Chinese Fans Research Articles

The Impact of K-pop on Chinese Fan Culture

The influence of K-pop as a global cultural phenomenon extends beyond just music and fashion - it also impacts social patterns in today’s society. This study seeks to delve into the unique characteristics of K-pop and how it shapes the lives of its fans. By conducting surveys through questionnaires, the author has uncovered the profound impact that K-pop has had on Chinese fans in both life and spiritual aspects. In terms of lifestyle choices, it is evident that K-pop has left an indelible mark on its followers. Fans have adopted new aesthetic preferences inspired by their favorite idols while also adapting their language style and even eating habits based on what they see from these stars. It is common for enthusiasts to emulate the appearance and behavior of their beloved idols as a means to establish their own sense of identity. Furthermore, at a deeper level - spiritually - we found that K-pop has significantly shaped the outlooks held by its followers towards life itself along with influencing their consumer behaviors as well as criteria for selecting potential partners or mates. The resilience exhibited by these idols serves not only as inspiration for remaining optimistic during personal challenges but also prompts shifts in personal aspirations leading towards self-realization.

A Study of the Pirated Distribution of Japanese Variety Shows in China and the Chinese Audience --Take the Chinese Special Episodes of Monday Late Show as an Example

In today’s cultural global village, Japanese variety shows have always had a large audience on Chinese networks, among which Monday Late Show has a group of loyal Chinese fans. This study investigates the process of the distribution of Monday Late Show’s Chinese special in China by analyzing the three dimensions of the viewers (university students), the producers of the content (Chinese producers of the Chinese special episodes), and the intermediary of the cross-cultural distribution (subtitle groups). The study found that Chinese producers, Chinese viewers and the subtitle team formed an organic link from bottom to top. Viewers interacted with the producers and the subtitle team through social networks and provided suggestions and feedback on the content of the programme, participating in the production of the Chinese special episodes in real-time. However, the subtitle team still acted as an intermediary in the dissemination of the pirated version of the programme, the invisible recognition of the producers reflected the helplessness of the Japanese officials who had a weak awareness of the copyrights in the Chinese market. In the future, there is still a need to raise Chinese viewers’ awareness of copyright and strengthen intellectual property protection to promote the dissemination of Japanese variety shows through legal channels in China and the healthy development of cross-cultural exchanges.

Fan Engagement with Chinese Celebrities’ Political Signaling on Weibo

ABSTRACT As political control tightens, many Chinese celebrities have started to repost official messages on Weibo to signal political loyalty. What is the impact of celebrities’ dissemination of official messages on public discourse? Using novel data, this article finds that, for reposted official messages, younger celebrities receive more fan engagement while celebrities with more followers receive less fan engagement than their other non-political personal lifestyle posts. Furthermore, fan engagement is higher for anti-foreign intervention reposts concerning sovereignty and territorial integrity than for other reposted official messages. The findings suggest that the majority of Chinese fans on Weibo are not blind cheerleaders of the government. Instead, they selectively engage with celebrities’ political reposts of official messages. However, the fans that are avid government supporters can still dominate the online discourse. Second, the findings also suggest that younger celebrities serve as examples for citizens to emulate regarding how to engage with politics by echoing official messages. Overall, this article presents a more complicated picture of Chinese celebrities’ and fans’ online political behaviors and their impacts.

Toward an operationality perspective on fandom: Exploring Chinese fans’ emerging practices in platform-mediated environments

The rise of platforms has reshaped fan participation. Based on participant observation and in-depth interviews, this study examined celebrity fandom in China, where the Internet-powered entertainment industry and fan economy have flourished. We propose an operationality perspective as a wider-angle lens to conceptualize the multitude of fan practices emerging in platform-mediated environments. Moving beyond the text-centered approach, the operationality perspective sees fans’ platform practices (e.g. cross-platform engagement, curation of fan texts, data work) as a new logic of participation in digital fandom that could generate distinct identities and lifestyles. Operationality can be understood as a set of strategies fans employ in response to the growing influence of platformization. Operationality not only enables fans to align their practices with platform interests, but also affords them opportunities to negotiate their identities and adjust their degree of involvement in fandom.

Participate in Philanthropy for Idols or Society? Fans’ Social Media Practices, Dual Identity, and Civic Engagement in Chinese Online Fandom

Fan philanthropy in China has undergone a significant transformation with the rise of social media platforms, allowing fan communities to showcase unprecedented organizational capabilities and efficient collective action. It is worth noting that behind this collective action is the dual identity mechanism of Chinese fans who both support idols as fans and need to be positive citizens. This article employs the social identity model of collective action (SIMCA) to investigate how different fans’ social media practices impact their philanthropic action. Based on survey data from 700 respondents with fan philanthropy experiences online in China, this study differentiates between fans’ data and textual practices, uncovering that these practices enhance both group and civic identities. However, data practices, being more structured, notably boost group identity more significantly. Fans’ group identity directly affects fans’ philanthropic participation, whereas fans’ civic identity has no significant impact. Notably, the dual identity indirectly affects participation through participatory efficacy. As such, this study highlights the performative nature of fan philanthropy under rigorous state governance. It suggests that while fan philanthropy aids in achieving fan goals and has the potential to connect with broader civic activities, its primary function remains celebrity promotion, raising questions about its effectiveness as true civic participation.

Nationalism or cosmopolitanism? How Chinese football fans viewed the Japanese team and Japanese fans during the 2022 Men’s World Cup

ABSTRACT This study focuses on Chinese football fans’ reactions to the Japanese national team and their fans’ behaviour during the World Cup 2022. Despite the historical and contemporary problems that make friendly relations with Japan difficult to achieve, football fans in China largely welcomed the good performance of the Japanese national team. This attitude may be described as ‘thin cosmopolitanism’ because Chinese fans’ major frame of reference was still nationalistic. For them, the impressive performance of the Japanese national team means that Asians and the ‘yellow race people’ can also play good football. However, the Japanese fans, whose cleaning up of stadia received wide coverage during the World Cup, were criticized by the Chinese fans who interpreted the Japanese fans’ action as reinforcing the existing global racial order. The findings of this paper help reveal the limits regarding football’s role in contributing to a more cosmopolitan worldview.

The Individual Identity Construction of Chinese Fans of American TV Series in Social Media

The Individual Identity Construction of Chinese Fans of American TV Series in Social Media

Interview With Rui (Blanca) Qi, Content Creator, Internet Celebrity, and Chinese Football Journalist in Europe

Rui (Blanca) Qi earned her master’s degree in sports management from the Real Madrid Graduate School—Universidad Europea in 2018. Following her graduation, she began her career in sport media, serving as a special correspondent for several Chinese sport-media outlets covering La Liga. In 2019, she expanded her career into content creation, focusing on Spanish football as a blogger. Rui regularly produces and publishes videos on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging platform, and Bilibili, which is similar to YouTube. Through these platforms, she shares her football experiences and insights. You can follow her on Weibo, Bilibili, and Douyin under the username 祁芮Blanca. Rui has been deeply passionate about Real Madrid for over a decade, and her content creation is primarily focused on the club. This dedication has made her a bridge between Real Madrid and Chinese fans. She has released over 230 videos on Bilibili and has nearly 500,000 followers on Chinese social media platforms, establishing her as one of the top football bloggers in China. As a signed journalist and content creator, Rui has reported on numerous international sporting events including the 2020 World Cup in Qatar, the 2024 European Championship, the Union of European Football Associations Champions League, La Liga, and the Bundesliga. In this interview, she shares her experiences as a distant fan of European clubs, her insights on the cross-cultural communication of European football, the stereotypes of women in sports, and the racial discrimination she has encountered in European stadiums.

Empowering Chinese Young Female Fans on Social Media through Artificial Intelligence to Control their Body Image

The purpose of this qualitative study was to empower the young Chinese fans on social media through artificial intelligence (as virtual influencers) to control their body image. The study aimed to investigate fans’ opinions, experiences, and obstacles in relation to body image perception, acceptance and satisfaction through in-depth interviews with 21 informants. Based on the interview questions and research aims and objectives, a total of 11 themes were formulated to perform the thematic analysis. According to the findings, fan involvement, social media use, and exposure to idealized body ideals of virtual influencers had an impact on body image perceptions and among Chinese young female fans. The findings also highlighted the relevance of social support and positive fan groups in fostering body image satisfaction. This study’s theoretical and practical implications add to the current literature by shedding light on the complex interplay between virtual celebrity, fan practices, social media and body image satisfaction. The study emphasizes the importance of focused interventions and support networks that meet the specific issues that Chinese young female fans experience in maintaining the confidence for embracing healthy body image. The study’s weaknesses and future research directions are also discussed

“Are we friends or opponents?” Chinese idol fans’ relationship changes from online to off-line

This study focuses on how the relationships between Chinese idol fans change in the hybrid space of online and off-line, challenging assumptions about the harmony of fan relationships and highlighting the high fluidity of these relationships. Based on imaginary relationships with other fans, such as competition or cooperation, Chinese fans intentionally control their online and off-line fan identities, which are closely related to their fan activities in different spaces, that is, fans of the same idol cooperate online to enhance the idol's status in the entertainment industry, while off-line these fans need to compete for their idol's attention.

On the dynamic interplay of macro and micro contexts in translation

Abstract This study explores the dynamic interplay between macro and micro contexts in Chinese fans’ translations of Cardi B-related videos on Bilibili. Referring to the concept of translation as a cluster concept, Cardi B is considered as a dynamic source cluster for interlingual and intersemiotic translations, leading to the evolving formulation of the micro context surrounding the subtitled bullet-screen videos. Given the frequent changes in the micro context, two relatively stable components of the macro context are initially identified for the navigation of the corresponding micro contextual elements. The macro context includes the socio-political component of tensions in the China-United States relationship during the COVID-19 period of Trump’s presidency, and the subcultural component of Bilibili as a carnival. By analysing the interaction between macro and micro contexts within the target culture, as exemplified in the translator’s additions and target audiences’ on-screen danmu comments, this study concludes that the macro and micro contexts are in dynamic interplay when the source cluster and the translation workflow have an evolving nature. Moreover, the two contexts are no longer set at opposing ends of a spectrum. Instead, an intermediate zone is bridged by danmu comments, blurring the boundaries between macro and micro contexts in cyberspace.

Informal learning of Spanish in a Chinese music fan community

In the context of digitalization and participatory culture, pop culture has sparked numerous online linguistic practices exhibiting the potential for informal language learning. This study centers around an online community consisting of Chinese fans of Spanish-language pop music. Adopting the virtual ethnography approach and using mixed methods including interviews and web-crawling of fan production, we collected data from one particular member who devotes his free time to translating Spanish-language song lyrics into Chinese, and we analyze how informal language learning takes place in this context. Our results indicate that 1) the flexibility of roles and collaborations within the community contribute to the co-construction of knowledge; 2) fan practices are fueled by the technology-facilitated fulfillment of emotional needs and the formation of a shared identity; and 3) systematic strategies appear when amateur online translators go about trying to translate colloquial expressions in a foreign language. Among these strategies are the triangulation of meanings across lyrics, the use of multiple online tools, a reliance on feedback from fellow community members, and a critical approach to sources with an eye to ensuring their reliability. These findings showing highly specialized information retrieval and critical literacy skills in fan practices could serve as inspiration for integrating lyrics translations into formal language education to enhance the acquisition of non-standardized vocabulary and the cultivation of critical thinking.

Research on the Spillover Effect of Fan Behavior on Star Image in the Idol Industry Era

With the increasing public influence of stars, this paper takes the famous '2.27' event among Chinese fans as the fundamental perspective to deeply analyze the formation process of the Chinese idol industry and fan culture. In this process, it is found that fan behavior plays a vital role in the public perception of a star's image, which can not only make the celebrity more valued by the sponsor but also make the public have a strong aversion to a particular star. This study summarized and analyzed the specific behavior of fans and its significance. Based on the existing studies, it elaborated how the spillover effect of star image from the psychological perspective produced and had a cognitive impact on the public through the primacy effect, recency effect, and halo effect. In view of the negative spillover effect caused by fans' behavior, the paper also gives two levels of stars' personal and social supervision to deal with the problem and attempts to improve the wrong order in the star-worshiping group.

A wen-wu Approach to Male Teenage Chinese Sports Fans’ Heteronormative Interpretation of Masculinity

This article analyses how performatively heteronormative, male teenage Chinese fans consume sports games through the prism of masculinity, using secondary school students’ engagement with the NBA (National Basketball Association) as a case study. Drawing on focus groups of twenty-three participants, we discover that male teenage sports fans constantly evoke elite NBA athletes as male ideals to define a desirable, heteronormative wen-wu masculinity specific to the post-reform era. In this process, they often engage in a double-standard practice, manifesting as their appropriation of the CP (coupling) rhetoric to ‘ship’ athletes and their problematisation of heterosexual women and LGBTQ fans’ similar usage of it. This double-standard practice constitutes an attempt to monopolise the interpretation of masculinity both within and outside of the sporting context. It sheds light on the heteronormative male cohort’s rejection of alternative masculinities, underscoring how aspects of gender politics unfolding in wider society are reflected in China’s teenage sports fandom.

Converting idol worship into destination loyalty: A study of “idol pilgrimage tour” in China

Purpose“Idol pilgrimage tour” is a popular trend among young Chinese fans who travel for idol-related purposes, engage in interactive events and have co-created experiences at destinations. With the growing market size of fan economy, fan tourists generate significant revenue for the local. However, many destinations have not fully utilised this opportunity, and there is a lack of research on this niche form of tourism. This research was undertaken to address this research gap.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted an idol worship–motivation–co-created experience–tour satisfaction–destination loyalty framework in the context of idol pilgrimage tours. In addition, this study investigated the direct influence of idol worship on the other four constructs. Data were collected from 354 Chinese fans who had such experience through online questionnaires. The partial least squares–structural equation modelling technique was used to examine the research model.FindingsIt was demonstrated that idol worship has a direct influence on motivation, co-created experience, satisfaction and loyalty and that there is a positive relationship between motivation, co-created experience, satisfaction and loyalty. The results advance the brand sacralisation literature by studying worship in a tourism context and contribute to interactive marketing literature by clarifying the interactive mechanism between relationships among the idol, fans and destinations. The study suggests some practical implications for destination management organisations attempting to target tourist fans.Originality/valueThis is the first study introducing the concept of the idol pilgrimage tour. Empirical results of this study reveal the underlying mechanism of how idols influence fans' travel-related psychology and behaviour.

Gendered fandom in transcultural context- female-dominated paratexts and compromised fan culture

This study aims to understand how Chinese audiences have consumed and engaged in BBC’s Sherlock as a transcultural fan with the help of digital media. Drawing on the transcultural and gendered fan studies and 36 qualitative interviews, this article interrogates Chinese Sherlock fandom within the hybridised transcultural flow of texts and identity. The key argument is that Chinese Sherlock fans have created a female-dominated fandom that updates the gendered fandom by enriching paratexts of Boys’ Love (BL) whilst China’s censorship has largely constrained fans’ homosexual productivity. On the one hand, the wide application of digital media technologies largely helps Chinese fans to access Sherlock transnationally and contribute to the global Sherlock fandom; on the other, the censoring mediascape in China has restricted fan prosumption, as erotic/homosexual fan work is not regarded as a canonical culture. This study thereby concludes, although Chinese Sherlock fans have been cultivated to circumvent the media censoring mechanism and produce fantexts outside China that features resistance power and fan intelligence, the compromised fan culture is understood as incomplete rebellion because Chinese fans have made concessions and the alternative choices are tacit by the national power itself.

TO GENERATE DATA AT ALL COSTS FOR TRAFFIC CELEBRITIES: THE REMAKING OF CHINESE NEW POOR THROUGH DATA-DRIVEN FAN CULTURE

Among Chinese fans of ‘traffic celebrities’ (liuliang mingxing, 流量明星), to generate excessive data either on digital platforms or in various sales charts so as to inflate certain entertainer’s popularity has become a normalized ritual to demonstrate one’s fan identity. The so-called fandom economy effectively mobilizes fans from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds to consume and participate, thus, generates tremendous revenues. However, when some fans could easily satisfy their consumerist desire for being economically powerful and socially successful, many more—who are seduced by the communitas of fan activism and agency as consumers —are unable or not yet fully prepared to afford this lifestyle. Depending on an eighteen-month ethnography, this study unpacks how these fans are seduced, to some extent included, but still exploited in the transitional Chinese consumer society as new poor (Bauman 2005), where digital platforms become new structuring nexus and transform existing power dynamics.

My Own Creation as a Dynamic Subcultural Objectified Authenticity of Adult Fans of LEGO

My Own Creation as a Dynamic Subcultural Objectified Authenticity of Adult Fans of LEGO

The Influence of K-pop on Chinese Fans’ Gender Perspectives: A Comparative Analysis Based on BTS and Blackpink

As the platform economy continues to infiltrate all aspects of people’s lives, internet platforms have emerged as key arenas for the development of pop music. K-pop, a globally recognized pop culture phenomenon known for its globalized marketing strategies and stage performances that reinforce gender binary traits, is epitomized by BTS and BLACKPINK. These groups have significantly influenced the gender perceptions of their fans worldwide. This research employs the methods of textual analysis and critical discourse analysis to comparatively analyze two songs by BTS and BLACKPINK, their respective stage performances, and the comments of Chinese fans. The research reveals that BTS, as a male idol group, has transitioned from reinforcing traditional masculinity to expressing universal values. On the other hand, BLACKPINK, as a female idol group, despite incorporating elements of power and cultural hybridization, has yet to break free from the stereotypical image of women within the traditional binary concept of gender. The interplay between agencies’ globalization strategies and the participatory culture of fans has had a dual impact on the gender concepts of Chinese fans. Firstly, the dissemination of universal values has further expanded the cultural influence of K-pop. Secondly, the participatory fan culture has perpetuated the gender digital divide, which is a manifestation of post-feminist modernity in popular culture.

Civic Engagement Intention and the Data-Driven Fan Community: Investigating the Motivation Behind Chinese Fans’ Online Data-Making Behavior From a Collective Action Perspective

Enabled by social media, the data frenzy in the data-driven fandom culture in China has attracted widespread attention. Unlike most forms of data labor and fan activities, Chinese fans’ online data-making behavior ( zuoshuju) appears tedious, time- and money-consuming, and overwhelmingly irrational. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the sociopsychological motivation of fans’ online data-making behavior from a collective action perspective. Based on survey data from 588 respondents with fandom experiences online in China, this study (1) distinguished two types of online data-making (operational and monetary); (2) suggested that celebrity worship and civic engagement intention were antecedents of online data-making; and (3) found that fan communities facilitated by social media bridged the effects of sociopsychological factors and data-making behavior. This research introduced the collective action perspective and constructed a quantitative path model to test the underlying mechanism and impetus of fans’ data-making practices in China, adding quantitative support to the knowledge of the hybrid pattern of collective actions embedded in the datafication world. It contributes to the understanding of Chinese youth culture and civic engagement through social media.