Gongkai Philosophy

Gongkai, meaning 'open' or 'to make public,' represents a fundamentally different approach to intellectual property and knowledge sharing compared to Western models. Rather than the Western 'broadcast' view where ideas are credited to specific authors and society pays royalties, gongkai embodies a 'network' view where innovation builds on shared knowledge and ideas are traded as favors. In the shanzhai ecosystem, manufacturers openly share intricate blueprints, device designs, and bills of materials, creating a dynamic collaborative environment that surpasses traditional open source models for hardware development. This practice enables hardware hackers to access current, affordable components and innovate without being forced to reverse-engineer or rely on outdated technology, fundamentally reshaping how decentralized hardware innovation operates.