As it smoldered, Yang Dacai (杨达才) smiled.

Then the chief of the Shaanxi Safety Supervision Bureau, Yang had been dispatched to the scene of an August bus fire that killed 36 people along a stretch of Yan'an (延安) highway in the central Chinese province.

Almost immediately, Sina Weibo, China's Twitter, trended pictures of the vehicle's charcoaled, blown-out frame; of emergency crews carrying the dead. Behind lengths of crime tape, arms tucked at the small of his back, stood Yang -- grinning at a motioning police officer.

This image juxtaposing tragedy against stereotyped government callousness quickly spread. Disgusted, and determined to ascertain the official's identity, self-appointed Internet sleuths conducted what is known as a human flesh search.

Translated directly from the Chinese renrou sousou yinqing (人肉搜搜引擎) and popularized by Chinese bulletin board services like Mop, Tianya and KDnet, flesh searches are grassroots, collaborative efforts to share information online.

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