Look up yi, Yi, YI, or Y.I. in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Yi may refer to:

[edit] Ethnography and languages

• The Eastern Yi, Dongyi, or Tung-yi (Chinese: 夷, Yí), ancient peoples who lived to the east of the original zhongguo during the prehistory of ancient China
• The Yi people (Chinese: 彝, Yí; Vietnamese: Lô Lô), an ethnic group in modern China, Vietnam, and Thailand
  • Yi language
  • script
• The Yiddish language (ISO 639-1 language code: yi)

[edit] People

[edit] Surnames

• Yi (Chinese surname), romanization of several Chinese surnames, for example:
  • Yi Jianlian, a Chinese basketball player
  • Yi Yuanji, a 10th-century Chinese painter

• Yi (Korean surname), including
  • The Yi dynasty, better known as the Joseon Dynasty
  • Yi Sun-sin, a Korean admiral

[edit] Given names

• Yi or Houyi, a heroic archer and hunter in Chinese mythology
• Yi (husbandman), also known as Boyi or Bo Yi, a heroic user of fire and government minister in Chinese mythology and ancient history
• Guo Yi, a minister during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history
• Wu Yi, the Vice Premier of China
• Lu Yi (disambiguation), several persons

[edit] Places

• Yi County (disambiguation), two counties in China
• Yí River, a river in Uruguay
• Yi River (China), a river in China
• Serbia and Montenegro (FIPS country code: YI)

[edit] Other

• Yi (Cyrillic), the letter of the Ukrainian alphabet written "Ї" and "ї"
• Yi (editor), a text editor written in Haskell
• Yi (Chinese: {{{2}}}), a former name for zun, a traditional bronze drinkware of ancient China
• Yi (vessel) (匜), a different kind of bronze vessel used in traditional rituals in ancient China
• Yi, the abbreviation of the binary prefix "yobi-", representing 2⁸⁰, the equivalent of the decimal prefix "yotta-" (Y)
• Yi (Confucianism), the Confucian virtue roughly equivalent to "righteousness" or "justice"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Yi Jianlian
易建联

Yi during his time with the Wizards.
No. 9 – Dallas Mavericks
Power forward / Center
Personal information
Born	Heshan, Guangdong, China
Nationality	Chinese
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
College	Guangdong University of Technology
NBA Draft	2007 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall
Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks
Pro career	2002–present
Career history
2002–2007	Guangdong Southern Tigers (China)
2007–2008	Milwaukee Bucks
2008–2010	New Jersey Nets
2010–2011	Washington Wizards
2011	Guangdong Southern Tigers (China)
2012–present	Dallas Mavericks
2012	→Texas Legends (D-League)
Career highlights and awards
4× CBA Champion (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) 3× CBA Finals MVP (2004–2006) 4× CBA All-Star (2004–2007) FIBA Asia Championship 2011 MVP

Yi Jianlian (Chinese: 易建联) is a Chinese professional basketball player who plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has also played in the NBA for the Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, and Washington Wizards. Yi played power forward for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) in 2002 and subsequently won the Rookie of the Year Award. In five years with the Tigers, he won three CBA titles, as well as playing with the Chinese national basketball team in the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2006 FIBA World Championships. In the 2007 NBA Draft, he was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks as the sixth overall pick. Initially, Yi declined to sign with the Bucks for several months before agreeing to a contract with them on August 29, 2007.

There has been controversy over Yi's age, as several reports have testified that his officially listed birth date of October 27, 1987,^[1][2][3] was intentionally falsified so he would be able to play longer in junior competitions. Yi has refused to comment on his age.^[4][5]

[edit] Career in China

Yi was born to father Yi Jingliu and mother Mai Meiling, who were both professional handball players.^[6] As a child, his parents initially did not want him to join a sports school, which is designed for children who are predicted to be future stars.^[7] However, after a sports school basketball coach noticed Yi playing streetball, he persuaded Yi's family to allow Yi to train professionally.^[7]

Hoping to sign Yi to an endorsement deal, Adidas invited him to attend the company's ABCD camp in Teaneck, New Jersey in 2002, where he competed against All-American high school players.^[8][9] After returning to China later that year, he joined the senior team of the Guangdong Southern Tigers and averaged 3.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in his rookie season. He also averaged 7.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in four games in the CBA Finals and won the Rookie of the Year award. In 2003, Yi was featured in TIME magazine's August 24, 2003 article titled "The Next Yao Ming".^[8] In each of his next three seasons, Yi led Guangdong to the CBA championship, and he was awarded the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) honor in 2006.^[9][10] In Yi's last season in the CBA before he entered the 2007 NBA Draft, he averaged a career best 24.9 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, but the Tigers lost to the Bayi Rockets in the 2007 CBA finals.^[9] He also studied at the School of Economics and Management at Guangdong University of Technology.^[11]

For 2011, Yi Jianlian signed a one year contract to return to Guangdong Southern Tigers. Unlike most NBA players who went to the CBA, he received an option to return to the NBA once the lockout had been resolved.^[12][13]

[edit] NBA career

[edit] Entering the NBA

Yi was not expected to enter the NBA Draft until 2009 because the Chinese Basketball Association ruled that players would not be allowed to leave until they turned 22.^[14] In early 2006, however, Yi announced that he would enter the 2006 NBA Draft, although he eventually decided to withdraw, saying he was "not good enough to compete in the NBA and needed more experience".^[15] A year later, on November 1, 2006, the Tigers announced that Yi would enter the 2007 NBA Draft.^[16]

Yi chose NBA agent Dan Fegan to represent him in the NBA Draft and flew to Los Angeles to participate in pre-NBA Draft camps.^[17] Before the draft, Yi was predicted to be picked anywhere from third to twelfth.^[18] On June 28, 2007, Yi was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the sixth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, despite Fegan warning the Bucks not to pick Yi and not allowing Milwaukee to be one of the teams invited to Yi's pre-draft private workouts in Los Angeles. He did not want Milwaukee to select Yi because they did not have a large Asian-American community.^[19] However, general manager Larry Harris said they had only drafted the best player available to them.^[19]

Footage of Yi posting up against a chair instead of another basketball player was shown during the Draft telecast, which earned him the nickname "The Chairman", coined by ESPN writer Bill Simmons.

After the draft, the Bucks attempted to convince Yi to sign with the team. On July 2, the owner of the Bucks franchise, Senator Herb Kohl, wrote a letter to Yi and his representatives, hoping to persuade Yi to sign with the Bucks.^[20] Three days later, Harris and head coach Larry Krystkowiak met Yi in Las Vegas, desiring to influence Yi to play for Milwaukee;^[17] however, Yi's representatives requested that the team trade Yi to another city with a large Chinese presence. Chinese officials also required that any team Yi played with would have to give him sufficient playing time for him to improve before the 2008 Summer Olympics.^[19]

Kohl made a special trip to Hong Kong to appeal to Yi personally.^[21] He also assured Chinese officials that Yi would have sufficient playing time, and on August 29, 2007, the Milwaukee Bucks and Yi agreed to a standard, multi-year rookie contract.^[19]

[edit] Rookie season

Yi attempting a free throw.

After being named to the Bucks' starting lineup by Krystkowiak in place of Charlie Villanueva to begin the 2007–08 NBA season,^[22] Yi had nine points and three rebounds in a loss to Orlando in his NBA debut.^[23] He played his first home game in Milwaukee three days later and scored 16 points while grabbing eight boards in a 78–72 win against the Chicago Bulls.^[24] The game was also Yi's first game to be televised nationally in China, where it was watched by 100 million viewers.^[25] Yao Ming praised Yi's play in his first games, saying, "If you compare us in our third NBA games, you will see that Yi's statistics are far better than mine".^[25]

On November 9, Yi played against Yao for the first time when the Houston Rockets hosted Milwaukee in the Toyota Center. Yi had 19 points and nine rebounds, including two three-pointers, but the Rockets topped the Bucks 104–88, with Yao scoring 28 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.^[26] The game was also watched by over 200 million people in China, making it one of the most-watched games in NBA history.^[26] After the game, Yao called Yi's talent "unbelievable", and Tracy McGrady said that Yi had "A tremendous upside in this league".^[26] Del Harris, the coach of the China's 2004 Olympics basketball team, also described Yi as "the most athletic 7-footer in the NBA".^[27]

Yi was named the Rookie of the Month for December after averaging 12.1 points and 6.6 rebound per game in that month,^[28] and scoring a career-high 29 points on 14-of-17 shooting in the game against the Bobcats on December 22, 2007.^[29] On January 30, he was selected for the rookie team in the Rookie Challenge at the 2008 NBA All-Star Game.^[30] On February 2, 2008, Yi faced Yao for the second time when the Bucks played the Rockets in Milwaukee, which Krystkowiak dubbed it the "Chinese Super Bowl".^[31] However, both players struggled during the Rockets' 91–83 victory. Yao had 12 points, and Yi injured his shoulder during the game, finishing the game with 6 points and scoring on one of his ten field goal attempts.^[31]

On April 2, it was announced that Yi would miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.^[32] Having already missed eight games with other injuries, Yi played in only 66 (out of a possible 82) games in his rookie season,^[32] averaging 8.6 points on 42% shooting and 5.2 rebounds per game.^[1] One of Milwaukee's assistant coaches, Brian James, later said that "the injuries he had bothered him more than people realized, and he couldn't play through them."^[33]

[edit] New Jersey Nets

Yi alongside teammate Vince Carter.

On June 26, 2008, Yi was traded along with Bobby Simmons to the New Jersey Nets for Richard Jefferson.^[34] The Nets team president Rod Thorn said that "we feel strongly he's going to be a real good player",^[35] and the team's chief executive Brett Yormark said "it opens up a truly new fan base for us."^[36] Yi said he didn't expect to be traded, but that it was "an honor to join the Nets."^[37]

Through his first 37 games with New Jersey, Yi averaged 10.5 points and 6.2 rebounds a game, while shooting 39% from behind the three-point line, which was well above his average from the previous season.^[38] But on January 9, 2009, Yi broke the little finger on his right hand, and was expected to miss four to six weeks.^[39] Thorn called it "lousy timing" because "he'd been playing well", but Yi said "(I'll) just take my time. I'll come back."^[39] In voting for the 2009 All-Star Game, Yi finished third in total votes for Eastern Conference forwards, ahead of players such as Paul Pierce and Chris Bosh,^[40] which raised allegations of Chinese fans voting for Yi only because of his nationality.^[41][42][43]

Yi made his return from injury after the All-Star Game, in a loss to the Rockets on February 17.^[44] However, after averaging only 6 points on 36% shooting after his return, Yi was removed from the starting lineup.^[45] His final averages for the season were 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, as well as a 38% shooting percentage from the field, and 34% on three-point field goals.^[1] After the Nets finished the season outside of the 2009 playoffs,^[46] Yi's agent Fegan suggested the Nets played better when Yi played more minutes and took more shots, and said it "begs the question...who's accountable?" Head coach Lawrence Frank said that "you have to be patient. He's only 21," and Yi assessed his season by saying he was "still too much up and down".^[47]

In the 2009–10 season, Yi returned to the starting lineup. Starting in every game he played but one,^[48] Yi had several injuries during the season, which made him miss 30 games. He sprained his right MCL on November 4 (missed 16 games), had a laceration on his upper lip on December 8 (missed 8 games), and sprained his left ankle on March 8 (missed 6 games).^[49][50] His final averages for the season were 12 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, as well as a 40% shooting percentage from the field, and 37% on three-point field goals.^[1]

[edit] Washington Wizards

On June 29, 2010, Yi was traded to the Washington Wizards along with $3 million in cash considerations for Quinton Ross.^[51] The Wizards had until June 30, 2011 to extend the qualifying offer to Yi but did not.^[52]

[edit] Dallas Mavericks

On January 6, 2012, Yi was signed by the Dallas Mavericks to a 1-year contract.^[53] He was immediately assigned to Dallas' D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends.^[54] Yi benefited from the new CBA rules that allow players with more than two years of NBA experience to be assigned to the D-League with the players' consent.^[55] On January 9, 2012, after playing two games for the Legends, averaging 23 points and 12 rebounds per game, he was recalled by the Mavericks.^[56][57]

[edit] International career

Medal record
Men's Basketball
Competitor for  China
FIBA Asia Championship
Gold	2005 Doha	Team
Silver	2009 Tianjin	Team
Gold	2011 Wuhan	Team
Asian Games
Gold	2006 Doha	Team

Yi's first major international experience came at the FIBA Under-19 World Championships, where he averaged 18.9 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.^[10] He debuted with the senior national team in the 2004 Olympic Games and averaged 6 points and 6 rebounds a game at the 2006 FIBA World Championships.^[10] His performance impressed coaches on the Chinese national team as well as the coaches from other countries.^[58]

In 2008, Yi was once again selected to play for the national team in the Beijing Olympic Games. In China's first two groups games, Yi scored only 9 and 4 points respectively, and China lost both their games against the USA and Spain.^[59][60] But in a win against Angola, he recorded a double-double,^[61] and in the Chinese's second win against Germany, Yi had 9 points and 11 rebounds,^[62] and hit the crucial shot with 28 seconds left, to help China advance to the quarterfinals.^[63] However, Lithuania ended China's run by beating them 94–68, as Yi scored 11 points.^[64]

Yi Jianlian, along with former NBA player Sun Yue, was a member of the Chinese National Team that played at the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship and 2011 FIBA Asia Championship.^[65] Yi was named the MVP of the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship. He averaged 16.6 points, 10.8 rebounds per game, and 1.4 blocks.^[66][67]

[edit] Off the court

Yi after a workout.

[edit] Age discrepancy

In 2004, Yi was listed as being born in 1984 in China's Four Nation Tournament,^[68] although Chinese officials said that it was probably a typographical error.^[69] Two years later, Fran Blinebury of The Houston Chronicle reported that Yi told Shane Battier he was 24 in an exhibition game before the 2006 FIBA World Championship,^[70] although the story was refuted by both Yi and Battier.^[71][72] Yi is not the first Chinese player to come under scrutiny, as former NBA player Wang Zhizhi has been listed as being born in both 1977 and 1979.^[73][74]

In 2006, a senior CBA official admitted that past youth squads had included players above the permitted age,^[75] and Yi's longtime American teammate in China, Jason Dixon, said to Chad Ford that Yi was "21 or 22...It's pretty common over [in China] to change ages".^[76] In 2007, a Chinese government registration site made public by hackers showed Yi's date of birth as being in 1984,^[77] and in December 2008, a Chinese reporter discovered school registration forms that listed Yi as being born in 1984.^[78]

[edit] Personal life

Yi is fluent in both Mandarin and his native tongue of Cantonese. He is currently under contract with Coca Cola and Yili (a Chinese dairy company) to endorse their products in China,^[79] and after a bidding war with Adidas, Nike signed Yi to a six-figure endorsement deal.^[80] He was ranked fourth on Forbes' Chinese celebrities list in income and popularity in 2008.^[81] In 2008, Yi donated 100,000 yuan to support the Sichuan earthquake victims,^[82] and also participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay by carrying the torch during the Hainan leg of the relay.^[83]

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] CBA

[edit] NBA

[edit] Regular season

[edit] D-League

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Yi Jianlian at NBA.com
• (Chinese) Yi Jianlian on Sina Weibo
• Time magazine (August 24, 2003)
• Yi Jianlian Chinese fans site 建联网 | 易建联
• Yi's World on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 易世界

Ying Yang Twins
Kaine and D-Roc before their concert in Berlin in May 2007
Background information
Also known as	The Ying Yangers
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Genres	Hip-hop, crunk, R&B
Years active	1997–present
Labels	TVT, Universal Records
Associated acts	DJ Laz, Lil Jon, Three 6 Mafia, Mr. Collipark, The HoodRatz, Pitbull, Trick Daddy
Members
Kaine D-Roc

The Ying Yang Twins is an Atlanta-based American hip hop duo consisting of Kaine (born Eric Jackson on December 16, 1978) and D-Roc (born De'Angelo Holmes on February 23, 1979). The group debuted in 2000 and rose to mainstream popularity in 2003 collaborating with Lil Jon in his single "Get Low". In 2004 and 2005, Ying Yang Twins became more popular with party singles "Salt Shaker", "What's Happnin", "Shake", and "Badd". They have received notoriety for their song "Halftime (ft. Homebwoi)" which is played at New Orleans Saints homegames after most touchdowns.

[edit] Career

Ying Yang Twins debuted in 2000 with the single "Whistle While You Twurk", which was played on urban and pop radio stations and peaked at #17 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop chart. They grew even more famous when they toured with Juz tha King, Kat Nu and Demo Dil on the tour called King Me. Their full-length debut album, Thug Walkin', came out later that year.

Immediately after discovering fellow Atlanta hip hop artist Lil Jon, A&R Bryan Leach began talks with representative Michael 'DJ Smurf' Crooms about signing the Ying Yang Twins to TVT Records. Protracted negotiations meant that a deal was not finalized in time to for the label to release their next album, Alley: The Return of the Ying Yang Twins, which instead appeared in 2002 on Koch.^[1] The album was successful among hip-hop fans in the Southern United States. The same year, the group appeared on the album Kings of Crunk by Lil Jon on the single "Get Low", and the song was a huge club and radio hit. As Crooms had negotiated only a one-album deal with Koch, the duo was free to finally submit to the advances of TVT, who had impressed them with their recent work with Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz.^[1][2]

Their first album for TVT, Me & My Brother, was certified platinum on April 12, 2005^[3] and yielded three more hits — "Whats Happnin!", "Naggin'" and the popular Lil Jon collaboration "Salt Shaker".^[4] The same year the duo appeared on Britney Spears' album In the Zone singing the song "I Got That (Boom Boom)" and her television special of the same name.^[2] In 2004, TVT released My Brother & Me, an album composed largely of remixes which featured a bonus DVD of the group's videos.^[5]

A new album U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta) appeared in the summer of 2005 as its singles "Wait (The Whisper Song)", "Badd", and "Shake" were dominating urban radio,^[2] and U.S.A. (Still United), a collection of outtakes, remixes, and collaborations similar to My Brother & Me followed in December 2005. It too was accompanied by a DVD featuring music videos and other footage from the U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta) period.^[6]

In 2005, D-Roc and his younger brothers, Mr. Weeny, and Da Birthday Boy, formed the group Da Muzicianz and released their first single, "Camera Phone". Their self-titled album was released on February 28, 2006.

The group's fifth album Chemically Imbalanced was released in November 2006. For this album the Twins collaborated with producers Wyclef Jean and Keith Duplessis in addition to Mr. Collipark, who produced a majority of the songs on the group's previous album.^[7] The first two singles were the Hall & Oates-sampling "Dangerous", featuring Wyclef Jean,^[8] and "Jigglin'".^[9] In 2008, the Twins released the mixtape The Official Work and a promo single titled "Drop". A highlight of the Ying Yang Twins' tour includes a visit to the Epsilon MU Chapter of Sigma Chi. Here they performed all their hits live in front of a sold out Texas crowd. All of the proceeds from the show went to charity. In 2009, the Twins released their latest album with Deep Records, Ying Yang Forever, and started a tour titled "Ying Yang Forever Tour".

Their song "Halftime (Stand Up and Get Crunk)" is now a standard in many NFL football stadiums, and is considered to be the unofficial anthem of the New Orleans Saints during their Super Bowl victory season, even though it has been a staple at Saints games since 2006. This song was performed live during the victory parade.^[10] The song has also been used in NFL Street 2 and Madden NFL 11.

On November 3, 2009, Ying Yang Twins released their greatest hits album via The Orchard and BOOTY Records. The album includes top ten Billboard hits “What’s Happinin”, “Shake”, “Salt Shaker”, and “Wait (The Whisper Song)” plus three new tracks.^[11]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

• Alley: The Return of the Ying Yang Twins (2002)
• Me & My Brother (2003)
• U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta) (2005)
• Chemically Imbalanced (2006)
• Ying Yang Forever (2009)
• All Around The World (2012)
• The Ying & The Yang (2012)

[edit] Remix albums

• My Brother & Me (2004)
• U.S.A. Still United (2005)

[edit] Compilation albums

• Legendary Status: Ying Yang Twins Greatest Hits (2009)
• Gumbo Vol. 1 (2010)
• Gumbo Vol. 2 (2010)

[edit] Mixtapes

• The Official Work (2008)
• ReMixTape (2011)

[edit] Filmography

• Soul Plane (2004)

[edit] Awards and Nominations

• (2000) Best Rap Song with Group "Whistle While You Twerk" - Won
• (2002) Best Rap Song with Group "Say I Yi Yi" - Won
• (2003) Best Rap Song with Group "Get Low" ft. Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz - Nominated
• (2005) Best Rap Song with Group "Wait (The Whisper Song)" - Nominated

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ying Yang Twins

• Ying Yang Twins on Twitter

Ying Yang Twins on Myspace

Leehom Wang
Leehom Wang at the 2011 Harbin Film Festival with the award for Best New Director
Chinese name	王力宏
Pinyin	Wáng Lìhóng (Mandarin)
Jyutping	Wong4 Lik6 Wang4 (Cantonese)
Birth name	Alexander[1] Leehom Wang
Ancestry	Yiwu, Zhejiang, China[2]
Origin	Republic of China (Taiwan)
Born	(1976-05-17) May 17, 1976 (age 36) Rochester, New York, USA
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, film director, actor, record producer, music arranger, composer
Genre(s)	Pop, R&B, rap, hip hop, rock, jazz, Broadway
Instrument(s)	Violin, piano, drums, guitar, bass/electric guitar, erhu, vibraphone, harmonica, chinese flutes, guzheng, zhongruan, etc.
Voice type(s)	Tenor
Label(s)	Sony Music Decca (1996–1997) BMG (1995–1996)
Years active	1995–present
Influences	Stevie Wonder, Prince, Alicia Keys, Outkast, Missy Elliott, R. Kelly, The Neptunes[3]
Official Website	www.wangleehom.com
Awards Golden Melody Awards Best Mandarin Male Singer 1999 Revolution 2006 Heroes of Earth Best Album Producer 1999 Revolution 2004 Unbelievable MTV Asia Awards Favorite Artist, Taiwan 2006

Leehom Wang (born May 17, 1976) is an American-born singer-songwriter, record producer, actor and film director of Chinese descent based in Taiwan. Formally trained at the Eastman School of Music, Williams College and Berklee College of Music, his musical style is known for fusing Chinese elements (such as Beijing opera, traditional styles of ethnic minorities, Chinese classical orchestra) with hip-hop and R&B. Wang has been active since 1995 and contributed in 25 albums. He is also a four-time winner of Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards, the "Grammys" of Taiwanese music.

In addition to his music, Wang also acted in several films, including Ang Lee's Lust, Caution and Jackie Chan's film Little Big Soldier. He is an environmental activist, and his album Change Me was dedicated to raising eco-awareness among Chinese youth. Wang was one of the first torchbearers for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, and performed in the Olympics' closing ceremony in Beijing. He was listed as one of Goldsea's "The 100 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time".^[4]

[edit] Life and music career

[edit] Childhood and early beginnings

Born in Rochester, New York, Wang is the second of three sons of immigrants from Taiwan of waishengren heritage. His father, a pediatrician, and his mother moved to the United States to further their college studies in the early 1960s. Influenced by his older brother, Leo Wang, who had been taking violin lessons since he was seven, Wang began to develop a curious interest towards the violin and its musical counterparts when he was three. He begged his mother to put him in violin lessons with his brother but his mother was against it, reasoning that he was too young. When Wang turned six, his mother enrolled him in violin classes, performing along with his brother.^[3] As he became a teenager, he began taking piano lessons, also teaching himself the guitar. He also worked several jobs to earn money to buy a second hand drum kit.

He attended Jefferson Road Elementary School, Pittsford Middle School, and Pittsford Sutherland High School in Pittsford, New York. He graduated from Pittsford Sutherland. Passionate for a career in music, he chose to attend Williams College double majoring in music and Asian studies.^[4][5] He joined an all-male a cappella group, The Springstreeters, and the group recorded several demo tracks.^[5]

In the summer of 1995, while Wang was visiting his grandparents in Taiwan, he was offered a professional recording contract by Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) after he participated in a talent competition hosted by the label.^[6] Not wanting to lose the opportunity, he immediately began preparing for his debut, and released his debut album Love Rival, Beethoven (情敌贝多芬) that December. The record received little limelight, forcing him to leave the label. He signed with Decca Records the following year, a label then famous for producing "powerful singers" (實力派歌手) in Taiwan.^[7] Wanting to also have control in the idol market, the label initially planned to market Wang as the mainstream "romantic idol", like with their previous artist Mavis Fan. However, after discovering Wang's talent in music-making, Decca began promoting him as Taiwan's "quality idol" (優質偶像) instead.^[7] Wang released his second album If You Heard My Song in 1996, which included some of his own compositions. He co-wrote the album's eponymous title song, which earned positive responses from the audience. The album drew moderately successful sales, and he became a rising star in the idol market, also finding similar successes with his third and fourth albums. During this time, Wang was asked to leave his college studies to pursue a full time singing career, but he insisted on finishing school first.

[edit] Rise to prominence (1998–2000)

Wang's contract with Decca records was terminated after the release of his fourth album White Paper in the summer of 1997. After graduating with honors at Williams College,^[4][5] He released his first award-winning album Revolution under Sony Music Entertainment in August 1998. The album became his breakthrough album, immediately selling over 10,000 domestic units in the first week of release. Critics rated the album highly, and it won Wang two Golden Melody Awards—Best Producer and Best Mandarin Male Singer.^[8] He was the youngest artist to win in either of the two categories.^[9] Wang has been nominated the Best Mandarin Male Singer at the awards every year since the success of Revolution. The singles of Revolution also achieved similar success–"Revolution" became Wang Leehom's first #1 single, becoming one of the top 20 songs of the year on Channel V Taiwan.

He continued his studies by attending Berklee College of Music's Professional Music program, with voice as his principal instrument.^[3] In 1999, Wang released his sixth album Impossible to Miss You, which combined the catchy pop melodies of Revolution with a quirky style of new-found dance pop. It became his then best-selling album, selling over 1 million copies.^[10] All of the album's promotional singles topped KTV charts and yearly music charts, notably the upbeat "Julia" and the ballad "Crying Palm".His album also attracted international attention–Wang won three Best Male Vocalist awards at three different award ceremonies and was also awarded for his musical merit in the album at the 1st annual Asia Chinese Music Awards.

At the beginning of the millennium, Wang began filming for several Cantonese-language Hong Kong blockbusters, which inspired him to study the Cantonese language. He included a Cantonese track, "Love My Song," in the Hong Kong release of Forever's First Day (2000), his seventh album. Unlike his previous two albums, Forever's First Day consisted mainly of melodic R&B tunes. The album's eponymous single is a tragic romantic ballad, speaking of a separation of two individuals. Although raised in New York for most of his life, living in Taiwan made Wang realize the deep roots of his Chinese heritage. Forever's First Day yielded a cover of his uncle's signature song "Descendants of the Dragon"; Wang re-arranged the song with heavier rock and dance elements. The song also included a rap bridge that summarized experiences of his parents living as a Chinese American in New York.^[11]

[edit] International success (2001–03)

Wang's next album, The One and Only (2001) received phenomenal international success. Selling over 1 million units in Asia, the rock-inspired album won him over seven different prestigious awards throughout 2001 and 2002. The album's title single "The One and Only" peaked #1 in almost all available music charts of Taiwan and was on the Ringback Tone #1 Download Charts for over a year, becoming his signature song. The One and Only also found success in Japan, opting him to release his first full-length Japanese album The Only One on May 9, 2003. The album only promoted one single, a Japanese version of "The One and Only", but it did not meet success on Japan's Oricon Charts. Wang also began filming several Japanese films, establishing his rising star status in Japan.

Eager to experience and perform different musical genres, Wang embarked on his first Asia-wide concert tour The Unbelievable Tour a few months before the release of his ninth album Unbelievable (2003). His concert tour received great reviews from both fans and music critics; they were impressed and shocked with his new-found hip hop image. His R&B/hip hop-inspired album Unbelievable involved new urban pop numbers, drawing hip hop influences from different styles of popular music, such as Indipop and urban pop. The album marked a milestone in his musical career; his new image received international critical acclaim and the album a chart-topping success, selling over 1.5 million units by 2004. A celebratory version of the album was released three months later, also becoming a chart-topping album. The album's singles, notably the ballad number "You're Not Here" also experienced international success, ranking #1 on several music charts for over 10 weeks. Unbelievable yielded his second win for Best Producer of the Year at the Golden Melody Awards in 2004.

[edit] Chinked-out (2004–06)

Leehom Wang (right), named Best Mandarin Male Singer for his album Heroes of Earth, with Tanya Chua at the 17th Golden Melody Awards.

Having established himself as one of the most important, influential, and prolific artists in Chinese music, Wang continued to invent and experiment with new sounds and voices.^[12] For most of 2004, he traveled to remote villages in China, collecting often unheard tribal sounds of aboriginal Chinese music, Tibetan music, and Mongolian music. With his younger brother Leekai as his assistant, they carried 15 kg of music equipment as he recorded these sounds, recording and producing his album on the way.^[13] He incorporated these sounds into R&B and hip hop music, coining the style as "chinked-out." Despite the derogatory nature of the term "chink," Wang had wanted to repossess the term and "make it cool."^[3] Shangri-La was released on the last day of 2004, selling an 40,000 copies within the first ten days of release.^[14] Shangri-La became an international music sensation, especially catching the attention of many youths in Asia.^[15] Within a month, the album sold over 300,000 copies,^[16] ultimately selling over 1.5 million units.

Wang continued to infuse chinked-out elements into his next album Heroes of Earth (2005). Unlike the aboriginal tribal music heard in Shangri-La, Heroes of Earth contained mixes of Beijing opera and Kunqu.^[17] Following the concept of "heroes," he collaborated with Ashin of Mayday ("Beside the Plum Blossoms"), Chinese American rapper Jin and opera master Li Yan ("Heroes of Earth"), and also K-pop artists Rain and Lim Jeong-hee ("Perfect Interaction"). Heroes of Earth was the fastest-selling album of both 2005 and 2006, selling over 1 million copies ten days after its release. Subsequently, the album stayed as #1 in the charts for six weeks,^[18] and remained in the charts for 23 weeks, ultimately becoming 2006's third best-selling album.^[19] By 2007, about 3 million units were sold,^[20][21] and has since been Wang's most commercially and critically successful album.^[22][23][24] The album earned Wang a Golden Melody Award for Best Mandarin Male Singer for the second time.

Three months after the release of Heroes of Earth, he began the Heroes of Earth Tour, his first major world tour. The concert commenced with two shows per night in the Taipei Dome in March 2006, breaking Taiwan's concert attendance records.

[edit] Professional breakthrough (2007–present)

Leehom Wang playing the piano at 2007 Heroes of Earth concert in Las Vegas.

Wang took a break in working on his music to film Lust, Caution (2007), an espionage thriller film directed by Ang Lee.^[25] He released a promotional single "Falling Leaves Return to Roots" on June 20, 2007 through Hito Radio, a month before the release of his twelfth studio album, Change Me. "Falling Leaves Return to Roots" incorporated Broadway-influenced musical elements, with classical instrumental accompaniments, such as the violin and piano. When asked about the sudden change of music style, Wang explained that the inspiration behind the song was due to the influence of his portrayal of Kuang Yumin in Lust, Caution.^[26] "In the past, I have only been releasing mainstream pop and chinked-out related hip hop. Lust, Caution made me return to 1930's Shanghai, re-living the moment."^[25]

Change Me was released on Friday, July 13, despite the superstition generally attached to Friday the 13th.^[27] Unlike his previous albums, Change Me mainly concentrates on pop rock, including influences of Broadway ("Falling Leaves Return to Roots") and old-school Taiwanese pop ("You Are a Song in My Heart").^[28] Through this album, he promoted the issue of global warming and raised environmental awareness.^[29] The packaging of the album used only recycled paper and contained no plastic.^[29] He believed that small changes by each person can change the world. "To change the world, you start with changing yourself."^[30] Reviews of the album were generally positive, defining the album as "mature."^[31] An online album poll organized by China's Sohu, however, suggested that Wang's album did not meet expectations.^[31] Netizens remarked that his chinked-out productions were more impressive, although that genre itself has also been criticized.^[32] Nonetheless, over 1 million units were shipped on the first day of release.^[30] The album broke past 2 million sales, becoming one of Wang's best-selling albums.^[30]

In August 2008, Wang sought US$320,000 in damages for plagiarism by Pritam, an Indian composer. The lead song for the movie Race (2008), composed by Pritam, was allegedly copied from "In the Depths of the Bamboo Forest," a single taken off from Wang Leehom's Shangri-La album.^[33] In November 2008, Wang was selected to conduct the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra for their 2008 annual grand finale, being the first Asian pop musician to conduct the orchestra. The concert Hong Kong Music, Leehom Wang (港樂‧王力宏) was held in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre for three nights, with four shows,^[34] receiving CNN International coverage throughout.^[35]

Wang embarked on his second world tour, the Music-Man Tour, in the latter months of 2008. The tour commenced with two shows per night in the Taipei Dome in September 2008, three months before the release of Wang's thirteenth studio album, Heart Beat. Heart Beat was released on December 26,^[36] debuting at #3 on the weekly G-Music charts.^[37] The album peaked at #1 on its seventh week of release, ultimately staying on the charts for 17 weeks. Like Wang's previous album, Heart Beat showed a similar emphasis of rock influences. The album largely focused on guitar and electric guitar solos, which Wang also used for performances in most of the album's music videos. Wanting to continue a similar "chinked-out" element, the album's first single, "What's Up with Rock?!" incorporated rock influences with Chinese flavor. For the track, he worked with pipa artist Liu Fang, and the two concentrated on mixing both electric guitar elements and pipa strings into the song.^[38]

On April 15, 2011, Wang Lee Hom took home the Best Male Singer (Hong Kong and Taiwan region), Best Album for The 18 Martial Arts, and Best Newcomer Director Award for his directorial debut, Love in Disguise at the Global Chinese Music Awards.^[39]

On Sept 7, 2011, it was announced that Wang hired Wong Fu Productions to direct his upcoming music video.^[40]

[edit] Musical style

This section has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since May 2010. It may contain original research. Tagged since January 2009.

Wang's music varies in style greatly from album to album. Although he is classified as an R&B artist, Wang Leehom demonstrates competence with many styles of music ranging from traditional Mandopop, Broadway, jazz, rock, R&B, gospel, acoustic, Indipop, hip-hop, to rap. Many of the styles are infused with a Chinese flavor.

When he first debuted, he sang old school pop and acoustic R&B ballads. Starting from Revolution (公轉自轉), Wang began to test out R&B pop music, but quickly jumped to a quirky style of dance pop for Impossible to Miss You (不可能錯過你). Starting from Forever's First Day (永遠的第一天), he began composing rock songs with heavy electric guitar melodies and less emphasis on dance pop. Nonetheless, he still concentrated in light R&B music. The One and Only (唯一) became his only fully produced rock album.

Unbelievable began a new road of music for Wang. Aside from the usual R&B grove, he contributed hip hop and rap that was not clearly emphasized in his past albums. "Not Your Average Thug" was a newly composed R&B style with a huge amount of American influence. "Can You Feel My World" was a different style of R&B, and the song contained great uses of the piano and violin as the accompaniment. Fast dance songs like "Ya Birthday" and "Girlfriend" (Chinese: 女朋友; pinyin: nǚ péngyǒu) incorporated rapid rap and heavy drum rhythms. "Girlfriend" included a heavily emphasised chinese flute and a music style that is influenced by Indipop.

Shangri-La was the first chapter of Wang's new style, chinked-out. Chinked-out is a new kind of musical style developed by Wang that involves modern "west" music of R&B, Hip Hop, rap, and Dance, along with "east" music of heavy Chinese instrument influences, more notably the koudi, tuhu, and ijac. "Deep Within the Bamboo Grove" (Chinese: 竹林深處; pinyin: zhú lín shēnchù) which emphasized samples of Tibetan Opera, and different minority tribes in Yunnan and other remote areas of China.

Then, I coined the term chinked-out. Derived from the historically derogatory racial slur chink, used to put-down Chinese people, chinked-out reclaims the word, turns its negative connotations upside-down, and uses them as material to fuel the new sound of this music. The term describes an effort to create a sound that is international, and at the same time, Chinese. In this album, I decided to implement some of China's most precious and untapped resources, the musics of its shaoshu minzu [少數民族], or ethnic minorities, concentrating on the regions of Yunnan, Shangri-La, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolia. This is not one of those world music CDs. It's an R&B/hip hop album that creates a new vibe the whole world can identify as being Chinese.

— Leehom Wang on Shangri-La^[41]

	"Beside the Plum Blossoms" (在梅邊) noicon From Heroes of Earth (2005). The song utilizes a fusion of traditional kunqu melodies with modern hip hop rhythm, one of the several types of the chinked-out music style.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Heroes of Earth displayed a different side to chinked out. Instead of ethnic minority music, Wang focused on Beijing opera and Kunqu. He used instruments such as the erhu, guqin, and guzheng to infuse his new album with another side of traditional Chinese sound. "Beside the Plum Blossoms" (Chinese: 在梅邊; pinyin: zài méi biān) dealt with fast kunqu melodies. In the last 50 seconds of the song, Wang rapped over 250 words, increasing in speed towards the middle and then slowed down. This was to emphasize the accelerating and descending beats of traditional Chinese opera.

In addition to his chinked-out style of music, he is also noted for writing modern love ballads like "Forever Love", "Kiss Goodbye", "The One and Only" and most recently, "All the Things You Never Knew" (你不知道的事） which are sung with piano and string instrument accompaniments.

[edit] Acting career

Wang had displayed interest in acting when he starred in several musical plays when he was in high school and college. In 2000, he made his feature film debut in the Hong Kong action crime thriller, China Strike Force, starring alongside Aaron Kwok, Norika Fujiwara, and Ruby Lin. Hong Kong critics had remarked Wang for giving a well-toned performance as his first film. His next starring role was the 2001 Hong Kong science fiction film The Avenging Fist as the main character Nova. He then starred in two Japanese films Moon Child (2003) and Starlit High Noon (2005).

The major breakthrough in his film career was in Lust, Caution, directed and produced by Academy Award winner Ang Lee. The film is based on a novella written by Eileen Chang and revolves around a plot to assassinate a high-ranking Chinese official in the Wang Jingwei Government using a beautiful young woman as bait. Wang plays Kuang Yumin, a patriotic college student who persuades Wong Chia-chi (Tang Wei) to seduce Mr. Yee (Tony Leung). The film was released in the U.S. cinemas on 28 September 2007. Lust, Caution was produced on a budget of approximately $15 million and grossed $64,574,876 worldwide.^[42]

In 2009, Wang was selected to star with Jackie Chan in Little Big Soldier.^[43]

In 2010, Wang stepped behind the camera to direct and star in, Love in Disguise (Chinese: 戀愛通告; pinyin: Liàn ài tōng gào), also starring Liu Yifei and Joan Chen.^[44] Love in Disguise went on to become the highest grossing film for a first-time director in Chinese history grossing over 60,000,000 RMB domestically.

[edit] Endorsements

Wang is one of the most highly visible celebrities in Asia due in no small part to his many product endorsements including: Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Sony Ericsson, Bausch & Lomb, Bosideng MAN, Garnier, Lay's Chips, Nikon, Brand's, Hyundai and also Wahaha purified drinking water, which he has endorsed since 1999.

Wang's Bausch & Lomb print advertisements and TV commercials featured prominently in the popular 2008-2010 TV series Chou Nu Wu Di. The series, which took place at an advertising agency, was an adaptation of the 1999 Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea.

[edit] Charitable events

Wang is also recognized for his effort and financial contributions to charity. He is active with Worldvision and has visited Laos and Sierra Leone in the last couple of years to raise awareness about the state of poverty in those countries. He personally sponsors over 20 underprivileged children throughout the world with NGO World Vision and frequently participates in the much needed fund-raising campaigns for disaster relief such as the massive earthquake at Sichuan (2008) and Typhoon Marakot in Taiwan (2009). In 2003, he and David Tao composed a song titled Hand in Hand (sung by over 80 celebrities in Taiwan) to promote support and courage to those affected by SARS.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Participation in 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Wang was chosen as one of the torchbearers to run in Greece.^[45] He was torchbearer number 17 on March 24, the first day of the torch relay. He also attended the torch lighting ceremony before his run. Wang took the torch from Liu Hongliang, son of the first Chinese to attend the Olympic games, Liu Changchun. He represented the newest generation of singers from Taiwan and China. He was chosen mainly because he is devoted to helping save the environment, as shown in his latest album Change Me.^[2]

Another reason he was chosen is due to Wang's enthusiasm in the 2008 Olympic Games Theme Songs Competition. His single One World One Dream was chosen as a Olympic Games participation song. The single was written, sung, produced, and scored entirely by himself. He sang along with Jackie Chan, Stephanie Sun, and Han Hong in the song for "The One Man Olympics" which was about the first Chinese to be in the Olympics. He also sang in the 100 days countdown theme song Beijing Welcomes You. He also sang alongside Stefanie Sun, Wang Feng, and Jane Zhang in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Torch Relay Theme Song, Light The Passion, Share The Dream. He is also one of the candidates on vote for performer of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Theme Song. In the closing ceremony, he sang "Beijing Beijing, I Love Beijing" alongside Hong Kong singer Kelly Chen and Korean singer Rain.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Awards

[edit] Bibliography

• December 18, 2001: The One and Only - The Official Piano and Vocal Score (唯一樂譜書) (Piano and Vocal Score)
• March 20, 2003: Accidental Biography (純屬意外) (Biography; Piano and Vocal Score)
• October 15, 2003: Portrait of a Love Song (Photobook; Prose and Biography) [Japan Release]
• November 15, 2005: Shangri-La - The Official Piano and Vocal Score (心中的日月樂譜書) (Piano and Vocal Score)
• June 9, 2006: "Heroes Of TOKYO" (Photobook) [Japan Release]
• July 21, 2010: "Love In Disguise: photo collection" (Photobook)
• July 21, 2010: "Wang Leehom, the practice of first-time director"

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Hu, Brian (7 September 2007). "Leehom's Roots Music". UCLA Asia Institute. http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=77393. Retrieved 10 December 2008. 
• Le, Han (23 May 2007). The Chineseness Constructed in Leehom Wang's "Chinked-Out" Music: Hybridized Texts and Meanings of Chinese Hip-Hop. International Communication Association. http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p168830_index.html. Retrieved 6 December 2008. 

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lee-Hom Wang

• (English) (Chinese) Leehom Wang official website
• Sony Music: Taiwan Japan
• Leehom Wang at the Internet Movie Database
• Leehom Wang's weibo

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Jin Jing (Chinese: 金晶; Pinyin: Jīn Jīng; born 1981 in Hefei, Anhui, China^[1]) is a Chinese female Paralympic fencer. She was a torchbearer carrying the Olympic torch amid political protests during the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay in Paris, France. According to ABC News, she fended off protestors who "threw themselves" at her; most were wrestled away by French police but at least one reached her wheelchair and tried to wrench the torch away.^[2] Jin has gained national fame in China because of the incident,^[3] but was attacked on Chinese internet bulletin boards for her stance in the following call to boycott French retailer Carrefour that resulted from public anger toward France.^[4][5][6] In contrast, Western media concentrated on how the incident involving Jin Jing ignited Chinese nationalism and claimed that the incident was exploited for propaganda purposes by the state media.^[7][8]

[edit] Family and personal life

Jin Jing's parents are wage earners. Her father, Jin Jiansheng (Chinese: 金建生), is a rusticated youth who moved from Shanghai to Anhui during the Cultural Revolution, where he met and married Liu Huayao (Chinese: 刘华瑶). Jin was born in 1981, in Hefei, Anhui,^[1] She has a younger sister, Jin Renyu (Chinese: 金任钰).^[9]

Jin had part of her right leg amputated in 1989 when she was in elementary school after a malignant tumor was found on her ankle and later underwent a year of chemotherapy.^[1] She moved to Shanghai with her family in 1995 and studied information technology in a technical secondary school. After graduation, she worked as a telephone operator in a hotel in Shanghai.^[1][10] Jin is currently single.^[10]

[edit] Career

On July 13, 2001, the day when Beijing was elected the host city for 2008 Summer Olympics, Jin Jing became a member of the Shanghai Wheelchair Fencing Team. Later on she joined the Chinese National Wheelchair Fencing Team.^[11]

Her career as a fencer is summarized in the following table:

On May 6, 2008, Jin Jing was named as the ambassador of a Paralympic cheering group to help publicize Paralympic sports worldwide in the runup to the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing.^[13]

On September 6, she brought the Paralympic torch into the Bird's Nest stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games.^[14][15][16] On this occasion, she "made headlines in the Chinese media", according to the Agence France-Presse.^[17]

[edit] 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay

An attempt to wrestle the torch from Jin Jing in Paris^[2]

In 2007, Jin Jing turned up for a selective trial, titled You Are the Torchbearer, which was organized by China Central Television, and was chosen to be an Olympic torchbearer. On April 7, 2008, she was the third torchbearer carrying the Olympic Flame during the relay in Paris, amidst protests and physical attempts to snatch the torch by demonstrators.^[18][19] According to ABC News, "Protesters denouncing Chinese policy in Tibet threw themselves at Jin. Most were wrestled away by police but at least one reached her wheelchair and tried to wrench the torch away."^[2] Jin was quoted by the state-run newspaper China Daily as saying that she "would die to protect the torch."^[20] The International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge commented on the incident, saying, "What shocked me most is when someone tried to rob (sic?) the torch off a wheelchair athlete, a disabled athlete who was unable to defend the torch. This is unacceptable."^[2]

On her arrival back to Beijing, after the Paris relay, Jin was interviewed by Sohu. Of her experience of the relay, she said:

They began lunging towards me, trying to grab the torch from my hands. I tried to hide the torch with my body and managed to keep it from them. I was focused on the three or four separatists attacking me. I'm not sure how many were behind me. I felt people trying to take the torch from me. That's when some of the escort runners , as well as the tourist guide assigned to me in Paris, came over to help me, drawing the attackers away. People ask me how I dealt with the danger. I don't think I thought too much about it. I trusted the escorts around me. They were the ones, along with my guide, that faced the danger.^[21]

Commenting on Tibet itself in interviews, she said she knew little of politics before encountering the demonstrations in Paris, and had never heard of the pro-Tibet independence movement. When asked by the UK's The Daily Telegraph she also said, "My opinion before was that Tibet was an inseparable part of our country, now I hold this point more firmly than before."^[22]

Jin has been celebrated first on internet bulletin boards and soon in Chinese media.^{[23][24][25][26]} She was treated to a hero's welcome upon her return to Beijing and China's news reports described her as the "Smiling Angel in Wheelchair" and the "Most Beautiful Torchbearer".^[27][28][29] According to Canada's The Globe and Mail, initially the state media of China censored all reports on the torch protests and the incident involving Jin Jing, but it soon reported on the protest and portrayed China as the victim, thus appealing to patriotic sentiments.^[30] The UK's The Times wrote that Chinese media coverage of the Paris leg of the relay was "reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution when propaganda organs were able to whip up the public into a frenzy of rage over an issue of their choice."^[31] The Associated Press wrote that Jin is "now known as a defender of China's dignity" and joins "a list of heroes promoted by the communist government's propaganda authorities",^[8] while The Sydney Morning Herald called her a "new heroine in China" by whom Beijing "is trying to claw back one or two propaganda points from the torch's recent rocky progress."^[32] The French magazine Marianne devoted a full page to her in its April 26 edition, and commented that the Chinese flame attendants were "strangely" absent when Jin carried the torch, leaving it up to the French police alone to guard Jin and her companions. But according to the interview Jin gave to Sohu on April 9, she was waiting to accept the flame as the third torchbearer, and security was "relatively light" around her, when the protestors "began lunging" at her.^[21] Marianne wrote that Jin's story had become a "legend skillfully propagated" by the Chinese media: "Images of Jin Jing holding the torch against her heart, her eyes closed in her lovely face, are being shown over and over on CCTV and are inflaming the Chinese Internet," making Jin famous for "hundreds of millions of Chinese viewers and netizens."^[7] The French newspaper Le Figaro published an analysis of what it referred to as "the Jin Jing phenomenon": "The media have been drumming into people's heads the story of this young woman who became, in the space of an incident in Paris, the symbol of Chinese pride in the face of Western hostility. The actions of the media bore their fruit, and the 'angel in a wheelchair' has generated unprecedented enthusiasm in China and among Chinese communities all over the world."^[33]

The event involving Jin Jing in Paris sparked outrage around China, and Chinese citizens started to urge on the internet for a boycott of French goods and businesses, and touted to "hunt down" the protester who accosted Jin and "teach him a lesson."^{[19][34][35][36]} On April 21, two weeks after the incident, Jin received a personal letter from French president Nicolas Sarkozy, delivered by Senate President Christian Poncelet. In the letter Sarkozy referred to the attack as "intolerable", and said he "condemns it with the utmost force."^{[37][38][39][40]} Xinhua reported that Jin was "very glad to be invited by President Sarkozy to France" and that she "hope[d] to contribute her own efforts to cementing the Sino-France friendship".^[41] However, Jin also expressed her disappointment to the press later that Sarkozy "expressed regret, shock and condemnation but no apology."^[42]

On September 18, 2008, Jin was received by President Sarkozy at the Palais de l'Elysée. Sarkozy publicly stated that he was "very happy to greet [her]", and praised her "exemplary courage".^[43] Reuters, describing Jin as a "nationalist icon", reported that the incident in Paris had "caused a diplomatic rift between China and France that Sarkozy has been at pains to mend ever since", and that his hosting of Jin at the Elysée palace was a means of "heal[ing] [the] rift".^[44]

[edit] Boycott of Carrefour

In April 2008, amidst calls in China to boycott French retailer Carrefour to show anger towards France and the experience Jin Jing had in Paris, Jin said she does not want people to boycott Carrefour since most of its employees are Chinese and they will be first affected.^[45] She also spoke in support of "Chinese people's friendship with the French", wished the best for French athletes at the Beijing Olympics, and added: "We Chinese people will certainly welcome French people and athletes to China with a tolerant, friendly and passionate attitude."^[41] She had received strong personal attacks on Chinese bulletin boards,^[4][5][6] though her popularity is still considered very high.^{[citation needed]} So far, she is still called "The Angel in Wheelchair".^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

• Paralympic sports
• Sports in China

[edit] References