Understanding the “Phoenix Man” on the Internet : Tianya Online Forum and Sina Weibo as Examples

Abstract: The term “phoenix man” is often used by the Internet users to describe the man who grew up in the rural areas but later studied or worked in the cities. The purpose of this research is to analyze how the “phoenix man” is understood by the online public and what social facts or implications reflected by this term. The research employs a combination of quantitative and qualitative method: online observation and content analysis. Tianya online forum and Sina weibo are selected as the main research fields. Consanguinity and regionalism of rural China and the theory of individualization provide the basic theoretical framework for the whole paper. Results indicated that discussion on the “phoenix man” centered on the filial piety and their origins, which reflect huge urban-rural disparity in today’s China.