孙佳慧

“SOLID HAMMER” USUALLY REFERS TO A PHOTOGRAPH， VOICE CHAT， SCREENSHOT， OR VIDEO THAT CONFIRMS

CELEBRITY RUMORS

Celebrity gossip is bread and water to internet users everywhere： From dating to births， engagement， weddings， breakups， divorce， and death， every detail of a celebritys life can become a trending topic. Compared with state-backed stories full of “positive energy，” scandals—whether drunk driving， drug-taking， an extramarital affair， or love of call girls—are always more appealing.

Once caught， the celebrity will quickly find themselves the subject of an online carnival. As idle netizens feast on the flesh of the fallen， a weak but angry voice， usually from still-loyal fans， can be heard pleading：

Its just a rumor！ Theres no solid hammer at all！

Zh- d4u sh# y1oy1n， g8nb0n m9iy6u sh！chu！！

這都是谣言，根本没有实锤！

Dont be confused： You dont need to carry heavy tools to gossip. “Solid hammer” （实锤 sh！chu！） is web slang for “ironclad evidence.” No hammer， no cry， say the diehard fans.

Though its origin seems almost untraceable， this expression is simple to understand， because inarguable proof of a wrongdoing can smash the reputation and even career of a celebrity， just like a strong hammer. In an era dominated by the web， “solid hammer” usually refers to a photograph， voice chat， screenshot， or video that confirms the rumor. If you dont have any of these， you will be labeled a 黑子 （h8izi， anti-fan， someone who defames others on purpose）， who literally 黑 （h8i， “blacken”） or slanders a celebrity. Fans may defend their controversial idol by saying：

Those anti-fans have no solid hammer at all. They are just randomly blackening his name！

H8izimen g8nb0n m9iy6u sh！chu！， w1nqu1n sh# z3i lu3n h8i.

黑子们根本没有实锤，完全是在

乱黑。

Usually， fans and heizi belong to rival camps. However， a fans defense of their idol can backfire. In September 2017， a woman named Li Yutong， who claimed to be singer Xue Zhiqians ex-girlfriend， accused Xue not only of swindling her out of money but cheating on his wife. Xues fans were outraged： They demanded Li post “solid hammers.” Li was happy to comply. In the next week， she drip-fed fans a series of damning evidence， including bank transfer records， voice messages， and even a photocopy of their business contract—hammers so solid that Xues reputation was irreversibly destroyed.

This story generated a whole new expression to describe the fate of Xues fans： 求锤得锤 （qi% chu！ d9 chu！， seek hammer and receive it）， derived from the Confucian saying 求仁得仁， “seek virtue and receive it.”

In many cases， though， fans believe that anti-fans are not just ordinary netizens， but professionals hired by people to vilify their beloved star. These mercenaries， or “水軍” （shu@j$n）， literally “water army，” not only make money from blackening celebrities but also accept payment for hyping them. Paid shills are called

“职粉” （zh！f0n）， short for 职业粉丝 （zh！y- f0ns～， professional fans）. In contrast， impartial netizens who have no particular axe to grind are known as 路人 （l&r9n;， passersby）. Among fans， the saying goes， “Once you join the discussion， you are no longer a passerby.” Underneath an article relating bad news about a star， one can frequently see loyal fans firing back at someone who leaves negative comments：

You are obviously the water army. Why are you pretending to be a passerby？

N@ y！ k3n ji&shi; shu@j$n， zhu`ng sh9nme l&r9n; a？

你一看就是水军，装什么路人啊？

The effect of solid hammers is overwhelming， but they cant smash everything， at least not the strong faith and love from particularly crazed fans. A minority of worshipful fans—similar to Western-style “Beliebers” or Beyonces “Beyhive”—believe their idols can do no wrong and find excuses for any and all misbehavior. Such an unreasonable attitude has won these diehards a derogatory title—脑残粉 （n2oc1nf0n， brain-damaged fans）， indicating that they lose all critical thinking skills where their idol is concerned. Their defense of a “guilty” celebrity is called 洗白 （x@ b1i， whitewash）. When this happens， a heizi or righteous passerby might point their finger and say：

These brain-damaged fans have come to whitewash again！

Zh-xi8 n2oc1nf0n y7u l1i x@b1i le！

这些脑残粉又来洗白了！

One thing is clear： When you take part in any discussion of a celebrity scandal， your identity will always be questioned. Blame the star， you are a heizi； defend them， you are a brain-damaged fan or greedy water army. And if you try to be an impartial passerby？ No way， you must be a liar！