The film and television series of the same name adapted from the third master of Tang's "Douluo Dalu" has received much discussion.
The picture shows the stills
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Standing in a new historical position, online literature in 2021 shows a strong momentum of development and is the most active section of contemporary literature.
As a "barometer" of popular culture, whether it responds to the call of the times in the form of text, presents the characteristics of the times, illustrates the spirit of the times, or provides high-quality story content for the pan-entertainment industry, it highlights the cultural carrying in the process of building a cultural power.
This year, there are more than 150 million overseas users of online literature, and it has attracted a large number of readers to turn into authors and create works in local languages.
Online literature has become an important channel for foreigners to understand Chinese stories and learn Chinese culture.
Major era propositions such as the fight against the new crown epidemic, poverty alleviation, rural revitalization, building a community with a shared future for mankind, and a powerful country in science and technology are vividly presented in online literature. A number of outstanding realistic themes are online, and types such as history, urbanism, romance, fantasy, and suspense go hand in hand. , Master’s new works and other high-traffic head works have played a leading role, and high-quality content has increased.
In 2021, online literature will maintain the largest share of the literary reading market with the absolute number of readers, authors, and works, and will continue to occupy a large share of Internet applications.
Looking back at the annual development situation, in the field of online literature, the consensus among literary websites and related industrial enterprises, readers and authors, management departments, and theoretical reviews has further increased. The writing mechanism and ecological structure have continued to be optimized, and high-quality content is generated. Take the road of high-quality development, adhere to the development direction of mainstreaming, quality and internationalization. There are many bright spots in value leadership, theme and type development, IP development and overseas communication, the rise of Gen Z authors and readers, and the improvement of industrial mechanisms. The first year of the "14th Five-Year Plan" and the major historical node of striving towards the second centenary goal have highlighted positive significance and broad prospects.
Reflecting the life of the times and creating cultural value has become the new mission of online literature
In order to achieve the strategic goal of building a cultural power in 2035, as an important part of popular culture, online literature must assume its due responsibilities in this historical process.
Online literature is not just for the public’s entertainment. Our discussion on the cultural value of online literature has already begun, and it is even more urgent this year.
With the continuous deepening of reform and opening up and the development of the Internet, network literature has been born with extensive social influence, making it a powerful form of expression of the times.
Although the flow of netizens is close to the "ceiling", the number of readers of online literature has increased this year. The 48th "Statistical Report on Internet Development in China" shows that the total number of users in the first half of the year reached 461 million, accounting for 45.6% of the total number of Internet users, an increase The rate is 0.2%, and the number of readers has reached the highest level in history.
To provide spiritual food for such a large group of readers, the value carrying of online literature is extremely important.
After 136 online writers signed and issued the "Proposal for Improving the Quality of Online Literature" at the end of last year, in April this year, the China Writers Association organized 45 websites to jointly release the "Proposal for Improving the Quality of Online Literature Editors", strengthening the ideological guidance and value at the source of creation and editing Lead, focus on the unification of social and economic benefits, and clearly set the goal of "prospering and developing cultural undertakings and cultural industries, and promoting the building of a socialist cultural power".
In addition, the strengthening of literary and artistic commentary and the development of comprehensive management in the field of cultural and entertainment deployed this year all regard the core values of socialism to lead the trend of the times as the basic requirements for the field of literature and art, and endow online literature with more specific social responsibilities.
On the centenary of the founding of the party, the online literature circle reflects the life of the times and expresses the voice of the people through thematic activities and creation of works.
The Online Literature Center of the Chinese Writers Association organized a series of activities of "A Hundred Years of Gifts and Founding of the Party, a Hundred Years of Internet Literature", a joint exhibition of themed works, and a collection of 564 works from the website for free online; and jointly organized the "Ode to the Red Flag" with the Shanghai Writers Association ——Hundred Years of Party Founding, Hundred Websites, Hundreds of Excellent Products" Selection Event Press Conference and Internet Literature Seminar on Striving for a Hundred Years Road, Set Sailing New Journey, sing the main theme of the times in the Internet literature circle.
A number of head works such as Qi Cheng's "Da Guo Heavy Industry", He Changzai's "Hundred Years", and Mad Duozi's "A Hundred Years Family Letter" are loved by readers.
The platform also actively guides the creation of themes. The reality theme essay competition is a brand event of China Reading Group. The fifth edition announced this year has 19,256 entries, a total of 21,075 entries, a year-on-year increase of more than 40%. The number of participating authors and works Both hit record highs.
The first reality theme contest of Qimao Chinese.com was also held this year. Under the theme of "telling Chinese stories and singing the great era", four major themes were set for "centennial birthday", "ambition of a strong country", "ethnic story" and "most beautiful hometown". , Dig out more outstanding works that reflect the spirit of the times and express the feelings of the country and the country. 33 high-quality works have won awards.
A batch of works on the theme of traditional culture, the “Belt and Road” and the community of shared future for mankind, such as "Covered Bridge Dream Code" (aged brewing), "Lion Dancer" (Yubo), and "Railroad Stars" (Yiyang) launched this year. It demonstrates its active role in building a culturally powerful country and creates unique cultural values in cyberspace.
The rise of realistic themes and the formation of new enthusiasm for masterpieces of main types
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, under the continuous guidance and encouragement of social forces, the creation of realistic themes has risen, which has changed the dominance of fantasy novels in the past and promoted the balanced development of themes and types. In 2020, Chinese online literature will be updated throughout the year. Approximately 2 million signed works were added, and realistic themes accounted for 60%.
This year’s guidance has been further strengthened. At the same time, inspired by the demand for social reading, the popularity of realistic themes continues to rise, and a number of outstanding works are online; at the same time, under the influence of the market mechanism, the main types of history, urbanism, romance, fantasy, and suspense have gone hand in hand. New works and other high-traffic, high-IP value head works have played a strong leading role, and high-quality content has increased.
Realistic themes have become the backbone type, and outstanding masterpieces set a new benchmark.
In the past two years, major social propositions such as the fight against the new crown pneumonia epidemic, poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, building a community with a shared future for mankind, and a strong country with science and technology, and the spirit of the times contained therein, have been vividly presented in online literature. This year, there are a number of vane-style works. Bright themes, full emotions and solid narratives have attracted social attention.
"Big Dipper Stars" (Mega) enters the development and application promotion of my country’s navigation satellites. The main line describes the work experience of four young people in this field. The choice of different scientific and technological directions and entrepreneurial routes reflects national revitalization and science and technology to serve the country. The great feelings of the novel, the author supports the creation as a scientific and technological worker. The novel themes and the knowledge provided by the detailed expression make the novel unique charm.
"Thirty Thousand Miles of the River East into the Sea" (He Changzai) extends the narrative time and space of "Most" and deepens the theme. Through the experiences of three young people, it not only shows the opportunities and challenges faced by the young generation in Shanghai, but also shows the new era of Shanghai The vigorous vitality and unlimited hope of development are full of fresh elements of the times and passion for struggle.
"The Pentium Era-South to North" (Mei Shi Niang), which focuses on the growth and struggle of youth groups after the reform and opening up, and "Dancing with the Sand" (Linghu and Wuji), which tells the story of Chinese science and technology going to sea (Linghu and Wuji), are also among the best.
These realistic works selected materials and ideas from the hot scene of life, anchored the aesthetic relationship with reality in terms of emotion and value expression, and responded to the voice of the times.
Famous artists in traditional genres such as fantasy, metropolis, history, and fairy tales have "explosive styles" one after another, demonstrating the powerful reading power of fans.
"Changleli: Prosperity as I Want" (Xiaoqi School) combines the history of revolution and the history of reform and opening up, and reflects the changes from the September 18th Incident to today's Shanghai with a tortuous story of "the shadow of a spy and a hundred years of love". Through the "traveling" method to connect the old and the new time and space, while listening to the historical echoes, exploring the endless life force of the nation, allowing readers to appreciate the special charm of online literature in the theme and narrative art, which can be called the most important harvest of the year's creation one.
Both "The Great Doctor Ling Ran" (Zhiniao Village) and "The Tribulation of the Ten Thousand Clan" (Eagle Eats a Little Chicken) have been serialized this year. The former is a masterpiece of "professional flow". In the doctor’s growth process, the combination of superpowers and reality enhances the expression of the theme; the latter uses the strategy of "playing a pig and eating a tiger" to shape the image of the protagonist who has supernatural powers and revitalizes the human race during alien invasion. The complex fantasy world formed by the self-contained logical practice system shows abundant imagination.
"Tianshengling" (Jiang Shengnan), "The Younger Boy" (Mad Lost Child), "Dan Chun Mountain" (Yi Qianzhong) and other works also have excellent performance.
These works complement each other with realistic themes, satisfy readers' different emotional expectations and psychological desires, and provide readers with a virtual living experience. The constructed narrative world becomes a new space to exile imagination and embed the soul.
The characteristics of overseas communication and IP development activate new momentum
"Going to sea" is also a buzzword in online literature in 2021.
During the International Internet Conference, the first "China International Internet Literature Week" was held in Wuzhen. The Chinese Writers Association released the "Report on the Development of International Communication of Chinese Internet Literature". According to data, by the end of 2020, Chinese Internet Literature had exported more than 10,000 online works overseas. Among them, there are more than 4,000 physical books authorized, more than 3,000 online translation works; website subscription and reading APP users more than 100 million, covering most countries and regions in the world.
From offline physical book publication to multilingual dissemination as an IP-derived multimedia product, to the complete serialization of the translated text of "Panlong" on overseas websites, which is still being talked about today, to the formation of an omni-channel distribution mechanism and "going abroad" Become a new growth pole in the online literature industry.
In the context of the "going global" era of Chinese culture, this year's online literature has reached a new peak in terms of scale and format, and together with traditional IP development, it has expanded the influence of the entire industry.
This year's overseas communication presents three characteristics.
First of all, the "two-line parallel" strategy has achieved remarkable results. It not only accelerates the output of mature content, but also promotes the "localization" of the online literature production mechanism overseas. The original Chinese online literature "production line" continues to be extended overseas and is internationalized. Get promoted.
The overseas revenue model is still based on paid reading, while exploring the mode of unlocking and monetizing ads. According to statistics from iResearch, as of July this year, the market has doubled and increased by more than RMB 3 billion.
The overseas communication business of leading online literary companies such as China Reading Group, Zhangyue Technology, Jinjiang Literature City, etc. has surged, and their "going abroad" forces have shown a trend of grouping.
The "China Online Literature Joint Export Program" launched last year launched version 2.0 this year. Nearly a hundred companies have joined the program, and the world's first literary field AI translation production and publishing network has been opened. Science and technology empowers Internet literature to go abroad. Sexual progress.
In the first half of the year, the number of new paying users of the business going overseas exceeded one million, and the revenue reached 148 million yuan, an increase of more than 100% over the same period last year.
Jinjiang Literature City has deepened cooperation with Russia this year and expanded the European and American markets.
The scale of overseas users hit a new high and increased rapidly.
This year, there are more than 150 million overseas users, and a group of readers have turned to be authors to create works in local languages. Only the starting point under the banner of Reading International will exceed 200,000 overseas authors this year.
Among overseas users, 83.4% of people read Chinese works every day, and more than 57% of users read more than 2 hours each time. Online literature has become an important channel for foreigners to understand and learn Chinese culture.
Original translation and adaptation The output of translation works is actually a form of cross-media dissemination of online literature because it involves language translation, while traditional IP adaptation is still the focus of content value-added. Last year, more than 20% of cultural industry IP development projects were taken from Online novels and online literature have driven downstream industries to exceed a trillion in output value.
This year's cultural and entertainment ecological governance has made the investment in the pan-entertainment industry more prudent, but the popularity of IP development on the Internet has not diminished, and a number of projects have won the favor of the audience.
In terms of film and television dramas, it is adapted from the angry Banana's work of the same name, "Zuo Son", the tail fish's novel of the same name "Sato", Mu Qingyu's work of the same name "You Are My City Camp", and "Good Period" which is saved by the bandit. "Flowers on the Sea" adapted from "Dream of Flowers on the Sea", "Shanhe Ling" adapted from Priest's "The End of the World", and "Life forever" adapted from Mo Bao Feibao's online novel "Bone of a Beauty for a Lifetime" have all become popular. Play.
In addition, short dramas adapted from online texts have also become a market highlight this year. In anime, there are "Douluo Dalu" by Tang's Sanshou, the fourth season of "Douluoqiang" by Celestial Silkworm Tudou, and "Swallowing the Starry Sky" by I Eat Tomatoes and so on.
In addition to the traditional fields of publishing, film and television, games, animation, etc., the sudden emergence of immersive "Script Killing" has opened up new paths for the Internet IP market. After being adapted, it provides players with a new aesthetic experience.
Generation Z brings a global impact, opening a new era of iteration
In this year's online literature industry, whether it is readers or authors, Generation Z has become the main force.
In 2020, the "post-95" generation will become the main force among writers, with more than half of the readers of Gen Z; the new author of China Reading Group, Gen Z accounted for nearly 80%, and Gen Z readers accounted for more than 60%.
Among the portraits of authors released by China Reading Group this year, "post-95s" accounted for more than 36%, the fastest growth rate, and "post-95s" accounted for 80% of newly added authors.
The rise of Generation Z has brought an overall impact to the entire industry, and it has also brought new hopes.
Since the initial life experience of the Z generation is full of virtual experience of the Internet, they are closer to the Internet than the previous generations, and "digital survival" has become their normal life.
Reflected in the field of online literature, the interest, preference and enthusiasm for participation of the youth group has given birth to new formats.
In terms of content, some "small genres" in the past are becoming mainstream. In addition to fantasy, suspense and campus life topics close to teenagers, science fiction, light novels, e-sports, online games, two-dimensional genres and "system streams", vests, etc. Full-scale rise, the popularity of "Full-time Master", "Honey Stewed Squid", "When Waste Wood Encounters System", "Reincarnation Paradise", etc. are not unrelated to this.
Since the plots in this type of work are difficult to counterpoint with real life through traditional literary expression techniques, readers experience immersive emotions in the virtual world, and its "subculture" characteristics are more obvious.
This year's game novel "The richest man loses money from the beginning of the game" (green shirt gets drunk), the two-dimensional novel "The King of Shura Field" (A Fei), etc. have a high market popularity.
The "2021 Sci-Fi Internet Trends Report" of the Reading Group shows that young readers have become the most important force in sci-fi reading, and Gen Z readers have increased by more than 44% year-on-year.
In terms of creation, short stories, light novels and science fiction are among the favorite themes of "post-95" writers, such as "We Live in Nanjing" (Tianrui Saying Fu), "Night Nomenclature" (Talking Elbow), etc. The work broke multiple platform records.
They have a strong desire to participate, and Gen Z readers are more keen to express their opinions and feelings. After interacting with the author as a fan, they affect the creation, making online novels a work jointly completed by the author and readers.
"What this chapter says" in Reading's full platform and the function of the book circle in the APP have become popular.
Just like the "barrage" in the video, readers can communicate about the work itself and the knowledge involved in the "chapter", or make jokes, turning quiet reading and lonely creation into a lively exchange on site.
Some researchers pointed out: "The book circle of reading apps has become the home of the'Gen Z'literary life. They write reviews, rate, remind, share life, publish original stories, and repost popular stories in the book circle. In Today, when social media is strongly involved in literary activities, online writers are also paying more and more attention to absorbing suggestions from readers, commonly known as "copy book reviews." Some of the more prosperous works draw heavily on comments from netizens, and some online authors often visit the book review area. Get inspiration for writing." The rise of Generation Z has made readers' participation in online writing become the norm.
Standing at a new historical starting point, this year's online literature continues to show a strong momentum of development.
In addition to the above overall characteristics, some influential events that occurred in the field of online literature this year have brought us new inspiration and thinking while optimizing the industry mechanism and industrial structure. For example, the Reading Group and Chinese Online Development Strategic cooperation, the merger of Qimao Chinese Network and Zongzhong Chinese Network, "re-centralization" in the technical framework of the Internet "decentralization", intensified the intensification of online literature operations, and changed the market structure; Jinjiang Literature City implemented reading classification , Took the lead in recommending works to readers according to age, and made innovative attempts in vertical distribution.
In terms of the number of readers, online literature is already the mainstream literature. However, in the mass of works, it is an indisputable fact that the rate of high-quality works is insufficient and the classics are still lacking. At the same time, there are still some crude works, low style, money worship, and history. Issues such as nihilism.
This is not only related to the mass literary attributes of online literature, but also related to the responsibility of the platform and creators.
It is foreseeable that with the further improvement of the social and cultural governance system, the development of Chinese online literature will have richer possibilities and broader prospects.
(The author is a senior visiting scholar at the Institute of Literature, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and a researcher at Hebei Network Literature Center)