Born of a Factory Mistake, This Sad Toy Horse Captures China’s Mood

Asia Pacific|Born of a Factory Mistake, This Sad Toy Horse Captures China’s Mood

When Vivian Hao, a 39-year-old editor in China’s Anhui Province, came across the red horse plushie on social media, she felt a pang of recognition. The toy, meant to spread holiday cheer, seemed to capture something deeper about modern life.

The plushie first appeared last year in a shop in eastern China. It has stumpy legs, a golden bell around its neck and lettering on its side that reads, “wishing you instant wealth.” It also bears a conspicuous manufacturing error: Its mouth is sewn upside down, turning what should have been a content smile into a picture of melancholy.

Known as the “crying horse,” the glum toy has become an online sensation in China ahead of the Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest holiday, which begins on Feb. 17. The “crying horse” hashtag has appeared more than 190 million times on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and inspired a winking joke: Take the crying version to work, leave the smiling one at home.

The toy’s sudden popularity has resonated beyond novelty. Many young Chinese workers have embraced it as a symbol of their exhaustion and disillusion.

“Its expression perfectly reflects the helplessness of an office worker,” Ms. Hao said. She bought four, two sad and two smiling.

Such is the horse’s relatability that Zhang Huoqing, the 46-year-old shopkeeper who first sold it, has struggled to meet the demand — both domestic and overseas — of around 15,000 units a day, even after adding a dozen production lines to produce both the crying and smiling versions, according to China’s state broadcaster.