‘Chinese Santa Claus’ sparks online craze

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Chinese netizens are again demonstrating their knack for online humor by turning the image of a classic Hong Kong actor into the viral meme of a “Chinese Santa.”

The character, played by Hong Kong-based actor Elvis Tsui in the 1992 period comedy movie Royal Tramp, sports a red hat and beard that looks a lot like Old Saint Nick.

Photoshopped picture features Elvis Tsui holding a gift. /Weibo Photo

One of the trending pics features a Tsui with a Photoshopped hand giving a gift to the film's protagonist Stephen Chow, offering Christmas wishes on China's Twitter-like Weibo.

Tsui's cast image with “all buy” goes viral online. /Weibo Photo

Another image with the words “all buy,” which rhymes with Tsui's character name Oboi in Chinese, reflects a festive spirit encouraging people to buy gifts for loved ones and themselves.

Picture of Tsui designed by a Weibo user to wish others a merry Christmas. /Weibo Photo

Oboi is a “bad guy” in the film, which was adapted from "The Deer and the Cauldron", a novel by late Hong Kong novelist Louis Cha.

Dubbed the “Chinese Santa Claus,” Tsui has become a hot search topic on Weibo on Christmas Eve, with the actor himself even thanking fans for their support by posting: “It's Christmas and the old man with a red hat and white beard is bringing you the best wishes!”

Weibo user @DamianyangBOBO post the emojis on Monday. /Weibo Photo

Just an hour after Tsui's response, Weibo user @DamianyangBOBO, a popular cartoonist on social media with “Wang Sicong's Hotdog-Eating Meme” last month, posted a set of emojis inspired by Tsui's image.

Netizens share pictures of Tsui's meme on Christmas Eve. /Weibo Photo

On Christmas Eve, the funny cartoon memes by the artist sparked an online craze as people attached the “Chinese Santa Claus” to their photos of Christmas trees, cakes and gifts.

Sina Weibo's editing page adds Tsui's meme. /Weibo Photo

The whirlwind popularity has prompted Sina Weibo to make the emojis available for users on December 25.

Tsui thanks netizens for linking his image to Aquaman on his Weibo account. /Weibo Photo

Actually, it is not the first time that Tsui's image has been made fun of. As the 57-year-old actor is known for his long-haired characters, netizens have linked his image to Aquaman and Thor, joking that he should have been the best candidate for the superhero.

Tsui, who enjoys the self-deprecating humor, has more than two million followers on Weibo.