Shanghai Daily News

It never occurred to Qian Zhijun that, aside from snide comments, his portly features would some day bring him fame.

The soft-spoken, chubby, ruddy-cheeked, timid teenager who has gained famed in cyberspace as "Little Fatty," didn't expect that he would become one of the most familiar faces on the Internet and a cult figure around the country.

Yet, the Chinese netizens' frenzy for playing with Adobe Photoshop, the photographic editing computer software, and a sudden outbreak of "Cyber-Kuso," a term used to brand anything outrageous and hilarious, has transformed the shy 19-year-old Jinshan native into a household name.

"It feels like all of a sudden the Internet is overwhelmed with my features on all kinds of images," said Qian who weighs in at 98 kilograms.

His portly face has been superimposed by those witty netizens onto a number of images of famous celebrities. By searching on the Internet, one can easily see his melon-sized head and cherubic cheeks perched perfectly on the shoulders of such iconic images as Marilyn Monroe, Mona Lisa, Austin Powers, Harry Potter, Doraemon, the famous robotic Japanese cartoon cat, and even superimposed over US President Theodore Roosevelt on Mount Rushmore.

However, the first time he saw his pudgy features posted online, Qian's initial reaction was not positive and he was upset.

"I was stunned and angry at the time. I felt like I had been smeared and  uglified," he recalled with his familiar bitter smile. "So you see, I became something of an online superstar passively and by accident."

The first, fateful picture which showed the suspicious-sidelong glance Qian is famous for, was taken four years ago when he attended a road-safety event with his classmates.

"It was quite normal for an absent-minded middle school student to look around as the teacher was giving a lengthy and boring speech," Qian said with a smile. "How was I to know that I was being photographed?"

Soon, he became a sensation on the Internet as his face and those cutting eyes launched a nationwide outpouring of "Little Fatty photo-editing." The craze spread at warp speed thought cyberspace.

Qian tried dieting and kept to a strict exercise regime by playing tennis everyday for several months last year, hoping to lose some weight.

"Unfortunately, I soon regained the 10 kilograms I lost after I stopped exercising," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Since then, his images have aroused tens of millions of clicks on the Web.

"My life hasn't changed much," said the local vocational school student. He currently earns 500 yuan (US$64) per month working as a gas station attendant in Fengxian District. "My family and friends treat me as usual, but I can still perceive some little change somewhere."

He said people have started to stop him on the street to ask if he is the real-life Little Fatty; giggling girls want to take pictures with him and Net friends ask for his autograph.

Last week, Qian was named the Most Popular Online Icon at the 2006 Internet Entertainment Festival in Shanghai. It was the first time he had been invited to such a gala and he met a host of well-known national stars.

In addition to these exciting experiences, his newfound fame has also brought him trouble, sometimes, rage too.

"I don't like the pornographic images. They put my head on naked women or sexy girls, which make me very embarrassed and sick," Qian said with anger. "I don't mind if it's well meant because I think it would be nice to offer people fun and pleasure and work as an entertainer, but turning me into a porn star has gone too far."

His favorite image is his face on the body on actor Russell Crowe as the ancient Roman general Maximus in "Gladiator." Another is as the mysterious stool-pigeon in the Hong Kong film "Infernal Affairs."

Qian's schedule now is packed with interviews and invitations from print media, TV stations, Web media and some talk shows and festivals.

"Frankly speaking, I haven't got a penny from these interviews so far," he admits. But it seems that this gas jockey has some vague idea of capitalizing on his fame with a career in show business.

"If possible, I'm willing to play some insignificant and funny roles in Stephen Chow's movies, or in some commercials," he said.

But what he most wants to do is to become a television chef. Though he is a schoolboy, Qian can make a variety of traditional Chinese dishes, including such hard-to-cook local delicacies as sweet-and-sour spareribs and gongbao chicken, among others.

"Cooking is what I am good at and I'm a real gourmet," he said with a smile. "I love to teach people how to cook and eat well."