Wei Dongyi Gains Nearly Ten Million Followers in a Day After Posting a Four-Second Introduction

Just hours after making his debut on the platform, mathematics professor, Wei Dongyi, is poised to hit a major milestone on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok. As of 0:42 today, his follower count stood at a staggering 9.862 million, with the elusive 10-million mark tantalizingly close.

This meteoric rise is even more remarkable when considering where he started. At 1:20 PM on June 6th, Wei Dongyi had a mere 460,000 followers. That equates to a phenomenal surge of over 9 million new followers in just 11 hours – a testament to the power of viral potential.

Wei Dongyi, or “Wei God” as he’s affectionately known, is a 1991-born assistant professor at Peking University, affiliated with the Department of Mathematics. His research interests lie in partial differential equations and geometric analysis. Within the university, he’s earned a reputation for his quiet brilliance, often compared to a “sweeping monk” in the world of academia.

The spark for this social media phenomenon? A simple, self-deprecating four-second video in which Wei introduced himself in front of a blackboard. “Hello everyone, my name is Wei Dongyi,” he stated, “and this is my account.”

The timing of his sudden popularity is particularly interesting, coinciding with the Chinese National College Entrance Examination, or Gaokao. The comments sections quickly became a hub of good wishes and encouragement for students and their families, generating considerable engagement around Wei’s profile.

While Wei Dongyi’s growth is impressive, it’s worth noting that he still lags behind some of the platform’s biggest stars. Entertainment icon Andy Lau, for example, amassed over 20 million followers in a single day back in 2021 after joining Douyin. The rapid rise of Wei Dongyi’s following, however, underscores the fickle tastes of the internet and the unpredicatable nature of influence in the digital age.