Ding Zhen

Ding Zhen Pear, commonly known as Ding Zhen, is a Chinese mainland internet celebrity and singer of Tibetan Kamba ethnicity from Litang, Sichuan. He rose to fame on November 11, 2020, due to a viral TikTok video and is often referred to as the 'Sweet Wild Boy.' Currently, he works as an employee at a state-owned enterprise called Litang Cultural Tourism Investment Development Co., Ltd. Ding Zhen has sparked discussions and controversies on the internet regarding his lack of education and qualifications. After his rise to fame, some netizens argued that it was unfair for him to join a state enterprise purely because of his looks despite only having an elementary education up to third grade, considering the hard work of others. Others criticized the glorification of individuals like Ding Zhen, who gained fame and success based on appearance, as a distorted value system. On December 20, 2020, China Youth Daily published an article by Yang Xinyu, titled 'Why Are the Complaints of 'Exam-Takers' Directed at Ding Zhen?' which described netizens criticizing this phenomenon as 'small-town exam-takers,' a term used for self-mockery. On January 11, 2021, a video of Ding Zhen smoking circulated online, sparking more debate. Ding Zhen's company responded by claiming he might have just tried it and minimized the issue by saying electronic cigarettes are not real cigarettes, which only fueled the controversy. On January 13, Ding Zhen's studio publicly responded and apologized via Weibo. He is also a well-known rapper, famous for songs like 'Zood' and 'I got smoke.'