What do you think about China's new 'Sherlock Holmes?'

"Yuan Fang, what do you think?" asks detective Di Renjie. (Internet photo)

While Sherlock Holmes' catchphrase was "Elementary, my dear Watson," the words of a new kind of detective, "Yuan Fang, what do you think?" have become the signature phrase of the male leading character Di Renjie in the TV series "Amazing Detective Di Renjie." Netizens have described the trend as being "too cute," according to Want Daily, our Chinese language sister newspaper.
Spin-offs of ancient historical figures have become a recent trend on the internet. A series of comics called "Du Fu is Busy," drawing the famous poet biking and playing basketball, has become a hit on microblogs.
Following the trend, netizens have turned their eyes on Di Renjie, a minister during the Tang Dynasty. CCTV has shot four seasons on the series "Detective Di Renjie" so far. In the series, whenever Di Renjie is investigating a case, he will ask his deputy Li Yuanfang, "Yuan Fang, what do you think?" A microblog has been formed out of this newly famed character, and internet users can go to the site and post questions to see what the sidekick thinks.
According to site data, Yuan Fang gets asked what he thinks 2.5 million times everyday online. Netizens consult with Yuan Fang for everything, to the point where mainland Chinese media has had to make categories for the types of situations in which the catchphrase is used, such as venting, promotions, and jokes.
China Mobile, one of China's major telecommunications companies, has even used the popular line in its own ad messages to customers. One of the most recent messages released reads: "Di: There are a lot of rumors behind China Mobile's customized version of the Nokia Lumia920T. 'Yuan Fang, what do you think (about this)? Li: Master, there must some larger secret behind this! Lumia920T not only supports TD-SCDMA standard, but after 4G licenses start being issued, it will also support TD-LTE standard. I don't know when it will be issued. Di: What do you think? Li: I think it will be in November."