Abstract
This paper is based on a study of Chinese online romantic fiction that emerged with the development of online literature and intensified beginning in the late twentieth century. Millions of readers, hundreds of thousands of writers, and numerous literary platforms have helped to develop online literature into a multi-billion literary industry, which has also exerted heavy influence on the mainstream culture in their close collaboration with production of films and TV dramas. Moreover, in producing and stimulating fan culture, it has changed the modes of writing, reading, and the author-reader relationship. This paper will focus on the development of a distinct romantic type set in ancient times that combines elements from classical/modern Chinese romantic traditions, shares some generic conventions of (western) popular romance, and incorporates different genres and fantastic mode to embody a new romantic imagination. As non-mimetic fiction, it constructs a highly fantastic universe as a self-contained, historically non-existent world, either an alternative to the ‘real’ ancient world or a parallel to modern world; yet, with embedded modern ideals, values, and consciousnesses as the confrontational substructure, this romantic imagination also taps into the contemporary cultural/social aspirations.
Presenters
Jie LuProfessor of Chinese Studies & Film Studies, Department of Mondern Language & Literature, University of the Pacific, California, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Online literary industry, Online romantic fiction, Non-mimetic fiction, Fantasy
