"I'm just a guy who muddles through," declares the wildly popular online influencer "Brother Hunzi," casually revealing his self-perceived flaws. After much thought, this down-to-earth, genuine statement seems the most fitting opening. Important note: the term "muddle through" here carries deeper meaning. Brother Hunzi, whose real name is Chen Lei, is the founder of "Hunzhi" and the author of the best-selling "Half-Hour Cartoon" series. His "muddling" also represents a blend of curiosity and a thirst for knowledge; he excels at presenting fascinating insights from fields like history, current affairs, and science in an accessible, crowd-pleasing format.
Reportedly, Brother Hunzi enjoyed "doodling randomly" from a young age, but his true love for comics was ignited by classic anime from the 80s generation's memory, such as "Dragon Ball," "Saint Seiya," and "Slam Dunk." A whole new world could be created with a pen! Thus, Brother Hunzi kept his mind and hands busy, drawing continuously to this day. Starting in June 2025, he began publishing his "Brother Hunzi Draws and Explains" video series. Within just over half a year, his account gained over 25 million followers, with a single video reaching a peak of over 140 million views.
Around the turn of the millennium, while still a student, Brother Hunzi "really didn't want a proper online name" and decided to call himself "Er Hunzi" (Second-Rate Muddler). "It represented a spirit of cynicism, or in today's terms, a sense of relaxation." Well, by taking the road less traveled, the former "Er Hunzi" ultimately muddled his way into becoming a cyber-era legend with countless followers.
After graduating university in 2009, Brother Hunzi moved to Shanghai. His first job was as a car designer, but he quickly realized it "wasn't a good fit," even though the position was undoubtedly respectable and stable enough for a "comfortable retirement." "I wasn't an outstanding or successful car designer. In that role, I was just coasting along—that kind of life wasn't satisfying."
In his spare time, Brother Hunzi gradually identified his passion and goals. Through his drawing, he stumbled into being discovered, appreciated, and followed by people via the internet's reach. He felt the value of his comics, earned advertising revenue, secured investment, and eventually quit his job to explore entrepreneurial projects. "I'm an engineering guy who's good with calculations, somewhat conservative, so I wouldn't charge ahead impulsively; I seek stability. I made the leap to start my own business only after preparing a budget and making preparations. My family understood, and there was little resistance."
Transitioning from the era of text and images to the short video era, and moving from behind the scenes to in front of the camera, Brother Hunzi actually underwent a trial akin to a "metamorphosis." "Cartoonists, or most behind-the-scenes creators, are probably introverts, right? I used to be a typical introvert, needing time to process internally before expressing through tools. My comfort zone was definitely not facing the camera directly, but being in an unnoticed place, like a quiet corner, creating slowly without interruption, not wanting to talk to anyone—that was my most comfortable state."
However, circumstances forced a change from this solitary ideal. Brother Hunzi admits that even now, he still stutters a little when speaking. Previously, he even experienced some speech difficulties—he was very reluctant to communicate with strangers, and in any situation defined as "high-pressure" (like public speaking), he couldn't communicate smoothly or normally. "Today, when people see me able to speak a few words in front of the camera, even talk fluently, it's because I've put in tremendous effort. I realized that just sitting and drawing comics or writing articles is no longer the most mainstream or effective means of communication. So I had to innovate, to change, to further express myself and embrace communication methods like being on camera. So, I gritted my teeth and endured all the hardship involved."
A single whiteboard, depicting all phenomena. Brother Hunzi excels at transforming obscure, abstract, and serious hardcore knowledge into simple, concrete, fun, and engaging content.
From the breakout success of "Peaceful Years" to the smoke of conflict in Iran, trending topics and timeliness are always Brother Hunzi's top priority for "riding the wave of traffic." "The second is creative technique. Don't treat content as overly self-indulgent or obscure art; think of it as a product that needs to feel 'useful' to the target audience. In this process, I constantly ponder: How can I make it maximally understandable for readers? How can I break down knowledge points and logical threads very finely, allowing information to smoothly enter their minds? How should I start? How can I make the script more fun? If it's not fun, no matter how deep or professional your content is, the communication effect will always be poor. 'Fun' is a very important theme of this era, so I need to think of many gags, draw them in a cheeky style to attract people, and let everyone happily accept my output."
Brother Hunzi states that his distinctive feature lies in his unique thoughts and concepts. For instance, he constantly hypothesizes about his readers' situations: Where are they sitting? What are they doing? "I imagine a person who can't stop, snatching a moment to look at their phone amidst their busyness. In this scenario of the audience's 'least intentional' engagement, how can I ensure they fully receive my creative content? Therefore, I employ many creative techniques, hoping to capture attention and express ideas efficiently, making the viewer feel it was 'worth their time.'"
This highly "product manager"-like mindset naturally consumes immense energy. From script structure to storyboard design, Brother Hunzi insists on overseeing the entire process, often feeling "drained." "My update frequency is now lower than during the initial stages. Firstly, because our influence has grown, I want every piece of content to be refined, which requires more time for polishing, essentially making myself work harder. Secondly, I need time to 'recharge,' to absorb new things... You can't use a gag twice; once it's used, it's gone. You must see more of the world, travel to different places, make more friends, re-stimulate your brain, and stock up on material. Those in creative fields inevitably face torturous moments of breakdown, so I understand why many comedians are prone to depression—you leave all the laughter for the outside world, and the pain for your inner self. Over time, it's no surprise if you become unwell."
According to Brother Hunzi, the video project is still a relatively new experimental venture within the company. "Writing, drawing, and publishing" was the team's main focus for the first decade. "Without a doubt, publishing books has been the foundation of our business for years, along with online platforms; our public account is divided into many business segments. In short, I've always been writing and drawing, and all my colleagues are writing and drawing, so we are essentially a creative company, where over 70% of the team can be understood as content producers."
In the eyes of his employees, the boss has a good temper and isn't pretentious. During brainstorming sessions, anything can be discussed, pooling collective wisdom without a "one-person rule." Brother Hunzi jokes, "From another perspective, perhaps I'm too polite and not suited to be a strict manager? Hahaha." "I'm not an impatient person who gets angry easily. We're all adults; we can sit down and discuss anything, negotiate anything. So, my colleagues probably see me as relatively mild-mannered."
The company's culture encourages employees not to follow conventions rigidly, to let their thoughts soar, and to enjoy soulful freedom during creation. "I allow everyone to do whatever they want during work hours. It's fine if they play around, read miscellaneous books, watch stand-up comedy, watch variety shows, play games—no restrictions. The reason people like the content we produce is because it's very fun. If my colleagues don't know how to have fun normally, how can they write fun things? This isn't called slacking off; it's called timely recharging and building up reserves, and this process, this feeling, is very captivating."
Fuzhou City in Jiangxi Province is Brother Hunzi's hometown. The area is known for its scenic beauty and cultural richness, but during his youth, Brother Hunzi was once troubled by an "inner demon": "As a Jiangxi native, I used to have a strange sense of inferiority. In many geography and history classes as a child, teachers talked about emperors like Qin Shi Huang, Han Wu Di, Tang Taizong, Song Taizu, and landmarks like the Yangtze River, Great Wall, Huangshan Mountain, Yellow River, but I rarely heard anything about Jiangxi. I felt distant from these imperial figures, and we didn't have many famous mountains or great rivers. I found it hard to locate myself, as a Jiangxi person, or my hometown in those textbooks. I gradually wondered: How much did Jiangxi participate in Chinese history? In this mindset, being with classmates from big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Xi'an, I sometimes felt I lost my 'anchor.'"
Later, Brother Hunzi came to understand: "We were taught from childhood to love our country, but the nation is a complex concept not fully covered by a few famous historical figures or geographical phenomena. Loving the country requires a concrete starting point, and one's hometown is that point. I think it's necessary for everyone to rediscover their hometown, to love its ordinary aspects and also unearth its extraordinary ones." "Jiangxi has produced many scholars; this scholarly soil is also an important part of China. Getting closer to figures like Wang Anshi (renowned Song Dynasty minister), Tang Xianzu (author of the 'Four Dreams of Linchuan'), Yan Shu and Yan Jidao (father and son, both famous ci poets)... the sense of pride that arises made me feel I had rediscovered my hometown. I happily promote that while Jiangxi didn't produce emperors, it has a flourishing literary tradition with many famous works. I found my anchor. Only by first loving the people around you, your hometown, the land under your feet, can patriotism not feel 'abstract.'"
Brother Hunzi conveyed this philosophy to his colleagues. Everyone thought it was great and started "rediscovering their own hometowns." The "Hunzhi Comic Culture and Tourism Series" was born, and many local officials highly认可 this initiative. "Thick local chronicles can be dull for average readers, whereas we draw trees, seas, swimming fish, elk, depicting a world full of spirit and the great beauty of China; our advantage in communication power is obvious."
Both anime and games were previously considered "subcultures" but have exploded in the new era, becoming attention and revenue magnets, which leads Brother Hunzi to reflect that "the cultural environment is more diverse now." Discussing culture and education, he further感慨: "Personally, I didn't quite accept the traditional education model. I didn't like history class before because it felt like everything was learned under compulsion, without savoring the real flavor. After leaving school, I actually grew to love history. When drawing my first comic, Bo Yang's 'History of the Chinese People' greatly influenced me; I discovered for the first time that Chinese history could be written so fluidly. If you're someone unfamiliar with history, mentioning it might just bring a muddled mess to mind, full of confusing, sticky points, but this book flows seamlessly, helping you connect the dots—satisfying. It's the feeling an engineering mind craves—we love clear, orderly structures. I thought, I want to try doing something similar."
Brother Hunzi understands the constraints and difficulties of traditional education but believes "an area where traditional education might need improvement is to acknowledge and respect human nature a bit more." "For example, my IQ is limited; I'm no genius. I need time and a process to absorb complex information. An ordinary person really can't digest so much mechanical information in one class period; packing it too full without memorable highlights can cause the brain to blank out or stall. Putting myself in others' shoes, if I explain a knowledge point, I won't make the information overly complex. I will respect and accommodate human nature, considering the average person's ability to receive information. Explain bit by bit, break it down and explain slowly, to see if it can provide better auxiliary效果."
In Brother Hunzi's view, the 80s generation and their children's generation are quite different. "Our generation faced relatively severe survival issues. Most of our parents weren't wealthy; they needed a stable job to support the family, so I believe the pressures and pushes the 80s faced were similar."
Fortunately, Brother Hunzi's parents weren't the "suffocatingly controlling" type. In a relatively宽松 environment, he was able to maintain his hobby of drawing. "So, if I work hard myself, my child won't have to face survival issues to the same extent. Therefore, I'm certainly more 'hands-off' than my parents' generation, not overly focused on intense child-rearing, and more willing to see him develop his own hobbies and ideas. For instance, he currently likes building Legos; I think that's great for developing thinking skills, so I encourage him to play. I'm even happy for him to play more video games because they can improve reaction times. Times and society have changed; there's more than one path of relentless studying. I hold an open and optimistic attitude towards my child's future; I believe there will be more and more suitable, feasible paths for him."
"This is a view I often discuss with my wife. My wife is slightly stricter than me, hoping the child focuses his energy on studies and does fewer other things. Then I tell my wife that the reason I achieved some success through drawing is precisely because I watched a lot of anime and did many 'other things' back in the day. If you don't let your child watch anime, don't let them接触 extracurricular cultural works, where will their imagination come from? Their observation of life? How will they write good essays? This is something my wife and I often debate, hahaha."
Edutainment, "Produced by Hunzhi," is particularly popular among parent-child粉丝. "Sometimes the child sees it first, sometimes the parent. Parent-child粉丝 with a strong desire to learn will share our works with each other immediately. I've noticed many parents set up whiteboards at home, let their children draw on them, and after drawing, they might even record videos,模仿 my style to explain a problem clearly. This is a very good phenomenon." "Through public account comments and at every book signing event, parents and children share with us that after reading Hunzhi's books, their grades in subjects like history and biology have improved rapidly, even topping the class. I believe this isn't all flattery, as there are too many such examples. Our creations have genuinely helped people, created value, which greatly encourages the team. Simultaneously, it serves as self-verification for us—we once worried whether such a non-traditional, non-mainstream approach was viable? Now it seems it is right. This means we can continue boldly and resolutely."
Wishing Brother Hunzi永远 loves life,永远 maintains an interesting soul, and永远 continues drawing. "Of course, I have times when inspiration dries up and I need to relieve stress, so I constantly need to go out, walk around, explore. Sometimes I even deliberately don't drive, but take the subway or bus, wandering aimlessly, reconnecting intimately with the world. I also enjoy reading books, watching movies—history, sci-fi, suspense, horror, I watch everything because you can't precisely control where inspiration comes from, so you need to fill your life with interesting things." "I've seen such friends, such cocky expressions,才能 draw them. And since I've seen them, and everyone has seen them, if I find it funny and everyone finds it funny, resonance is created."
Link: Chen Lei Profile Chen Lei, pen name "Brother Hunzi." Founder of the science education brand "Hunzhi," host of "Brother Hunzi Draws and Explains," and a core creator of the best-selling "Half-Hour Cartoon" series, with over 70 million followers across platforms. Excels at transforming obscure, abstract, serious hardcore knowledge into simple, concrete, fun, and engaging content, helping people "understand, remember, and articulate." Brother Hunzi and his team are dedicated to using comics to create knowledge products, making learning more efficient and simpler, and most importantly, more joyful.
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