Lou Jing
Encyclopedia
Lou Jing is a Chinese talent show contestant from Shanghai
. She was born to a Chinese
mother and an African American
father, who left China
before she was born and had lost contact ever since. Lou Jing's mother raised her as a single mother. She is currently enrolled at the Shanghai Theater Academy
. She entered the Shanghai-based Dragon TV's Go Oriental Angel talent quest in August 2009, where she became one of the five finalists from Shanghai.
Dubbed the "Black Pearl", and "Chocolate Girl" on the show, her rise to fame culminated in heated discussions on the Chinese blogosphere
. While some comments on internet forums expressed support, some comments insulted Lou and her mother with racist remarks. Her attention in the media opened serious debates about racism in China and racial prejudice.
reported that Lou had emerged as the most famous talent show contestant in China and has become the subject of intense debate because of her skin colour.
She ranked as one of the top 30 contestants before being eliminated from the competition. Rumours flared on cyberspace, allegedly citing a press report, that Lou's mother engaged in an extra-marital affair with an African American, resulting in the birth of Lou Jing. Subsequently, a blog entitled "Could Lou Jing's dad be Obama?", where the author of the blog used many sarcastic remarks to ridicule Lou Jing, received particular notoriety. Another blog, titled Lou Jing's American black father and Shanghai mother, appeared on Tianya, a popular Chinese internet forum, and garnered over 40,000 hits, with many sarcastic and angry racist attacks on Lou Jing based on her dark skin. Racial slurs such as xiaoheigui were used on her. Other bloggers wrote comments such as "Numb! This bitch still has the audacity to appear on television! I don't know what to say! One cannot be shameless to this kind of level!" Lou Jing initially did not discover these comments on the internet until her friends contacted her with messages of support. She also remarked that it was the first time she has experienced such racial hatred in her life.
China Daily
columnist Raymond Zhou remarked that the backlash on the internet was caused by numerous factors, including China's homogeneity, her "non-Chinese" appearance and her mother's associations with a foreigner, but more relevantly, that her father is black, giving her dark skin. Zhou opined that China's intolerance is color-based, where people may admire paler skin, they discriminate against darker skin. He further commented that this trend is "not totally race based," as the Chinese are biased against other Chinese who have dark skin, especially dark-skinned women, and that he believes this to be an "offshoot of class discrimination" because historically, the lower class laborers who worked outdoor had darker skin due to being constantly exposed to the sun's radiation. Zhou was one of several media commentators in China who responded to these blasts on the blogosphere, and came to Lou Jing's defense and criticized negative comments on internet. Zhou wrote that it was "high time [we] introduced some sensitivity training on races and ethnicities if we are going to latch on to the orbit of globalization." Author Hung Huang wrote on her blog, "In the same year that Americans welcome Barack Obama
to the White House
, we can't even accept this girl with a different skin colour." In the mainstream Chinese media, Lou Jing also had many supporters.
In an interview with Chinese internet portal Netease
, Lou discussed her background and how her skin colour has affected her since childhood. She responded to a hoax declaration widely circulated on the internet that proclaimed in her name that her father is "American, and not African". She replied, "Isn't it kind of stupid to say it now since China is America's biggest creditor?" When asked whether she agrees about being "a native of Shanghai", she remarked "I'm a Chinese person born and raised in China," adding that her best friends are from Anhui
and Henan
. She also remarked that she was grateful that her parents gave birth to her, and played down racial discrimination, saying it has been overblown by false press reports.
Lou received an internship offer from Shanghai television station Dragon TV after the show. She has since became a co-host of the show News Surfing Intelligence, a local Shanghai program. In an interview with the BBC's Matthew Bannister
, she remarked that racial discrimination is present in all countries of the world, but in China it seems particularly focused towards people of an African background due to the assumption that Africa is less developed. She said that she found it interesting children of mixed Chinese-white parents do not receive nearly as much negative attention.
Lou Jing is not the first Chinese person of African descent to have received widespread media attention in recent years. In June 2009, the entrance of Ding Hui , a black man from Hangzhou, to the China men's national volleyball team
also gained significant coverage on Chinese media.
and Mandarin.
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. She was born to a Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
mother and an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
father, who left China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
before she was born and had lost contact ever since. Lou Jing's mother raised her as a single mother. She is currently enrolled at the Shanghai Theater Academy
Shanghai Theater Academy
Shanghai Theatre Academy is a public university in Shanghai, People's Republic of China dedicated for dramatic art education. Its predecessor is Shanghai Municipal Experimental Theatre School founded by famious educator :zh:顾毓琇 et al.-External links:...
. She entered the Shanghai-based Dragon TV's Go Oriental Angel talent quest in August 2009, where she became one of the five finalists from Shanghai.
Dubbed the "Black Pearl", and "Chocolate Girl" on the show, her rise to fame culminated in heated discussions on the Chinese blogosphere
Blogosphere
The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community or as a social network in which everyday authors can publish their opinions...
. While some comments on internet forums expressed support, some comments insulted Lou and her mother with racist remarks. Her attention in the media opened serious debates about racism in China and racial prejudice.
Fame and Racist Uproar
Lou entered Shanghai's ""Go Oriental Angel"" program in August 2009, and reached the top-five in the Shanghai region. Initially hosts of the show were baffled by her skin colour and questioned her background, and the origins of her father. Through the exposure she received on the show, she gained attention as a human interest story and granted several interviews to television stations. The media attention resulted in mass discussions on the Chinese-language internet, but soon spreading to the English-language internet and media. On November 1, British newspaper The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
reported that Lou had emerged as the most famous talent show contestant in China and has become the subject of intense debate because of her skin colour.
She ranked as one of the top 30 contestants before being eliminated from the competition. Rumours flared on cyberspace, allegedly citing a press report, that Lou's mother engaged in an extra-marital affair with an African American, resulting in the birth of Lou Jing. Subsequently, a blog entitled "Could Lou Jing's dad be Obama?", where the author of the blog used many sarcastic remarks to ridicule Lou Jing, received particular notoriety. Another blog, titled Lou Jing's American black father and Shanghai mother, appeared on Tianya, a popular Chinese internet forum, and garnered over 40,000 hits, with many sarcastic and angry racist attacks on Lou Jing based on her dark skin. Racial slurs such as xiaoheigui were used on her. Other bloggers wrote comments such as "Numb! This bitch still has the audacity to appear on television! I don't know what to say! One cannot be shameless to this kind of level!" Lou Jing initially did not discover these comments on the internet until her friends contacted her with messages of support. She also remarked that it was the first time she has experienced such racial hatred in her life.
China Daily
China Daily
The China Daily is an English language daily newspaper published in the People's Republic of China.- Overview :China Daily was established in June 1981 and has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in the country...
columnist Raymond Zhou remarked that the backlash on the internet was caused by numerous factors, including China's homogeneity, her "non-Chinese" appearance and her mother's associations with a foreigner, but more relevantly, that her father is black, giving her dark skin. Zhou opined that China's intolerance is color-based, where people may admire paler skin, they discriminate against darker skin. He further commented that this trend is "not totally race based," as the Chinese are biased against other Chinese who have dark skin, especially dark-skinned women, and that he believes this to be an "offshoot of class discrimination" because historically, the lower class laborers who worked outdoor had darker skin due to being constantly exposed to the sun's radiation. Zhou was one of several media commentators in China who responded to these blasts on the blogosphere, and came to Lou Jing's defense and criticized negative comments on internet. Zhou wrote that it was "high time [we] introduced some sensitivity training on races and ethnicities if we are going to latch on to the orbit of globalization." Author Hung Huang wrote on her blog, "In the same year that Americans welcome Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, we can't even accept this girl with a different skin colour." In the mainstream Chinese media, Lou Jing also had many supporters.
In an interview with Chinese internet portal Netease
NetEase
NetEase is a Chinese internet company that operates 163.com, a popular web portal which received over 546 million page views in June of 2005. The company has grown rapidly since its founding in June 1997, thanks in part to its investment in search engine technology and massively multiplayer...
, Lou discussed her background and how her skin colour has affected her since childhood. She responded to a hoax declaration widely circulated on the internet that proclaimed in her name that her father is "American, and not African". She replied, "Isn't it kind of stupid to say it now since China is America's biggest creditor?" When asked whether she agrees about being "a native of Shanghai", she remarked "I'm a Chinese person born and raised in China," adding that her best friends are from Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
and Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
. She also remarked that she was grateful that her parents gave birth to her, and played down racial discrimination, saying it has been overblown by false press reports.
Lou received an internship offer from Shanghai television station Dragon TV after the show. She has since became a co-host of the show News Surfing Intelligence, a local Shanghai program. In an interview with the BBC's Matthew Bannister
Matthew Bannister
Richard Matthew Bannister is a British media executive and broadcaster. After attending King Edward VII School , he graduated in law at the University of Nottingham in 1978, and joined BBC Radio Nottingham as a trainee reporter and subsequently the presenter of its speech-based breakfast show,...
, she remarked that racial discrimination is present in all countries of the world, but in China it seems particularly focused towards people of an African background due to the assumption that Africa is less developed. She said that she found it interesting children of mixed Chinese-white parents do not receive nearly as much negative attention.
Lou Jing is not the first Chinese person of African descent to have received widespread media attention in recent years. In June 2009, the entrance of Ding Hui , a black man from Hangzhou, to the China men's national volleyball team
China men's national volleyball team
The China men's national volleyball team represents China in international volleyball competitions and friendly matches. The team twice took part in the Summer Olympics, finishing in eighth place at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California., and 5th place in the 2008 Summer Olympics...
also gained significant coverage on Chinese media.
Personal
Lou Jing has a very close relationship with her mother, a native Shanghai woman. Her mother appeared at all of her shows to support her. Lou had a timid personality before appearing as a TV contestant, and is sensitive towards outside criticism, though she maintains an air of optimism. Lou Jing speaks fluent ShanghaineseShanghainese
Shanghainese , or the Shanghai language , is a dialect of Wu Chinese spoken in the city of Shanghai and the surrounding region. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. Shanghainese, like other Wu dialects, is largely not mutually intelligible with other Chinese varieties...
and Mandarin.