Chinese Internet Idol of the Day: Shandong Erge

Last year, we told you about some self-obsessed Chinese netizens who became online celebrities. Just this last week, a few new additions to this Chinese pantheon of Internet idols have emerged that threaten to put Muzimei and Furong Jiejie to shame. We will introduce them to you over the next few days.

Two days ago, Yangtse Evening Post broke the story of how a 29-year-old gym instructor at Jiangsu University unwittingly became an overnight internet sensation by posting almost nude pictures of himself on his blog in his bid to find a wife.

Shandong Erge (山东二哥, "Second Brother from Shandong") who touts himself as "China's sexiest man", now accounts for a staggering 248,000 search results on Baidu, and explains his actions in the following excerpt (translated by Shanghaiist):

Everything can be traced back to a cause, so how did Shandong Erge come upon the idea of finding a wife online? He ponders for a moment, before telling this journalist about his two failed romances. In his junior year at the Shandong University of Political Science and Law, Erge came to know a sophomore. As this was his first girlfriend, it was fireworks and all, and Erge devoted himself completely to her. Unfortunately, just 46 days after they got to know each other, the girl demanded that he give her RMB 200,000 in cash if they were to continue seeing each other. This was 1999, when RMB 200,000 could almost buy you an apartment block.

When he moved to Jiangsu University, he joined a dating program called "A Date with Rose" with Hunan Satellite TV, where he got to know a relatively pretty nurse. The nurse also had three requirements if they were to get married: A) Possess RMB 1 million in cash but less than RMB10 million, for "poor men have a poor quality of life and rich men eventually go astray"; B) Speak fluent English and C) Agree not to have children, ever. The three requirements were like three tall mountains which proved too hard to bear for Erge who grew up in a rural area. Nevertheless, believing that true love exists in this world, Erge decided to put up his matrimonial post on his blog on 14 Sept.

Since then, Erge has been inundated with text messages and emails from a bunch of rich taitai's which he gladly showed the reporter. One of them said in an email, "I love big strong men like you. I am not too far away from you, so if you like, I can give you RMB 20,000 every month." Erge also has a large following of gay fans, some of whom have been enquiring about "hiring" his services for as much as RMB 2,000 a night.

Ever the investigator, Shanghaiist decided to research his blog, where Erge treats his readers to pictures of Japanese girls in ultra-low cut jeans, attempts to teach women how to make love to their husbands after proclaiming he is a virgin in his matrimonial bid, posts videos of himself lifting heavy weights on TV, and laments "these androgynous days" when intelligent women are disappearing from the TV screen "save for the voluptuous Furong Jiejie", and getting replaced by effeminate hosts, which in turn emboldens gay boys to sexually harass him with text messages. He also complains of how he's devoted so many years to bulking up at the gym all for the ladies, only to have them turn around and say to him, "You're disgusting."

If you think this is as ridiculous as it gets, watch this space tomorrow for our next Chinese Internet Idol!