Xiao Zhan incident

The Xiao Zhan incident, also known as the 227 incident, is a 2020 online controversy that originated between the fans of Chinese actor Xiao Zhan and Archive of Our Own users in mainland China.[1][2] The incident started when the internet censorship system known as the Great Firewall of China blocked the fan fiction publishing platform Archive of Our Own in the country, due to concerns about the actor's fanbase regarding vulgar and explicit content on the website.[3]

Background

On January 30, 2020, a user named "迪迪出逃记" from the fan fiction site Archive of Our Own began serializing a novel titled Falling (下坠), which focuses on Xiao Zhan and his fellow Chinese actor Wang Yibo.[4] The two idol-actors initially starred as the leads in the popular TV series The Untamed (2019), which is based on the Boys' Love novel Mo Dao Zu Shi. The erotic story re-imagined Xiao as a transgender prostitute and Wang as a high school student.[5]: 57 

On February 24, links of the chapters 12 and 13 of the novel Falling (下坠) were posted by the author on the Chinese social networking site Weibo.[6] On February 26, 2020, some of Xiao's fans claimed that the work contains explicit pornographic content and the feminization of Xiao, as sketched by users "一只汐哥哥" and "一个执白".[6] Many fans took it as an insult to the actor, denouncing it on Weibo. Author "迪迪出逃记" and the graphic artists were the main targets of criticism. Users "来碗甜粥吗" and "巴南区小兔赞比", the "opinion leaders" among Xiao Zhan's fanbase, are recognized as the leaders of the reporting incident against the author and the graphic artists. In a Weibo post on February 26, user "巴南区小兔赞比" said that "actors and their fans" do not need to "accept vulgar underage prostitution literature based on artists" and "such behavior not only infringes on the artist's reputation, but also pollutes the online environment and brings down a large number of underaged fans who lack judgement".[7]. From February 27, some fans circulated guides on how to effectively report the material [5] On February 29, 2020, Archive of Our Own was officially blocked in mainland China due to the country's policy and regulations, according to Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) [3][8]. The next day, AO3 users and some other related groups who believed that the AO3 were blocked due to Xiao Zhan fans reports, showed their anger and disappointment by cyber-attacking Xiao Zhan, his general fans and even brands that Xiao Zhan endorses, the group formed weibo supertopic group titled "227 (February 27) Memorial Day", referring to the reporting day which was on February 27,2020 [9]

On April 23, 2020, Xiao Zhan Studio, through a commissioned law firm, issued a legal statement against certain internet users for "spreading malicious intent and defamatory sexual insults" toward Xiao Zhan. The studio declared that rights-protection actions were now being comprehensively carried out.[10]

In August 2025, According to Tianyancha's legal information, the Beijing Internet Court recently served people named "Guo" and "Luo" with a civil judgment in a case involving online infringement liability disputes between Xiao Zhan, "Luo" and "Guo", According to reports, "Luo" Lou Chenjing and "Guo" Guo Yuwei were the hosts or moderators of the Weibo "227" super topic and the leading figures in the 227 incident. The two jointly operated an account to spread false information and incite cyberbullying surrounding Xiao Zhan. According to information disclosed on the People's Court Announcement Network, the two people with a Sina Weibo account involved in the case, belonging to Lou Chenjing and Guo Yuwei, with user ID "QUOT我有辣味跟跟走" (UID: 3274253145). The court ruled that the defendants, Lou Chenjing and Guo Yuwei, must publish an apology statement on their Sina Weibo account for 48 consecutive hours, publicly apologizing to the plaintiff, Xiao Zhan, and compensating Xiao Zhan a total of 11,000 yuan, among other things that not published. After 6 years with the legal courts and results showed that 227 incident not purely of fanbase disputes but involved a well-organized smear campaigns.[11]

History

227 Incident

The banning of Archive of Our Own in mainland China caused controversy among its users. Their criticisms were further amplified by controversial behaviors of some of Xiao Zhan's fans, and claimed that the actor should take responsibility for his fans' actions.[2] A section of the site's users called for a protest on Xiao Zhan's brand deals and endorsed products, flooding the brand's pages with negative comments. They formed a Weibo supertopic group titled "227 (February 27) Memorial Day", referring to the incidents that occurred regarding the reporting of Xiao Zhan's fans in February 27. This led to increasing cyber attacks towards Xiao Zhan, his fans, and even bystanders.[9] This includes Chinese variety show host He Jiong, who was attacked by the group following a rumor that Xiao Zhan would be making an appearance on his show. Some accounts that led online attacks and harassment against the actor were labelled as paid, "professional" anti-fans.[12] On August 2025, According to Tianyancha's legal information, the Beijing Internet Court recently published reports involving online infringement liability disputes between Xiao Zhan, "Luo" and "Guo" who were the hosts of the Weibo "227" super topic and the leading figures in the 227 incident. The court ruled that the defendants, "Lou" and "Guo" , must publish an apology statement on their Sina Weibo account for 48 consecutive hours, publicly apologizing to the plaintiff, Xiao Zhan , and compensating Xiao Zhan a total of 11,000 yuan, among other things that not published. [11]

Apology from Xiao Zhan Studio

On March 1, 2020, Xiao Zhan's management "Xiao Zhan Studio" issued an apology on Weibo for taking up public resources during the COVID-19 period and for causing troubles to the public.[13]

Boycott against Xiao Zhan-endorsed brands

On March 17, 2020, many Chinese users of Archive of Our Own announced their boycott against the brands that Xiao Zhan endorses. These include international luxury brands Estée Lauder, Piaget, and Cartier.[14]

Xiao Zhan's first interview after the 227 Incident

On May 6, 2020, Xiao Zhan was interviewed by Economic View regarding the 227 Incident.[15] He was, at the time, also faced with harassment from internet users for controversial remarks made on Weibo during his college years. Xiao Zhan apologized for his old posts and expressed his confusion toward the incidents starting from February 27, 2020. He disagreed, however, with the view that idols need to be responsible for fan's behaviors as he noted idols and fans should be equal, and idols are not superiors to fans. He also said he would guide fans "by being a positive role model, and that he hoped they would live their lives well and won't do anything extreme that would hurt others or themselves."[16]

Policy response

This conflict among online fan communities resulted in public attention and scrutiny from policymakers.[17]: 163  Beginning in June 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China initiated a series of policies and campaigns against "resentment and abuse, upvoting/downvoting and trolling, disinformation and name-calling, doxing, and privacy violations of online fandom communities."[17]: 163  Major Chinese social media platforms revised their policies accordingly.[17]: 163–164  On August 2025, The progress of the lawsuit between Xiao Zhan and two of "227" super topic hosts and leader figures in 227 Incident finally published by Beijing Court Report, Beijing Court ruled "Lou" and "Guo" as guilty and must publish an apology statement on their Sina Weibo account for 48 consecutive hours, publicly apologizing to the plaintiff, Xiao Zhan, and compensating Xiao Zhan a total of 11,000 yuan, among other things that not published, while other cases still in process [11]

See also

References

  1. ^ 丹, 高 (2020-03-07). 观察｜肖战事件及二次元的"升维打击"_文化课_澎湃新闻 [Observation｜Xiao Zhan Incident and the “Dimension Upgrade Strike” of the Second Dimension]. The Paper (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  2. ^ a b Jiang, Sunny (2020-03-10). "Xiao Zhan and AO3 Fans Clash, Sparking Social Media Firestorm". Pandaily. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  3. ^ a b Romano, Aja (2020-03-01). "China has censored the Archive of Our Own, one of the internet's largest fanfiction websites". Vox. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  4. ^ 同人小说平台ao3被举报，肖战深陷抵制风波_凤凰网娱乐_凤凰网 [Fan fiction platform ao3 was reported, Xiao Zhan was caught in a boycott storm]. Ifeng (in Chinese). 2020-03-01. Archived from the original on 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  5. ^ a b Wang, Erika Ningxin; Huang, Qian (2026). Fandom Nationalism: Participatory Censorship and Performative Patriotism in East Asia. Bloomsbury Fandom Primers Series. New York: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 979-8-7651-2516-8.
  6. ^ a b 记, 华 (2020-03-02). 以肖战之名：一场事先张扬的举报 [In the name of Xiao Zhan: a publicized report in advance]. Aicaijing (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2020-03-18. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  7. ^ "反肖战"背后：变成"上帝"的粉丝，被捆绑的资本游戏_偶像 [Behind the "Anti-Xiao Zhan": Becoming a fan of "God", tied up in the capital game]. Sohu (in Chinese). 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  8. ^ "2020年2月全国受理网络违法和不良信息举报1051.6万件_中央网络安全和信息化委员会办公室". www.cac.gov.cn. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  9. ^ a b 战, 肖; 一博, 王 (2020-03-01). 粉丝恶意举报致平台被禁 肖战代言遭大批网友抵制 [Fans maliciously reported that Xiao Zhan was banned from the platform and his endorsement was boycotted by a large number of netizens]. 163.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  10. ^ "肖战方就虚假及侮辱性言论发律师声明:将依法维权". 新浪娱乐. 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  11. ^ a b c 扒财经 (2025-08-18). "227超话主持人郭某娄某败诉判罚 两人操作一个账号发布不实消息_手机网易网". www.163.com. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  12. ^ 法平, 翦 (July 8, 2020). 营造良好网络生态，平台亟须强化自净 [To create a good network ecology, the platform urgently needs to strengthen self-purification]. JCRB (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2020-07-08. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  13. ^ 理智追星！肖战工作室就粉丝举报致平台被禁道歉 [Chasing stars rationally! Xiao Zhan Studio apologizes for being banned from the platform due to fan reports]. 163.com (in Chinese). 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  14. ^ "Why many Chinese shoppers boycotted Piaget over homoerotic fan fiction". South China Morning Post. 2020-03-17. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  15. ^ [ENG SUB] Xiaozhan Interview with Economic View, First Appearance After Spring Festival Gala (Video) (in Chinese). May 6, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-21 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ 专访肖战 | 谈过往，谈成长，谈公益-中新经纬 [Exclusive interview with Xiao Zhan | Talking about the past, growth and charity]. Economic View (in Chinese). 2020-05-07. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  17. ^ a b c Song, Chenyang (2025). Nationalist and Popular Culture Practices on Social Media: A Digital Ethnography of Chinese Online Fandom Nationalists. Bielefeld: Transcript. ISBN 978-3-8376-7926-7.
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