Virtual beauty takes stage

When you take a closer look at the photos of the 36 contestants for CCTV 3’s talent show Bravo Youngsters, you may find something different.
当你细看央视三套选秀节目《上线吧！华彩少年》公布的36名选手的照片时，你会发现一些不同之处。

Ling, one contestant on the show, is seemingly perfect. The 25-year-old Beijing woman is a social media influencer, whose realistic appearance is computer generated.
该节目的一名选手翎，看起来十分完美。这位25岁北京女孩是位社交媒体红人，她那逼真的外表其实是由电脑生成的。

Yet Ling behaves like an actual human social media star. She attends fashion events, promotes designer clothes and brands, and shares her life on Sina Weibo.
但翎的行为举止就像社交媒体上的真人明星一样。她出席时尚活动、宣传设计师服装品牌，在新浪微博上分享自己的生活。

“I love traditional Chinese culture, especially Peking Opera, calligraphy and tai chi. I hope that I can interpret these art forms in my own way on the stage,” Ling posted on her weibo account on Nov 22.
“我热爱中国传统文化，特别是京剧，毛笔字和太极。希望我能用自己的方式在舞台上演绎这些艺术形式，”翎11月22日在自己的微博账号上发帖表示。

Actually, Ling herself is the best illustration of her love for Chinese traditional culture.
事实上，翎自己就是她对中国传统文化热爱的最好诠释。

Her name, Ling, comes from the feathered headdress worn in Peking Opera. Her voice in the talent show follows the school of the late Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang. And her face is even designed to look good while wearing Peking Opera makeup.
她的名字“翎”源于京剧中的羽毛头饰。她在选秀中的声音模仿的是已故京剧大师梅兰芳的梅派。甚至她的面部也设计成画京剧妆容时好看的样子。

According to Chen Yan, founder of Beijing Next Generation Culture Media, the company behind Ling, they aimed to build the virtual idol into a web influencer interested in guofeng (Chinese national style).
北京次世文化传媒有限公司是翎的幕后公司，该公司创始人陈燕表示，他们想要打造一个对国风（中国风格）感兴趣的虚拟网红。

Ling has “broken down barriers between the real and virtual worlds ... and [helped] to promote Chinese culture around the world”, said Chen, adding that she’ll later open accounts on other social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
陈燕表示，翎“打破了现实和虚拟世界的屏障，助力在全球传播中国文化。”陈燕还表示，她之后会在Instagram和脸书等其他社交媒体平台开通账号。

Ling is not the only virtual idol who is attracting Chinese youths growing up in the internet era. The virtual idols are almost everywhere, from holographic concerts and talent shows to e-commerce livestreaming platforms. Statistics from market consulting group iResearch show the country’s animation, comics and games (ACG) fan base is expected to reach 410 million by the end of this year.
翎不是唯一一个吸引着互联网时代中成长的中国青年的虚拟偶像。这样的虚拟偶像几乎随处可见，从全息成像的演唱会，到选秀节目，再到电商直播平台。市场咨询公司艾瑞咨询的数据显示，截至今年年底，中国的动漫游戏粉丝群有望达到4.1亿。

Chen Zhe from the company Frees Fund, believes that the rise of virtual influencers will bring challenges and opportunities.
峰瑞资本的陈哲认为，虚拟网红的崛起将带来挑战和机遇。

“On the one hand, they have great advantages. Unlike human influencers who will get old, or may become involved in some sort of scandal, digital influencers are young, flexible, manageable and controllable,” he said.
“一方面，他们有很大的优势。不像真人网红会变老，或者卷入某种丑闻，数字网红年轻、灵活、方便管理，”他表示。

“On the other, the market needs more localized virtual influencers whose content design is tailored to connect with Chinese [people] and more modes of commercial collaboration need to be explored.”
“另一方面，市场需要更多本地化的虚拟网红，它们的内容设计为与中国人产生共鸣而专门定制，还有更多的商业协作模式需要探索。”

Chen Yan also pointed out that although influencers like Ling are virtual, their influence is real. Like it or not, they will bring big changes to the entertainment and fashion industries in the near future.
陈燕也指出，虽然像翎这样的网红是虚拟的，但它们的影响力是真实的。不管人们是否喜欢，在不久的将来，它们将给娱乐和时尚产业带来巨大改变。

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高二815期