Experts and scholars discussed China’s online literature development in 2021 from multiple perspectives, at a seminar titled Report on the Development of Chinese Online Literature 2021, held in Beijing on April 2.

According to Chen Dingjia, who is in charge of the online literature development report research group and also a research fellow from the Institute of Literature at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the report analyzes the overall change trend of the online literature industry in 2021, with such topics as online literature realizing theme change, online literature promoting reading nationwide, and online literature going overseas.

Liu Yuhong, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Institute of Literature at CASS, said that the historical mission and cultural responsibility of Chinese network literature have both changed, driven by the era and social development. Online literature has become a significant catalyst for the public to create Chinese stories as well as an important part of nationwide reading.

Zhang Xian, director of the Literary Editorial Department at Social Sciences in China Press (SSCP), stated that in recent years, while maintaining vigorous narratives, online literature has approached mainstream culture, mainstream ideologies and mainstream aesthetics. The realism trend has begun to rise. Poverty alleviation and fighting against the COVID-19 have become popular creative themes in online literature.

Online literature has provided rich resources for nationwide reading. An Deming, deputy director of the Institute of Literature at CASS, said that online literature has offered a new communication mode. The invention and common use of new media have made it more possible for us to realize widespread participation in content creation and reading.

The current online literature ecology is related to the rise of generation Z (those born from 1995 to 2009). According to Tang Qiao, an associate research fellow from the Institute of Literature at CASS, the post-1995 generation has become the online literature successor, either as authors or readers.

Online literature going overseas is an important phenomenon. Chen Qijia, a professor from the School of Liberal Arts at Renmin University of China, said that this is not only an industrial issue, but is also important as Chinese culture “goes global,” and it is related to the construction of the country’s overall cultural strategy.