China first-generation celebrity known for photo of chubby face, scornful looks is unemployed
Short-lived online sensation who spawned internet memes including the Mona Lisa, Marilyn Monroe reveals his life out of the spotlight
More than two decades ago, he was among China’s first generation of online celebrities.
A photograph of his large head went viral and his pudgy face was superimposed on a raft of well-known figures.
However, Qian Zhijun, who is better known as Xiao Pang, or “Little Fatty” in English on social media, and who disappeared from the spotlight, is back, Dawan News reported.
“My life is no different from that of any ordinary person. I have been married and have a child. I just live an ordinary life,” Qian, a 39-year-old Shanghai resident, was quoted as saying.
Qian shot to fame in China in 2003 when a photographer accidentally took a picture of him dressed in his secondary school uniform at a road-safety awareness campaign event and released it online.
Mainland Chinese internet users were attracted and amused by Qian’s chubby face and the cute but scornful expression in his eyes.
Witty netizens put his head on the shoulders of various famous figures, from the Mona Lisa, Jackie Chan, Marilyn Monroe and the animated character Shrek to the Statue of Liberty and world political leaders.