We all know that Internet celebrities are words that only appear in modern times, and in ancient times there was not even a "net". However, although the term Internet celebrity did not exist in the last century, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was a "giant", and the intensity of his attention was no less than that of modern Internet celebrities, so he was called the first "giant" Internet celebrity in the late Qing Dynasty.
What's going on here?
It turns out that the reason why he can become an "internet celebrity" is inseparable from his giant height, and it is also because of his rare height that he and his descendants have attracted much attention. So how tall is he? Are his children as tall as he is?
This person's name was Zhan Shichao, born in the Daoguang years, died in the Guangxu years, and was a Qing Dynasty man in the 19th century. Coming from a plain background, there is nothing worth paying attention to.
According to historical records, the elder of the "world's tallest" so far is Zhan Shichao, and some articles say that Zhan Shichao's height is ten feet and three inches, about 3 meters 19.
And his amazing height is not a mutation, but a family inheritance.
In the "Wuyuan County Chronicle", there is a special record of "Hongguan Changren", "The county chronicle says that 'Hongguan Changren' is eight feet tall. And the "Hongguan Changren" recorded here is Zhan Shichao's father, Zhan Zhenzhong.
Zhan Zhen weighed eight feet tall, about 2.48 meters, and the second son, Zhan Shizhong, was also eight feet tall. It can be seen that it is not zhan Shichao's height that is amazing, his height is greatly related to the inheritance of the family.
Because of his astonishing height, he has always been known as "China's first giant", which also changed his ordinary life.
He was always taller than his peers when he was young, and by the time he was older, he was already two or three meters tall. At that time, huizhou's houses were built very high, generally more than five meters high, and he stood up and had more than half the height of the house.
When the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement was in full swing, the Qing army once passed through Hongguan Village due to defeat and retreat, and when robbing the people of money everywhere, some Qing soldiers rushed into the Zhan family to rob them.
But I didn't want these Qing soldiers not only not to rob a little thing, but to be scared out of their guts. The originally imposing soldiers were like a giant when they saw Zhan Shichao, who was sitting on the bed, stand up.
Immediately, the Qing soldiers, who had almost collapsed in their psychology, were frightened and frightened, and fled one after another, not daring to rob anything in his home.
The giant attracted not only the fear of the Qing army, but also the curiosity of foreigners.
Xuanding of the Qing Dynasty recorded in the "Night Rain and Autumn Lantern Record": One day, the foreigners saw Zhan Shichao and felt very strange, and invited him to put on his official clothes with heavy money, and exhibited and sold tickets everywhere for people to watch and make money.
At that time, the Qing Dynasty was strict about official uniforms, and ordinary people could not wear official uniforms, let alone wear official uniforms for photos. After he put on his official uniform, he became even more eye-catching, and many people came to see the true face of this first giant.
Later, a foreigner saw him and was very surprised by his height, so he managed to take him to Europe.
Thus the giant became an early Chinese who went to Europe, but his life in a foreign country was not easy.
When he was in Shanghai, foreigners only regarded Zhan Shichao as a tool to make money, and let him go around for people to watch and enjoy. And abroad, he is still a tool for foreigners to make money.
The only luck is that he met his love in a foreign country and has a happy marriage and family, so what is the current situation of his children?
He was brought to England and became a British citizen, and eventually married an English woman. After marrying an English woman, Zhan Shichao had two sons and a daughter.
The eldest son's name was Zhan Zechun, but it is said that Zhan Zechun did not inherit his father's height, and he later returned to Hongguan Village to find relatives.
It's just that his uncle thought he had come to divide the property and didn't recognize the nephew. In the end, after Zhan Shichao died in Britain, Zhan Zechun never returned to his hometown.
In addition, there is no superfluous record of Zhan Shichao's other two children in the historical records. The only thing that can be known is that his children did not inherit his giant height.
This may have something to do with the height of his wife, the British woman, after all, the genes of the offspring depend on both sides. It is normal for the child not to have inherited him.
Although his children did not become giants like him, Zhan Shichao himself had a great influence in the world.
He had been selling art in Europe and the United States, and his influence was widespread, and the image of "Kuiwei" was also integrated into the Russian circus performances at that time.
In Hongguan Village, where he lived, there was a laneway called "Changren Lane", and the house he once lived in was called "Changren Former Residence". It can be seen that they are all in honor of him.