We're nearing the end of our Top 10 Meme List of 2010. We've got two more for you today including another naked celebrity scandal and a rather handsome homeless man who caught the attention of China's internet audience.
#4. Nude model Yan Fengjiao 闫凤娇裸模门
Renowned and wholesome Chinese model Yan Feng Jiao has been a national beauty icon in China of late. But in May of this year, using the pseudonym Niko, she was identified doing secret nude modeling in Taiwan. The now infamous photos of 21 year old Yan Feng Jiao, posted in several phases, involved a “toilet posing scandal” and a “KFC family chicken bucket scandal”, and were all over the internet shortly thereafter. Everyone in the Chinese speaking world seemed to have been searching for these nude photos of Yan Feng Jiao like mad, who was known for her lovely, sweet, and innocent appearance on a Chinese TV dating show "If You Are the One". Over the last year, she had been a fast rising mainstream model, but the general public was oblivious to this hidden, wild side. The party who apparently leaked the scandal hinted that this was an event involving many people in the modeling circle in China. Who’ s to say what will happen with Yan Feng Jiao going forward?
#3. Brother Sharp (Brother Xili 犀利哥)
Brother Sharp (as in “sharply dressed”) is possibly the most famous—and certainly the most handsome—homeless man south of the Hangzhou Bay Bridge. Anonymously walking Ningbo’s central business district, sometimes wearing women’s clothing, he received little attention until an amateur photographer trying out a camera lens spotted him. He posted the photos on an internet photography forum and his picture quickly spread. Now dubbed “Brother Sharp” for his good looks and rugged fashion, he found himself photoshopped into movie posters, fashion ads, and the bodies of other celebrities. Being harassed by fans for photographs and the subject of news stories both in China and abroad, he became a flashpoint for Chinese netizens debating the morals of meme-ing.
Brother Sharp’s story turned out to have a happy ending. Cheng Guosheng of Jianxi province noticed a resemblance between the now famous Brother Sharp and his own brother, Cheng Guorong, who went to Ningbo in 2000 but after three years lost contact with his family. Since reuniting with his family, he reappeared in a Guangdong fashion show and will be the subject of and upcoming film with Hong Kong model and actor Carl Ng playing the lead.
Brother Sharp Links
Pictures of “Brother Sharp” and translated Chinese netizens’ comments
Pictures and videos of the family reunion, photoshopped pictures
Words by Maximilian Giacomelli and Miller Wey.