The Chinese Philosopher Americans Can’t Stop Fighting About
Yiyang Zhuge was already an intellectual celebrity in China. Her viral interview with Christopher Nolan made her famous in the US—and quickly turned her into a political Rorschach test.
The Chinese philosopher, Zhuge, interviewed Christopher Nolan, a renowned Hollywood director, during his visit to Beijing to promote his film The Odyssey. Instead of focusing on celebrity gossip, Zhuge delved into philosophical questions related to Greek philosophy, Christianity, and heroic portrayals in films. Nolan was visibly impressed by Zhuge's inquiries, and the interview gained significant traction on the English-speaking internet after being shared by video game journalist Geoff Keighley.
The interview resonated with many, but opinions were divided, with some praising it as one of Nolan's best performances and others labeling it a "CCP hostage video" by the National Review. Despite her relative obscurity in the West, Zhuge is a prominent young intellectual in China, having been featured in Vogue China and sharing fitness tips on a popular Chinese social media platform.
Her success can be attributed to her personal experiences, including a strained marriage and financial struggles, which led her to focus on her career within the Chinese-speaking world. She has been producing content, such as podcast episodes and articles, since her early twenties, accumulating over 940,000 subscribers on XiaoyuzhouFM.
While Zhuge has no attachment to fame, her Chinese fame is largely due to her ability to articulate American political systems, and her conservative ideological leanings have heavily influenced her work. The interview's impact on social media highlights the contrasting reactions from both right-leaning and left-leaning Americans, with the latter accusing her of being a "deranged neocon Zionist lunatic" or a Chinese state-media psy-op.
Written by urgent.news from Wired Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
