BEIJING -- Suddenly this summer, Sister Lotus is all over China.
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. Late to catch on, Communist Party censors now officially frown on her. Some sociologists warn that Sister Lotus cannot be good for China's teenagers; others smile and predict her fame will be fleeting.
But nobody, including Sister Lotus, appears to know what this is all about.
"I think it's crazy," she said in an interview.
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.
Then a friend suggested that, since she was looking for a boyfriend, she might try posting an appeal for amorous bids as well. Pretty soon the sites were full of lovelorn prose from Sister Lotus, along with titillating -- but clad -- photos showing her in a variety of poses that must seem arty in Shaanxi.
"Lotus coming out of crystal-clear water" was the title of one such posting.
"I have no idea what was going on, but I got a lot of e-mails in response," Sister Lotus said over a bowl of tripe soup, stroking her long black hair and smiling vaguely at what she set in motion. "People wanted more pictures. Most of them liked me, but of course a few were critical."
Throughout the spring, the phenomenon grew, metastasizing into off-campus Web sites as well. As they studied for year-end exams last month, millions of student-age Chinese were finding distraction by logging on to review Sister Lotus postings.
The mainstream media, focusing on the North Korea nuclear crisis and official declarations from Chinese leaders, were slow to discover the boom. But by the beginning of July, Sister Lotus appeared to be looking out from the magazine racks at every newsstand in China.
Inevitably, the journalists went to experts for their perspectives. Interviews and roundtables appeared, accompanied by photos showing Sister Lotus dancing in the park or thrusting her chest out to form an S with her body.
"In one sense, the phenomenon of Sister Lotus is the victory of common people," said Zhang Yiwu, a Peking University specialist in modern culture. "Also, it shows the influence of the modern medium, the Internet."
Xia Xueluan, a sociologist and Peking University colleague, was less sanguine. "The lack of beliefs among young people leads them to fulfill their needs in a lower way," she said. "And of course, that is not a good thing."
But a sociologist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Li Yinhe, advised that the best thing was to wait for the storm to pass. Sister Lotus, she predicted, will be hot "for another three minutes."
Students interviewed at the universities that turned Sister Lotus down took a similar attitude, saying they and almost everybody on campus were part of the craze but did not take it seriously.
Zhou Min, 25, a PhD student at Tsinghua, said one of his classmates got so excited when he bumped into Sister Lotus in a hallway recently that he missed an evening seminar. A Peking University graduate student, Ye Shulan, 27, said it was all for fun. "I think you can just be entertained and laugh her off," he said.
For some commentators, Sister Lotus has grabbed the imagination of young Chinese because she is affirming her individuality so blatantly in a society where children are generally taught to conform and avoid sticking out. Others expressed concern that, despite the economic boom, life in China must be lacking something if Sister Lotus can so grip the attention of young people.
For reasons that, as is customary, they did not explain, Communist Party censors recently barred the broadcast of a Sister Lotus program prepared by China Central Television, the government-run network. They also made it clear to Web site operators that the fun had gone on long enough. By then, however, the phenomenon appeared to have taken on a life of its own.
"I will not be censored," Sister Lotus declared.
She contacted the administrator of one Web site who agreed to record her dancing and explaining herself to critics. The segment was posted last week. Then the Hong Kong-based Phoenix satellite television network broadcast a live interview with her Friday, and aired it a second time later in the day.
Sister Lotus, dressed in a see-through blouse and tight jeans with spangles on the thighs, said she had quit her job at a publishing house since the publicity exploded. Gesturing with applied grace, she announced that she was just about finished with a book in which she urges young Chinese to follow her example and not give up in the face of adversity.
Career prospects look bright, she added. She has auditioned for a soap opera, and a television network whose name she would not reveal has been in touch about a job.
"I am preparing for a career as an anchorwoman," she said, smiling again.
这个夏天，芙蓉姐姐突然红遍中国。
有关她的话题充斥着中文网站，她的玉照赢得了数百万的点击率。全国性的杂志为她留出版面，电视台工作人员也请她试镜。在这段疯狂流行之后，共产党的新闻审查者对她皱起了眉头，已正式表态不得炒作。一些社会学家警告说，芙蓉姐姐对中国的未成年人带来了不好的影响；另一些则微笑着预言她会转瞬即逝。
史红霞就是传说中的芙蓉姐姐，她说她也不知道为什么自己在网上发的帖子会引起那么大的反响。
看起来没有人，包括她自己直到这到底是怎么一回事儿。
“这真是不可思议，”她接受采访时说。
芙蓉姐姐本周二就满28岁了，她来自中国陕西省的一个小县城里。在过去的几年里，她几次报考北大和清华——中国最负盛名的两所高校——但都没能被录取。
凭着大无畏的勇气，和在舞蹈方面深厚的“内功”，她在这两所大学的BBS上贴出了她的奋斗传奇。中国近年来涌现出不少网络奇人，包括那些以自己的性经历吸引读者的年轻女子——这些经历在传统出版业是永远不可能见天日的。不过这次似有不同，这些帖子有的只是真诚，或许是幼稚吧，它们首先吸引了大学生们。
后来有一位朋友建议，既然她还没有男朋友，不如在网上发一个征友帖。很快，BBS上就满是她的相思苦文了，当然还有她那撩人却保护严实的照片，这些动作在她的故乡一定是颇具艺术家气质的。
“出水芙蓉”是其中一个帖子的标题。
“我不知道到底发生了什么，反正我是接到了许多电邮回复，”芙蓉姐姐喝了一口牛腩汤，说道。她用手抚摸着自己的长长的黑发，对自己所处的境况暧昧地笑着。“他们想要更多我的照片。多数人喜欢我，当然，也有一些人恶语相加。”
“芙蓉现象”在今年春天慢慢地生长，渐渐地扩展到了校外的论坛。在临近期末考试的季节，数百万学生却分心了，因为他们要上网看芙蓉姐姐的照片。
中国的主流媒体正关注着朝朝核危机和领导人的讲话，对芙蓉现象反应迟钝。但是从七月初起，芙蓉姐姐的笑容开始从杂志架扩散到中国几乎每一个报摊上。
可以想象的是，记者们纷纷去征求专家的意见。相关报道和讨论见诸报端，当然还有她的玉照：常常是在公园里展现舞姿或者是挺胸用身体摆出S形。
“从某种程度而言，芙蓉现象是普通人的胜利，”北京大学的现代文化研究专家张颐武说，“它同时显示了网络媒体的巨大影响力。”
北大的另一位专家，社会学家夏学銮就没有这么乐观了。“年轻人彼此之间的不信任感让他们以一种低层次的方式满足自己的需要，”她说，“当然，这不是件好事。”
不过，中国社科院的社会学家李银河建议，最好的做法就是静静地等待这场娱乐风暴的过去，她认为芙蓉姐姐只是“三分钟热”。
在芙蓉姐姐赖以成名的两所高校里，受访的学生对此持相似的态度。他们说，几乎校园里的每个人都是这场狂热的一部分，但是没有人当真。
25岁的周敏是清华大学的一位博士生，他说他的一个同学因为在走廊里碰见了芙蓉姐姐而兴奋地忘记了晚上要上课。北京大学27岁的研究生叶书岚说这都是闹着玩，“我想，你可以借此娱乐一下，并对她一笑了之。”
对一些评论者来说，芙蓉姐姐之所以抓住了年轻人的心，是因为在一个孩子们从小就被教育要顺大流不要出头的社会，她能够如此毫无保留地展现自己的个性。而另一些人则担心，在经济高速发展的中国，芙蓉姐姐能吸引这么多年轻人的注意，一定是这个社会还缺些什么。
像往常一样，他们没有对“缺了什么”加以解释，党的宣传部门禁止了政府经营的中国中央电视台为芙蓉姐姐录制的节目。他们还直接告诉网站经营者，这场娱乐已经够了。尽管如此，芙蓉现象象是有了生命一样，禁而不止。
“我不会被审查。”芙蓉姐姐宣称。
她联系了一家网站的管理员，网站答应她录下她的舞蹈并让她对那些批评者们加以解释。节目的片断在上周登出。然后香港的凤凰卫视周五播出了对她的专访，当天晚些时候还重播了一次。
芙蓉姐姐说，出名以后她已辞去了在出版社的工作，打着表示谦虚的手势，她宣布她准备写一本书，内容是激励年轻人以她为榜样，面对困难不要放弃。说这话时，芙蓉姐姐身着透明外衣和紧身牛仔裤，腿部还挂着亮晶晶的饰物。
工作前景很乐观，她补充道。她已经为一个肥皂剧试镜，而且一家电视台还和她讨论过工作事宜，不过她不愿意透露这家电视台的名字。
“我准备当一名主播。”她说着，又笑了。
