The Rise of “Melon-Eating Culture”: A Look at Modern Chinese Social Media Spectatorship
Chenrui Xu
The Rise of “Melon-Eating Culture”: A Look at Modern Chinese Social Media Spectatorship
By Chenrui Xu
In this piece, Chenrui Xu examines “Melon-Eating” culture (gossip & scandal spectatorship) in China, and how it can serve as a positive outlet for society’s pressures — but also how it carries a darker side of bullying and cruelty.
Chinese social media is a huge net weaved by a single cable, connecting the hottest discussion topics of various platforms and various groups in society. A piece of suddenly revealed news is like a feast where people taste the sweetness of discovering the secrets behind celebrities or social media influencers. Netizens forward posts and share gossip with their friends and family at the dinner table. This phenomenon is called “吃瓜(chī guā),” literally meaning “eating melon.” It’s a modern Chinese internet slang phrase used to describe people who observe a situation or event—especially one that’s dramatic, controversial, or entertaining—without actively participating in that event.
A picture illustrating celebrity scandals online. (Image: Google image)
Have you ever found yourself scrolling through social media, watching a celebrity scandal unfold, and thinking, Wow, this is crazy…but am I just here to watch? In China, there’s a phrase for this: 吃瓜 (chī guā). But don’t let the name fool you—it has nothing to do with fruit! Instead, it describes the way people passively observe dramatic, controversial, or entertaining events without actively getting involved.
This internet slang has become a huge part of Chinese social media culture. Whether it’s gossip about influencers, celebrity breakups, or political scandals, “eating melon” is the go-to way for people to stay in the loop. But beyond just entertainment, the term “吃瓜” is crucial for comprehending Chinese culture and its tight connection with traditional Chinese values of collectivism and non-intervention. This cultural phenomenon of “melon-eating culture” not only satisfies people’s curiosity about others’ lives but also reveals the darker side of society – in the spread of rumors and public opinion manipulation.
The roots of the term “吃瓜” “chi gua” can be found in traditional Chinese society from earlier eras. Traditional Chinese society is a typical collectivist unit emphasizing interpersonal relationships and a sense of belonging to the community. In such a tightly knit society, there is no wonder that Chinese people naturally pay more attention to the lives of others to maintain social stability and keep up with the group. The sharing of information among Chinese people originates from their group consciousness from early times. In traditional Chinese villages, long before the Internet, folks would gather in 茶馆 (tea houses) and 集市 (marketplaces) to exchange stories, rumors, and gossip. These places were the original Chinese social media! The culture of informal storytelling and discussion served as both entertainment and a way to stay informed about the community.
The habit of discussing others’ lives wasn’t just about entertainment—it was also a way to maintain social harmony and stay informed. In modern society, the Internet has taken the place of these gatherings and become a new platform that allows information to be shared and spread at a faster pace. Today, instead of meeting at tea houses, people turn to Weibo, Douyin, and WeChat to get their daily dose of “melon.” The difference is that information spreads at lightning speed.
Traditional Chinese teahouse (left) and modern social media feeds. (right) (Image: Google image)
From the perspective of psychological needs, “吃瓜” becomes a way of decompressing for Chinese people to better adapt to fast-paced modern life. There is a psychological reason why we love watching drama unfold. According to Leon Festinger’s (1954) seminal work on social comparison theory, there is a primitive drive within individuals to compare themselves with others to evaluate their own opinions and abilities. An individual’s happiness and sense of accomplishment are all affected by social comparisons when we “eat melons.”
In other words, seeing someone else in a scandal makes us feel a little better about ourselves – especially when that person is perceived as high status. For example, when people see a certain star’s money has been stolen or his partner has cheated on him, they will think, “Although I am just an unknown worker, at least my money is still in my pocket, and my partner will not cheat on me (because I have not found a partner yet).” This illustrates how “eating melons” fulfills psychological needs by seeking a sense of superiority in comparison to others.
While spreading gossip and dramatic news is a common phenomenon on social media platforms worldwide, the unique feature of “吃瓜” as a cultural keyword is that Chinese spectators choose to observe, not intervene. A simple comment on Weibo about two famous singers named Hua Chenyu and Zhang Bichen having a child before getting married demonstrates public attitudes well: “Stuff in the entertainment circle – who knows? We just need to eat the melon,” said a user by the handle Eat-Melon Robert. Instead of reflecting on the essence behind the events and showing their distinct attitudes, netizens tend only to observe and enjoy the excitement brought by prying into other people’s lives.
Emma Chonglang Jiang: “Is there no possibility between Hua Chenyu and Zhang Bichen?” Eat-melon Robert: “Stuff in the entertainment circle, who knows? We just need to eat the melon.” (Image: Weibo screenshot)
During the scandal involving pop star Kris Wu, who faced allegations of predatory behavior with underage women, Weibo was inundated with discussions and speculations. In response, the platform even took measures to shut down its celebrity ranking list to counteract the fervor of fans. (Dao Insights, 2021) Yet most people did not act further to reflect on the harm caused by this event—they just watched the chaos unfold from the sidelines. This shows that avoiding intervening in this kind of affair is not only an individual choice but also advocated by the mainstream media.
Top trending searches on Twitter worldwide related to Kris Wu (Image: Pengpai News image)
Resonating with traditional Chinese values, which encourages non-intervention, the deeper root of “吃瓜” is the philosophy that often leads people to take a cautious, observational stance in social matters rather than getting directly involved. A similar description of Chinese spectatorship could also be found in the work of the famous Chinese writer Lu Xun. In The True Story of Ah Q (《阿Q正传》), Lu Xun depicted how onlookers in Chinese society preferred to passively observe suffering rather than take action: “中国人的本性是爱看热闹的。”(“The nature of the Chinese people is to love watching a spectacle.”) There is an inherent cultural inheritance between the indifferent, numb, and even entertained attitude of the onlookers in these works and the modern Internet phenomenon of “eating melons.”
People reading Lu Xun’s books (Image: Bing image)
The term “吃瓜” actually highlights the growing sense of alienation among the Chinese populace. Consequently, the “Melon Eating Gathering,” which refers to the collective act of observing and discussing sensational events, has transitioned from a pursuit of truth to a breeding ground for rumors. Individuals have shifted their focus from the authenticity of the “melon” to solely focusing on the dramatic features of these scandals. Whether the “melon” is artificially ripened or an apple masquerading as a watermelon is of little consequence. As long as one remains engaged in the conversation, there exists the potential to capture attention and ultimately emerge victorious in the “rumor manufacturing affair,” which can lead to harm or even trauma to the people being observed.
Such harm has historical precedent. During the Republic of China, the famous movie star Lingyu Ruan committed suicide at the age of 25 because of the hateful rumors spread by the public. After Lu Xun (1925) saw the news, he wrote an essay “On the Fearsome Words.” It includes the following sentence, which demonstrates how common people can achieve a kind of cruel status in the fall of others: “The petty bourgeoisie always loves to hear about people’s scandals, especially those of people they know…By spending a few copper coins, they find their superiority, which, of course, is quite a good deal.” Rumor mongers understand and exploit this psychology, creating hot topics that make some people become overnight celebrities and pushing some people off their pedestals. In this regard, “eating melons” is not just a simple action for seeking entertainment but can lead to public opinion manipulation and create profit for those people with ulterior motives.
A stage photo of the film Lingyu Ruan (Image: Google image)
The dangers of gossip and public scrutiny are not new; but what is important is how we react to the diverse information we perceive on social media platforms in today’s world. Hector Macdonald (2019) once said in his thought-provoking book TRUTH: How the Many Sides to Every Story Shape Our Reality that truth is a polyhedron, and those with ulterior motives paint only one side of it, so we must keep our eyes open to see how the truth is selected, processed and shaped by those with ulterior motives.
The phenomenon of “吃瓜” in modern Chinese society is not just a form of entertainment but a reflection of traditional Chinese values such as non-intervention philosophy and collectivism. The shift from seeking truth to enjoying sensationalism mirrors the evolution of modern Chinese spectatorship, where the line between reality and entertainment becomes increasingly blurred. The rise of “吃瓜” culture serves as a critique of a broader societal trend toward disengagement and highlights the need for more responsible and reflective consumption of information in today’s interconnected world.
So next time you find yourself deep in a celebrity scandal thread, ask yourself: Am I just watching, or am I contributing to the spread of misinformation? Or to the formation of a crueler society? A little mindfulness could go a long way in making the internet a more gentile and healthier place for everyone.
Chenrui Xu
Chenrui Xu is a UG student from class of 2028. Her intended major is Behavior Science with a track in Psychology. She enjoys literature, cinema, and stories from history and is interested in media culture and social behavior in the digital age.
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