双语 | 张召忠：00后网生代最爱的“国民爷爷”

Today, Zhang Zhaozhong, a once controversial military commentator for state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) and a doctoral supervisor with the National Defense University PLA China, is also one of China's top online celebrities and an Internet darling on Bilibili.com, Chinese youngsters' favorite video-sharing website with a real-time commentary subtitle system.

His public persona started on a note of notoriety when in 2003, during the U.S.-led coalition's invasion of Iraq, he asserted during a CCTV live broadcast that the U.S. Army would be trapped by then Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Just a few days later, the Iraqi leader was overthrown and Zhang became the butt of public ridicule.

When the Libyan Civil War broke out in 2011, Zhang also expressed support for Libya's then-leader Muammar Gaddafi. Unfortunately, Gaddafi was soon killed.

Zhang was dubbed as "Chief of the Strategic Fool You Agency" in China ever after.

In 2013, Zhang said U.S. nuclear submarines would be blocked by seaweed and would not be able to venture into China's Yellow Sea.

One year later, he said the smog prevailing in China might be a good defense against U.S. laser weapons.

Zhang's remarks were criticized as being imbalanced and misguiding.

His photographs were often posted online, photoshopped into caricatures by young Web users on Bilibili.

While his remarks were made fun of online, it was shown later that some had a kernel of truth in them. For example, Ma Lei, a mechanical engineering graduate, has invented an underwater defense system based on Zhang's hypothesis and it has been patented by China's State Intellectual Property Office.

Also, in 2016, Zhang was one of the few public figures who publicly foretold that Donald Trump would win the U.S. presidential election.

What has contributed to Zhang's newfound popularity is perhaps his acceptance of all the criticism and mockery with good grace and self-deprecation, never striking back or returning abuse with abuse.

He has turned the tables on his detractors who dubbed him "Chief of the Strategic Fool You Agency" by accepting it in a light-hearted manner and calling himself "Chief Zhaozhong" in his social media accounts on WeChat and Weibo.

Zhang's WeChat account, opened on December 30, 2015, gathered more than 1.26 million followers in more than one year.

His debut on Weibo, China's counterpart to Twitter, on October 24, 2016 attracted more than 2 million followers in two months.

His new book, The Chief's Whisper had sold more than 30,000 copies in more than a month after hitting bookshelves.

Also, his boldness adds to his attraction. "The chief often raised eyebrows because he has the guts to say things publicly. As a military insider, he has never shied away from hot topics," Ye Mai, 45, a Beijing-based editor, told Beijing Review, explaining why he "supports the chief."

Zhang has an ambition. He aims not only to be friends with the young generation but also to pull them back from their "entertainment addiction" and foster a stronger sense of patriotism as well as love of the army in them.

Zhang admitted that it's not easy to bridge the generation gap and communicate with youngsters at the age of his grandchildren.

He realized that using Internet buzzwords is one way to get close to them. To catch their eyes, he has hired several post-1990 staffers to help him revise his language to be more "in" and insert funny emoticons before posting his articles on WeChat.

In addition, Zhang is trying out other new media channels to reach his young audiences.

On July 14, 2016, Zhang had his first live-streamed appearance on Bilibili, gathering 200,000 young viewers. The growing crowd eventually crashed the server. During the program, enthusiastic fans kept posting subtitles, cheering and praising and "saluting the chief."

"Pretentiousness kills conversations," Zhang said. "Kids today are very smart and knowledgeable, thanks to the Internet. They can see through your mask if you try to dupe them or pay them empty compliments."

However, whether Zhang will be able to kindle the youngsters' serious interest in military and international studies has yet to be seen.

"I have been engaged in national defense education for all my life. And I will keep doing so as much as possible in my twilight years," Zhang said.