Chinese Babies / Wǒ Xìng Zhào

About

Chinese Babies, also known as Wǒ Xìng Zhào or 我姓赵, refers to multiple AI-generated images of tough-looking Asian babies that spread on Chinese social media in late 2022. The AI art surfaced on TikTok in early 2023, resulting in a Chinese Babies meme that was similar to the Chinese Monkeys meme. The images were made into stylized edits that used a Douyin song with the lyrics "我姓赵不负年少 (My surname is Zhao. I live up to my youth)." Comments for the TikTok videos mostly followed the phrasal template "Bro Got Banned From X" with the "X" being replaced with a website or platform.

Origin

The AI images of adult-looking babies are a series of 2023 avatars used for profile pictures on Chinese social media.^[1][2] They are similar in nature to the AI Dinosaurs. The baby avatar images were shared in Douyin^[3][4] videos in early 2023.

On March 9th, 2023, TikToker^[5] @zzq12037nf6 posted a video that used multiple Chinese baby avatars that looked like buff men. The video also used a song commonly used on Douyin^[6] which has the leading lyrics, "我姓赵 不负年少 吉星高赵," which in English reads, "My surname is Zhao, and I live up to the young auspicious star Gao Zhao." The video received roughly 5 million plays and 443,300 likes in 13 days (shown below).

Spread

Going into March 2023, TikToker @zzq12037nf6 posted more videos using the babies and the same or similar songs. For instance, on March 13th, 2023, TikToker^[7] @zzq12037nf6 uploaded a video, gaining roughly 1.1 million plays and 85,900 likes in nine days (shown below, left). As more TikTokers saw the videos, the Chinese Babies were referenced by other meme creators who inserted them into CapCut templates. For instance, on March 19th, 2023, TikToker^[8] @balashoff_315 posted a Tempo House Renovation Edit that received roughly 1.8 million plays and 137,400 likes in three days (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References