The “Lighthouse” for China’s underprivileged students has gone out. Suzhou Fengxue Weilai Education announced this evening (24th) the official obituary, confirming that China’s renowned graduate exam teacher Zhang Xuefeng (real name Zhang Zibiao) died of sudden cardiac death despite rescue efforts, at 3:50 PM, at age 41. From a rural boy in Qiqihar to a valued educational IP worth over a hundred million, Zhang Xuefeng used his straightforward and humorous style full of “big character” flavor to dismantle the employment anxieties of countless ordinary families.
(Background: Observation of China’s three major internet celebrities being censored: Hu Chenfeng, Lan Zhanfei, Zhang Xuefeng)
(Additional background: OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky passed away from cancer at age 43, creating the “adult subscription empire” worth over 4 billion dollars)
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Early Spring 2026, a shocking news broke the quiet of the Chinese education circle late at night. On March 24th, Suzhou Fengxue Weilai Education Technology Co., Ltd. released a black-and-white obituary confirming that “Teacher Zhang”—Zhang Xuefeng—had died of cardiac arrest in Suzhou, his life forever frozen at age 41.
Earlier that morning, news spread online that he had experienced a sudden cardiac arrest while working out. Many thought it was just another rumor, until his social media account switched to a black-and-white avatar, and that familiar northeastern accent became a final echo.
Zhang Xuefeng’s story is itself a modern “Rags to Riches” tale. Born in 1984 in a普通家庭 in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, he deeply understood life’s hardships from a young age. Although he was assigned to a water supply and drainage major at Zhengzhou University through the college entrance exam, he was not interested in it. However, while helping his roommate gather research materials for graduate exams, he unexpectedly discovered his talent for educational consulting.
After graduation, he chose to move to Beijing. In Liulangzhuang, Haidian District, known as a “home for the ant tribe,” he earned a monthly salary of 2,500 RMB, squeezing into a tiny cubicle, and worked there for ten years. During that time, he traveled between various cram schools, witnessing firsthand how many普通大学生 faced employment setbacks due to information gaps. This experience became his greatest motivation to “speak the truth” later on.
In 2016, a video titled “Seven Minutes to Fully Explain 34 Top 985 Universities” went viral online. In the video, Zhang Xuefeng used humorous “cross talk” style to make the dull distribution of universities lively and interesting, quickly surpassing 10 million views. This catapulted him from an ordinary tutoring instructor to a top-tier educational IP with tens of millions of followers.
Later, he moved south to Suzhou to start his business, founding “Fengxue Weilai,” rapidly expanding his enterprise. But what left the deepest impression on the public was his blunt and powerful remark during a live broadcast: “If you’re from an ordinary family, don’t pursue unrealistic majors!”
Zhang Xuefeng’s career was full of polarized opinions. Supporters saw him as a “savior,” breaking down information gaps between classes and helping普通 students avoid “landmine” majors with poor employment prospects. Critics accused him of being “too utilitarian,” reducing education to job training, and he often sparked controversy with sharp comments on liberal arts and journalism majors.
However, as demonstrated by his donations to support impoverished students in his hometown, Zhang Xuefeng always prioritized “employment stability.” He understood that for most普通家庭, education was not a luxury for cultivating character but a last lifeline to change their fate.
Ironically, the person who taught countless people how to “make choices” ultimately couldn’t make a relaxed choice for himself. After 2025, Zhang Xuefeng’s workload remained intense—live streams, speeches, managing his company filled his days. His last social media update was a running check-in on March 22, showing he was still maintaining his fitness to cope with the high-pressure consulting season.
His passing shocked many Chinese netizens. Beneath the trending searches, comments were filled with sincere thanks like “Teacher, thank you for helping me choose my major.”