In Chinese cyberspace, a blossoming passion
By Edward Cody (Washington Post)
Updated: 2005-07-29 10:17

Students interviewed at the universities that turned Sister Lotus down took a similar attitude, saying they and almost everybody on campus were part of the craze but did not take it seriously.

Zhou Min, 25, a PhD student at Tsinghua, said one of his classmates got so excited when he bumped into Sister Lotus in a hallway recently that he missed an evening seminar. A Peking University graduate student, Ye Shulan, 27, said it was all for fun. "I think you can just be entertained and laugh her off," he said.

For some commentators, Sister Lotus has grabbed the imagination of young Chinese because she is affirming her individuality so blatantly in a society where children are generally taught to conform and avoid sticking out. Others expressed concern that, despite the economic boom, life in China must be lacking something if Sister Lotus can so grip the attention of young people.

She contacted the administrator of one Web site who agreed to record her dancing and explaining herself to critics. The segment was posted last week.

Then the Hong Kong-based Phoenix satellite television network broadcast a live interview with her Friday, and aired it a second time later in the day.

Sister Lotus, dressed in a see-through blouse and tight jeans with spangles on the thighs, said she had quit her job at a publishing house since the publicity exploded.

Gesturing with applied grace, she announced that she was just about finished with a book in which she urges young Chinese to follow her example and not give up in the face of adversity.

Career prospects look bright, she added. She has auditioned for a soap opera, and a television network whose name she would not reveal has been in touch about a job.

"I am preparing for a career as an anchorwoman," she said, smiling again.

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