Su Shifu
苏师傅 (Su Shifu), real name 苏新晨 (Su Xinchen), owns the WeChat account "圈里圈外InsightOut" and is a regular participant in "观棋有语", a news commentary podcast hosted on Bilibili with a military and political focus. In fandom, he is most well-known for bringing up Zhang Zhehan's name just days after 813 and initially lauded for actually daring to speak about him at a time when everyone feared backlash.
However, he has since drawn criticism for his persistent hate boner for Zhao Wei, as well as the derisive, condescending way he refers to Zhang Zhehan (eg. 小盆友). More recently, he has been increasingly hinting at connections with Zhang Zhehan, even going so far as to asserting he provided advice on how Zhang Zhehan should run his WeChat account.
A screenshot of Su Shifu's WeChat account
Example of Su Shifu implying he knows Zhang Zhehan and gave him advice on how to run Zhang Sanjian's GZH.
Early Life
He was born on October 30, 1991 in Changsha, Hunan. He went to Changsha Changjun High School but only completed their Junior High department in 2007. There is no record of him ever graduating from their High School department. Due to poor marks in mathematics, he dropped out and instead took preparatory classes for studying abroad. He then studied political science at University of Leicester and returned to China in 2014.
In 2015, Su Shifu founded or participated in two companies (Hunan Dezun Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. and Dongan Jiarui E-commerce Service Co., Ltd.). Those businesses did not do well and operations were shut down.
Screenshot of Su Shifu's Facebook profile
Example of Su Shifu talking about his academic background or lack thereof
Information on one of Su Shifu's failed businesses
New Identities
After repeated failures to start his own business, Su Shifu started impersonating a public official in 2018. He created a WeChat account and wrote analyses on international politics under the guise of being a retired intelligence officer. At the same time, he took up marketing/promotion and switched careers to independent media. He joined 观察者网 (Guancha/Observer News) in Mar 2020 and began working as a news reporter/editor, though it appears he is no longer employed at this time of writing.
Most famously, he joined 观棋有语 in Jan 2021 and is known for frequently referencing or implying that he has various top-secret identities. These identities include but are not limited to:
- Former national security department employee
- Military intelligence analyst for the People’s Liberation Army
- Duo spy agent working for both China and a senior British intelligence agency
- An old acquaintance of the Director General of MI5
- A domestic 'James Bond' who almost died a heroic death
- An alumni of the University of International Relations
As a side hustle, Su Shifu enjoys hawking various products on his WeChat account, ranging from shoes to air fryers and everything in between.
Examples of Su Shifu's new persona and usage of his real name on 观察者网 (Guancha)
A reference list of various identities and life experiences Su Shifu claims to have
