Chinese stars “losing” their stage names recently trended as the promos for the 2026 Tencent Video Annual Release Conference adhered to recent billing order rules to reveal celebrities’ legal names. Many names for well-known stars were revealed such as Song Zu’er whose legal name Sun Fanqing is completely different. The names for all the stars attending were arranged according to their legal surnames (from the fewest strokes to the most) using a “legal name + (stage name)” format, rather than star status or popularity rankings.
While it’s understood that the purpose is to prevent “billing wars,” some have questioned the need to completely shift the emphasis to legal names, as they feel that celebrities are being stripped of their stage names. Many netizens pointed out that celebrated figures throughout history became famous under professional names rather than their legal identities. Some questioned whether mandatory use of legal names is truly necessary, arguing that stage names may carry artistic significance and stronger public recognition.
For certain celebrities, the regulation is expected to have little to no impact. A number of stars already use their legal name as their stage name. Meanwhile, there are stars like Ren Jialun whose legal name, Ren Guochao, is a popular internet meme and widely recognized among his fans. Nevertheless, many who spent years establishing their names are now seeing their legal names revealed to the public for the first time.
Stage Name -> Legal Name
Ding Yuxi (丁禹兮) – Ding Zhoujie (丁舟杰)
Song Zu’er (宋祖儿) – Sun Fanqing (孙凡清)
Li Yitong (李一桐) – Li Xue (李雪)
Sun Li (孙俪) – Sun Li (孙丽)
Feng Shaofeng (冯绍峰) – Feng Wei (冯威)
Ying’er (颖儿) – Liu Ying (刘颖)
Wang Yinglu (王影璐) – Wang Lulu (王璐璐)
Nazha (娜扎) – Gulinazha Bextiyar (古力娜扎尔·拜合提亚尔)
Lin Yun (林允) – Fei Xia (费霞)
Ren Jialun (任嘉伦) – Ren Guochao (任国超)
Bai Lu (白鹿) – Bai Mengyan (白梦妍)
Cheng Yi (成毅) – Fu Shiqi (傅诗淇)
Luo Yunxi (罗云熙) – Luo Yi (罗弋)
Zhang Linghe (张凌赫) – Zhang Jiawei (张家玮)
Source: 1
ChenMo
For most of these ppl whose stage name are completely different from their legal name, revealing their legal name actually serves as an exercise in ego deflation, which is actually good for them in the long term. If they built a false image of themselves around their stage name for far too long, then the more they need their “Narcissistic Bubble Popped”.