not to be rude, but what if you're wrong? what if zhang sanjian IS zhang zhehan and all this time that you're "waiting" you're continuing to support gong jun, the one responsible for his downfall as he stated himself? again, not being rude, just asking. 🙂
You're not being rude, you're just being passive agressive 😂 Also let me get something straight here, the reason I don't support ZSJ is not just because I think he's a fake, but because I think he's a spiteful little coward. Even if he is actually ZZH, it won't change my opinion of ZSJ, but it will change my opinion of ZZH.
The accusations ZSJ threw against GJ in that instagram video are not only baseless, but contradictory to ZZH's previous behaviour. If you've seen all their shenanigans during the WOH promotional period and the concert, can you in good faith say that only GJ was involved in the CP fanservice? They were both playing into it and ZSJ accusing GJ of CP fanservice only makes ZZH look like a hypocrite. If "ZZH" regrets that and now wants to become the patron saint of heterosexuality, he's free to do as he pleases, but the attack against GJ for the same actions that he himself took part in is unacceptable. Not to mention him accusing GJ of being the one behind 813 without providing a shred of proof. Again, not only are those accusations baseless, they also don't make any sense, considering what it takes to pull off something at the scale of 813. ZSJ didn't even have the guts to drop GJ's name. If you're going to accuse someone of something so serious without any proof, the least you could do is own up to it entirely instead of hiding behind plausible deniability.
What if I'm wrong, you ask? Then it only means I was wrong about ZZH and I was wrong to believe in the integrity of his character. But what about you? What if you're wrong? Unfriendly reminder that the Bangkok concert was handled by a production company that has ties with CAPA, the very organization that played a massive role in the destruction of ZZH's career. The same hate accounts on weibo who have been shitting on ZZH since WOH was airing are now the same people supporting ZSJ and harassing GJ. What if you're wrong and all along you've been sucking CAPA's gangrenous dick thinking that you're defending ZZH by doing so? What if all this time you've been rallying behind the same people who ruined ZZH's life?
If I'm wrong, I can live with it. But can you say the same for yourself?
Going on a trip down memory lane in honor of the WOH concert's 2nd anniversary!
When May 3 rolled around everyone had mixed feelings because on one hand: YAY LLD REUNITING ON STAGE WITH THE REST OF THE GREMLIN CAST! but on the other, farewell concerts mean the end of the show's promotion period which also marks the end of interactions between the main actors. And worse, it also marks the start of CP breaking, whether it's just the actors being more distant and reserved with each other throughout the concert (compared to when they were promoting the show) or in the worst cases, like the Love and Redemption concert, where they broke CP so brutally.
But the worst of all (for me at least) is the gloating. The gloating of solo fans, the gloating of the fans of other CPs, and the ever insufferable presence of yxh accounts that have been trying (and failing) to make up conflict between GJ and ZZH the very moment the show started getting the tiniest bit of attention. When it was announced that their Tom Ford livestream was to be done separately, it was made a big deal with all those vultures screaming all over weibo how they were finally "competing with each other", and yxhs fanning the flames at the sidelines.
So when the concert rolled around the atmosphere in the fandom was bittersweet. The more experienced fans were telling us what to expect and going: "They'll probably break CP. There's nothing we can do except hope they'll do it gently".
But as we've learned before, the WOH fandom is a circus and the WOH cast our ever indulgent clowns. Fans found out that GJ and ZZH were sharing a dressing room for the concert and everyone lost their shit. And that's when we knew we were fools to think this farewell concert would be like every other farewell concert, because nothing about this fandom has been normal from the start 😂
In private, a lot of us were gearing each other up for the very strong possibility that GJ and ZZH will nowhere be as close in the concert as they seemed to be when they were promoting WOH. Turns out, not only did they seem even closer and more touchy than before, but the rest of the cast seemed to have finally snapped and lost their marbles altogether. Solo fansites were whining about how hard it was to get good solo photos of GJ and ZZH because they stuck close to each other throughout the entire event.
Even better, they didn't seem conscious of the attention at all. The crowd in the concert hall screamed at the smallest interactions between them and they didn't even look fazed. I wouldn't have blamed them if the screaming made them feel awkward and conscious, but the fact that they just didn't care and even occasionally played along with the hoard of screaming shippers just made me appreciate them even more for being so natural about it and not treating it as something to be ashamed of.
And going beyond showing it with actions, ZZH also verbally acknowledged the fans that like both of them in his speech at the end of the concert. It's often said in CN fan circles that being a CPF from a BL drama is the hardest road to take as a fan (in c-ent at least) because it puts you at the very bottom of the fan heirarchy. CPFs in general are at the very bottom of the fan pyramid but BL CPFs in particular are considered to be even lower. It's a given not to mention you or acknowledge you, and you should only exist in the very fringes of fandom. That's why a lot of BL novel fans (I'm talking about c-fandom specifically) don't really like live action adaptations or their actors, because to them these actors are just using the stories they love to gain popularity, and once they get what they want are quick to toss it and its fans aside as some kind of dark and shameful secret of the past that has to be buried. That's why ZZH's acknowledgement at the end of the concert meant a lot to CPFs, because finally, they get to have a 'seat' at the table along with everyone else.
And of course, the promise and the hug that melted even the most jaded c-fandom veterans 😂
It was really a privilege to be allowed to witness this moment. They could have taken the easier path but chose instead to share this moment with us. It truly was amazing to see them hug and firmly cement their relationship (whatever it may be) in front of thousands of people (with many more watching through the stream) when the norm in the industry is to break CP at this point.
And boy did they mean it. Months after the end of the concert, they were still stubbornly expressing a sense of unity and support for each other. At a time when toxic ZZH fans were really ramping up their attacks against GJ, ZZH pinned his and GJ's duet on his weibo page not only once, but twice. When the livestream host refused to read out a fan's username that had ZZH's name on it, GJ bluntly asked her to read it out loud, saying that censoring it out "isn't polite".
And you gotta wonder if that's part of what all this is about. Since February 2021, there have been many attempts to discredit the close relationship between them and not only has it not stopped, it has gotten much worse. ZZH is no longer in the picture (publicly, at least) but they're still at it and their tactics growing more and more brutal and unhinged the more time passes. In the beginning, ZZH was the evil one who forced poor innocent GJ to do CP marketing with him, and now GJ is somehow an evil mastermind who used ZZH to do CP marketing against his will and crushing him after. Just what is this obsession? It's been almost two years now, ZZH is out of the public eye, his career halted indefinitely, and they're still at it. I'm sure there's more to it but I can't help but feel that part of the reason for all this is because in an industry that rewards the people who are willing to pull off the dirtiest tactics, and encourages the worst kind of competition, GJ and ZZH dared to to treat each other with so much sincerity and kindness.
And just so this post doesn't end on an angsty note, remember when after the concert people were crying and hugging each other, having mental and emotional breakdowns, only to see, about an hour later, videos of GJ and ZZH laughing and giggling onstage, whispering in each other's ear, and then singing "Love to fight if you want to win" together like a pair of newlyweds? Yeah. While the rest of us peons were crying our hearts out, those two were busy treating the concert afterparty like a wedding banquet. Truly the life of an NPC.
And lastly, before I become too emo and write five more paragraphs, I just want to say that even if I'm no longer posting as much about them, I'm always still here waiting.
Part one of the arts and crafts I’ve made that were inspired by Gong Jun & Zhang Zhehan. They’ve inspired me to create outside of my comfort zone but also try things I’ve wanted to do for ages.
I had my own stickers and pins made for the first time. I made my own suncatcher decal. I made a flip book of The Hug. I made faux neon signs of their signatures.
First time doing embroidery by hand. Learned a few things but I’m mostly happy with it. And of course my first project is JunZhe themed. It’s supposed to be their rings engraved with 51129 😊
Part one of the arts and crafts I’ve made that were inspired by Gong Jun & Zhang Zhehan. They’ve inspired me to create outside of my comfort zone but also try things I’ve wanted to do for ages.
I had my own stickers and pins made for the first time. I made my own suncatcher decal. I made a flip book of The Hug. I made faux neon signs of their signatures.
First time doing embroidery by hand. Learned a lot but overall I think I’m happy with it. And of course my first project had to be JunZhe. It’s supposed to be their rings with 51129 engraved inside 😊
A post about how a shit stain waste of space @ajawrites @bookshop attacked fans of Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan in an article she wrote for @vox, and then went on to slander and defame Zhang Zhehan in an attempt to get the only article published about his cancellation by CAPA retracted.
Here's the context: On June 6, 2022, @vox published an article written by @ajawrites @bookshop claiming that fans of Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan are "conspiracy theorists". In it, she makes all types of claims defaming myself and the entire JunZhe fandom (both here and in China) for being a conspiracy theorist because we do not believe Zhang Zhehan's Instagram account is controlled by him. For those who don't know, Instagram fraud is rampant and there have been several Chinese celebrities who have been the victim of this. Zhang Zhehan's solo fans encouraged the reposting of this article and defended it because they somehow believe that Zhang Zhehan would "comeback" on an international platform before his name is cleared in China (another story for another day).
On June 14, 2022, less than one week after the publication of that article, The China Story published an article about why Zhang Zhehan was cancelled, and specifically that a non-governmental organization called the China Association of Performing Arts (CAPA) was behind the cancellation, not the Chinese government. It also described the efforts made by Li Xuezheng, a famous government-affiliated director, to clear his name. To my knowledge, this is the only story in the world to shine a light on CAPA's role in Zhang Zhehan's cancellation.
After this article was published, @ajawrites @bookshop wrote a long email to the China Story on June 18, 2022 seeking that the article be retracted. She claimed she had done "research" which showed that the article was part of a conspiracy theory (false), that Zhang Zhehan's family was linked to Japan (false), that Zhang Zhehan was cancelled by the government (false), that CAPA wasn't involved (false), and that all those who believe they are are "conspiracy theorists" (false). She repeats anti talking points to smear Zhang Zhehan in an attempt to obtain a retraction of the article.
Yes, they attempted to get the only article in the world that described CAPA in a negative light retracted.
We have a copy of the email. Here are some excerpts of her own words.
Here's @ajawrites @bookshop insinuating that Zhang Zhehan was banned by the government, when it has been proven on multiple occasions that the government did not ban Zhang Zhehan.
A writer who cannot even get this fact right does not deserve to be called a writer or a thinking human being.
Here's @ajawrites @bookshop claiming that Zhang Zhehan has family ties to Japan, which is FALSE.
Zhang Zhehan himself stated in his interview with Li Xuezheng on January 1, 2022 (seven months before this email) that this was not true. Yet, @ajawrites @bookshop continued to spread this smear to the editors of The China Story.
How does someone who is too lazy to confirm facts become a "culture writer" for @vox?
Here's @ajawrites @bookshop claiming that their "research" shows that the public genuinely hated Zhang Zhehan. They claim that Zhang Zhehan was not cancelled by bad actors, but rather by the "public".
They ignore all the proof and statements that what happened was due to malicious competition and monopoly. All of this was readily available, had @ajawrites @bookshop actually done diligent research. Li Xuezheng had, after all, talked about it for weeks at the end of 2021 and early 2022.
But of course @ajawrites @bookshop knows better! They know better than even Chinese people! They even know that CAPA is a government organization, when CAPA itself said that it is not government and does not represent government.
Pretty rich for white journalist @ajawrites @bookshop to claim that when Li Xuezheng, a renowned government affiliated film director, says that Zhang Zhehan's cancellation was not done by the Chinese government but instead by CAPA, he is spouting a "conspiracy theory".
@vox is this the sinophobic journalism that your publication now publishes?
Here's @ajawrites @bookshop defending CAPA by stating that it is not to blame for Zhang Zhehan's censorship from all media platforms in China.
Except they failed to read the multiple media reports indicating that CAPA had allied itself with multiple media platforms to ban those it deems "immoral". These media resources includes a western outlet, Reuters. Basic due diligence would have unearthed this, but it appears neither @ajawrites @bookshop or @vox care about the facts.
Here's @ajawrites @bookshop suggesting (as a white foreign writer with zero access to his case), that it is "unlikely" that Zhang Zhehan's investigation would go anywhere, that he can't come back, that he is "already back".
These are clear anti talking points easily found on Chinese social media.
Of particular note is that @ajawrites @bookshop claims that these conclusions are a result of their "research". Yes in their own words, in 2020 they were just learning Chinese. With their level of genius, I bet they're far from being a beginner.
Yet, this is the type of "expert" that @vox employs to write about Chinese fan culture.
The article in China Story is one of the only published articles in the world that details how Zhang Zhehan was cancelled by CAPA, not the Chinese government. Yet @ajawrites @bookshop, great friend to Zhang Zhehan solo fans asked for a retraction.
Yes, we have the email. They actually did.
Who has incentive to take down an article that speaks negatively about CAPA? Who has incentive to water down statements negative to CAPA? Who has incentive to perpetuate smears against Zhang Zhehan internationally?
Who better to manipulate than a lazy and dumb writer like @ajawrites @bookshop
I do wonder how @vox and its advertisers feels about @ajawrites @bookshop spreading slander about a Chinese celebrity and his fandom? I wonder if @vox even bothers with basic fact-checking? I wonder if @vox is okay with one of its writers contacting another publication in an attempt to supports their biased views?
To the Zhang Zhehan fans (Zhang Sanjian believers) who have fawned at the feet of @ajawrites @bookshop: good to know that you support those who defend CAPA, the organization that cancelled Zhang Zhehan.
And one last thing to @ajawrites @bookshop: only a shit stain waste of space would write an article about a celebrity to gain a following in his fandom while actually despising him, believing the smears against him, and thinking he's a t******.
Stay in fandom long enough, often enough and you will probably encounter Aja Romano at some point. If you haven’t, consider yourself lucky; they have been stirring shit in fandom for over a decade.
Aja’s latest stint started last year, when they wrote an article for Vox detailing how fans of Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun - often known as JunZhe fans - were delusional conspiracy theorists for believing Zhang Zhehan, unjustly slandered August 2021 and effectively silenced on CN social media, was not the one behind the Instagram account formally run by him. (It’s a long story and I suggest going to catch up at @bizarrequazar masterposts).
Well, there is far more to the story and @bluebirdmuppet has outlined the scathing details on Twitter.
I have some choice words that cannot be spoken in polite company, so I shall simply use the line that many have iterated before:
Stay in fandom long enough, often enough and you will probably encounter Aja Romano at some point. If you haven’t, consider yourself lucky; they have been stirring shit in fandom for over a decade.
Aja’s latest stint started last year, when they wrote an article for Vox detailing how fans of Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun - often known as JunZhe fans - were delusional conspiracy theorists for believing Zhang Zhehan, unjustly slandered August 2021 and effectively silenced on CN social media, was not the one behind the Instagram account formally run by him. (It’s a long story and I suggest going to catch up at @bizarrequazar masterposts).
Well, there is far more to the story and @bluebirdmuppet has outlined the scathing details on Twitter.
I have some choice words that cannot be spoken in polite company, so I shall simply use the line that many have iterated before:
A-Han is here to hand out good luck and fortune! To welcome the Year of the Rabbit, Four Seasons Figthusiast is holding a giveaway of all kinds of Word of Honor, Wenzhou, and Junzhe merch. Read on, noble figthusiasts!
I'm putting the fine print up first:
You don't need to be interested in the actors beyond Word of Honor, but no either Gong Jun or Zhang Zhehan antis and no ZSJ followers.
If you want to be part of this giveaway, go ahead and give this post a ❤️, and you'll be included. No need to follow me, but all previous followers (I've screenshot-ed my list just now) will get double entries as a thank you.
As a special thank you, my top 3 active followers per my dashboard are already winners, if you choose to participate, I'll message you for your choice of prizes.
Giveaway starts right now and ends Friday morning 1/20/2023 at 9am Pacific Standard Time.
On 1/20 I'll select 5 winners, and they can pick from the prizes in the order that they win. There are multiples of some prizes, and any prizes not given away will be given away in the future!
US based only except for the Fig Pre-Order prize, which is international only. If you are international and win you will default to this prize.
Items marked as brand new are indeed brand new, others were purchased from a previous owner from Xianyu, and all in good shape.
P R I Z E S. . .
PRIZE 1: RealGe Be Bright All-In Set (brand new). I uploaded my warehouse photo from SB since they already have a flat lay, but this is in fact stateside. Includes the photobook, mini photobook, shikishi art board; flash drive with 6+ hours of behind the scenes footage, keychain, plastic tumbler, photocards, and a little mini projector thing:
Prize 2: Spring Autumn Dreams Word of Honor / Junzhe Photo Book (from XY), together with the Official SHL Concert Gift Box contents (brand new from XY): includes tote bag, folding fan, and 2021 calendar given away to SHL concert attendees. Yes, the calendar is hopelessly out of date, but the photos are meant to be turned into postcards. No box, unfortunately, it didn't survive the overseas trip:
Prize 3: Wenzhou Hairpin figs, as seen in this post (brand new), can be sent with or without the spicy artwork box:
Prize 4: Plush kitten and puppy Junzhe 7cm Dolls / keychains (brand new and un-Rua-ed [don't have their faces mushed to the shape of your choice yet]):
Prize 5: Tanghulu Niuniu fig, as seen in this post (brand new):
Prize 6: Be Strong fig, as seen in this post (brand new),
NOTE If you pick either Zhehan fig and (naturally) want a Junjun to go with him, I have some options I'll message the winners about.
Prize 7: Doreamon figs as seen in this post, picture included but no frame (from XY):
Prize 8: Weiyang Photobook set All-In (except missing the figs, ironic I know, the seller didn't send them). Does include the snowglobe. Brand new(ish) but missing some cellophane packaging. Includes photobook, big wall hanging, flash drive with footage, mini PBs, standees, luggage tag, slogans, postcards, cards:
Prize 9: Wenzhou cut-paper plug-in lamp (brand new but plugged in to confirm it works, actual pic below), plus tote bag and Wenzhou silk scarf (both brand new, just unfolded to show the designs) plus a bunch of other assorted Wenzhou photos and postcards / stickers / paper goods (not shown):
Prize 10: Hydrangea Photobook set All-In, includes pajamas size medium (can send without the PJs as well), standees, clips, keychains, cards, stickers, portable chopsticks/spoon set with case, 2022 calendar (also hopelessly outdated, but you'll have the pics!), ceramic cup, and photobook, all brand new except for the photobook:
And last, but definitely not least:
Pre-order Fig (International Only): I felt bad that all my merch is stateside, and international shipping is prohibitively expensive for big items. So, you get your choice of any fig or fig set that are currently available for pre-order (there's some really good ones!). I'll send the winner a list of these figs.
Please note any pre-order can be expected to take months to be produced. I will direct ship these to your address from the SB warehouse when they are ready.
Alternatively, if there's an existing fig you really want off Xianyu we can talk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any notes about any prizes you're excited about!
I'm looking forward to folks getting some fun merch - good luck!
Part one of the arts and crafts I’ve made that were inspired by Gong Jun & Zhang Zhehan. They’ve inspired me to create outside of my comfort zone but also try things I’ve wanted to do for ages.
I had my own stickers and pins made for the first time. I made my own suncatcher decal. I made a flip book of The Hug. I made faux neon signs of their signatures.
Hello all you wonderful figthusiasts! Today is the day that I hit 600 fan figs on my spreadsheet total (not all in hand, the vast majority are in some stage of production or transport), and I wanted to take a minute to stop and celebrate what is, by all accounts, an incredible number.
This is less about me (and my perhaps fiscally-questionable use of disposable cash) and more about the fact that more than 600 individual figures of Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan were produced and made solely by fans. That this many actually exist in the world. What this is about, above all other things, is about love, and resilience, and the awe-inspiring, unstoppable combination of both.
I don't normally talk about the current situation with Zhang Zhehan and Chinese entertainment, because this blog is meant to be a little island of happiness and fun for us that love this show, love these two actors, and love seeing cute renditions of them. But 600...well, 600 feels powerful. It feels like something worth talking about.
This fandom has had half of our vibrant, beautiful soul ripped from us in the nastiest, cruelest, most contemptible way possible. This is greed and evil in the most overt form I've seen in the world, and it was horrifying to watch it unfold that August.
As overseas fans, we at least can still see Zhang Zhehan's past works, post videos and photos of him, and freely say his name as much as we want. The Chinese fandom cannot. Zhang Zhehan has been so comprehensively erased from Chinese media that he cannot even use his own name. The fandom can't even search for his name online, his pictures and videos have been removed, and any of the shows or movies that feature him that remains still available has him (literally) scrubbed from the screen.
This is what I see when I search for Zhang Zhehan on Taobao, Weidian, and Xianyu:
The Chinese fans have taken matters into their own hands, and stood up and fought back and refused to forget him. The fig makers, the doll makers, the merch makers - all of these incredibly brave, loyal, and loving fans have gone out there and dedicated thousands and thousands of hours of their own time and their own money to keeping his memory fresh, his work front and center, and his light constantly burning.
They took him from the fans, but they can't make the fans let him go.
Luckily, the fandom still has the other half of it's soul, and continues to celebrate Gong Jun and his accomplishments, and his own fiercely loyal and great heart, and celebrates the love and affection and care these two souls have for each other. Zhehan promised Junjun forever on May 5th, 2021, and the fandom honors and helps keep his promise.
Think about it. Six-hundred-plus fan-created figurines of the two of them. I don't even own all the fan figs - there's absolutely more than this, I'd estimate closer to 700.
There's Wenzhou figs, of course, but random side character in a long ago TV show? Check. Main characters? Check. Appearance(s) on a variety show? Check. Ad campaigns? (Lots of) magazine shoots? Check check. Casual airport outfit? Workout pose? Douyin moment? any number of Weibo posts? Livestream? not just one, not just two, not just three, renditions of childhood photos? Check check check.
And the figs are still coming. I have a whole list of figs in sketch form sitting in my Weidian cart, waiting to be opened for deposits. One after another, fig makers dipping deep into their precious hoards of recorded shows and magazines and photos and videos of Zhehan, designing one fig after another. Every time Junjun wears some fancy new designer outfit, fans are hard at work pairing that look with a complementary one from Zhehan's archive, determined to keep these two front and center in a country where they can't even type Zhehan's name into a search engine without it being censored.
My respect for the Chinese fandom and the fan creators is immense. They have souls of steel. Every time I hold one of these figs in my hand, and marvel at the cleverness and creativity and all the fine little details, I feel the strength of that connection to them, that iron determination, the fierce will to persevere, that pride and joy, and the love that can't be stopped. 坚强 indeed.
Yeah, 600+ figs is a trauma response, no question. For the fan makers and the fan buyers. But it's a response, all right. Today I have 600 and more tiny (giant) shouts of, you can't stop us, we're going to keep loving and celebrating and remembering him no matter what happens.
It's incredible. I don't know why 600 is the number that really hits me - I had thought it would be 500, but I blew past 500 without blinking in a frenzy of late night and early morning fig drops, and then it was Gong Jun's birthday, and a tidal wave of love and figs, and now here I am. I was at 598 yesterday and already today I'm at 612. I'll be at 700 before I know it, with a lot of remainders starting to be released and the Spring Festival coming up.
I have less than 200 fan figs actually at home, and it's ... a lot. My husband asked me a while back, staring at my display shelves, so, what's the end game here? and I just looked at him, and said, I don't know.
I really don't. I have to believe this is totally unprecedented, but then again, what happened to him is totally unprecedented. The only thing I know that if the fans keep making them, I'm going to keep supporting them.
So here's to resistance, and resilience, and love. Here's to the fans staying strong, and here's to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan. It's going to be a glorious sunrise on the mountaintop when it comes.
As a way to cap off the year, I thought it would be nice to go over all the LLD candy from 2022! There were a ton of little ones (read: kadians, matching clothing, possible hickies, sunset photos, etc.), so this will just be focusing on the larger notable ones. They’re all dated and in chronological order, because I’m me.
Remember to take these with a grain of salt. Enjoy~
Finally able to share this with everyone! This is my full piece for the @wohzine . A huge thanks to everyone who took part and who ordered a copy. I hope you all like the full piece! :3
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