Li was born on 6 July 1990 in Sichuan, China, originally named "Li Jiajia" (Chinese:李佳佳; pinyin:Lǐ Jiājiā).[9] She was orphaned at a very young age.[10] In an interview withGoldthread, Li stated that she moved in with her grandparents after her stepmother mistreated her.[11]
Li started posting her videos onMeipai in 2015.[12] Initially, Li made her videos by herself, but her video editing skills at the time failed to "capture the creativity" she tried to express. In 2016, one of Li's videos titledPeach Wine caught the attention of a video-making platform CEO, who featured the video on the platform's front page, which soon elicited more followers for Li's channel. She released her first video to YouTube in 2017 with the title "Making a dress out of grape skins."[13] As of January 2024, she had over 18 million subscribers on YouTube, and as of January 2024 she had over 26.3 million followers onSina Weibo,[14] over 5 million followers onFacebook,[15][non-primary source needed] and inspired many bloggers to post similar content.[16][17][12][18]
Her mainland audience includes urban millennials.[19] Li's popularity may be attributed tofugu (复古, retro-nostalgia), a growing appreciation in modern China for traditional culture.[20] In an interview withGoldthread in September 2019, Li stated "I simply want people in the city to know where their food comes from."[11]
A majority of Li's videos focus on traditional foods and antiques.[21] Besides food preparation videos, other popular videos of Li's include creating makeup and dresses dyed with grape skins.[22] Li rarely speaks in her videos, and the sounds of nature, cooking, and calm music are most prominent.Hemispheres magazine stated, "The only narration is friendly banter between Li and her grandmother, but the sounds—the singing of birds, the crunch of frost underfoot, the thwack of a cleaver, the sizzle of frying garlic—lure you into anASMR trance, so you don't even notice how many videos you've binged."[23]
In 2018, she launched a food brand under her own name and sold prepackaged food throughe-commerce.[24]
In July 2021, Li put her vlogger career on hiatus due to a legal dispute with her business partners.[30][31] On 27 October 2021, Li formally sued hermulti-channel network (MCN) partner firm Hangzhou Weinian. Although the dispute contents have not been publicized, various media suggested that it is related to commercialization of the Li Ziqi brand. A week prior, in an interview onstate-runChina Central Television (CCTV), Li stated that "she does not want to see her intellectual property over-commercialized."[32]
On 27 December 2022, Li Ziqi became the controller of a company that owns the intellectual property linked to her name and brand after the court dispute.[5][33][34]
In September 2023, Li briefly appeared in a video for the China Association of Young Rural Entrepreneurial Leaders. She acted as the official ambassador for the Chinese Farmers’ Harvest Festival, which occurs annually on the autumn equinox.[35]
State-run CCTV praised her and stated "Without a word commending China, Li promotes Chinese culture in a good way and tells a good China story."[37] Journalists have indicated that her videos may be viewed by some as a means of promoting Chinese governmentsoft power.[19][37][38]
An academic study suggests that some foreign audiences drew parallels between Chinese culture and their own.[39]
Li lives with her grandmother, who occasionally appears in videos,[40] in the countryside ofMianyang inSouthwest China'sSichuan.[17] When Li was in fifth grade, her grandfather died. As a result, her grandmother was unable to pay for her education, and Li dropped out of school at the age of 14 to work in the city. She worked several jobs, including being a waitress (2016–2017), a disc jockey (2007–2013), and a singer (2006–2007).[41] In 2012, she moved back to take care of her grandmother, who was sick at that time.[42]
At the start, Li sold agricultural products onTaobao as a way to earn a living before moving on to be a blogger.[41]
Li initially did all photography and editing by herself. As she gained popularity and experience, she produced her videos with the help of a personal assistant and a videographer.[11]
^"Li Ziqi breaks YouTube subscribers record for Chinese language channel".Guinness World Records. Guinness World Records Limited. 3 February 2021.Archived from the original on 16 September 2022. Retrieved10 February 2021.Chinese vlogger Li Ziqi set a new record for "Most subscribers for a Chinese language channel on YouTube" with 14.5 million subscribers, Guinness World Records announced on Tuesday.
^Zhang, Shen, ed. (12 December 2019)."美食博主李子柒为什么收获关注?中纪委网站这样说".Sina News (in Chinese).Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved3 April 2020.
^abDuan, Xiaoer (17 December 2019)."「農村網紅」李子柒衝出國際並獲中國官媒加持，你有看過她的影片嗎？" ["Rural Net Red" Li Ziqi rushed out of the world and was blessed by Chinese official media. Have you seen her video?].Initium Media (in Chinese).Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved3 April 2020.
