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Tenzing Tsondu

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丁真
བསྟན་འཛིན་བརྩོན་འགྲུས་
PronunciationTenzing Tsondu
Born (2001-05-07) 7 May 2001 (age 23)
Litang, Sichuan, China
NationalityChinese
CitizenshipChina
EducationPrimary school dropout[1]
OccupationSinger
Years active2020 to present

Tenzing Tsondu[2] (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་བརྩོན་འགྲུས་; Chinese: 丁真珍珠; Pinyin: Dīngzhēn Zhēnzhū; born 7 May 2001), known professionally as Ding Zhen (Chinese: 丁真[3]), is a Tibetan singer, Internet celebrity and businessman from Litang, Sichuan Province, China.[4][5][6]

Early life

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He was a Khampa herdsman who did not finish primary school and barely speaks Mandarin.[2][1]

Ding Zhen Phenomenon

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On 11 November 2020, he became famous on the Internet for a 7-second TikTok video clip taken by Chinese photographer Boge,[7][8] and was named 'Sweet Wild Boy (Chinese: 甜野男孩; Pinyin: Tianye Nanhai)' by Chinese netizens.[9] Within a few days, his related message was read by millions of people on Sina Weibo.[10] On 18 November, he was recruited by Litang Culture, Tourism and Sports Investment Development Corporation Limited, a local state-owned company to promote the local tourism industry.[11][12] Other East Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, have also covered him. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying also reposted photos of Ding Zhen on Twitter.[13] The "Ding Zhen phenomenon" has led to a large number of Chinese tourists travelling to Tibetan areas,[14] with a significant increase in orders for destinations such as Kangding airport and Daocheng Yading airport.[15]

Works

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On 4 February 2021, Ding Zhen released his first album 1376 All Wishes Come True (1376心想事成) in collaboration with a Tibetan band, ANU.[16]

Controversy

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Ding Zhen's sudden ascension to wealth and fame caused great controversy, especially among China's Small-town Swots.[17] Some netizens disparage his success as the "epitome of superficiality" while they struggle because their only path to success is in hard work in school and the workplace.[1] Ding lacks formal education and yet gained wealth and status, including a job in a Chinese state-owned enterprise, which usually requires fierce competition to obtain.[17][18]

The Central Tibetan Administration criticized the Chinese government's use of Ding Zhen as propagandistic and not really promoting Tibetan culture, especially their religion.[19][20] Other critics argued that Ding Zhen's status as an ethnic minority contributes to fetishization and colonial-gazes from a China dominated by ethnic Han people, who view him and Khampa culture as a primitive and exotic "other".[21][8] Furthermore, in attracting tourists interested in fulfilling their cottagecore fantasies, he risks shifting local traditions toward conformity with tourists' expectations.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Zheng, Mingqiu (December 2022). “I Feel Affronted by His Smile!”: Chinese Netizen Reactions to State-Promoted Star-Making in the Case of Tenzing Tsondu (PDF). 2022 10th International Education, Economics, Social Science, Arts, Sports and Management Engineering Conference. Sanya, China. doi:10.25236/ieesasm.2022.003.
  2. ^ a b c Xu, Jun (22 January 2021). "Ding Zhen and the Myth of the True Khampa Man". Sixth Tone. Archived from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  3. ^ 底伊乐. "《丁真的世界》背后，那些"丁真式"美景都在哪？". 界面新闻. Archived from the original on 2020-12-09. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  4. ^ 吴丹. "丁真也当歌手了，越来越多"小镇青年"成为音乐人". 第一财经. Archived from the original on 2021-02-09. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  5. ^ Wu, Charlotte (2021-07-06). "Ding Zhen, the Tibetan Viral Sensation, Starts His Own Business". RADII China. Archived from the original on 2021-07-06. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  6. ^ "丁真直播首秀：一小时观看人数10万+点赞100w+ 已成"顶流网红"". 每日经济新闻. Archived from the original on 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  7. ^ Jacobus, Luke. "Meet Ding Zhen: Khampa Tibetan "Horse Prince" Becomes Social Media Sensation". What's on Weibo. Archived from the original on 2020-11-23. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  8. ^ a b "Discovering Ding Zhen: Influencer Culture And The Myth Of Tibet In Chinese Social Media". US-China Institute. 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  9. ^ "Tibetan herdsman becomes online celebrity for eye-catching image, lifestyle". SHINE. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  10. ^ "文旅产业指数实验室发布"丁真"现象级爆红舆情分析报告". 中国旅游新闻网. Archived from the original on 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  11. ^ 施郁韻 (2020-11-30). "吳彥祖翻版！藏族男孩7秒影片霸屏 1.3億熱度征服網友". 三立新聞網 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  12. ^ "'Handsome' Tibetan man in China gets job offer after finding fame online". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  13. ^ "四川藏族丁真爆红 藏人：中国主导去西藏化的西藏热". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  14. ^ 郭建伟. "为什么是丁真？". 新华网. Archived from the original on 2021-01-09. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  15. ^ "四川藏族青年丁真意外爆红 分析警示他恐很快被资本榨干 | 早报". 联合早报. Archived from the original on 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  16. ^ 丁真发新歌《1376心想事成》. 中国网 (in Chinese). 2021-02-04. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  17. ^ a b 杨鑫宇. ""做题家"们的怨气，为何要往丁真身上撒？". 中国青年报. Archived from the original on 2020-12-21. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  18. ^ Zhao, Lu (2020-12-14). "This Tibetan Boy Has Dominated Social Media for a Month". RADII China. Archived from the original on 2020-12-14. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  19. ^ "藏族甜野男孩扎西丁真爆紅 不忘宣傳家鄉". 聯合新聞網 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  20. ^ ""丁真"的身后，藏族元素真的缺席了吗？". 中新网. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  21. ^ Zhang, Wanqing (2020-11-20). "Netizens Thirsty for Tibetan Heartthrob". SixthTone. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
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