"Play with me!" Zhan jie as productive fans in the Chinese idol industry

Authors

  • Yuhang Zheng University of Amsterdam
  • Qing Xiao University of Oxford

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2023.2255

Keywords:

Chinese fans, Core fans, Data fetishism, Home masters, Participatory observation

Abstract

With the spread of K-pop culture in China, home masters known as zhan jie have emerged. Zhan jie are productive fans who photograph their idols and post the pictures on social media platforms. Zhan jie are essential in fandom culture because they can help their idols consolidate and expand their fan bases. However, fandom studies have seldom focused on zhan jie, possibly due to the difficulties in reaching them. We employ participatory observation to examine how zhan jie as productive fans impact the Chinese idol industry. We reveal that zhan jie are professionals, acting as mediators who connect idols and fans. Finally, we sketch a new landscape of the idol industry, with zhan jie as mediators who adjust the relationship between idols and peripheral fans.

Downloads

Published

2023-12-14

Issue

Vol. 41 (2023): Chinese Fandoms

Section

Article

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Yuhang Zheng, Qing Xiao

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

TWC Nos. 25 onward are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC by 4.0). For an explanation of the journal's reasoning, see the TWC editorial Copyright and Open Access. TWC Nos. 1 through 24 are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC 3.0) license, with TWC, not the author, retaining copyright.

Presses whose policies require written permission for reproduction should contact the TWC Editor; such permission is routinely given for no fee.