Papi Jiang

Papi Jiang
Traditional Chinese 姜逸磊
Simplified Chinese 姜逸磊

Jiang Yilei (Chinese: 姜逸磊; pinyin: Jiāng Yì Lěi; born in Shanghai), known as the online moniker Papi Jiang (Chinese: Papi酱; pinyin: Papi Jiàng) is a Chinese comedian known for her comedy on video blogs, where she pokes fun at everyday topics including entertainment news, dating and family relationships.

Early life

Yilei (first name) Jiang (last name) attended China's Central Academy of Drama, where she received her undergraduate and postgraduate degree. She has worked in entertainment as an actor and assistant director.[1] Now, nicknamed "Papi Jiang",[2] she is an internet celebrity who shot to fame by posting original sarcastic videos via social media.[3] People called her "the No. 1 Internet Celebrity" in China in 2016.

Internet celebrity

On April, 1st, 2016, Papi Jiang landed RMB 12 million (USD 1.8 million) from four investors including Zhen Fund (真格基金) and online video show Logic Talk Show (罗辑思维). Her videos have gotten more than 290 million hits on major media platforms in just four months. Four investors bought a 12% stake for RMB 12 million, valuing Papi Jiang at RMB 100 million, according to Tencent Tech. The anchor of Logic Talk Show, another Chinese cyber celebrity, Luo Zhenyu, was surprised by her quick rise to popularity. He said “Papi Jiang appealed 8 million followers only within a few months, but I obtained 6 million using the past three years through creating stories with rich information”.[4]

Funny videos

One of her most popular videos is a rant about when people in love are engaged in PDA (Public Displays of Affection). She also parodied white-collar young women who gossip about and trash their more attractive colleague for sleeping with the boss. In another series of popular videos she parodies people who talk in a mixture of Shanghai's regional dialect, English and the occasional Japanese phrase.[3] In July 2016 her first live broadcast, a 90-minute video, attracted 74 million views in one day. She was featured in an article in the New York Times in August 2016.[5]

Influence

Media commented on her recent funding as a sign that China's domestic investors are willing to pay for original content.

Posting these satirical videos became her full-time job. She posted on Chinese social media such as Sina Weibo and Douban, as well as via global media such as YouTube.

In April 2016, China’s broadcast regulator ordered her to clean up the foul language in her videos, which occurs once in awhile. They made her take down most of the videos at least temporarily, which was seen as the government’s message that it desires to assert its control over this kind of online content.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Qin, Amy. “China’s Viral Idol: Papi Jiang, a Girl Next Door With Attitude”. New York Times. 24 August 2016
  2. ↑ "Sina Visitor System".
  3. 1 2 Zheping Huang. "China’s satirical internet queen just got $2 million in funding". Quartz.
  4. ↑ "China’s top cyber celebrity? ‘Papi Jiang’ from Shanghai has VC firms lining up as brand valuation hits record US$1.84 million". South China Morning Post. 24 March 2016.
  5. ↑ Qin, Amy. “China’s Viral Idol: Papi Jiang, a Girl Next Door With Attitude”. New York Times. 24 August 2016
  6. ↑ Qin, Amy. “China’s Viral Idol: Papi Jiang, a Girl Next Door With Attitude”. New York Times. 24 August 2016
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