WITH the rapid development of China’s online literature, Chinese online novels have created a huge fanbase overseas.

Jiong Jiong You Yao, 32, is one of the most popular online writers in the urban romance genre in China. Her novels have been translated into English, Indonesian, Filipino and Spanish, and have attracted many loyal foreign fans. Her success comes on the heels of China’s booming online literary market overseas.

By 2020, more than 10,000 online literary works had entered overseas markets and attracted over 100 million foreign readers, according to the 2020 Blue Book of China’s Online Literature released by the China Writers Association.

On the novel website Webnovel, Jiong Jiong You Yao’s main page is full of comments urging updates, highlighting the novel’s popularity.

In 2016, she wrote a romantic novel. The novel has received more than 4 million clicks, and its intellectual property right was licensed to a Vietnamese cultural enterprise for film and television adaptation in 2018. “I think Chinese online literature is popular not only because of the mysterious oriental elements but also because humanity in the works transcends boundaries.”

Fantasy and kung fu novels were once the driving force behind the fervor for Chinese online novels among foreign readers. Such stories were based on Chinese mythology and traditional culture, and they appealed to foreign readers.

In recent years, however, more types of Chinese online novels have opened the foreign market, as the channels for international communication became more diversified. Urban romance novels, for example, describe the lives of Chinese urbanites, and are popular in Southeast Asia.

China’s online literature has also encouraged many foreign readers to start writing. Kazzenlx, a 25-year-old Filipino author, wrote a fantasy romance novel, “Hellbound With You,” which was inspired by the English version of Jiong Jiong You Yao’s novel.

“China’s online literature has changed from merely spreading novels to exporting a deep-seated creation system,” said He Hong, deputy director of the online literature center of the China Writers Association.

Statistics show that Webnovel has attracted about 110,000 overseas online writers, who have created more than 200,000 novels.

Many TV series have been adapted from Chinese online novels and become quite popular overseas, including the hit TV series “Flower Thousand Bone,” “Nirvana in Fire” and “Empresses in the Palace.”

“It’s a great opportunity for writers that Chinese online novels can be viewed in different countries and even adapted into films and TV series,” Jiong Jiong You Yao said.

(Xinhua)