One of China’s top livestreaming influencers has left the e-commerce platform he helped build.
On July 25, East Buy (东方甄选), the livestream e-commerce arm of private tutoring giant, New Oriental (新东方), announced that its star livestream seller, Dǒng Yǔhuī 董宇辉, had left the platform.
New Oriental pivoted into livestream e-commerce when its private tutoring business was decimated by the "Double Reduction policy" (双减政策) introduced by the Chinese government in July 2021, which sought to ban private tutoring (which was the main business of New Oriental).
The 31-year-old Dong worked for New Oriental as an English teacher. But as the business began to collapse in the aftermath of the new policy, Dong Yuhui decided to join East Buy and try his hand at livestreaming. He quickly shot to fame in June 2022 when a livestream broadcast of him selling rice went viral on social media.
His engaging approach combines "edutainment" with livestream selling. He teaches English and the cultural and historical background of the things he's selling. His fans call him a "cultured" (文人) livestream influencer.
Dong Yuhui has since become one of China's top "third generation" (第三代) livestream influencers. Often appearing in live broadcasts with the company founder, Michael Yu (俞敏洪), Dong was instrumental in the early success of East Buy in its first 18 months.
But on December 5, 2023, tensions between Dong and his employer surfaced when the CEO of the business downplayed Dong’s success, suggesting the high profile and commercial success of Dong Yuhui and East Buy was a team effort.
In what is now known as the “little post incident” (小作文事件), the CEO of East Buy was sacked, and Dong Yuhui took on an executive role in the business.
Despite that, Dong's fans continued to criticise East Buy for marginalising the influencer, blaming the founder, Michael Yu.
Since then Dong has appeared less in the livestream studio, and many believe his departure announced this week was inevitable.
In the past few years, East Buy and Dong Yuhui frequently appeared on Weibo's trending searches.
From the "little post incident" to Dong Yuhui deleting all his Weibo posts, to East Buy being accused of chaotic management.
The controversies between the two parties have erupted, subsided, and erupted again. So questions like "When will Dong Yuhui leave East Buy?" have started to appear on social networks.
过去几年里，东方甄选与董宇辉时常出现在微博热搜上。从“小作文事件”，到董宇辉清空微博，再到东方甄选被质疑管理混乱，双方之间存在的争议隔三差五地爆发、熄火，再爆发。以至于社交网络上已经开始出现“董宇辉什么时候离开东方甄选？”的声音。[3]
As part of that departure, East Buy agreed to sell Dong’s namesake venture, Walk with Hui (与辉同行), to the influencer for 76.6 million yuan (US$10.5 million), and make arrangements to cover Dong’s payment, meaning he gets the company for free.
So Dong Yuhui is not starting off in a bad place in his new venture.
According to recently published data, by the end of July, East Buy had nearly 30 million fans (a fall of half a million over the previous month), while Walk with Hui had over 21 million fans.
Following the company announcement of the split, Michael Yu, who has been praised for his generosity, released a short statement thanking Dong and wishing him well.
In an open letter, Yu Minhong stated, "Starting today, East Buy's wholly-owned subsidiary, Walk with Hui, will be carved out and fully owned by Dong Yuhui."
Yu Minhong also said, "I arranged the money for Yuhui to buy the company. I gave it to Yuhui for free."
俞敏洪在公开信中表示，“从今天开始，东方甄选的全资子公司与辉同行，将正式从东方甄选独立出去，由董宇辉个人持有其100%股权。”俞敏洪表示，“宇辉买公司的钱我安排了，公司是送给宇辉的。
Dong responded in a social media post thanking his old boss.
So the split appears to have been amicable, unlike a number of other recent influencer - corporate splits, like when China's top YouTuber, Lǐ Zǐqī 李子柒, parted ways with her management company in January 2023.
Few details were revealed about the reasons for the departure. But there are rumours that negotiations have been ongoing for some time:
Just eight days before the announcement, Dong Yuhui's team, Walk with Hui, moved to a new office area.
The new office is located on the third floor of the Internet Finance Center in Haidian District, Beijing, across the street from the New Oriental Building, and adjacent to Douyin's headquarters office area.
The new office space covers more than 2,000 square metres.
就在东方甄选的公告发布8天前，董宇辉带队的与辉同行就搬家到了新的办公区域。其新办公室地址位于北京市海淀区互联网金融中心3层，与新东方大楼隔了一条马路，紧挨抖音总部办公区，新办公室2000多平方米。[2]
Two factors have led to the split according to conversations in the Chinese media.
The first factor is livestream platforms are moving away from influencer-based sales, and instead focussing on products sold by “in house” livestream sellers.
Powerful celebrities like Dong Yuhui, can leave platforms at the mercy of fans who can easily turn against companies, as happened last December in the little post incident which resulted in the stock price of East Buy plummeting from 30 HKD ($3.80) to 12 HKD ($1.50).
This trend of moving away from celebrity sellers (去头部化) was also seen during this year's 618 shopping festival, when most livestreamers saw their sales fall for the first time.
The second factor behind the split is toxic online culture.
Fans of influencers are quick to criticise or attack when the celebrities they follow appear to be unfairly treated.
When discussing the reasons for Dong Yuhui going solo, Yu simply attributed the blame to an intangible and invisible third party—public opinion.
在谈及董宇辉单飞的原因时，俞敏洪索性将罪过归结于看不见、摸不着的第三方——舆论。[3]
Since the “little post incident” the East Buy founder has suffered ongoing online criticism and attacks. Part of the reason for offering Dong Yuhui such a generous severance package is believed to be Yu’s attempt at repairing his own reputation.
So, will Dong Yuhui achieve success now he’s on his own?
There is much discussion online about this question.
Companies like East Buy are able to compete because of their strong supply chain which is integrated with an online sales machine. Part of the reason that Walk with Hui has done well to now is that it's relied heavily on this supply chain capability of East Buy.
So, it’s not going to be a walk in the park for Dong and Walk with Hui.
But as East Buy founder, Michael Yu says:
"Life is not about what you choose, but about how you make the most of what destiny hands you."
“人生不是你选择什么，而是老天交给你什么，你把它做好。”[3]
And that's what we are discussing this week!
Favourite Five
1. 割席 gē xí
cut ties
董宇辉的粉丝和东方甄选已经开始“割席” - Dong Yuhui's fans have begun to cut ties with East Buy. [2]
Related (which Zoe discusses more in the podcast):
分手 fēn shǒu - break up
分家 fēn jiā - split up
分手费 fēn shǒu fèi - splitting up fee
2. 铁公鸡 tiě gōng jī
stingy person, cheapskate
为了回应网民之前的“铁公鸡”言论，俞敏洪在分手安排上表现得极为大度 - In response to the previous "cheapskate" comments from netizens, Yu Minhong showed great generosity in the breakup arrangements. [1]
3. 切肤之痛 qiè fū zhī tòng
deep pain
东方甄选的股价暴跌24%，市值一天之内蒸发了20亿港元，对于东方甄选的股东们而言，这是最真实的切肤之痛 - The share of East Buy has plummeted by 24%, with its market value losing 2 billion Hong Kong dollars in one day. It's extremely painful for shareholders. [1]
Note: the direct translation is "the pain of cutting one's skin away" - ouch!
4. 独当一面 dú dāng yí miàn
shoulder the responsibility alone
离开俞敏洪和新东方这棵大树后，摆在董宇辉面前的挑战是：自己能独当一面吗？ - After leaving the big tree of Yu Minhong and New Oriental, Dong Yuhui now faces the question: Can he handle it on his own? [2]
Related:
独挑大梁 dú tiǎo dà liáng - shoulder the responsibility alone, take the lead
5. 分道扬镳 fēn dào yáng biāo
part ways
董宇辉和俞敏洪分道扬镳的结局已定，但双方显然不愿意戳破“为什么离职”这层窗户纸 - Dong Yuhui and Yu Minhong are parting ways - that is for sure, but both are clearly unwilling to reveal "why Dong left". [3]
More: Read more about this phrase in the Sinica Phrase of the Week tomorrow.
Related:
各奔前程 gè bèn qián chéng - each one pursues their own path
各奔东西 gè bèn dōng xī - go their separate ways
Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
6. 单飞 dān fēi
go solo
俞敏洪对于和董宇辉的“分手安排”可谓极其大度，不仅放手让董宇辉单飞，而且还给足了资金和资源扶持 - Yu Minhong was extremely generous regarding the "breakup arrangements" with Dong Yuhui. He not only let Dong Yuhui go solo but also provided ample funds and resources. [1]
Related:
单干 dān gàn - go solo
7. 抱负 bào fù
aspiration, ambition
谈及离职原因，公告称是由于董宇辉的职业抱负、对其他事业的投入及个人时间安排 - The company claims that Dong left East Buy owing to his own career aspirations, investment in other areas, and personal time management. [2]
8. 体面 tǐ miàn
decent
双方此次分手完全称得上“体面”二字 - The breakup between both parties can be said to be "amicable". [3]
9. 端水 duān shuǐ
remain neutral, appease both sides
俞敏洪未采取强有力的措施，其做法甚至有点“端水” - Yu Minhong did not take strong measures and he was even trying to appease both sides. [3]
Three character phrases
10. 引路人 yǐn lù rén
guide, mentor
董宇辉口中的“引路人”，最终选择还董宇辉自由 - The "mentor" that Dong Yuhui referred to ultimately chose to give Dong Yuhui his freedom. [3]
11. 大礼包 dà lǐ bāo
generous package
这意味着董宇辉至少拿到了超2亿元人民币的“离职大礼包” - This means that Dong Yuhui received at least a 200 million RMB "generous severance package". [3]
Idioms
12. 络绎不绝 luò yì bù jué
continuous, unending
网络上关于我的阴谋、攻击、虐待员工等言论络绎不绝 - There are endless online conspiracies about me and attack on me, with some saying that I mistreat my employees. [1]
13. 左右为难 zuǒ yòu wéi nán
in a dilemma
我左右为难，作为东方甄选的创始人，支持公司发展变成了一件极其困难的事情 - I am in a dilemma. As the founder of East Buy, I find it to be extremely difficult to support the company's growth. [1]
14. 妙语连珠 miào yǔ lián zhū
witty, eloquent
更希望看到的是一个在直播间里妙语连珠的董宇辉 - What people want to see more of is the witty and eloquent Dong Yuhui in the livestream studio. [1]
15. 无微不至 wú wēi bú zhì
meticulous, considerate
为了确保与辉同行业务的正常运营，东方甄选经董事会还同意将研发好的信息系统无偿交付与辉同行使用，可谓无微不至 - To ensure the normal operations of Walk with Hui, East Buy's board of directors even agreed to hand over the information system for free. That's very thoughtful of them. [2]
16. 大刀阔斧 dà dāo kuò fǔ
bold and decisive, sweeping
当时，正值孙东旭被新东方集团从合肥调至西安，并开启大刀阔斧的改革，大胆提拔年轻人 - At that time, Sun Dongxu was transferred by the New Oriental Group from Hefei to Xi'an and initiated bold and sweeping reforms, daringly promoting young people. [2]
17. 情真意切 qíng zhēn yì qiè
sincere and heartfelt
董宇辉情真意切发布了一篇感谢信，言语中满是“感谢老板、感谢公司” - Dong Yuhui released a heartfelt letter of thanks, filled with words like "thank you, boss" and "thank you, company". [3]
18. 别有用心 bié yǒu yòng xīn
with ulterior motives
复杂的舆论纷争，加上少数别有用心的力量的引导和造谣，直接导致东方甄选和与辉同行的隔阂 - Disputes on social media, coupled with some melicious rumors, directly led to the rift between East Buy and Walk with Hui. [3]
19. 一笔带过 yì bǐ dài guò
mention in passing, gloss over
董宇辉则在感谢信中，用“实际状况和发展规划”一笔带过了离职原因 - In his letter of thanks, Dong Yuhui glossed over the reasons for his resignation with "current condition and personal development." [3]
Phrases
20. 三好员工 sān hǎo yuán gōng
model employee, exemplary worker
回望董宇辉的职业履历，目前为止似乎还缺少独立创业的能力证明，而更像是俞敏洪麾下的“三好员工” - So far, it seems there is still a lack of proof of entrepreneurship in his track record, and he seems more like Yu Minhong's "model employee". [2]
21. 用脚投票 yòng jiǎo tóu piào
vote with their feet, show preference through actions
只要董宇辉IP的号召力还在，品牌们就会用脚投票，他们只在乎谁能卖出去货 - As long as Dong Yuhui still has appeal, brands will vote with their feet. They only care about who can sell their products. [3]
More: Our favourite phrase of 2022.
22. 蝴蝶效应 hú dié xiào yìng
butterfly effect
董宇辉单飞，是一系列蝴蝶效应带来的结果 - Dong Yuhui going solo is the result of the butterfly effect of a series of events. [3]
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