Draft:Jiafei

{{AFC submission|d|nn|u=88.236.180.67|ns=118|decliner=Johannes Maximilian|declinets=20240714193205|ts=20240317105125}}

Jiafei is the name given to a TikTok meme that originated from a photo commonly used as a profile picture by bots on the website that posted advertisments for Chinese product, with the premise of absurd situations. The song used in most ads, called 野花香 (Ye Hua Xiang) (Wildflower Fragrance) by Mo Si Man, also became part of the meme. In late-2023, a Chinese model known as Dai Dai ({{zh|c=戴戴}}) found out she was the meme Jiafei.{{cite news |last1=Lu |first1=Fran |title=Not an AI fake: Social media in China delighted to discover world-famous Jiafei meme is real |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2023/11/09/not-an-ai-fake-social-media-in-china-delighted-to-discover-world-famous-jiafei-meme-is-real |access-date=17 June 2025 |agency=The Star |date=9 November 2023}}

History

The photo that is most used for the Jiafei meme was posted by a Chinese woman named Dai on WeChat in December 2020 but became an Internet meme in 2021 when it was appropriated by online retail accounts using her likeness to advertise products on TikTok. The subject of the photo remained unknown for years and received the name "Jiafei" from bot accounts on Tiktok with the username Jiafei. There were rumors that the photo was a digital composite of singers Jia and Fei until the woman in the photo, Dai confirmed that the photo was of herself in 2023 after being told by a friend that she resembled the meme.{{cite news|last=Lu|first=Fran|date=November 1, 2023|title=Not a fake: social media in China delighted to discover world-famous Jiafei meme is real|newspaper=South China Morning Post|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3239411/not-fake-social-media-china-delighted-discover-world-famous-jiafei-meme-real|accessdate=December 19, 2023}}

Comparisons of the mysterious woman to famous celebrities led to Jiafei being idolized on the Internet, with fans even jokingly praying to the photo before important exams or job interviews.{{cite news|last=Tang|first=Hao|date=October 24, 2023|title=Jiafei, the top virtual idol in Europe and the United States, is actually a Chinese live blogger?|language=Chinese|newspaper=Sina News|url=https://finance.sina.cn/2023-10-24/detail-imzsfpke2905195.d.html|accessdate=December 19, 2023}} The perceived absurdity of advertisements featuring Jiafei has inspired a widespread obsession with the image and bizarre video recreations.{{cite news|last=You|first=Xi|date=August 28, 2023|title=Jiafei: Short videos with goods have given birth to the most abstract crazy culture in the world|language=Chinese|newspaper=Freebase|url=https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/652938776|accessdate=December 19, 2023}} In 2023, a musical parody of Jiafei played inside an Aeon Mall in Malaysia when a fan's phone accidentally connected to the mall's speaker system.{{cite news|last=Garreth|first=Wayne|date=July 6, 2023|title=Man Plays Music Through AEON Mall's Speakers After His Phone Accidentally Connected To It|newspaper=Says|url=https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/652938776|accessdate=December 19, 2023}}

In 2024, Jiafei created an official Spotify account under the name "Jiafei.dai" and has since released multiple singles.

References

:Category:Internet memes introduced in 2021

:Category:Internet meme characters

:Category:People notable for being the subject of a specific photograph