Negar Kordi
Print Edition
BORN in Canada, raised in Iran, Negar Kordi’s road to recognition has lurched from one extreme to another.
Now based in the coastal city of Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, she is a well-known fixture on Panda TV, one of the most popular self-broadcasting websites in China.
Kordi livestreams the online game “League of Legends,” using the screen name Wai Quo Xiao Gong Ju, which translates as “foreign princess.” She now has more than 14,000 followers on the website.
Under the Chinese name Lan Lan, Kordi started her celebrity path on Zhihu, a Quora-equivalent community. Because of her fluent Chinese and adept use of Chinese Internet language, she quickly attracted attention in the online community.
“I didn’t become aware that I was so popular until late last year,” said Kordi. “And I don’t know the reason for it.”
On the website, Kordi answers questions from online viewers on topics ranging from dining and culture to feminism and personal relationships. She shares some of her personal stories. Her humorous, often witty answers receive many “upvotes” from other users.
At first she was often asked if she came to China because her name was racist.
“They apparently confused Negar with ‘nigger,’” said Kordi. “But in fact, Negar means ‘beautiful and precious’ in Persian.”
Kordi said she came to China because she was fascinated by the Chinese language, especially its characters.
“When I was in Iran, I first studied Japanese and I liked Kanji very much, so I wanted to go to Japan,” she said. “But later people told me that the Chinese language is composed of all Kanji, so my fascination shifted. Besides, China is an emerging power full of opportunities. So I came here.”
Zhihu gives Kordi a great channel for communicating with grassroots Chinese. She said she reads every comment people write to her — praise, criticism and suggestions. People also often share their own moving stories with her.
“I remember there was one guy who was distraught because his mother was in an intensive care ward in hospital,” she said. “I tried to cheer him up. Later he thanked me for giving him support when he badly needed it.”
Kordi said she was hurt when her popularity aroused some online controversy. She said people started to attack her, claiming that she had a marketing team “hyping” her and that her answers on Zhihu were actually written by Chinese people. Some even suggested she was just a made-up identity who didn’t really exist.
“I wish that some people would talk less and think more,” she said, dismissing all the accusations as rubbish. “Nobody likes Internet violence.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
