Visitors read the Chinese version of One Hundred Years of Solitude at the Beijing Book Building on March 10. Above: Bookshelves with Garcia Marquez novels for sale at the Beijing Book Building Photo: Wang Qi/GT
Traditional Chinese culture, from Confucian classics to folk customs, is central to the composition of web novels, according to the results of the latest Top 12 Chinese web novelists list released Tuesday.
A total of 12 novelists, including the writer Qing Heishen (pseudonym), whose “Tianjing Tianjing” was collected by the British Library in September, are 2022 internet literature model writers set by Yuewen, a pioneering group of Chinese literary research. Awarded. online literature marketplace.
Take Qingheyishen and author’s classic Xianxia (Wuxia’s exclusive genre based on Chinese Taoism) web novel Up in the Heaven for example, the story is based on the 16th century Chinese book The Investiture of the Gods. The novel tells the story of a young Taoist disciple who is engaged in vengeance and shuxing – practicing and nurturing as a higher level immortal in Chinese mythology.
“The ancient rhyme of my work lies in the nourishment I derive from traditional Chinese culture. It can be found in poetry and songs, but also in couplets, edicts, historical documentaries and classics,” Qingheyishen told the Global Times. Told.
It is easy to imagine that most of the author’s web novels published this time are interpretations and applications of traditional Chinese culture.
“Pearl Buried in the Sinking Sand, backed by 5,000 years of history and tradition. ‘ said another award-winning author.
The artist’s work Su Zhu explores the expansion of the relationship between humans and civilization, interweaving Chinese folklore and science fiction.
Some reasons can be attributed to these young authors and their incredibly free spirits, he said, as these web novels have become increasingly important in exporting Chinese culture. Beijing-based web novelist and critic Wang Xing said.
“On the one hand, traditional culture has been refined and enjoyed by young people in web literature, where they have made it more interesting to spread traditional culture, thereby increasing its appeal to young readers around the world. “On the other hand, it reflects the more mature and skillful use of traditional culture by young Chinese people, especially the revival of our traditional culture,” Wang told the Global Times. It is invaluable in making it possible.”
The list again reflects the benefits and vitality of young blood. More than 80% of the selected artists were born in the 1990s, and half were born after 1995.
Among the award-winning authors, Huweidebi (a pseudonym) creatively integrated the fictional cosmic entity Cthulhu into “Daoguiyixian” or “The Strange Fairy”, an oriental work that perfectly blends the Cthulhu mythos and Chinese folklore. bottom.
Another author, Banri Chuzoma (pseudonym), spearheaded the rise of modernized Chinese classics with his book I Will Become a Saint from Old Books, which combines famous mythological characters with Confucianism and Taoism. bottom.
