Nature's People · China Folk Ecology Report

Author: Zhang Fu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: "Super Girl" has captivated the masses, and when it comes to the most "crazy city," Chengdu takes the top spot. Chengdu's entertainment spirit and talent are undoubtedly among the best in the country. The sheer number of bars, restaurants, tea houses, bath centers, karaoke lounges, mahjong parlors, and rural entertainment spots would leave a first-time visitor from Beijing or Shanghai speechless. This city is brimming with endless entertainment! Gathering friends to watch "Super Girl" has become the most popular leisure activity for Chengdu residents. Many locals have shifted their Friday night dinners to their homes or gathered around televisions in tea houses and bars, saying, "We're counting down the days until Friday." From the preliminary rounds to the final, bars and tea houses across Chengdu installed TVs and large-screen projectors. A resident in Wuhou District would bring his elderly parents and children to a nearby tea house every Friday, saying, "There's food, tea, and even mahjong—so much fun (in Sichuan dialect, 'duoba shi' means comfortable)! The family is divided into three factions: the elders like Zhang Liying, he prefers He Jie, and the kids are for Li Yuchun. 'Tofu,' 'box lunches,' and 'corn' gather together, and they even argue after watching the show." A 17-year-old high school student named Shanshan voted for Li Yuchun using her mother's TracFone and her father's mobile phone, texted with classmates about "corn," and even had her monthly phone bill exceed a thousand yuan. Even Hu Xiao, the host of the Chengdu competition, had his 5-year-old daughter support Li Yuchun using her parents' phone, refusing to even acknowledge Zhou Bichang when she went to the venue and covering her ears when she sang: "I only like Li Yuchun sister." Li Yuchun herself never expected so many people to love her. After advancing to the top five in the Chengdu competition, she left the Chengdu TV station for a program, only to be blocked by an overwhelming crowd of "corn" fans, causing traffic to come to a standstill. Wu Pianpian, a "Super Mother," recalled that the girl was terrified. "She's just an ordinary girl." As the "corn," "box lunch," and "tofu" fan clubs grew, Hu Xiao, the deputy director of the Economic Channel at Chengdu TV Station, was shocked to find that the ratings for "Super Girl" had surpassed those of the Spring Festival Gala in recent years. A local station's ratings reached 15%, a record he had never seen before. "Incredible!" An 54-year-old taxi driver named Chen, who stopped working on Fridays to watch "Super Girl," lost about 200 to 500 yuan in income each day. He said, "From the early days of Huo Yuanjia and The Legend of the Condor Heroes in the early 1980s to the Spring Festival Gala, I've never been this obsessed with TV." Many "Super Girl" fans even planned street protests to vote. In this frenzy, a "crazy snack group" formed a self-driving convoy from Chengdu to Changsha to cheer on the Chengdu girls advancing to the finals. "I envy them—none of today's Chinese stars have received such treatment," Hu Xiao, the host, said. A newspaper vendor said that customers would ask, "Do you have news about 'Super Girl'?" Newspapers with "Super Girl" coverage would sell out almost completely. Media coverage of "Super Girl" reached fever pitch. A widely circulated saying in Chengdu's media circles was: "If tomorrow's newspaper doesn't have 'Super Girl' news, the department heads will be fined." This was confirmed by a director of a Chengdu newspaper: "There's no choice—any news related to 'Super Girl' sells well, even online reports." Local newspapers covered the competition in detail, from behind-the-scenes stories to the contestants' daily lives, even digging up their childhood tales. Chengdu's media enthusiasm even surprised the head of Hunan TV Station's editorial department: "Chengdu journalists are too, it's causing us headaches. We're especially worried about affecting the emotions of other contestants." A male "tofu" fan with the online name "Black 3 Old 1" learned from two female "tofu" fans in the same residential complex about a QQ group and immediately joined. After answering, "I'm a 'tofu' fan from Chengdu," he was approved. He discovered that there were 10 such groups in Chengdu, with over 1,000 members. During the competition, Zhang Liying advanced to the top three, but her number of text votes was significantly lower than the other two. In the final round, the number of text votes would heavily influence the rankings. The "tofu" fans grew anxious and launched a vote drive, with the QQ group becoming the backbone. The "Tofu Army of Chengdu's Humorous Version," mainly from QQ chat rooms, had nearly 200 members, mostly in their 20s. On August 20, 2005, the group sent out a notice asking members to gather at the entrance of Biaonaihui Computer City at 2 PM the next day for a vote drive. "Black 3 Old 1" arrived as scheduled. Two days later, he received another notice to go vote, attending three events and finishing at 9:30 PM. After several vote drives, "Black 3 Old 1" became an active member, with over a dozen QQ contacts asking to join the group through him. Whether discussing internally or rallying votes externally, the most important reason for supporting Zhang Liying was her singing. Zhang Dou, a 31-year-old construction worker in a tough spot professionally, heard Zhang Liying's singing during the competition. "The melody was beautiful—like being shocked by electricity. Her voice comforted my broken heart." Zhang Dou attributed Zhang Liying's charm to "perseverance." "Her father passed away when she was 15, and her mother's income wasn't high. She studied hard while working in bars to sing, not only supporting her family but also going to university. From her experience, I learned that perseverance is key to success." So Zhang Dou took a week off work to fully support Zhang Liying's vote drive. During the vote drive, he lived like a super "tofu" fan: going out to vote in the afternoon until dark, posting updates online, urging more people to vote, listening to Zhang Liying's songs, reading others' posts, and staying up until 6 or 7 AM. "There were too many posts to finish—her official website had over 300,000 posts in a day." He lay down until 11 AM, then checked activity notices in his QQ group, browsed Zhang Liying's official website and Baidu's Zhang Liying forum, and then went out for another vote drive. Zhang Dou had impressive results, gathering nearly 600 votes in just five days. He also bought water and treated other "tofu" fans to meals, spending over 300 yuan. "Because her singing saved me. Maybe she'll never know my support, but I'm already satisfied." As he spoke, he broke down again. Other "tofu" fans expressed similar feelings: they too had been through tough times and found solace in Zhang Liying's music, so they wanted to repay her. P8-10