Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 2, 2023

Internet Literature: Interaction, Imagination and Chinese Experience in New Media

(Abstract)

Xu Miaomiao

From a global perspective, China’s internet literature, exploring as it does a system of experiences with national characteristics, a global vocabulary, and the integration of new technologies and economic models, is a unique phenomenon in media culture. It was born during the rise of the internet, and grew up during the evolution of the media at the time when the producer-driven mode changed to a “prosumer”-driven mode. In the course of its development, Chinese internet literature has become an example in the area of media culture and creative industry for other countries to learn from. The novelty of internet literature lies in its interactivity. In the context of secondary orality, participants’ interpersonal interaction renews not only online works but also the very concept of literature. Media interface interaction creates a new style of language that drives new narratives through the comprehensive use of audio-visual and ideographic symbols. One of the major features of internet literature is its strong imagination, an imagination that derives from immersion in China’s traditional culture and long history but also reflects the localization of Western resources, including popular culture and otaku culture. New media technology and the open-source spirit of the internet also support its growth. The deep inner logic of internet literature derives from immediate social experience; it reflects the changes of social structure and psychology in the rise of online society, as well as the experience, state of mind and actions of China’s youth during these changes.