‘Brother Sharp’, ‘Handsome Vagabond’ and ‘Vagabond Prince’ are all nicknames for the homeless Chinese man, Chen Guorong. Chen was picked up by the blogosphere for his good looks, bohemian chic dress sense and his catwalk strut. The focus of the conversation seemed to be how fashionable he dressed rather than his situation and how he got there.
the original photographer, Mr Tu, gravitated to this particular vagabond because he was “bearing dignification” and had a “very special temperament,” however the photos initially didn’t receive any significant attention. A month later, the photos resurfaces on a popular Chinese forum, Tianya Club, with the title, “鶨杀橯内牳极华丽藋擩极龤笭嬣帅囧ㄐ帅”謺瞎你鎏牁馝ㄐ炴亲们嬣踸详细资翐,” roughly translating to “Behold the number one ultimate, gorgeous, handsome passer-by! Blind your dog eyes! Seeking detailed information on his flesh”. The post talks about the young man have a complete mix and match style between Japanese delicateness and European/US culture. “Hair style is the most popular cowboy hairstyle in Japan. The second-hand clothes from the middle-aged store are paired with the latest LV paper bags”. Comments were even made about his shoelace belt, which ironically became a big trend later on in the fashion industry with Acne Studios selling an 100% calf leather shoelace belt for $170.
Local residents became unhappy knowing that this famous vagabond was still living on the streets and insisted to the government that he should be moved to a homeless shelter. To me, this shows how handsome people easily gain favouritism because I am sure that there are many other homeless people on the Chinese streets and there is only outrage for this particular vagabond because he looks catwalk ready. His fans donated “100,000 yuan (£10,000)” to help Chen become stable again. Personally, I think that if you want to help the homeless, you shouldn’t be bias to who you help depending on how they look or dress. Everyone needs help, not just the most fashionable. A friend of Chen asked for officials to not put him in a homeless shelter and “cage this free bird,” and demanded “please don’t mess with his peaceful life!”.
References: Ejinsight (2016) Jiangxi’s Brother Sharp may be roaming the streets again. 25th February. [Online] [Accessed on 10th February 2018] http://www.ejinsight.com/20160225-jiangxi-s-brother-sharp-may-be-roaming-the-streets-again/