Honglaowai
Encyclopedia
Honglaowai also known as Red Laowai (English: "Red Foreigner") is an Internet celebrity
popular in China
and within the Overseas Chinese
communities. He quickly became famous as a Caucasian
singing Chinese patriotic songs in videos that he uploaded to numerous Chinese video-sharing
sites like Tudou, Youku, 56, etc. Frequently featured on the front page of these sites, and attracting millions of views, he drew the attention of the media in Mainland China
, Hong Kong
, Taiwan
, the Americas
, and Europe
. He has given multiple interviews to newspapers and television stations and is a topic of discussion by the media.
" (没有共产党就没有新中国)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am-eF7p8hRA, was uploaded to several video-sharing websites on November 7, 2007 as a celebration of the 90th anniversary of the October Revolution
. It featured Honglaowai singing topless against a white wall with a photo of Mao Zedong
. In the following two weeks, he released three more videos that featured similar setups and in which he sang "The East Is Red
" (东方红)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVU_kp4UR5M, "My Chinese Heart" (我的中国心)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaIMNwiU8S8, and "March of the People's Liberation Army" (中国人民解放军军歌)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-qlvsi1tLw.
songs were meant as an insult to the Chinese Government or as art. People's Daily
, the organ of the Communist Party of China
initially called for the screening of websites that show Honglaowai's videos. Several online polls also appeared asking whether Honglaowai was offensive to China.
In his blog
entry dated November 20, 2007, he explained that his intention had not been to insult China. "True Communists say that it is not clothes, but ideas that are the most important!", he stated. In his subsequent videos, he was no longer seen naked.
Until present, Honglaowai continues to release videos with a frequency of about once every one or two weeks. He has so far made cover versions of patriotic and Communist Chinese songs, songs by Taiwanese stars Jay Chou
and Jolin Tsai
, and others. His video "Injury of Cease-fire" (止战之殇)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSz8KTXRmvY, an anti-war rap song originally performed by Jay Chou, has been seen more than 4 million times on the Chinese video-sharing sites.
neighborhood of New York City
, is 26 years old, and currently works at a Wall Street
firm. His videos often feature buildings and streets situated in New York, such as the World Trade Center site
.
On his blog, and in his interviews, he states that he has learned Chinese
by himself, and that he had not been to Mainland China yet. Honglaowai announced on his blog that he would visit Mainland China for the first time on June 13, 2008. He was interviewed by Youku a week after arriving and performed a Cultural Revolution "Loyal to Mao" dance on Nanjing Road
in Shanghai.
After the closing of Lehman Brothers, Honglaowai, a Wall Street trader, has shied way from his Sina blog for several months.
Internet celebrity
An Internet celebrity, cyberstar or online celebrity is someone who has become famous by means of the Internet. Such fame is based less upon raw numbers, as with traditional media...
popular in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and within the Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
communities. He quickly became famous as a Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
singing Chinese patriotic songs in videos that he uploaded to numerous Chinese video-sharing
Video hosting service
A video hosting service allows individuals to upload video clips to an Internet website. The video host will then store the video on its server, and show the individual different types of code to allow others to view this video...
sites like Tudou, Youku, 56, etc. Frequently featured on the front page of these sites, and attracting millions of views, he drew the attention of the media in Mainland China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Taiwan
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
, the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. He has given multiple interviews to newspapers and television stations and is a topic of discussion by the media.
Videos
Honglaowai's first video, singing "Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New ChinaWithout the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China
"Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China" is a popular Communist propaganda song in the People's Republic of China, which originated in 1943 in response to the phrase "Without Kuomintang there would be no China".-Background:...
" (没有共产党就没有新中国)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am-eF7p8hRA, was uploaded to several video-sharing websites on November 7, 2007 as a celebration of the 90th anniversary of the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
. It featured Honglaowai singing topless against a white wall with a photo of Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
. In the following two weeks, he released three more videos that featured similar setups and in which he sang "The East Is Red
The East Is Red
"The East Is Red" is a song that was the de facto anthem of the People's Republic of China during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. The lyrics of the song were attributed to Li Youyuan, a farmer from northern Shaanxi, and the melody was derived from a local folk song...
" (东方红)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVU_kp4UR5M, "My Chinese Heart" (我的中国心)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaIMNwiU8S8, and "March of the People's Liberation Army" (中国人民解放军军歌)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-qlvsi1tLw.
Naked Singing Controversy
Because Honglaowai was not wearing a shirt in his first several videos, this caused a controversy among China's online community and China's media. Several newspaper articles questioned whether his singing of traditional CommunistCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
songs were meant as an insult to the Chinese Government or as art. People's Daily
People's Daily
The People's Daily is a daily newspaper in the People's Republic of China. The paper is an organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China , published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. In addition to its main Chinese-language edition, it has editions in English,...
, the organ of the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
initially called for the screening of websites that show Honglaowai's videos. Several online polls also appeared asking whether Honglaowai was offensive to China.
In his blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
entry dated November 20, 2007, he explained that his intention had not been to insult China. "True Communists say that it is not clothes, but ideas that are the most important!", he stated. In his subsequent videos, he was no longer seen naked.
Until present, Honglaowai continues to release videos with a frequency of about once every one or two weeks. He has so far made cover versions of patriotic and Communist Chinese songs, songs by Taiwanese stars Jay Chou
Jay Chou
Jay Chou is a Taiwanese musician, singer-songwriter, music and film producer, actor and director who has won the World Music Award four times. In 1998 he was discovered in a talent contest where he displayed his piano and song-writing skills. Over the next two years, he was hired to compose for...
and Jolin Tsai
Jolin Tsai
Jolin Tsai was born on 15 September 1980. She is a Taiwanese Golden Melody Award-winning Mandopop singer, dancer and actor. She is managed by Mars Entertainment Ltd .-Career:...
, and others. His video "Injury of Cease-fire" (止战之殇)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSz8KTXRmvY, an anti-war rap song originally performed by Jay Chou, has been seen more than 4 million times on the Chinese video-sharing sites.
Personal life
Honglaowai lives in the ChelseaChelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...
neighborhood of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, is 26 years old, and currently works at a Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
firm. His videos often feature buildings and streets situated in New York, such as the World Trade Center site
World Trade Center site
The World Trade Center site , also known as "Ground Zero" after the September 11 attacks, sits on in Lower Manhattan in New York City...
.
On his blog, and in his interviews, he states that he has learned Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
by himself, and that he had not been to Mainland China yet. Honglaowai announced on his blog that he would visit Mainland China for the first time on June 13, 2008. He was interviewed by Youku a week after arriving and performed a Cultural Revolution "Loyal to Mao" dance on Nanjing Road
Nanjing Road
Nanjing Road is the name of more than one road:* Nanjing Road * Nanjing Road * Nanjing Road...
in Shanghai.
After the closing of Lehman Brothers, Honglaowai, a Wall Street trader, has shied way from his Sina blog for several months.
Popular Perception
Despite the controversies that Honglaowai has created, he remains popular with the public in China. The media has described his audience as thinking of him as "cute" and "handsome". His fans have set up several fan websites and pages dedicated to him.External links
Blog at Sina Vlog at Tudou Vlog at Youku- Vlog at Youtube Vlog at 56 Baidu Tieba Discussion page for Honglaowai on BaiduBaiduBaidu, Inc. , simply known as Baidu and incorporated on January 18, 2000, is a Chinese web services company headquartered in the Baidu Campus in Haidian District, Beijing, People's Republic of China....