窝囊废 11(1)
Illustration: Wang Siqi, design elements from Douban
STREET TALK

Zeroes to Heroes: Chinese Fans’ New-Found Love for Losers

China’s latest meme celebrates unsung, “spineless” heroes, proving that real strength often lies in the beautifully flawed

Chinese viewers are done with handsome, strong-willed, ambitious movie protagonists. Perhaps accepting that superheroes are only fiction, female fans are now obsessed with anti-heroes they have affectionately labeled “the spineless (窝囊废 wōnangfèi).”

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author Zhang Wenjie (张文捷)

Zhang Wenjie is a contributing writer at The World of Chinese. She loves to share the lifestyles, voices, and concerns of China’s Gen Z. She is also fond of collecting and displaying the flourishing slang expressions in the Chinese language.

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