BEIJING: A Chinese woman cosplaying as Lady Rocky from the famous animated film Ne Zha 2 has been mistaken for a Japanese character by a man who issued verbal insults and tried to physically assault her.
On April 12, the woman surnamed Chen, dressed as Lady Rocky, known in Chinese as Shiji Niangniang from the movie Ne Zha 2, which grossed over 15.6 billion yuan (US$2.1 billion) at the box office.
Chen passionately posed for photos with tourists in a public square in Taijiang county, Guizhou province, southern China.
The character, drawn from traditional Chinese folklore, is a recluse who is 10,000 years old and was originally a stone.
She indulged in her beauty, speaking only to her mirror, but is labelled as a demon by the heavens, sealing her fate.
While engaging with tourists in a public square, a man suddenly confronted her, hurling insults and accusing her of impersonating a Japanese person.
“He immediately yelled at me, calling me a Japanese woman. He even tried to jump up and hit me without any reason. I felt really wronged,” Chen said.
Despite her repeated efforts to clarify that she was portraying a character from the Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2, and not a Japanese figure, the man remained agitated and even tried to hit her.
“At the time, I felt very scared and helpless. I did not know what to do. If no one had stopped him, I do not know what would have happened, he might have attacked me. I am still in a state of panic now,” she later explained in an online video.
Chen’s family has reported the incident to the police and is appealing for eyewitnesses to provide photo or video evidence.
“My sister-in-law is still shaken and deeply upset. We are asking the public to help us identify the man who insulted her. If you have any photos or videos, please share them so we can hand them over to the police. We are simply seeking a reasonable apology,” a relative of Chen stated.
The incident, reported by Hubei Media Group, has stirred a heated discussion online.
One online observer said: “Even if she were wearing a kimono, does that give anyone the right to insult or hit her? Some people clearly have something wrong with their head, they just look for people to bully.”
Another person said: “Even if someone does not know about Ne Zha or Shiji Niangniang, they should still be able to recognise that this is a Tang-style Hanfu, not a kimono.
“Some people just want to commit illegal acts under the guise of patriotism. They know nothing about history or culture, yet feel entitled to criticise the attire of others. They should take a look in the mirror first.”
The incident is reminiscent of similar confrontations in China where individuals wearing Japanese-style clothing sometimes face verbal harassment.
Last December, a young woman wearing a kimono was at the Nanjing Botanical Garden in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, eastern China, a city infamous for the Nanjing massacre, in which Chinese civilians were murdered by the Imperial Japanese Army.
She was scolded by an elderly woman who said: “Have you not gone to school?” She then repeatedly ordered the young woman to remove the kimono. - South China Morning Post
