Original Article: https://www.weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404515658321756636#_0
Original Author: 小胖子 (Published by: 爱战DAYTOY_1005)
I am not a perfect person, but this does not stop me from working hard to become a better person.
Xiao Zhan
When we speak of celebrities, what is our first impression? Someone who earns a lot? Stylish clothes, red carpet and spotlights? However, accompanying these glorious facade, comes with the pressure of public opinion and gossip, endless paparazzi and sasaeng, sharp criticisms from various internet users… in this era of information, becoming a celebrity, not only means that that person is working hard to pursue his acting dreams, but also means that this person would need to be prepared to face the judgement of public opinion.
Xiao Zhan, who rose to fame from “The Untamed” last year, entered the entertainment business as a commoner, and yet, not long after gaining popularity, he became the focal point of an internet controversy. In this whole process, what changes did Xiao Zhan experience? As someone who just had a first peek at success, how does he view this internet controversy incident?
Table of Contents
From “Commoner” to “Artist”
I look back at the “me” at that time, if I knew I was going to go through so much things, I might retreat. Actually, precisely because it was an unknown circumstance, everyone is curious to know how the path ahead is like. Probably just because of this sense of curiosity, allowed me to keep moving forward.
Xiao Zhan
In 2015, 24 year old Xiao Zhan had already graduated from university, and had a stable job as a graphic designer. If he had never entered the entertainment industry, Xiao Zhan would probably be like the most of us, go to work, knock off, get married, have kids, and live a simple life. However, a chance opportunity allowed him to choose the life of a different possibility – he participated in “X-FIRE”, a talent search variety show. In this, all of his professional knowledge was no longer suitable, he had to start from zero, and to him, “the entertainment business is a whole new world, and many things were out of his cognition.
It was a test of courage to switch industries, since he had to start from zero, but it required even more courage to persist with the change. During the training camp for the competition, whether it was vocal training or dance training, they were all difficult tasks for Xiao Zhan. However, no matter how difficult it was, even if he trained until he suffered knee effusion and broke off his toe nails, he persisted with the training. The difficulties worsened after his debut – for a long period of time, Xiao Zhan did not have any jobs and hence no income, but he still persisted with his performance classes, lines classes and his weight loss program – from 150lbs to 120lbs.
When he was a graphic designer, his career path was clear and distinct, but whereas in the entertainment business, no one would ever know when that spotlight would descend upon him – he might retreat, he might doubt himself. In one of this latter interviews, Xiao Zhan said “there are too many hardworking people in this industry, I am lucky” – he finally met the spotlight that belonged to him. But the hard work and persistence in order to for him grasp that light – if he did not had his performance foundation, if he were still that 150lbs him, the Wei Wuxian role in “The Untamed” might simply just slip past him.
Artist is also a profession
Actors and celebrities should not view their profession as one to be sought after, you still have to be down-to-earth and to act well in every single show, and treat all your works seriously.
xiao zhan
After becoming an artist, although the work contents are totally different from his “commoner” period, but as someone who has went through the social “school of hard knocks”, Xiao Zhan maintained his professionalism and seriousness – “Every worker should be working hard at his job, treat every job seriously, and don’t procrastinate.”, he even jokingly called himself “a entertainment business wage earner”.
When he was a graphic designer, Xiao Zhan used to prepare multiple proposals at the same time for his clients’ picking; as an artist, Xiao Zhan would often request for multiple takes such that the better takes would be chosen.
When he was a graphic designer, working overtime is a daily occurrence; as an artist, due to the arrangement of shooting schedules, he would often face extremely heavy workload, but Xiao Zhan maintained “I enjoy my job, and I enjoy the security and satisfaction from a busy schedule.“
When he was a graphic designer, his self imposed working standards were “high efficiency, good results“; as an artist, Xiao Zhan would always prepare for his job before hand – when recording the promotional song for the movie “Two Tigers”, Xiao Zhan had already been working continuously for 10+ hours and he could not even put on his contact lenses, but he still completed the recording with high efficiency due to the preparation work he had done. The staff from Guang Xian (TN: The company in charge of the song recording) said, a standard well trained singer being able to sing right away in the recording studio is normal, but in Xiao Zhan’s case, he had been shooting dramas in the daytime and he had no time to practice the song, but yet he still came fully prepared and this amazed him.
When he was a graphic designer, as someone at the receiving end of endless unreasonable requests, he fully understands how that felt, and from that he learnt how to respect every single staff, and how to better cooperate. In the “VogueMe” interview, Xiao Zhan said, “Artist is just a job, I don’t like artists to place themselves on a pedestal, just like today you are the reporter who is interviewing me, today I am someone being interviewed. Cooperation, is just so that we can complete our jobs, coming in for the photo shoot is my job today, every single staff is also executing this job, it’s just the role is different.“
After becoming an artist, Xiao Zhan maintained the concept of “going to work” and “knocking off”. In one of his interview for “Jade Dynasty” press conference, he said “Celebrity is also a profession, a job, when I need to appear on screen and under spotlights, I can command attention. But, at home I am just a normal person, if I want to lie on the sofa, I would just do so. For example, today after the press conference, after I reach home, I would be very relaxed, I’ve knocked off!” His mentality is similar to many youngsters, after knocking off, he has ended his day’s operation, and the matters related to work are left at the doorstep.
Using Xiao Zhan’s own analogy, actor Xiao Zhan is a gear, needs energy to start, needs to be precise; person Xiao Zhan is like a sofa, he lets himself be comfortable, and also allows people around him to be comfortable.
Although his external identity changed, the soul within, crafted by all of his experiences, will not be easily changed.
Learning to live with different opinions
I respect everyone’s opinions, but for those malicious slanders and rumors, I can’t quite understand. I will not intentionally please those who don’t like me, nor will I change myself because of this, I will only focus on the things I should do well.
Xiao Zhan
After entering the entertainment business, working hard to complete his own job is relatively something “easy” to do. What is more “complex” comes from handling the external environment.
After attaining popularity, Xiao Zhan became more and more exposed under the public’s eye, and his private space became more and more compressed. Shooting sites, hotel lobbies, airports are always filled with people holding mobile phones or cameras; every expression, every statement would be slowed down and studied under a magnifying glass.
Just like there are a thousand ways to interpret Hamlet. Just a photograph or a paragraph, there are a hundred interpretations of a hundred Xiao Zhans. Rumors are often like this, 70% of falsehoods mixed with 30% of truth.
“You win some, you lose some, after becoming a public figure it meant that there are multiple pairs of eyes staring at you, anything you do would be judged. Whether it is positive or misguided. Truth and falsehoods, isn’t this circle just like this? Whether the rumors or the gossip is true or false, who knows?“
When Xiao Zhan first saw the rumors, he felt upset, felt that these are falsehoods and rumors, he is not such a person, but slowly, he learnt to console himself, “Life is short, do not waste time on those who dislikes you, there isn’t enough time to spend time on those you love.”
Despite Xiao Zhan being prepared to face controversies as a public figure, to him, the internet controversy incident this time round, came out of nowhere. Early this year, like everyone else, Xiao Zhan was self-quarantined at home, paying attention to the news, watching dramas, reading and resting, and practicing his culinary skills from time to time, but the sudden explosion of topics and discussions online caught him off guard. The argument between “fandom” and “fanfiction” dragged out the “silent idol” label and some of his old Weibo posts from his commoner days, left the internet brewing. As that was the critical period for the fight against the pandemic, Xiao Zhan did not rush to make much clarifications or replies, but only let his studio release a Weibo statement, urging everyone to quieten down and be at peace, and use more positive methods, come together, work and and support events that will bring about more positivity to the society.
It is only quite recent that Xiao Zhan made any response to the incident on the media. In this incident, those who supported the “fanfiction” appeared to be the righteous group, whereas those who like Xiao Zhan appeared to be those who made use of “freedom of speech” to conduct “cyber terrorism”, but for the person who stands in the eye of the storm, how did Xiao Zhan view the entire incident?
Xiao Zhan’s statements did not reveal any emotions, any resentment, or any sentiment of being wronged. Instead, he objectively stated his views, “We need to learn to live with different opinions, and also respect everyone’s rights to voice theirs. But this world is like this, there is a balance of energy, there are those who love you, who like you, at the the same time there will be people who hates you, who dislikes you. Giving others the space and freedom to voice different opinions is also a form of respect. Accepting criticisms during growth, displaying kindness in adversity.“
With regards to his choice of words as a commoner, Xiao Zhan openly admitted his inappropriateness, “I will not use youth or commoner as an excuse.” At the same time, he also expressed his apologies for those who were hurt by what he said then, and seriously reflected on himself, and said “If I could use my current experience and sensibleness back then, I would definitely respect everyone’s effort in their work, and will not comment rashly.”
There is a phrase in the “Analects” – To a gentleman, it is never to impose that he could do no wrong, but more importantly is to correct himself after he has done wrong.
When asked how he would adjust himself to face this controversy, Xiao Zhan used this phrase to encompass his situation for those few months – “When serious – work, when confused – read, when alone – think, when upset – sleep.“
After experiencing the storm that came after his fame, Xiao Zhan has already learnt to treat it with common sense – “I hope that I am still the same initial me, to be able to maintain humility and politeness.“
Learning to become a good public figure
I also felt that the more support you get and the more attention you have, the bigger the responsibility you have. As a youth, I should take on more social responsibility.
Xiao Zhan
As a public figure, how to express and communicate?
Nowadays, Xiao Zhan is a lot more careful in his expression – “Now I represent not just Xiao Zhan as a person, but also my team, even if not for myself, there is no need to create any unnecessary trouble.”
In comparison to his early days (in the entertainment business), Xiao Zhan’s Weibo has a lot less day-to-day content and a lot less interaction with his fans, as he hoped not to bother others due to the over-studying of what he posted, and even more so, he hoped the inconvenience would not overwhelm the intention of what he shared. Now, he hopes to communicate with those who like and support him via his works, and he is also willing to accept good intent constructive criticisms on his profession.
As a public figure, every move and every word would attract attention, misunderstandings and taking things out of context could not be prevented. As for Xiao Zhan, he still abides by the same principles from the very start – “Action speaks louder than words, I can only do the best of myself.”
As a public figure, how do you guide?
In this internet controversy incident, the relationship between the idol and his fans are most hotly discussed, some internet users felt that an idol should manage their fans well. For this, Xiao Zhan also gave his opinion on how he views the relationship between the idol and his fans – “I feel that those who like me and support me are not in a subordinate-superior relationship with me. More so, I feel that we are in the relationship as equals. I always hoped that I could do my best to guide those who like me, and provide them motivation. Everyone must first cherish themselves, live their lives well, and not to any extreme actions that could hurt others and themselves. Thereafter, in their free time, they could continue to like their stars.”
In fact, this was not the first time Xiao Zhan voiced how he viewed the relationship between the idol and his fans. In his past interviews, he had brought up many times that he hoped this fans would live their own lives, and hoped that he could bring about more positive values to them.
“Because nowadays our fans are quite young, with regards to the matter of star chasing, I hope I can give them more positivity, guide them to become better selves, and also bring about meaning to star chase. Just like how my idols can guide us and give us psychological strength. Every idol can give us different energy, and thereafter allow us to move towards our goals.“
As a public figure, how do you create value to the society?
Just like Spider Man, who Xiao Zhan idolized as a child, “with great power there must also come great responsibility”, he firmly believes so.
Xiao Zhan always felt that charity work should be a social responsibility any commoner should shoulder, and even more so as a public figure with so much attention, he should bear more. In this pandemic, Xiao Zhan also did what he could to donate funds and much needed medical supplies, as well as participate in Farm-Assistance live streaming; Xiao Zhan Studio set up “Xiao Zhan Fans Charity Project Team” to also proactively market Farm-Assistance projects. Recently, Xiao Zhan, as Poverty-Alleviation Product Ambassador, went to visit Hebei Yu County poverty alleviation industries, using his own influence to promote Farm-Assistance activities.
Conclusion
The path of life is long, and we would always face all kinds of choices, face all kinds of changes in our environment and identity, and these unavoidable experiences are a chance for us to continuously learn and understand ourselves. In this process, we will hear all kinds of voices and opinions around us, from friends and family, from colleagues and even strangers, and these voices may agree or disagree with us, they may be encouraging criticisms, they may be well intended accusations…
What we can do, is probably like what Xiao Zhan said – “Grateful to all well intended criticisms and corrections, we are on the path to growth.”
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