According to the “2023 Annual Report on the Development of Chinese Online Literature,” released at the 7th China “Online Literature+” Conference in Beijing in July 2024, the total number of Chinese online literary works had surpassed 37 million by the end of 2023. Photo: IC PHOTO

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As a key theoretical focus in recent years, “new media realism” is not only central to the accuracy and applicability of literary and artistic analysis but also plays a role in balancing the interests of various stakeholders in the cultural industry while ensuring the moderation and effectiveness of cultural management. The term “new media realism” primarily refers to a form of realism shaped by new media, characterized by distinct traits. It reflects contemporary lifestyles deeply intertwined with media and is expressed through innovative writing techniques.

Realism is a concept rich in connotation, with inherent contradictions that drive its continuous evolution. In the era of new media, the boundaries of realism are once again being challenged, yet its fundamental qualities—depicting real life, summarizing lived experiences, and revealing real-world patterns—remain unchanged. The new media generation, intertwined with the spirit and conditions of its time, has expanded the boundaries of realism through multidirectional artistic exploration.

Realism as an evolving concept

From artistic imitation of nature to the depiction of archetypal characters, realism has continuously adapted, with its boundaries shifting and its scope expanding. As a literary concept, realism can be seen as a product of the fusion of scientific rationality and print technology before the 19th century. The rise of print culture accelerated disciplinary specialization, shaping the literary works later classified as realist in alignment with the techniques of great writers such as Stendhal, Balzac, and Tolstoy.

The dominant worldview within realism at the time was one of rational disenchantment. The volatile, anthropomorphized world of pre-modern mythology was replaced in realist literature by scientific rationality and mechanization. The modern scientific perspective—characterized by singularity, certainty, and falsifiability—reinforced trust in objective material reality, fostering literature’s pursuit of universal characters and abstract laws beyond the individual. Realism srives to shape archetypes, give voice to communities, and articulate the experiences of familiar strangers.

In the digital age, social development is shaped by imagination and coordination. As the “virtual society” produces real consequences and mediated experiences replace direct physical ones, the average person’s primary access point is merely the media interface. This era is built upon invisible information flows, the digital economy, and the internet, amplifying the voices of a once-silent public that now clamors for attention.

Literature and art today are no longer shaped by singular figures like Balzac, Kafka, or Proust but instead emerge from the amplified, random noise of nameless individuals in new media. The master’s pen is no match for the pleasure mechanisms refined by data, and literature—once grounded in the meticulous detail and rationality of print culture—has once again yielded to the vernacular imagination and folkloric elements of oral culture. Strangeness and absurdity have become key tools for capturing attention in the participatory realm of online literature and art, with web novels, especially popular fiction, standing as the most developed and experienced form.

‘ Transplantation’ and  ‘utilitarianism’

As a medium integrating text, sound, images, and video, online literature should, in theory, exhibit a rich diversity of forms. While Chinese online literature includes many realist works, it has also seen the emergence of “transplanted realism”—works that rigidly impose the principles of print literature onto digital platforms—and “utilitarian realism,” where themes are tailored to secure policy support or awards. Evaluating the multifaceted and heterogeneous nature of realism in the new media era has thus become an urgent task for contemporary literary theory.

In the early days of online literature, when works were uploaded spontaneously and read for free, realist literature was not only prevalent but also particularly compelling. For young writers at the time, the internet was merely a training ground, while true literary recognition was still found print. Only literary journals could confer legitimacy upon literature. Writers nurtured in print culture, even when publishing online, instinctively upheld the authority of books and journals, striving to transplant realism—modeled after figures like Lu Xun and Chekhov—unaltered onto digital platforms.

Today, online literature is dominated by fantasy, while realist literature has largely returned to print. This shift is primarily due to the differing media adaptability of literary forms. Deep reading and immersive experiences are more naturally associated with print media. Traditional realism, shaped by the book and journal tradition, relies on slow-paced immersion and reflection—an intellectual reevaluation of the objective world distilled through individual cognition. This form of abstraction and defamiliarization demands a specific mindset and environment, often requiring training, a relatively enclosed setting, and a degree of cognitive effort, making it less suited to the open and interconnected nature of the internet. While print-based realist literature seeks to convey universal meaning through everyday life, online literature thrives on the amplification of individual emotional expression.

The mainstream landscape of Chinese online literature is shaped not only by media adaptability and platform strategies but also by cultural policies. After the National Online Literature Theory Symposium was held in Beidaihe in 2014, China’s online literary sphere adopted a clear preference for certain themes, leading to a surge in realist-themed web fiction.

Due to the vague definition of realism in this context, some platforms and writers broadly labeled their works as “realist-themed online literature,” with some even tailoring content to align with official themes and compete for awards—so-called “prize-targeted fiction.” While these works have merits—challenging the commercial dominance of fantasy in online literature and diversifying its landscape—their shortcomings are equally evident. Many online writers, having spent years crafting stories in virtual worlds, lack deep firsthand experience of real life. As a result, their portrayals of reality tend to be superficial and exaggerated, lacking a solid foundation in lived experience.

If adhering to journal standards constitutes “transplantation” and catering to promotional demands amounts to “utilitarianism,” does this mean that new media and realist literature are inherently incompatible? Not at all. Literature follows no fixed trajectory—while “transplantation” and “utilitarianism” may be indirect paths, only through multidirectional expansion can new creativity emerge.

The nature of digital media has given online literature a distinct form, making the wholesale transplantation of print-based realism unsustainable in the long run. At the same time, the normalization of keyboard-based writing has drawn an increasing number of individuals into online literature, each motivated by fame, profit, or personal ideals, making some degree of utilitarianism inevitable.

However, the interplay between media characteristics and aesthetic expression, platforms’ engagement with reader interests, and cultural policies shaping thematic directions have all contributed to a more diverse online literary landscape. The rise in realist-themed online works provides a foundation for improving overall quality and selecting the best among them. While challenges such as transplanted and utilitarian realism persist, the evolving landscape of online literature has also produced works that not only embody the spirit of realism but also harness the unique advantages of new media.

Toward a novel form of realism

Online writers, by creating new genres, adopting innovative techniques, and expressing contemporary experiences, continue to develop an independent form of new media realism. Fantasy remains a defining characteristic of online literature, yet it is deeply interwoven with depictions of real life, interpretations of lived experiences, and explorations of underlying social realities. In truth, realism in literature has never been static—even classic realist writers like Flaubert and Balzac had differing views on its nature. Within online literature, the network itself embodies an experience and aesthetic shaped by new media, oscillating between reality and virtuality in ways that are both authentic and illusory. It serves as an unfiltered outlet for personal emotions, often uninhibited and unrestricted.

However, these seemingly distorted, fantastical, and unreal stories are not entirely detached from reality; rather, they reflect and refract real-world experiences. Rooted in the affordances of digital media, they are shaped by the way networks mediate human experience, breaking away from physical constraints while connecting media representation and reality through an internal logic of shared emotions.

In an era of rapid advancements in digital technology and AI, a new perspective—one that equates the virtual with the real based on perception and utility—has gradually replaced the industrial-age paradigm of scientific rationality, which was rooted in deductive reasoning and traceability. As we have observed, AI surpasses humans in accuracy when it comes to reproduction and explanation, necessitating that realism in literature and the arts move beyond merely depicting observable or established realities. Unlike natural seasonal changes or mechanical engineering, which are tangible and empirical, the digital age calls for the uniquely human capacity for imagination. This imaginative faculty not only fosters collaboration but also enables individuals to translate expectations into reality through labor and production. This shift underscores why, in the new media era, imagination is increasingly recognized as an integral part of reality itself.

Online literature reflects this new media reality. Due to regional and generational differences in digital engagement, this reality is most apparent among younger demographics, taking shape as a collective reality formed by media life. The synchronous nature of media consumption and production—where reading and writing become inseparable—transforms online fiction from a passive object of consumption into a process of collective creation.

In the fusion of play and labor, known as “playbour,” internet users contribute by naming and generating content, channeling expectations toward tangible outcomes and turning imagination into reality. As these digital-native communities progressively establish themselves as cultural protagonists, the vocabulary, thought patterns, and conceptual frameworks derived from their media experiences will redefine systems of mediated life. These frameworks will transcend conventional representations and physical boundaries, giving rise to a new reality of its own.

Faced with a worldview in which the virtual and the real are seamlessly intertwined, the concept of “realism” has expanded, becoming more inclusive and dynamic. Within China’s literary theory circles, numerous discussions have emerged regarding the nature of new media realism as it pertains to online literature. Scholars generally agree that the transformation of realism arises from the impact of new media on human experience. Consequently, various forms of new media literature can serve as case studies for the evolution of realism.

As new media reshapes human perception and behavior, the collaborative “playbour” model of digital communities paves the way for a novel form of realism—one that emerges not from physical representation alone, but from the interactive, participatory nature of virtual spaces.

Xu Miaomiao is a professor from the Research Institute of Arts and Aesthetics Education at Capital Normal University.

Edited by WANG YOURAN