Chinese online literature captivates nearly 200 million active overseas users, 80 percent of whom are Gen Z readers
With Chinese online literature becoming a "global cultural phenomenon", such creators and providers are also rapidly expanding overseas as carriers of culture and empowering writers from across the globe with "dream jobs".
Online literature is believed to have first gained a significant foothold in the Chinese mainland. Started domestically in the 1990s, Chinese online literature has been booming globally over the past two decades. Whether it be online releases or physical book publications, works in Mandarin only to be spontaneously translated by enthusiasts are a growing phenomenon.
The establishment of online reading platforms and the setup of overseas localization and development ecosystems have led to Chinese online literature continuously expanding its global influence. It is now described as one of the world's four major cultural phenomena, along with US Hollywood movies, Japanese animation and South Korean TV dramas.
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Featuring magnificent imagination, fascinating plots and compelling stories, it is drawing a growing mass of readers from all over the world. According to a report released by the China Writers Association last April, Chinese online literature has captivated nearly 200 million active overseas users, 80 percent of whom are Generation Z readers — those born between the mid-1990s and early 2000s — from most countries and regions worldwide.
Another report released by the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association in December revealed that in 2023,China's online literature industry earned 4.35 billion yuan ($597 million) from international markets, up 7 percent year-on-year.
"The charm of Chinese online literature is boundless. It transcends the limitations of traditional literature, breaking cultural barriers to resonate with readers around the world. As someone from faraway Italy, I've found deep emotional connection and inspiration in these works. Themes like the pursuit of dreams and the fight for justice are universal, uniting people across cultures," said Carlo Maria Rossi, a stage designer and multidisciplinary creative director from Rome and a big fan of the popular Chinese web novel Lord of Mysteries.
Currently, Chinese online literature is crossing more boundaries and exploring a new path of going global. With a focus on "global co-creation on intellectual property", online literature writers from different nations and regions are joining hands in fostering and developing their web novel IPs, creating a new wave of the globalization of literature while promoting cultural understanding and exchanges.
Going global
The first step Chinese online literature took in its global quest dates back to 2001, when works produced by the Chinese Magic Fantasy Union, predecessor of China's online literature platform Qidian, started attracting overseas Chinese-speaking fans. Four years later, Chinese online literature began overseas exploration regarding publication authorizations for digital and print copyrights.
In 2017, WebNovel, a Chinese platform run by Yuewen Group, was launched, marking a milestone in the overseas expansion of Chinese online literature. As an overseas portal offering massive amounts of translated Chinese web novels, it provided international readers with easier and more comprehensive access to quality online novels from China.
Shortly after the launch of the platform, in 2018, WebNovel also began allowing overseas users to create their own works on the platform. Most of their works were observed to be heavily influenced and informed by the worldviews and structure of Chinese online literature.
Since 2020, the platform put these creators more at the forefront of the phenomenon. With increasing investment and stronger support, the platform has been continuously helping more overseas writers realize their writing dreams while improving their livelihoods.
For instance, the platform launched the annual WebNovel Spirity Awards (WSA) in 2019 to reward quality web novels from across the world. In 2022, it worked with top universities in Singapore to launch the Global Author Incubation Project, followed by another program in 2023 to offer writers training on writing skills and IP issues.
In 2024, the platform began applying artificial intelligence in work translation and presented web novels to a wider audience globally, covering languages such as English, Spanish, German, French, Japanese and Portuguese.
By the end of November, the platform had published about 6,000 translated novels, including over 2,000 AI-translated works in 2024. Also, it has cultivated around 449,000 overseas web novelists and published some 680,000 overseas original titles, attracting some 300 million visitors from over 200 countries and regions, said Yuewen Group.
Dream job
The rapid expansion of online literature has empowered writers from across the globe, and the web novelist position has emerged as a new profession. A large number of writers see this occupation as their "dream job", which allows them to gain considerable revenue, improve their living, make friends from different cultures, and even change their lives while fulfilling their writing dreams at the same time.
JessicaKaye911, a 45-year-old Pakistani web novelist, excitedly finished her first solo trip to China in December, participating in the third Shanghai International Online Literature Week held in the city. After beginning to write web novels in May, her romance work Mr President: You Are the Daddy of My Triplets, claimed gold at the WSA in 2024, which attracted a record of about 140,000 entries competing for the prizes.
Being a math lecturer, JessicaKaye911 enjoys unleashing her wild imagination via writing web novels. In her stories, she puts a core emphasis on creating "empowered" and resilient female leads, instead of soft and weak "crybabies" as depicted in many movies or dramas.
"I like thinking about different plots, and it is amazing for me to be able to type them down. My husband has become my biggest fan, and might have changed himself a little as well — as he reads about the story and the female leads. There is no doubt this is the dream job and dream life for me," she said.
Barisbi Alborov, a 35-year-old Russian writer under the online pen name Guiltythree, received the award of High Potential Overseas IP for Shadow Slave during the week. Formerly a game writer and one of the most popular writers on WebNovel, he valued the "creative independence" as a web novelist, and the friendships he nurtured with readers from all over the world.
"This is my dream job, definitely. As a novelist, I am in full control of my story. I am my own boss, and no one is telling me what I must write. My success or failure only depends on me, which is a great privilege in the creative professional field. Another harvest I've reaped is the community that was built around my story with thousands of people basically from every country imaginable. Some of them have become my friends, and amazing things are being created by the collective and creative power of these people. That has enriched my life very much," he said.
US web novelist Lenaleia, a 39-year-old mom, has been a bookworm and writing since she was young. Her unfinished werewolf fantasy romance Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted has drawn massive readers since it launched in April. She shared during the week that she always feels surprised to receive diverse messages from fans, and enjoys making friends in the unique "community of writers from across the world" that the platform germinates.
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"It (writing web novels) has brought me freedom. I've been married for 13 years and I have six children to tend to. My husband for that entire time has been the person supporting our huge family and he has worked very, very hard. But now I am also able to support our family and let him be home with his children more. It's changed our entire lives," she said.
She added that being a web novelist can be an "option" for mothers in particular with children like her in many countries."Many of us are home with children and we want to help bring in money in this day and age. I've been telling people I make money from home (by writing web novels) and you can do it too. And a lot of them are very, very interested. For many women, it is also life-changing even in smaller amounts of money, because it's an option when no other options exist," she said.
Currently, female writers account for 64 percent of the total in overseas web novel creation. The US, the Philippines, India, Indonesia and Nigeria stand as nations producing the most web novelists, and Gen Z writers make up nearly 70 percent of all the writers, said Yuewen Group.
"Everything is becoming better. It (writing web novels) doesn't feel like working. I was always told growing up that if you do what you love, it won't ever feel like work and that is absolutely true. Like now that I'm doing what I love, it doesn't feel like work at all," she added.
