Austin Li makes a surprise comeback
Austin Li makes a surprise comeback
Discussing the return of China's top live-streamer
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When the Chinese Internet invents an idiom about you there’s a problem.
It means your career is over, and you’re probably in a prison cell.
Recent examples of fallen stars with their own idiom include:
Viya 薇娅 - the ‘Queen of Live-streaming’ done for tax evasion last year
Idiom: 薇机四伏 wēi jī sìfú - ‘Viya is totally f*cked’
Kris Wu 吴亦凡 - boy-band singer and actor, banged up for alleged rape last year
Idiom: 吴可救药 wú kě jiù yào - ‘There is no saving of Kris Wu’
Li Yifeng 李易峰 - an actor currently in a Beijing jail awaiting trial for soliciting prostitutes
Idiom: 见易思签 jiàn yì sī qiān - Li Yifeng reminds us of Wu Yifan
Last year, I made a prediction that China’s King of Live-streaming, Lǐ Jiāqí 李佳琦, might have a tough year ahead because he also had his very own idiom - one our top words of 2021:
琦虎难下 qí hǔ nán xià - Austin Li’s uncontrollable success
Prediction: an adaption of the idiom 骑虎难下 - ‘riding the tiger and hard to get off’ which at the time translated as ‘Austin Li’s uncontrollable success.’ But in the Year of the Tiger, and a nickname like this, Austin may also have a difficult time ahead.
That prediction seemed to be on the money since 3 June this year, when the influencer’s live-stream was abruptly cut short following the appearance of a tank-shaped cake on-screen.
Li had not been seen since.
But it was proven wrong last week when he reappeared unannounced on Taobao in his live-stream studio.
After a three-month absence, Li Jiaqi can still pull in impressive sales:
This return to live-stream broadcasting attracted 63 million views in two hours, selling goods worth 120 million yuan, with many products selling out in less than a minute.
本次复播2小时，场观超6300W，直播带货销售总额超1.2亿元，不少在1分钟内售罄
Shoppers were happy their favourite live-streamer was back:
‘My happiness is back, but my hands are out of practice’. The sounds that netizens are so used to hearing, such as “Oh my God” and “Buy it”, also were back.
“我的快乐回来了”“但我手生了”，网友熟悉的“偶买噶”“买它”等声音也回来了
And everyone agrees that Austin is still China’s number one live-streamer:
Li Jiaqi in the live-streaming world is the only one at the top, there is no competition left.
李佳琦目前在直播界基本风头无两，尚无对手
So this week we explore what people had to say about Austin Li’s return, and how things have changed in his absence. (Hint: things have got tougher and more dull).
Enjoy!
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Favourite Five
1. 久违 jiǔ wéi
been away for a long time
久违的露面似乎也换来一份可圈可点的成绩单 - It seems his reappearance after a long absence has brought with it an excellent score sheet.
2. 钞能力 chāo néng lì
bank note capacity; super power to make money
要看粉丝积累的情绪被释放后，能否持续这种带货钞能力 - The question is, can this level of sales be sustained after the longing for Li’s content has been fulfilled?
More: an Americanism that found its way into the Chinese language thanks to the 2017 Justice League movie. It’s a play on words of the real way to say superpower - 超能力 chāo néng lì.
3. 重出江湖 chóng chū jiāng hú
make a comeback
李佳琦重出江湖，是不是意味着品牌们的大主播“相思病”也快痊愈了 - Li Jiaqi has reappeared. Does this mean that brands’ lovesickness for him has finally been cured?
Note: 江湖 jiāng hú has to be one of the best Chinese words ever. Read more in this week’s Phrase of the Week in The China Project. (Zoe shares her views on it in the podcast too.)
4. 物是人非 wù shì rén fēi
things are the same but the people are different
一哥归来，物是人非。头部皆亡，剩下的压力只能他一个人来承担 - The King of Livestream is back. He’s the same but everything else has changed. All the big live-streamers have gone so he has to take on all the pressure.
Note: this idiom is from a letter by Cáo Pī 曹丕, A Letter to Wu Zhi (与吴质书 yǔ wú zhì shū) written towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD).
5. 风声鹤唳，草木皆兵 fēng shēng hè lì, cǎo mù jiē bīng
whispering of the wind and the cries of cranes make every blade of grass appear as enemy troops; paranoid about the threat of attack
在李佳琦消失的日子里，不断涌入无数新势力，尽管没有抢走一哥太多体面，但风声鹤唳，草木皆兵 - During Li Jiaqi’s absence many new players appeared. Although they didn’t take too much away from his position as the top live-streamer, they were always on high alert for any changes that might happen.
Note: the idiom’s backstory dates back to the Book of Jin (晋书 jìn shū), the official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420.
Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
售罄 shòu qìng
sold out
不少的品牌在1分钟内售罄 - Many products sold out within one minute.
玩梗 wán gěng
make jokes online
一时间，社交平台上所有女生斗图玩梗 - Female shoppers started to share images and crack jokes online as soon as Li jiaqi started his livestream.
痊愈 quán yù
be cured
品牌们的大主播“相思病”也快痊愈了 - Does this mean that brands’ lovesickness for Li has finally been cured?
骤变 zhòu biàn
sudden change
就连这个仅存的头部主播都没预料到消费环境的骤变 - Not even this one remaining top live-streamer foresaw such changes in the consumer environment.
让贤 ràng xián
relinquish your place
李佳琦在直播间的“让贤”心思就频频凸显 - There was already a lot of evidence that suggests Li Jiaqi was contemplating retiring as a top live-streamer.
More: this is formal word from classical Chinese. It’s used here for humorous effect.
微商 wēi shāng
internet entrepreneur
产品调性难以与整个消费环境融合，稍不留神就会掉入微商之流 - If the selection of products does not fit well with the consumer environment, and a live-streamer gets it wrong, he or she will join other failed Internet entrepreneurs.
Three-character phrases
老本行 lǎo běn háng
area of business that one is familiar with or good at
如今归来，为什么老本行的存在感反而变低了 - He is now back, but the focus of his product line-up has changed.
挖墙脚 wā qiáng jiǎo
dig wall corner; poach the best talent from your competitors
这看似是一场“挖墙脚”大戏 - All the big platforms are trying to poach each other’s live-streamers.
中腰部 zhōng yāo bù
middle waist; mid-sized players
生活得还算滋润的中腰部主播，加起来也抵不上一场归来 - If you added up all the mid-sized live-streamers that are doing quite well, they still wouldn’t be able to compete with Li Jiaqi’s first comeback live-stream.
Related: 头部 tóu bù - top players
Idioms
坐以待毙 zuò yǐ dài bì
sit still and await destruction; sit idly by
品牌也不可能在苦等中坐以待毙 - Brands can’t just sit and wait for their fall.
蓄谋已久 xù móu yǐ jiǔ
plotted for a long time
一场“蓄谋已久”的逃离大戏 - An escape that’s been planned for ages.
Related: 蓄谋 xù móu - conspiring to do something
不足为奇 bù zú wéi qí
not surprising
眼看直播界四大天王，纷纷陨落，这种猜测出现在李佳琦身上也不足为奇 - After the fall of the four big names in live-streaming, coming to the same conclusion about Li Jiaqi would not be surprising.
More: 陨落 yǔn luò - ‘fall’ which we previously in August this year
重蹈覆辙 chóng dǎo fù zhé
repeat the same mistakes
这或许是李佳琦向往的“退休”生活，但同样的，他更害怕重蹈覆辙 - This may be the retirement that Li Jiaqi had hoped for, but at the same time he’s worried about making the same mistakes again.
More: 重蹈覆辙 chóng dǎo fù zhé - ‘make the same mistakes’ which we first learned last July.
一涌而出 yī yǒng ér chū
coming thick and fast
价格战屡次落入下风，时长更是被一涌而出的虚拟主播狠狠压了一头 - They could not compete in the ongoing price wars, and the arrival of many virtual live-streamers has also brought a lot of pressure.
风吹草动 fēng chuī cǎo dòng
grass bends as wind blows; the smallest change
任何一点风吹草动都会传达到头部主播身上来 - The smallest change will have a direct impact on even the top live-streamers.
Note: similar in meaning to 风声鹤唳，草木皆兵 - paranoid about the threat of attack - which we discussed above.
百花齐放 bǎi huā qí fàng
a hundred flowers bloom; a booming and busy sector
直播行业应该说进入到了一个前所未有的“百花齐放”的阶段 - Live-stream e-commerce you could say has entered a phase of unprecedented variety and choice.
More: we first discussed this in August last year. Originally found in the Qing dynasty novel, Flowers in the Mirror (镜花缘 jìng huā yuán), published in 1827, and later used by Mao as a slogan for a political campaign to resolve internal conflicts within the CCP in 1956.
Longer Phrases
一鲸落，万物生 yī jīng luò, wàn wù shēng
a whale falls, ten-thousand animals are born; a big name falls and makes way for many new players
无论是短暂出圈的刘畊宏、董宇辉，还是一鲸落，期待万物生的其他主播，都多少被李佳琦这一场复出打回了原型 - Be it Liu Genghong and Dong Yuhui who may have had short-term success, or other live-streamers who must all have been hoping for a bigger opportunity with the fall of Li Jiaqi, they’ve been put back in their place with his return.
More: we learned this phrase in September last year.
不能在一棵树上吊死 bù néng zài yī kē shù shàng diào sǐ
don’t hang yourself on one tree; don’t put all your eggs in one basket, keep your options open
品牌总不能在一棵树上吊死 - Brands can’t rely on one channel to market.
一荣俱荣，一损俱损 yī róng jù róng, yī sǔn jù sǔn
be bound together for good or ill
这个品牌早就跟李佳琪本人深度捆绑，一荣俱荣，一损俱损 - This brand is deeply connected to Li Jiaqi. They will sink or swim together.
Note: this beautiful idiom is yet another one which started life in the pages of one of China’s four classics, Dream of a Red Chamber (红楼梦 hóng lóu mèng) published in the 18th Century.
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