Live-streaming makes a star of Confucius-quoting Shanghai tramp
- Shen Wei has been living in hotels and ‘having feasts every day’ since his commentaries on social media started going viral
- 52-year-old says he made more than US$7,000 in just two hours after his popularity soared
A homeless Shanghai man who became an overnight celebrity for his eloquent commentary on classic Chinese texts earned more than 100,000 yuan (US$14,700) last month from live-streaming and said he now wants to buy a flat.
The 52-year-old used to wear ragged clothes, had dishevelled hair and a dirty face and lived on a lawn near a subway station in the city’s Pudong district. But Red Star News reported that over the past month he has been living in different hotels – paid for by fans, would-be business partners and former schoolmates – takes baths, wears clean clothes and has had a haircut.
Shen now describes himself as a person able to stir up an online storm just by waving his hand, the report said.
Scores of people swarm around him every day, calling him “Master Shen”, hoping he will let them take photos or videos so they can attract more views for their own social media accounts.