Shi Hengxia

Shi Hengxia (史恒侠, Pinyin: "Shǐ Héngxiá", born 1977) is a woman from a farmer family in a small town in Shaanxi (a north-central province of the China) who received world-wide notoriety in 2005 for her postings on the Internet.

"Usually referred to as frjj, short for "Furong Jiejie", which literally means "Sister Lotus". Shi Hengxia's apparently misplaced confidence in her looks, writing, and dancing ability has made her something of an Internet legend." [http://www2.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-07/01/content_456357.htm]

Name

She is better known by her nickname which is Furong Jiejie (芙蓉姐姐 "Fúróng Jiějiě") in Chinese or Sister Furong in half English or Sister Lotus (Flower) [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/18/AR2005071801561.html] or Sister (cotton-rose) Hibiscus (Flower). [http://www.tob-business.com/ENG/MEMBERS/ccfc/eng_product_3.html] [http://www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/tenji/chinretsu/sin2005/sin2005.html] [http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/08/23/MTFH55820_2005-08-23_14-41-27_WRI352816.html] in English. "Furong is the Chinese name for a flower which has always been used to describe young beauty." [http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2003/0501/tr16-1.html]

Fame

Sister Furong "did not have an easy time with the country's college entrance system. It took her three tries to get into college, and since graduation, she has set her eyes on two of the country's best schools". [http://www2.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-07/01/content_456357.htm] Over several years, she tried but failed to gain entrance to either of two top Beijing universities (Tsinghua University and Peking University) for postgraduate studies. She posted the story of her determination and pictures of herself on the Internet bulletin boards of those universities and touched a nerve among students. She responded to the attention by adding a quest for a boyfriend to her postings. Her narcissistic self descriptions provoked controversy and the question, "Is she funny simply because she doesn't know she is?".

"Sister Furong's fame arose soon after her photos - with some flattering ,some unflattering, and some revealing a political commentary - accompanied by her narcissistic words from the Tsinghua University BBS were posted onto tianyaclub.com, one of China's largest online forums." [http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2005/0630/fo4-1.html] . It can be seen that she does not feel the need to explain the meaning of the photos, as there is no contradiction that requires explanation - she photoshops herself into a photo of professional - but flat chested - models.

There was blanket coverage in early 2005 by newspapers, magazines and television about her.

Government response

When her cult status began to sweep the whole country, Beijing authorities acted. In July 2005, authorities told the country's top blog host to move Furong-related content to low-profile parts of the site. Communist Party censors barred the broadcast of a TV program about her.

Future

Beijing-based film production company Zongbo Media hired her to star in a series of short films shot on digital video that would be broadcast only online Zongbo chairman Chen Weiming told Reuters.

She quit her job at a publishing house, is finishing writing a book, has auditioned for a soap opera, and says "I am preparing for a career as an anchorwoman."

She is currently being seen appearing in all kinds of marketing events, usually dancing there. It's said that her appearance compensation is above 20,000 RMB each time.

On December 29, 2007, She posted on her blog a [http://furongjiejie.blogchina.com/viewdiary.22929030.html marriage proposal] from the recently-divorced French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Many believed that this is simply a hoax, and the timing of the so-called proposal suggests a rivalry between Furong and another Chinese celebrity Yang Erche Namu, given that Yang proposed to Sarkozy just a few days earlier.

In July 2008, she held her first live concert in Beijing.

Quotes by Sister Furong

*"My friends all said the government should be encouraging a positive, helpful girl like me."
*"To men, I am the sweetest flower. They love to drink my nectar."
*"I have a pair of beautiful hands which go harmoniously with my outstandingly slim body."
*"My skin is as smooth as a that of baby."
*"All of these talents have helped me to become a good dancer. I understand life in my dance; I am looking for my lover in my dance."
*"I'm pure and noble (this is how my classmates describe me, which isn't my fault)."
*"My life is now so annoying. All the time I am the focus on the street. Why do the eyes of men fall hot upon me? I have no place to hide."
*"My sexy appearance and ice-and-jade pure quality bring me a lot of attention wherever I go. I'm always the centre of everything. People never tire of looking at my face, and my physique gives men nose-bleeds."

ee also

*Muzi Mei
*Zhuying Qingtong
*Internet censorship in mainland China
*William Hung
*Honglaowai

Sources

* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/18/AR2005071801561.html Washington Post] In Chinese Cyberspace, A Blossoming Passion "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."
* [http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,68586,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_5 Wired News] No Sex, Please, We're Repressed "In late July, authorities told the country's top blog host to move Furong-related content to low-profile parts of the site. Her pictures can still be found online, but links to them and chatrooms about her have disappeared from the front pages of major web portals."
* [http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2003/0501/tr16-1.html China Daily] meaning of "Furong"
* [http://sisterfurongjiejie.blogspot.com/ sisterfurongjiejie] "On her Chinese blog, Sister Furong Jiejie describes herself as follows: D-cup breasts, round bottom, a 50-cm slim waist and weight under 45 kilograms."
* [http://spaces.msn.com/members/sevencastles/Blog/cns!1psdFdW3uWZp-A3c-JeidiRg!862.entry Sevencastles Blog] "On the bulletin boards of Tsinghua University and Peking University, Sister Furong, who had an obvious hunger for fame, kept uploading photos of herself in sexually assertive but unrevealing poses to highlight her S-shaped curves. Accompanying each photo was a brief diary entry with narcissistic words."
* [http://www.beijingportal.com.cn/7838/2005/06/30/[e-mail] Beijing Portal] "For now, everyone is playing along and no one knows if our Lotus Flower is in on it."
* [http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2005/0630/fo4-1.html China Daily] Ego pays off
* [http://www2.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-07/01/content_456357.htm China Daily] Hibiscus blooms' and creates a buzz on the Net
* [http://www.sznews.com/n3/ca1711270.htm sznews] BBStar Sister Furong debuts in Internet Movie "a five-minute film"

External links

* [http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20050729_1.htm EastSouthWestNorth] A different take on Shi Hengxia's situation