Who?
Zhang Fei (?-221) was a renowned Chinese politician and military leader during the late Eastern Han dynasty (25-220) and early Three Kingdoms period (220-280), serving under Liu Bei, the founding emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms.
Historically, he was known for his military prowess but was immortalised in the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms as the reckless yet capable and deeply loyal sworn brother of Liu. His image was further solidified in the 1994 TV adaptation of the novel, excellently portrayed by Li Jingfei. In recent years, memes and messaging app stickers featuring Li’s portrayal of Zhang have been popular, such as the “me too” or “alright big bro” stickers.
Why is he viral again?
In early June, one Rednote user spotted the uncanny resemblance between the wily grin on the viral POP MART character LABUBU and Li Jingfei’s iconic look as Zhang Fei, including the large, round eyes and a smile that spells mischief. Quick comparisons between different shots of the characters gained traction on Rednote on 9 June before spreading to Weibo the next day.
- #Labubu 张飞 LABUBU Zhang Fei: 11.91 million views on Weibo, ranking number 5 on the Hot Search list
- #终于知道Labubu像谁了 Finally figured out who LABUBU looks like: 832,400 views on Rednote, ranking number 2 on the Hot Topic list
Why does it matter?
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is deeply ingrained in Chinese pop culture, through the novel, the iconic TV show, countless adaptations, in film, TV and video games. Zhang Fei, part of the story’s main cast, is one of the most recognisable in the Chinese literary canon. This is why people quickly recognised the similarity.
With a first iteration of the LABUBU figurine having just sold for 1.08 million RMB (150,403.16 USD) at auction, LABUBU is an undisputed cultural icon from China today. It also marks the convergence of the two trends, memes and IPs and the “emotional value” they provide.