Meme China (Internet Culture from the Middle Kingdom)

Meme China (Internet Culture from the Middle Kingdom)

Little Fatty

Little Fatty (Chinese: 小胖; Pinyin: Xiao Pang) is an internet phenomenon which began in China in late 2002 or early 2003, when the face of a sixteen year old boy from Shanghai, who had been photographed with a sidelong expression while attending a road safety class, was superimposed onto the bodies of celebrities in film posters using image editing software and disseminated across the internet. It became so prevalent over the next three years that by late 2006 the boy was described as being a "nationwide celebrity", "one of the most famous faces in China", and as having "the face that launched 1,000 clicks". He has also come to represent the face of his country's growing urban obesity issue.

The teenager had no involvement or willing participation in the creation of the first images, and was unaware of being its subject until alerted by his chemistry teacher. While visiting an internet cafe to confirm the story for himself, another customer approached him and asked if he was "Little Fatty". Initially he was so upset he had to flee the cafe, saying "It was as if I had been struck by a thunderbolt. I felt really humiliated. I couldn’t bear it." However, he has since come to view his infamy with a more sanguine perspective, commenting "I have tried to turn sorrow into strength. At least this makes people smile and I have had quite a positive response from many surfers."

The boy initially expressing no interest in capitalizing on his fame. However, as his profile increased he later reconsidered, stating a desire to become a television chef, an ambition he fulfilled when he was given his own show in 2007. Around the same time he was offered the role of Liu Chan, the last emperor of the Shu Kingdom, in Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon. The US$25 million movie is based on Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the four classical novels of Chinese literature, and will star Maggie Q, Andy Lau, and Sammo Hung. Subsequently, Hollywood movie studio New Line Cinema was reported to have invited the boy to star in a film adaptation of the bestselling Chinese online adventure novel Ghost Blows Out the Light, directed by Johnnie To.

He has also appeared on the popular Chinese talk show Tell the Truth to discuss his experiences, and has become the face of the eponymous xiaopang.cn website, which is now a vehicle to promote him as well as a forum for overweight people and an online healthy eating guide.

It has been speculated that the use of the boy's face, an example of e'gao (literally, "evil making fun of") which is intended to be outlawed under regulations introduced in December 2006, could lead to him becoming a target of the Chinese Ministry of Culture's attempt to control online satire.