In Chinese Cyberspace, A Blossoming Passion - 达人(菜)

2005/07/21 | In Chinese Cyberspace, A Blossoming Passion
类别(菜菜の最愛) | 评论(2) | 阅读(273) | 发表于 21:40: By Edward Cody
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, July 19, 2005; Page A15

BEIJING -- Suddenly this summer, Sister Lotus is all over China.

Hotly debated on Chinese-language Web sites, her saucy photos get millions of hits. National magazines dote on her, and China's television crews are taping away. Late to catch on, Communist Party censors now officially frown on her. Some sociologists warn that Sister Lotus cannot be good for China's teenagers; others smile and predict her fame will be fleeting.

But nobody, including Sister Lotus, appears to know what this is all about.

"I think it's crazy," she said in an interview.

Sister Lotus, who turns 28 on Tuesday, is Shi Hengxia, and comes from a small town in Shaanxi province. Over the last few years, she tried and failed to gain admission to Peking University and then to Tsinghua University, China's most prestigious institutions of higher learning.

Undaunted, and blessed with a deep reservoir of daring, she posted the story of her determination on both universities' Web sites. China has a recent tradition of personal sagas on the Web, including those from young women chronicling their sex lives in a way that could never get by a traditional publisher. But these were different -- sincere, maybe naive -- and they touched a nerve among students.

Then a friend suggested that, since she was looking for a boyfriend, she might try posting an appeal for amorous bids as well. Pretty soon the sites were full of lovelorn prose from Sister Lotus, along with titillating -- but clad -- photos showing her in a variety of poses that must seem arty in Shaanxi.

"Lotus coming out of crystal-clear water" was the title of one such posting.

"I have no idea what was going on, but I got a lot of e-mails in response," Sister Lotus said over a bowl of tripe soup, stroking her long black hair and smiling vaguely at what she set in motion. "People wanted more pictures. Most of them liked me, but of course a few were critical."

Throughout the spring, the phenomenon grew, metastasizing into off-campus Web sites as well. As they studied for year-end exams last month, millions of student-age Chinese were finding distraction by logging on to review Sister Lotus postings.

The mainstream media, focusing on the North Korea nuclear crisis and official declarations from Chinese leaders, were slow to discover the boom. But by the beginning of July, Sister Lotus appeared to be looking out from the magazine racks at every newsstand in China.

Inevitably, the journalists went to experts for their perspectives. Interviews and roundtables appeared, accompanied by photos showing Sister Lotus dancing in the park or thrusting her chest out to form an S with her body.

"In one sense, the phenomenon of Sister Lotus is the victory of common people," said Zhang Yiwu, a Peking University specialist in modern culture. "Also, it shows the influence of the modern medium, the Internet."

Xia Xueluan, a sociologist and Peking University colleague, was less sanguine. "The lack of beliefs among young people leads them to fulfill their needs in a lower way," she said. "And of course, that is not a good thing."

But a sociologist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Li Yinhe, advised th

Shi Hengxia, known as Sister Lotus, said she has no idea why her Internet postings have drawn so much attention across China. (Photos By Chenmo Of Chenmo Studio); 0

http://cai.5d.cn/

评论Comments