Homeless Chinese Man In DTLA Goes Viral With ‘American-Style Begging’ Videos, Branding Him Both a Hero and Villain Across the Pacific

洛杉矶市中心无家可归的中国男子因“美国式乞讨”视频走红，被视为太平洋彼岸的英雄和恶棍

“O~pen t~he d~oor!”

Every day, 2 million people on Chinese social media wake up to this catchphrase emanating from a tent in Downtown L.A.

The speaker, known as “Gold-medal lecturer of Fatman Ding Plaza (丁胖子金牌讲师)” or “Prof. Fatman Ding (丁胖子讲师)," is originally from Luzhou, Sichuan, China and has become an unexpected internet sensation.

His “ American-style begging (美式要饭)” video journals, posted daily, have amassed nearly 100 million views, making him one of the most viral and controversial figures across the Pacific.

“开门！”

每天，中国社交媒体上有 200 万人醒来时都会听到这句来自洛杉矶市中心帐篷里的标语

演讲者被称为“丁胖子金牌讲师”或“教授”。丁胖子师父来自中国四川泸州，意外地在网络上引起了轰动。

他每天发布的“美式要饭”视频日记已经积累了近亿的浏览量，使他成为太平洋地区最火爆、最具争议的人物之一。

Earlier this year, Prof. Fatman Ding arrived in the U.S., aiming to start his new life at the Fatman Ding Plaza (丁胖子广场) in Monterey Park. Nicknamed after its developer, the plaza is a hub for Chinese newcomers to find resources and communities.

However, reality was a bit hard; Ding found himself embroiled in conflicts with exploitative employers in restaurant and construction gigs. He soon became a know-your-rights influencer, educating other immigrant workers about their rights, which made him persona non grata in the local job market.

No Chinese business owner wanted to give him a job. Blocklisted, he soon found himself having no other choice but to live on the streets, joining L.A. County's other 75,518 unhoused.

今年早些时候，丁胖子教授抵达美国，打算在蒙特利公园市的丁胖子广场开始他的新生活。该广场以其开发商的名字命名，是中国新移民寻找资源和社区的中心。

然而，现实有点残酷；丁发现自己卷入了与餐馆和建筑工地剥削雇主的冲突。他很快成为一名“了解你的权利”的影响者，教育其他移民工人了解他们的权利，这使他在当地就业市场上成为不受欢迎的人。

没有一个中国企业主愿意给他一份工作。被列入封锁名单后，他很快发现自己别无选择，只能流落街头，加入洛杉矶县另外75,518名无家可归者的行列。

Inside of tent in skid row. Screenshot via 丁胖子金牌讲师’s 美式要饭 video. Available on Youtube, Tiktok, Bilibili.

贫民窟的帐篷内部。截图来自丁胖子金牌导师的美式要饭视频。可在 YouTube、Tiktok、Bilibili 上观看。

His video routine begins with street cleanup theater. He will usually discover a municipal notice plastered on his tent announcing an upcoming cleanup.

The description in Ding's videos are Kafkaesque: “They put a notice on my tent. I move to the other side of the street. They come to do the cleaning. They finish the cleaning, and I come back.” He satirically refers to the weekly cleanup as “room service.”

After throwing away the notice, he will visit the Chinatown branch library to recharge his devices. Then, the real quest begins. Off he goes to the Skid Row area for food.

他的视频节目从街道清理剧场开始。他通常会发现他的帐篷上贴着一张市政通知，宣布即将进行清理工作。

丁的视频中的描述是卡夫卡式的：“他们在我的帐篷上贴了一张告示。我搬到街的另一边。他们来打扫卫生。他们打扫完了，我就回来了。” 他讽刺地将每周的清洁工作称为“客房服务”。

扔掉通知后，他会去唐人街分馆给设备充电。然后，真正的探索开始了。他下车去贫民区寻找食物。

He begins to work inside the all-inclusive "buffet zone" that is Skid Row. With charities, religious groups, and community organizations distributing on practically every corner, he knows from experience that some lines would lead to a feast, while others—food poisoning. Trialed and tested, he is now an adept food scout, skillfully poking in and out of different lines, sharing the latest info with other waiting comrades, to lock in on the most tasty offer of the day.

他开始在包罗万象的“自助餐区”——贫民窟内工作。慈善机构、宗教团体和社区组织几乎遍布每个角落，他从经验中知道，有些队伍会带来一场盛宴，而另一些队伍则会导致食物中毒。经过考验，他现在是一名熟练的美食侦察员，熟练地在不同的队伍中穿梭，与其他等待的同志分享最新信息，以锁定当天最美味的报价。

(Screenshot from 丁胖子金牌讲师’s 美式要饭video. Available on Youtube, Tiktok, Bilibili)

（丁胖子金牌导师美式要饭视频截图。可在Youtube、抖音、Bilibili观看）

As Prof. Fatman Ding walks around, he offers insight into what to look for. “This line for BBQ is getting longer and longer. We will probably never get it. But it smells so good. Just look at the smoke... Wait, everyone is cutting lines. Let’s just go check it out…and dig it into this chicken…I cannot believe it. It has flavors. This is too good.”

“Uhh, they’re giving out free clothes and free phones? Not for me.”

“I heard they’re giving out Chinese food over here… well, if you can even call this Chinese food. Where are the spices?”

当法特曼·丁教授四处走动时，他提供了关于寻找什么的见解。“烧烤的队伍越来越长。我们可能永远不会得到它。但闻起来真香。看看烟雾……等等，大家都在插队。让我们去看看……然后把它挖进这只鸡里……我简直不敢相信。它有味道。这也太好了吧。”

“呃，他们免费发放衣服和免费电话？不适合我。”

“我听说他们在这里分发中餐……好吧，如果你可以称之为中餐的话。香料在哪里？”

“Ugh, this meat tastes like it was plucked from the depths of deep freezers and has been sitting there for years.”

As part of his celebratory shout, whenever he finds food, he yells “I love you!… You’re very gorgeous!... God bless you!” and his trademark phrase, “My brothers! I have found food again! (兄弟们！我又要到饭了!)”

Meaning he did it.

“呃，这肉尝起来就像是从冰柜深处取出来的，而且已经放在那里很多年了。”

作为庆祝呼喊的一部分，每当他找到食物时，他都会大喊“我爱你！……你非常漂亮！……上帝保佑你！” 以及他的标志性短语：“我的兄弟们！我又找到食物了！（兄弟们！我也要到饭了！）”

意思是他做到了。

In the man's videos, Skid Row seems to offer everything, except the counseling or housing resources needed to help people exit the cycle of homelessness.

His gastronomic journey last Monday at this open-air charity expo began with a sampling of organic goodies from a Buddhist group, sourced directly from Whole Foods. The haul included salsa, cheese, mandarins, and a bagel. He delighted in a pico de gallo, exclaiming, "I don’t know what it is, but it’s sour and spicy, I love it!"

在该男子的视频中，贫民窟似乎提供了一切，除了帮助人们摆脱无家可归循环所需的咨询或住房资源。

上周一，他在这个露天慈善博览会上的美食之旅从一个佛教团体的有机食品样品开始，这些食品直接来自全食超市。这些货物包括莎莎酱、奶酪、柑橘和百吉饼。他吃了一块加洛酱，赞叹道：“我不知道它是什么，但又酸又辣，我喜欢它！”

Screenshot of the food from a Catholic group from his video . Subtitled “Brothers this is the regular army,” meaning this is the real deal.

他的视频中天主教团体的食物截图。副标题是“兄弟们，这是正规军”，意思是这是真正的交易。

His journey continued with a snack bag accompanied by Kirkland-branded juice boxes, courtesy of an Islamic community group from the South Bay.

“My fellow brothers. This tastes very good,” he said of the organic apple juice.

He concluded with a hearty curry complete with pinto beans and fried rice, served by a Catholic foundation, to which he complimented, “This is the regular army, the real deal, and you can tell the difference. (正规军就是不一样)”

他的旅程继续，他带着一个零食袋和柯克兰品牌的果汁盒，由南湾的一个伊斯兰社区团体提供。

“我的兄弟们。这味道非常好，”他谈到有机苹果汁时说道。

最后，他以天主教基金会提供的丰盛咖喱、斑豆和炒饭结束，他称赞道：“这是正规军，货真价实，你可以看出其中的区别。（正规军就是不一样）”

Then he moved on to the coffee. “I hope it’s not almond flavor. Oh no, it is.”

Beggars can be choosers, and Prof. Fatman Ding proves they can be food critics, too.

"Yes, I’m a picky eater. But that’s just the reality with so many options. I’m human, too. It’s only natural," he says.

Once he was offered some “half-dead” flatbread that tasted like cardboard.

然后他继续喝咖啡。“我希望这不是杏仁味。哦不，是这样。”

乞丐可以是挑剔者，丁胖教授证明他们也可以是美食评论家。

“是的，我很挑食。但这就是现实，有这么多的选择。我也是人。这是很自然的，”他说。

有一次，有人给他一些“半死”的大饼，尝起来像纸板。

“Look at the trashcan," he noted in his video. "Everybody threw it away. Nobody could eat it. We may be homeless, but we are not stupid."

His daily journaling, presented in a raw, immersive first-person narrative, captures the reality of life with unmatchable rawness. Not even multi-million dollar Netflix documentaries produced by undercover reporters or fully equipped cable news crews can compete with him. He is simply a man on a quest for food, offering honest reviews along the way.

But behind his optimistic expletives and the abundance of food hauls is a poignant contrast: It seems everyone is giving out generosity, but there is no solidarity. The city is spending $ 845 million to conduct regular outreach, street cleanups, and other services, but at the end of the day, there is no outlet from homelessness because there is simply no home for them to move inro. Those living in tents continue to live in tents.

“看看垃圾桶，”他在视频中指出。“每个人都把它扔掉了。没有人能吃它。我们可能无家可归，但我们并不愚蠢。”

他的每日日记以原始、身临其境的第一人称叙述方式呈现，以无与伦比的原始性捕捉生活的现实。即使是由卧底记者或装备齐全的有线电视新闻工作人员制作的耗资数百万美元的 Netflix 纪录片也无法与他竞争。他只是一个寻找食物的人，一路上提供诚实的评论。

但在他乐观的咒骂和大量食物的背后却形成了鲜明的对比：似乎每个人都在慷慨解囊，但却没有团结一致。该市花费8.45 亿美元进行定期外展、街道清理和其他服务，但归根结底，无家可归者没有出路，因为他们根本没有家可以搬家。那些住在帐篷里的人继续住在帐篷里。

For his fans on the Chinese internet, some praise him as a robinhood-in-tent, a walking middle finger to a U.S. job market that runs on abusing immigrant labor, and also to the economic system in China that demands everyone to “Nei Juan (内卷),” or compete incessantly among peers.

对于他在中国互联网上的粉丝来说，一些人称赞他是帐篷里的罗宾汉，对滥用移民劳工的美国就业市场以及要求每个人“内卷”的中国经济体系竖起了中指。 （内卷），”或在同行之间不断竞争。

His gastronomic journey at this open-air charity expo offers a microcosm of the city's broader approach to homelessness. As he navigates the myriad food options provided by charitable organizations, he encounters a diverse array of choices: some are mere gas station snacks, others fresh and palatable, and a few are moldy, seemingly plucked from the "depths of deep freezers."

This variety mirrors the city, where street cleanups run like clockwork, creating an appearance of order and care. Yet, despite this well-oiled machinery of temporary relief, there remains a glaring absence: a sustainable exit from the cycle of homelessness.

他在这个露天慈善博览会上的美食之旅提供了该市对无家可归者采取更广泛方法的一个缩影。当他浏览慈善组织提供的无数食物选择时，他遇到了各种各样的选择：有些只是加油站的小吃，有些是新鲜可口的，还有一些已经发霉，似乎是从“冰柜深处”拿出来的。

这种多样性反映了这座城市的情况，街道清理工作像发条一样进行，营造出秩序井然、关怀备至的外观。然而，尽管有这种运转良好的临时救济机制，但仍然存在明显的缺失：可持续地摆脱无家可归的循环。

For his fans on the Chinese internet, some praise Prof. Fatman Ding as a robinhood-in-tent, a walking middle finger to a U.S. job market that runs on abusing immigrant labor, and also to the economic system in China that demands everyone to “Nei Juan (内卷),” or compete incessantly among peers. He chooses to sleep in a tent halfway across the world, free of rent, and goes to the food expo in Skid Row to feed himself instead.

Others see him as a freeloader and a disgrace to the Chinese American community. There is a rumor that some Chinese business owners are teaming up to have him deported from the U.S.

对于他在中国互联网上的粉丝来说，一些人称赞丁胖子教授是帐篷里的知更鸟，对滥用移民劳工的美国就业市场以及要求每个人都遵守规则的中国经济体系竖起了中指。 “内卷”，即同行之间不断竞争。他选择睡在半个地球之外的帐篷里，免租，然后去贫民窟的食品博览会养活自己。

其他人则认为他是个贪图便宜的人，是美国华裔社区的耻辱。有传言称一些中国企业主联手将他驱逐出美国

Prof. Fatman Ding is a divisive figure, but there is one thing for certain. He has already made it in L.A. within months of arrival, and he single-handedly smashed every societal expectation of a Chinese immigrant.

He killed the model minority myth and rejected the expectation for newcomers to endure abusive jobs, not as a political statement or to jog identity politics, but simply because that’s who he has always been, a mortal man who loves to live, and tell the truth (“我爱说实话”).

丁胖子教授是一位颇有争议的人物，但有一点是可以肯定的。他在抵达洛杉矶后的几个月内就已经取得了成功，他凭一己之力粉碎了社会对中国移民的所有期望。

他打破了模范少数族裔的神话，拒绝了新来者忍受虐待工作的期望，这不是为了政治声明或为了推动身份政治，而只是因为他一直都是这样，一个热爱生活、热爱说真话的凡人。 （“我爱说实话”）。

Moving into his “mobile big mansion,” or camper soon, he no longer has to worry about street sweeps or his address listed on Google Maps as a “religious destination,” receiving uninvited fans worldwide.

He said he would still hang around L.A., though. As for his long-term plans for the future, he is taking it one day at a time.

很快就要搬进他的“移动大宅”或露营车，他不再需要担心街道清扫，也不必担心他的地址在谷歌地图上被列为“宗教目的地”，从而接待来自世界各地的不请自来的粉丝。

不过他说他仍然会在洛杉矶闲逛。至于他对未来的长远规划，他是一天一天地走下去的。

美网友阿修罗·L评论：

You guys don’t know, he is rich than most of us. He earns lots of money from taking these videos

你们不知道，他比我们大多数人都富有。他通过拍摄这些视频赚了很多钱

美网友Squintan评论：

That’s why we have homeless! They are given every resource available without having to do a damn thing! Why work or do better for yourself when our tax payers are enabling them!

这就是为什么我们有无家可归者！他们无需做任何该死的事情就可以获得一切可用资源！当我们的纳税人支持他们时，为什么要为自己工作或做得更好