Xinhua Headlines: Fandom culture booming in China, calling ...

-- China has seen a meteoric rise of fandom culture, or the so-called "fanquan" culture, in recent years. Fanquan, literally meaning "fan ... Home China Business Culture World Sports GLOBALink XinhuaHeadlines More Photos Video In-depth Latest XinhuaNewMedia SpecialReports B&RInitiative BizChinaWeekly Editions Asia&Pacific Europe Africa NorthAmerica 中文 Français Русский Deutsch Español عربي 한국어 日本語 Português Home LatestNews China Business Culture World Sports Photos Video WatchChina SpecialReports XinhuaNewMedia GLOBALink XinhuaHeadlines Editions Asia&Pacific Europe Africa NorthAmerica 中文 Français Русский Deutsch Español عربي 한국어 日本語 Português Editions GlobalEdition ChinaEdition AfricaEdition EuropeEdition Asia&Pacific عربي Chinese(GB) Chinese(Big5) Français 日本語 русский Español 한국어 Deutsch Português NorthAmerica XinhuaHeadlines:FandomcultureboominginChina,callingfordiscipline,regulation Source:Xinhua|2021-07-2518:54:38|Editor:huaxia VideoPlayerClose --Chinahasseenameteoricriseoffandomculture,ortheso-called"fanquan"culture,inrecentyears.Fanquan,literallymeaning"fancircles,"arehighlyorganizedgroupsofpassionate,loyalfanswhovoluntarilyusetheirtime,moneyandexpertisetomaketheiridols,usuallybuddingpopsingersoractors,aspopularandinfluentialaspossible. --In2020,about8percentofChina's183millionunderagenetizensengagedinreputation-boostingactivitiesfortheiridols,accordingtoarecentreport. --Fanloyaltycanturnblindandtoxic,givingrisetoonlinetrolling,impulsivebuying,rumor-mongering,cyberspacemanhuntsandotherproblems.Totackletheproblems,Chineseauthoritiesareworkingtoregulatethefanculture. byXinhuawritersLiuXinyu,ChenMengyang,ZhangManziandWuZhendong BEIJING,July25(Xinhua)--Everymorning,ChenXuecheckssocialmediaforthelatestnewsaboutherpopidolLuoYizhouandtunesintohissongsandmusicvideos,whichshehasalreadylistenedtocountlesstimes,tohelpelevatehischartandsocialmediarankings. The23-year-old,basedinnortheastChina'sLiaoningProvince,hasdonethiseverymorningsinceshedevelopedacrushonLuoearlythisyearwhenhewasparticipatinginatalentcompetition. AndChenisnotalone. Shehasbeenactivelyinvolvedina1,000-member-stronggroupchatonthesocialnetworkingappQQ.Themembers,likeChen,arediehardfansofthestarandaremorethanwillingtospendbigmoneytovoteforhimthroughoutthecontest.Theyalsopostpositivecommentsonline,makemultiplepurchasesofconcertticketsandalbums,andcrowdfundforhisbillboards. PhototakenonApril26,2021showscharitabledonationsmadebyChenXue'sfancircleandpresentedtoachildren'swelfarecenterinnorthwestChina'sNingxiaHuiAutonomousRegion.(Xinhua) OnChinesesocialmedia,suchfangroupsareoftenreferredtoasfanquan,or"fancircles,"highlyorganizedgroupsofpassionate,loyalfanswhovoluntarilyusetheirtime,moneyandexpertisetomaketheiridols,usuallybuddingpopsingersoractors,aspopularandinfluentialaspossible. ThefancirclemembersarebelievedtobemostlyGenerationZersbornafter1995,andtheirnumberhasgrownsignificantlyinrecentyears.In2020,about8percentofChina's183millionunderagenetizensengagedinreputation-boostingactivitiesfortheiridols,accordingtoarecentreportfromtheChinaInternetNetworkInformationCenter. "Theriseoffancirclesisunderstandablebecausetheymeetthefans'needsforsocializingandself-realization,"saidZhangSining,ascholarwiththeLiaoningAcademyofSocialSciences. Zhangnotedthatfancirclesallowfanstohaveasayinthemakingofidols,becausetheyarehelpingtheiridolsearnfameandsuccessthroughtheirownefforts. "Asfans,wewanttodoeverythingtohelpouridolrealizehisdreams,andthatwillmakeushappy,"Chensaid. Inreality,fansdohelptheiridolsblossomandthrivebyliftingtheirrankingsonsocialmediaandratingplatforms.InChina,highrankingsusuallyhelpstarswincompetitions,landmajorrolesinmoviesandTVshows,andsecurebetterendorsementdeals. PhototakeninNovember2019showsfansattendingaliveconcertheldinFuzhou,eastChina'sFujianProvince.(Xinhua) However,thezealousfancultureisadouble-edgedsword,asfanloyaltycanbecomeblindandtoxic. Incidentsofcelebritiesbeingstalkedbyobsessivefansorbeingbaitedbyotherstars'fandomshavenotbeenrare.Therehavealsobeenreportsofunderagefansstealingtheirparents'moneyandcreditcardsforfrenziedbuyingspreesofproductsendorsedbytheiridols. InMay,videossurfacedonlineshowingfansofthewidelypopulartalentshow"YouthWithYou"dumpingoutlargequantitiesofmilkproducts,whichhadQRcodesprintedinsidetheirbottlecapsallowingfanstovotefortheirfavoritecontestants.Theclipsdrewstrongpublicbacklash,leadingtheBeijingmunicipaltelevisionauthoritiestosuspendtheshowbeforeitsseasonalfinale. WuChangchang,acommunicationsprofessorfromEastChinaNormalUniversity,saidthemilk-dumpingscandalwascloselyassociatedwiththeshow'scapitaloperations. "Onthesurface,theshowgavefansthepowertodecidethewinnerofthecontest.Butinessence,itwasabouttheplatformanditssponsorsmakingmoney,"Wusaid. "Whenbigplatformsandmoneycomeintoplay,fancircleshavebecomeincreasinglytoxicwithmoreillegalandimmoralbehaviors.Regulationsatthestatelevelarenecessary,"Zhangsaid. InJune,theCyberspaceAdministrationofChina,thecountry'scyberspacewatchdog,launchedatwo-monthcampaigntargetingrisingproblemsrelatedtofancircles,includingonlinetrolling,rumor-mongeringandcyberspacemanhunts. Theadministrationstressedthatitwouldclampdownonactivitiesluringminorstovotefortheiridolsorencouragingthemtospendheftysumsandraisemoneytosupportstars. TheChinaAssociationofPerformingArtshasalsoissuedanoticewarningpeopleintheindustryagainstraisingmoneyfromfansforcommercialpurposes. "Theidolsandtheiragenciesshouldalsoguidefanstoshowsupportrationallyandabidebylaws,"Zhangsaid. ZhengNing,aprofessorfromtheCommunicationUniversityofChina,saidmoreattentionshouldbepaidtothementalhealthofteenagefans. "Weshouldprovidethemwithmorecare,variousactivitiesandpsychologicalconsultationsothattheycanfeelthewarmthoflifehereandnow,"Zhengsaid. FormeridolagencyworkerWenTing(pseudonym)displaysapageshowingvotingandcrowdfundingdatainamobileappdesignedforfans,July7,2021.(Xinhua/MaXiaodong) WenTing(pseudonym),whousedtoworkforanidolagency,saidsheexpectsfancirclestoplayamorepositiveroleonceunderbetterregulation. "ThehighlyorganizedanddisciplinedfancirclescontributedalottothecityofWuhan'sfightagainstCOVID-19aftertheoutbreakoftheepidemiclastyear,suchasdonatingmoneyandmedicalsupplies,"Wensaid."Theywillplayamoreimportantroleinthefutureifwellmanagedandregulated."■ (Videoeditor:YangZhixiang;videoreporters:DingFeibaiandMaXiaodong.) KEYWORDS: YOUMAYLIKE EXPLOREXINHUANET News China Business Culture World Sports In-depth Regions Asia&Pacific Americas Europe Africa NorthAmerica Organizations Services Investment DoingBusiness WorkinChina StudyinChina VisitChina LiveinChina Emergency Weather More SpecialReports Video Photos Corrections Media People'sDaily China.org.cn english.cctv.com ChinaDaily CRI.cn Youth.cn CE.cn Taiwan.cn GMW.cn Ecns.cn QiushiJournal XinhuaHeadlines:FandomcultureboominginChina,callingfordiscipline,regulation 010020070750000000000000011102121310084747