In Chinese cyberspace, a blossoming passion
By Edward Cody (Washington Post)
Updated: 2005-07-29 10:17

Suddenly this summer, Sister Lotus is all over China, writes Washington Post.

Hotly debated on Chinese-language Web sites, her saucy photos get millions of hits. National magazines dote on her, and China's television crews are taping away.

The revealing "S figure" of Sister Furong dressed in red [baidu]

Late to catch on, some sociologists warn that Sister Lotus cannot be good for China's teenagers, others smile and predict her fame will be fleeting.

Shi Hengxia, known as Sister Lotus, said she has no idea why her Internet postings have drawn so much attention across China.

But nobody, including Sister Lotus, appears to know what this is all about.

"I think it's crazy," she said in an intervie.

Sister Lotus, who turns 28 on Tuesday, is Shi Hengxia, and comes from a small town in Shaanxi province.

Over the last few years, she tried and failed to gain admission to Peking University and then to Tsinghua University, China's most prestigious institutions of higher learning.

Undaunted, and blessed with a deep reservoir of daring, she posted the story of her determination on both universities' Web sites.

China has a recent tradition of personal sagas on the Web, including those from young women chronicling their sex lives in a way that could never get by a traditional publisher.

But these were different - sincere, maybe naive - and they touched a nerve among students.

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