From fantasy to reality

After 20 years of development, Chinese online literature has become one of the pillar resources of pop culture consumption in China. While it began with prevalent themes such as romance, fantasy, time travel and history, in recent years, online literature has seen a gradual shift toward realism, which marks a new page in the development of the medium.

"Judging from either the number of writers, or the quality of their writing, or the reader base and the education level therein, online literature has topped the reading market in China," He Changzai, a popular online writer, said at the recent launch ceremony of the China Online Literature+ Conference 2021 in Beijing.

A report by the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association shows that, in 2020, the market value of Chinese online literature reached nearly 25 billion yuan ($3.9 billion) with a domestic reader base of 460 million people, of which around 7.58 million are active, daily users. By 2020, more than 21 million online writers had created approximately 29 million works.

However, while online literature is incredibly popular in China, it does not mean that it has become the mainstream, he said, adding that online literature should focus more on reality.

"In real life, there are so many stories of ordinary people's heroism that are worth recording and extolling. Realism and science fiction both require real-life experience and profound thinking about society and the world," He said.

To write quality works, online writers need to immerse themselves in real life to get inspiration for vivid stories with realistic, believable characters, he added.

Liu Xiahui, who writes novels about traditional Chinese medicine, tai chi, the authentication and conservation of cultural relics and the legends of Chinese dragons, shared his experience in finding inspiration from reality at a forum on online literature creation.

"I walked around to find inspiration for my new books, but failed until I went back to my hometown and saw the native people, working conscientiously－bamboo-weaving craftsmen, smiths, carpenters and the woman making steamed stuffed buns. They are good at their work, but they lead simple lives and are not good at communicating with people. They only concentrate on the work at hand," he said.

Unfortunately, as society advances, these craftsmen and women will gradually disappear from the streets, although their products still linger in his memory, he said. However, when Liu saw similar products during his trips to Japan, he realized that those crafts, popular among young people, were traditional art coated with novel cultural concepts.

Therefore, Liu decided to write stories about those taciturn craft workers, hoping that the traditional arts of China, such as tea ceremonies, martial arts, floriculture, ceramics, calligraphy and painting, could become better known by his readers.

To write Lie Yan (Counterfeit Hunting), Liu spent three years researching, interviewing experts from the Palace Museum, National Museum of China and Shanghai Museum, systematically learning about the authentication and conservation of cultural relics.

"Current, real topics, especially those related to our culture and tradition, are the best themes and dictate the direction of our writing," he said.

Huo Yan, an assistant researcher with the Institute of Literature of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said because traditional literature in China cannot reflect the times－during which our social structure is undergoing a great transformationin a way that meets the expectation of the readers, it naturally falls out of favor.

"What is the literature of our time? The large number of readers and writers prove that it's online literature. Readers like online literature because it satisfies what people currently most desire and reflects the social consciousness of our time," she said.

Superficially, people want to be entertained and to relax, so that, in their fragmented time, they don't want serious thinking, but simply some pleasure from reading. Underneath, it is people's curiosity about, and their impulse to experience, the past and the present, she explained.

"In real life, our identities and classes are definite, but online, we can have other identities. Perhaps time travel fiction just satisfies our imagination of a change in our identities. The lost identity in a new time and space, and how to apply modern experience to certain historical circumstances, might provide literary nourishment for readers," she said.

For example, if given another life, can a person who lives passively improve their lot in life? In literature, they can feel the pleasure from proactively seizing opportunities, becoming stronger and better.

"That is a brand-new experience brought by reading online literature," she noted.

Similarly, in historical fiction, choosing which periods to write about also reflects a collective social consciousness of our time, she added.

Now it is time for online literature to shoulder its responsibility to build a better spiritual life for the people, she said.

As one of the judges of this year's contest of excellent online novels, Huo said she was happy to see that the submissions remarkably display not only the traditional Chinese cultural genes and spiritual core, but also Chinese people's high revolutionary spirit and the glorious achievements of industrial construction in the country. There are not only works reflecting middle-class life, but also those depicting the rich lives of people at the grassroots of society. There are also books extolling the heroic deeds of ordinary people and works about trendsetters of the time.

"Online literature is not only about imaginative themes like time travel or fantasy stories anymore, but is more realistic, with topics ranging from the frustrations, and the value, of life, which further inspires people to ponder questions regarding the country's development, national rejuvenation and the future of mankind," she said.

As the thinking and imagination of writers of traditional literature tend to become similar, online literature appears more vibrant, as those amateur writers are from all walks of life and each has a unique life experience and passion for literature.

"Their professional experience and love for writing greatly enrich their works. For example, they write stories regarding industry, sports, firefighting, theater, medicine, as well as funerals and interment," Huo said.

However, online literature, despite its vitality, should learn from traditional literature to care more profoundly about reality, in addition to improving its language and plotting, she said.