Li Ziqi offers reference for telling cultural stories

Chinese short video uploader Li Ziqi's number of international fans has set new record. On February 2, Guinness World Records announced on Weibo that with 14 million YouTube subscribers, Li refreshed the record for the "Chinese channel having the most subscribers."

In December 2019, Li became famous on the internet. Within a month, WeChat Official Account articles related to Li reached 64,000, and the three Chinese characters of "Li Ziqi" quickly entered keyboard input methods. By tracing information, people found out that in recent years, she has gained a significant following on both Bilibili, Weibo, and Wechat. In the international community, the number of her fans had matched that CNN (Cable News Network) for a time. Interestingly, this time, the record she broke was also her own Guinness World Record from six months ago.

Soon afterwards, Li’s name was repeatedly brought up on public opinion platforms, the cultural phenomenon she created was discussed from every angle. The quality of discussions evidently surpassed regular public discussions. What is different from one year ago is that people are no longer concerned with whether her videos represent "real life" or how the team behind her is operating. What is most important is that this change did not come from people having found "yes" or "no" answers, but because the problems themselves no longer matter.

In other words, with the arrival of the short video age, people formed a new perception regarding the "reality" of short videos. People have gradually accepted that there are rigorous teams that operate like media institutions behind bloggers or vloggers on social media. The "views" and "opinions" in these videos are pushed after meticulous research of their target audiences, data analysis, and IP images. Similarly, the popularity of short videos is because what they present isn’t original or coarse reality, but an idealized reality through camera lens filters. They extracted and reorganized elements from ordinary people's lives, they are like VR equipment that can allow people to see what is more "real" and exciting than what people can see with their naked eyes.

The characteristics of short videos can be summarized as: non-fictional and storytelling. The two vocabulary, which are contradictory in traditional creative processes, shaped the key attraction of short videos. In the short video era, it is important to sufficiently use this characteristic to tell cultural stories and effectively export one's culture. We can see how Li Ziqi's food and culture videos use this:

They choose rural settings in China, use long takes to show the protagonist work, which is non-fictional; at the same time, they edited visual elements from the rural areas through the protagonist's actions--pick bamboo shoots, brew wine, make clothes and so on. They make a constructive rural narrative which is not limited to any specific location or time. However, it is precisely this lack of specific location that creates the impression of it being a "hometown". It blurred specific times, and allowed audiences to see this as the factual expression of actual Chinese rural cultural lives.

Like mainstream comments on Li Ziqi's videos when she first gained recognition, this is a good way of transmitting Chinese culture. After one year, this method and the patterns behind short video media proved they are worth being fully employed in narrating cultural stories and Chinese stories, since visual communication is a general trend which is irreversible. Short videos with grand themes usually fail due to their "hurry to bring out facts and reasons". This "hurriedness" is both in conflict with the "non-fictional" characteristic of short videos and its storytelling, which can impede communication. Therefore, short video creations catering towards telling cultural stories have to present a laid-back, living reality, and have to throw away intentionality, restrain the urge to express, and improve on their stories.

Aside from individual creations, short video platforms should also pay attention to and encourage excellent creators. Mainstream platforms can build connections with the interests of short video creators, encourage the ones who are skilled at creating Chinese anime to keep their style and the ones liking ACG to choose themes that they value. In the internet age where all things grow, the creators who grow by themselves are unconsciously taking the lead in exploring the characteristics of new media. However, they have not been able to conduct research or form knowledge. This task is left to the thinkers of cultural construction.

Contributed by Liu Wenjia

Translated by Zhang Junye