藏族少年丁真走红 Netizens Thirsty for Tibetan Heartthrob
He’s devastatingly dashing. He has a white horse named Pearl. And this week, his name has been viewed over 1 billion times on Chinese social media.
It started with a video casually shared online. The star, a 20-year-old Tibetan man whose name transliterates(音译) as Dorji Tashi, with sun-kissed skin, a mop of brown hair, and a rakish smile, is now the apple of many pairs of eager(渴望的) eyes. The video, now widely viewed, has given Dorji Tashi — who is also known by his Chinese name, Tashi Dingzhen — millions of fans, a flood of media appearance invitations, and even a regular salary as a “tourism ambassador.”
Dorji Tashi, who lives in Litang County in southwestern Sichuan province’s Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, has been described as “the smile from the world’s highlands” by netizens weary of the cookie-cutter xiao xian rou, or “little fresh meat,” celebrity idols they’re used to seeing online, characterized by their fair skin, boyish faces, and expensive haircuts.
“He’s so pure, and I hope he can stay free from all the noise of society,” wrote one netizen under a video of Dorji Tashi. “I’m sorry, I know this is the first time we’ve met, but I love you,” wrote another.
As of Friday evening, a hashtag bearing the young man’s name had been viewed 1.3 billion times on microblogging platform Weibo. Dorji Tashi recently registered a new account on Douyin — as TikTok is branded in China — and gained nearly 2 million followers overnight.
Dorji Tashi’s sudden popularity also came with a job offer. Litang County’s government-owned tourism company pledged to award him 3,500 yuan ($530) per month as a “cultural ambassador,” according to domestic outlet Red Star News.
“His popularity is great publicity for Litang County,” the general manager of the tourism company was quoted as saying. “We hope more people can see the smile of our county through Ding.”
As is often the case with ascendant online celebrities, netizens have eagerly dug up all the details they can find about Dorji Tashi. He is the proud owner of a horse named Pearl, he dreams of winning first prize in a certain horse race, and he says he “didn’t have the opportunity” to go to school as a child.
After a few locals invited Dorji Tashi — who reportedly doesn’t speak much Mandarin — to participate in their livestreams(直播), netizens began animatedly(热烈地) discussing his next move. A Weibo hashtag translating to “Should Ding leave the grassland to pursue his career?” was trending online this week, with many netizens arguing that he should remain in his hometown, keep saddling up(给马备鞍) Pearl, and in so doing remain “pure,” as opposed to testing the waters of China’s often cutthroat entertainment industry.
【文化背景】
丁真今年20岁，走红之前他每天过着骑马放牧的日子，没有读过书，去过最远的地方是离家3小时车程的理塘县城。在出门买泡面的路上（据媒体披露）与一位摄影师偶遇，这次偶遇，改变了丁真的命运，也改变了他的家乡。
摄影师无意之间拍摄了一则视频。丁真在视频里仅出镜几秒钟，镜头里，身穿藏族服饰的丁真有着帅气的脸庞、原生态的肤色，和眼神清澈又略带些羞涩眼神，吸引了来自全国各地关注的目光，迅速走红。
【导语】
Dorji Tashi has dreamy looks, a racehorse, and millions of new social media followers in China.
丁真长着英俊帅气的面庞、有一匹赛马，还有中国的社交媒体上的数百万粉丝。
【翻译】他迷人得无可救药。他有一匹叫“珍珠”的小马。本周，他的名字在中国社交媒体上获得了十几亿次的阅读量。
这一切都始于一个无意间分享到网上的视频。视频中，20岁的藏族人扎西丁真（音译为多吉·塔西）皮肤黝黑，有着的一头浓密的棕发，笑容野性迷人。如今，他已经是无数人的心头挚爱。视频在网上广泛流传，给丁真带来了数百万粉丝，如潮水般涌来各种媒体邀约，甚至还有提供固定薪资的“旅游大使”工作。
丁真生活在四川省甘孜藏族自治州理塘县，被网友们盛赞为“来自世界高城的微笑”。网友们厌倦了千篇一律的“小鲜肉”，这些他们常在网络上看到的偶像往往皮肤白皙，长相俊俏，顶着昂贵的发型。
“丁真太纯洁了，我真希望他能远离社会的一切喧嚣。”一位网友在丁真的视频下留言说道。另一位网友则写道，“对不起，我知道这是我们第一次见面，但是我已经爱上你了。”
截止本周五晚，微博“丁真”话题阅读量已经达到了13亿。丁真在抖音（Tik Tok的中国版本）上新开通了账号，一夜之间便吸引了近200万粉丝关注。
突然走红还为丁真带来了一份工作。《红星新闻》报道称，理塘县一家国有旅游公司以3500元（约合530美元）的月薪聘用丁真担任“文化大使”。
“丁真的走红为理塘县起到了很好的宣传作用，”旅游公司的经理表示，“我们希望更多人能够通过丁真发现理塘的美。”
正如（其他）网络名人走红一样，网民们急切地想要挖掘出他们能找到的关于丁真的所有细节。他得意自己有一匹叫珍珠的小马驹；他梦想在某一场赛马中获得一等奖；他说他小时候“没有机会”去上学。
在一些当地人邀请丁真（据说他不会说多少普通话）参加他们的直播后，网民们开始热烈讨论他的下一步行动。本周网络上的一个话题很受关注，“丁真应该离开草原去追求自己的事业吗”？许多网民认为他应该留在家乡，继续给珍珠装上马鞍，并在这样做时保持一股“纯真”，而不是在中国这个残酷的娱乐圈试水。