Han Han on Haibao: “Does he have a butt crack?”

“Haibao makes my head hurt. When everyone saw that he was flat, it raised a big problem for those who were trying to make three-dimensional Haibaos: what should his back look like? Does he have a tail? Does he have a butt? Does he have a butt crack? No one knew…” Haibao’s derriere is just one of the amusing issues raised in a recent post about the Shanghai Expo by controversial best-selling author Han Han. ChinaSMACK have translated the post here.

Han Han has his fair share of critics, especially older academics and “serious” novelists in China who seem offended by his irreverence and off-hand style. You can read translations of short critiques from scholar Xu Ben and current affairs commentator Li Tie on China Geeks.

The ChinaSMACK post also has its fair share of negative comments from English speakers, most of who seem to completely miss the point.

Personally I think Han Han is hilarious – his wry sarcasm and self-deprecating humor are a much needed counterbalance to the self-congratulatory tone of most Chinese media. His comments about what the Expo will bring to Shanghai hit the nail on the head:

“It’s not what the Expo brings to China but what China brings to the Expo. The Expo hasn’t always been such a large-scale event. As information became easier to pass around, the [tradition of the] Expo went into decline, but China will elevate its status again. If you really want a metaphor, it’s sort of like when a domestic clothing brand is very hot and heavily advertised. You wear the clothes and feel badass and extravagant, but when you go abroad and ask around you discover it’s actually a second-rate brand."

The Shanghai Expo opens this Saturday (May 1). You can read all about it here. Shanghaiist were present for the Expo's "soft opening" last week - reported highlights included three hour queues to enter some pavilions and locals clamoring to touch the staff of the African pavilions. You can read about it here. Shanghai Scrap also came away a little concerned by the apparent lack of preparedness at the Expo site.