On the afternoon of March 24th, Zhang Xuefeng, a well-known Chinese postgraduate examination guidance blogger and the founder of Fengxue Wei Lai, passed away from a sudden heart attack in Suzhou at the young age of 41. Last year, Zhang Xuefeng surprisingly mentioned in a live broadcast that “you may not see me next year, I have stirred too many people’s worlds,” a statement that turned out to be prophetic.
According to mainland media reports, at 12:26 PM on March 24th, after exercising on a treadmill at the company gym, Zhang Xuefeng suddenly felt unwell and was immediately rushed to the Suzhou University Affiliated Hospital (Su Zhou Dushu Lake Hospital) for emergency treatment.
At 9:53 PM that evening, Suzhou Fengxue Wei Lai Education Technology Co., Ltd. confirmed to the public: Zhang Xuefeng “passed away in Suzhou at 3:50 PM on March 24, 2026 due to a sudden heart attack despite all efforts to save him.”
Subsequently, Wu Liang, the general manager of Fengxue Wei Lai, stated that the company’s operations are running as usual, and they, along with the family, will make every effort to handle the aftermath.
Zhang Xuefeng’s wife, Li Lijing, is a history PhD, associate professor at a university, and co-founder of Yantu Education. The couple has an 11-year-old daughter.
Reports from the New Yellow River newspaper indicated that on March 24th, despite the planned normal live broadcasts in various Fengxue Wei Lai rooms, a large number of netizens flooded the comment section seeking the truth. The show hosts did not respond and continued explaining postgraduate study planning and selling courses as usual.
By the evening, abnormalities began to surface in several live broadcast rooms: at 6:05 PM, the Little Red Book account “Teacher Zhang Xuefeng” abruptly ended the live stream without explanation; at 6:18 PM, the TikTok Matrix account “Zhang Xuefeng Talks about Education Planning” also stopped broadcasting. After 9 PM, the profile pictures on their TikTok, Weibo, Bilibili, and Little Red Book accounts all turned gray.
Public records show that Zhang Xuefeng, born Zhang Zibiao in 1984 in Fuyu County, Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, graduated from Zhengzhou University and entered a training institution. In 2016, a video lecture titled “Interpreting 34 985 Universities in Seven Minutes” quickly brought him to fame, making him one of the most influential bloggers in the field of Chinese college entrance examination and postgraduate guidance.
After nearly a decade in the training industry, he established Fengxue Wei Lai Education Technology Co., Ltd. in Suzhou in 2021. In July of the same year, the Chinese authorities proposed the “double reduction” policy, which severely impacted the private education industry in China, including Fengxue Wei Lai.
Before his passing, Zhang Xuefeng publicly advised students “not to study journalism” and made controversial statements like “arts and humanities are all service-oriented,” leading him into long-term controversies.
In May 2025, tearfully bidding farewell in a live broadcast, Zhang Xuefeng choked up in front of the camera, saying, “This may be the last time you see me, I can’t guarantee you’ll see me next year.” This statement instantly triggered a barrage of comments.
“It’s not easy in this profession; I’ve touched too many people’s cakes,” he said. “There are things I can’t say too directly.”
After the military parade on September 3, 2025, Zhang Xuefeng shared his personal thoughts, claiming that if mainland China were to attack Taiwan in the future, he would “donate at least 50 million yuan” and the company as a whole would donate 100 million yuan. This declaration quickly sparked public opinion.
Subsequently, the Henan Broadcasting Television station’s “Elephant News” criticized him for “carelessly linking ‘unification’ with the sound of gunshots,” believing his remarks had a tendency to incite war.
Related videos circulated on overseas social platforms. Zhang Xuefeng was summoned by the Chinese Cyberspace Administration, instructed to be mindful of the impact of his statements.
On September 24 of the same year, Zhang Xuefeng’s accounts on TikTok, Kuaishou, Weibo, Little Red Book, and Bilibili were temporarily suspended. The team responded that this was due to inappropriate remarks during the live streams that violated platform rules and stated they were in the process of rectifying this. Accounts were back to normal on October 22.
On December 3, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued a notification, specifically mentioning Zhang Xuefeng’s prolonged use of vulgar language during live streams, leading to the suspension of his account. Zhang Xuefeng subsequently publicly apologized, expressing deep reflection.