blogs including Tea Leaf Nation[13], China Buzz[14], Wot’s Happening[15], the Huffington Post[16] and Digital Journal.[17]
Notable Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] KL688 – 抗日，要学会苦练内功，不是吗[1P]
[2] Rum Soaked Fists – Re: test no topic
[3] mittbbs – 同主题阅读：两条腿真直啊 (转载)
[5] 铁血社区 – 一张让所有男人侧目，让所有女人自然不如的图
[6] xunkoo – 寝室里的劈腿，寝室里的柔美，各种劈腿各种美
[7] CK101 – [其它趣聞] 對岸女大生時下流行「宿舍一字馬」
[8] cnool – 【惊讶】看着大三学姐这样劈叉，你担心什么了没？
[9] Van698 – 對岸女大生時下流行「宿舍一字馬」(20P+影)
[10] Sina – 宿舍女生一字馬走紅網絡 美女爭相挑戰
[11] ETtoday – 熱褲正妹瘋「宿舍一字馬」 修長美腿劈出完美45度角
[12] Shanghaiist – Photos: “Spread ’em girls” dorm-room splits become latest Chinese meme
[13] Tea Leaf Nation – Spotted on Weibo: Everybody’s Doing the Split
[14] China Buzz – Chinese girl causes Internet sensation for a perfect split
[15] Wot’s Happening – PHOTOS: Chinese girl starts internet trend for a perfect split
[16] Huffington Post – ‘Perfect Split’ Meme: Chinese College Student Becomes Internet Sensation Thanks To Spotless Split (PHOTOS)
[17] Digital Journal – ‘Perfect Split’ meme is the new Chinese Internet craze
[18] Sina – 女生宿舍劈一字马照片走红 网友模仿挑战(图)