□Text / Yangcheng Evening News reporter Sun Lei
On August 10, the "2021 Blue Book of Chinese Online Literature" was officially released: more than 270,000 works of realistic themes have been added to major literary websites across the country, a year-on-year increase of 27%, and the stock of works on realistic themes has exceeded 1.3 million. Enthusiastic; nearly 220,000 sci-fi works were added, a year-on-year increase of 23%, and the stock of sci-fi works exceeded 1.1 million; more than 220,000 historical works were added, an increase of 11% year-on-year, and the stock of historical works exceeded 2.3 million.
In the rapid development, there are also hidden worries: how to improve the quality?
How to create a big IP with world influence?
In response to related topics, Ma Ji, a researcher at the Network Literature Research Institute of the Chinese Writers Association, was interviewed by a reporter from the Yangcheng Evening News——
Why are both reality and science fiction themes growing so fast
Yangcheng Evening News: The "2021 Blue Book of Chinese Online Literature" pointed out that in 2021, more than 270,000 realistic works will be added to major literary websites across the country, a year-on-year increase of 27%.
Why are there so many realistic themes?
Ma Ji: First of all, it is the dominance of national policies, which requires the creation of online literature to pay attention to reality. Reality mainly refers to the changes that have taken place in all aspects of the country in the past 40 years of reform and opening up.
Literature has always come from reality. Whether you can write realistic themes well is related to whether the online literature can produce high-quality products.
In response to national policies, many online writers have devoted themselves to the creation of realistic themes, which is also a kind of exercise for their own writing; at the same time, the website also actively cooperates, encouraging authors to write reality in various forms, and increasing support for realistic themes.
In addition to policy orientation, the online literature industry itself also needs to develop in the direction of mainstreaming. From the perspective of theoretical research, the so-called mainstreaming means entering the research field of the academy, and current academic research is more concerned with realistic themes.
In addition, realistic themes have long appeared in online literature, such as workplaces, youth, and campuses. In recent years, there have been topics such as teaching support and poverty alleviation.
More importantly, the realistic themes in online literature have gradually found their own development path after so many years of development.
In the past, realistic themes were relatively marginal because of their low commercial value and low IP conversion.
In recent years, especially since 2014, a large number of excellent works have emerged on realistic themes, many of which have been adapted into film and television dramas, and their commercial value has also been affirmed.
Yangcheng Evening News: In addition to realistic themes, the second largest proportion of online literature is science fiction. Why are the two extremes of fiction and reality growing so fast?
Ma Ji: Internet science fiction has always been there, but the growth rate was relatively slow before.
The most famous is Liu Cixin's "Three-Body Problem", but this one is also somewhere between online literature and traditional literature.
In recent years, with the improvement of the country's overall strength and the development of science and technology, science fiction has also flourished, which is in line with China's development status quo.
Today we really need to pay attention to the propositions that are of common concern to mankind, and to explore the future of the universe and mankind.
Liu Cixin's writing has improved the influence of Chinese sci-fi in the world to some extent, but in my opinion, online sci-fi is still in its infancy as a whole and has not reached a very good level. "Three-Body Problem" can be said to be a standout , At present, there are no excellent works that can compare with it on the Internet.
In particular, hard science fiction requires a combination of rigorous scientific knowledge and profound literary literacy, which is a great test of writers' skills.
However, Internet sci-fi has great potential for development, has high commercial value, and is suitable for IP creation.
Moreover, the country is also very supportive of the development of online sci-fi themes. In addition to fantasy novels, more attention is paid to sci-fi novels that are combined with reality, to present our current level of science and technology, and to deepen readers’ understanding of science. Exploding a planet" is such a simple and crude stage.
The hope of Chinese online literature lies in "Gen Z"
Yangcheng Evening News: How is the online literature created by "Gen Z" different from before?
Ma Ji: "Generation Z" mainly refers to the post-95s generation. They are the "indigenous people" of the Internet and are pure "Internet generation".
They have already had a considerable number of writers in the field of online literature, and their entire growth process has been accompanied by the Internet, so the characteristics of the creation of the network are also more prominent.
The second is internationalization. Many young authors in this group have experience of studying abroad. The Internet has also opened a window to the world for them, and they will also have extensive access to excellent foreign literary works, so their cultural vision is more internationalized. , and more broad, and the works written are more able to integrate into the tide of international culture.
The hope for the future of Chinese online literature is still on them, because they look at the world from the height of modern civilization and on the shoulders of several generations of Chinese online writers.
After so many years of development, Chinese online literature has produced a large number of successful works, and the younger generation can innovate on this basis.
Moreover, they not only understand the popular trend of popular culture, but also understand the dissemination and creation of cultural IP.
However, the current generation is still in the start-up stage, and online literature still lacks works that are highly synchronized with the times. Therefore, this generation of young writers has their own mission. They must not only learn from traditional online writers, but also actively innovate and develop.
There is still a long way to go.
Yangcheng Evening News: According to the report, the IP adaptation of online literature achieved outstanding results last year. In your opinion, what problems should be paid attention to in IP adaptation?
Ma Ji: Online literature works and animation film and television works are two different works of art, and the two should respect each other.
Movies and TV dramas have their own set of logic systems, and online literature also has its own operating rules.
Moreover, compared with creation, adaptation involves a wider range, and the operating cost is higher and more difficult.
Internet literature IP is actually a cross-art product. After the adaptation, it will definitely be different from the original work. Many people say that it is separated from the original work after the adaptation.
The creation of Internet literature IP is actually the basic driving force in the entire Internet literature and art field. The commercial value of Internet literature may only be tens of billions, but the commercial value it can drive is often as high as hundreds of billions.
Therefore, in the process of incubating online literature IP, we should try our best to launch a high-quality cultural brand, which can surpass the original work, and at the same time retain the most valuable parts of the original work, and minimize losses in the process of transformation.
To the worldwide market decisive battle
Yangcheng Evening News: "Online literature goes overseas" has become a consensus. In your opinion, why does Chinese Internet literature become popular overseas, and how will it develop further in the future?
Ma Ji: After the reform and opening up, it was the first time for Chinese contemporary literature to set sail. The first generation of writers represented by Mo Yan and others went international and became well known to readers around the world.
Network literature is the second voyage of Chinese contemporary literature, and its main task is to spread Chinese culture.
Many of the first generation of writers who set sail to the sea did not understand English, nor did they have the awareness of overseas communication, and the means and positions of communication were limited.
The writing of online literature writers relies on the Internet. The Internet is an international platform and has a natural communication advantage.
This popularity is not only related to the development trend of Chinese online literature, but more importantly, the West also has the reading needs and soil of online literature.
Since the 1980s, there has been a trend of convergence between elite literature and popular literature in the West. The popularity of writers such as Haruki Murakami and Dan Brown is inseparable from this trend.
And Chinese online literature has well met the reading needs of the public.
Yangcheng Evening News: If we want to better spread the image of China and tell Chinese stories well, does online literature still have a long way to go?
Ma Ji: The reading aesthetic level of readers is constantly improving, and the quality of online literature also needs to be constantly improved. It is imminent to improve the quality of online literature.
Especially for online literature to spread overseas, it is necessary to improve its artistic level and compatibility of cultural symbols.
This cultural symbol must not only satisfy the aesthetic habits of the Chinese, but also conform to the Western cultural context.
This is a grinding process.
In the first 20 years, Chinese online literature was still training in China, but now it is about to compete in the worldwide market. Whether your work can become a big IP depends on whether you can shine in the English-speaking world.
Just like the IP of Kung Fu Panda, Panda and Kung Fu are both Chinese, but the IP has become American. Others use your cultural symbols to make Chinese money and spread American values. This is worth our deep consideration.
Chinese online literature also shoulders a heavy responsibility for the creation and dissemination of Chinese cultural IP.