Sino Celeb is a monthly feature where we introduce a Chinese celebrity to our readers.
If you see a 20-something laughing at their phone screen while listening to the apparent titterings of a chipmunk, they are likely watching web celeb Papi Jiang’s (Papi酱) latest video.
2016 was the year of Papi – real name Jiang Yilei, 29 – who went from irregular work directing stage plays and voice acting to being the one-woman-show behind dozens of viral videos joking about white collar concerns.
The Jiang-ster was born in 1987 and raised in Shanghai, where her parents originally discouraged her artistic tendencies, though she found a creative outlet via saxophone.
After graduating from Beijing’s Central Academy of Drama, Jiang remained a relative unknown until October 2016, when her now-iconic style was first employed: sped-up video, a high-pitched voice, jokes about trending topics and jump cuts. Lots and lots of jump cuts.
By April 2016, just seven months after launching the Papi Jiang character, her Weibo followers numbered 10 million, catching the attention of investors who handed over RMB12 million for a stake in the Papi phenomenon. Jiang also caught the attention of authorities, and almost all of her videos were scrubbed from the net until coarse language was removed.
Papi Jiang soon returned, however (though slightly toned down), and is as popular as ever with more than 20 million fans on Weibo.
Kind of like: YouTube’s Lily Singh
Famous for: white-collar comedy in a chipmunk voice
See her next on: literally almost any video site
Watch Papi Jiang's take on what it's like to have a Chinese mother below (VPN on):
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