Digital stories have successful plot twist

While many online writers cast their eyes on tradition and reality, others look at the future such as science fiction, which has become one of the five fastest-growing genres in 2021. Over the past five years, sci-fi writers on the websites of China Literature Group have increased by 189 percent. In addition to the fast-growing quantity, the general quality of online sci-fi has conspicuously improved. In 2021, 22 percent of the most popular writers from the group created science fiction, and many sci-fi works entered monthly lists of most popular works.

The rise of sci-fi online obviously results from the popularity of best-selling books of The Three-body Problem trilogy and the blockbuster film The Wandering Earth, the study says, adding that science fiction is actually closely related to reality.

Commenting on the development of Chinese online literature, Liu Yuhong, from the Institute of Chinese Literature of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says, "Chinese online literature has paid unprecedented attention to reality.

"With the change of time and social development, the social and cultural roles of Chinese online literature have also changed. With topics about reality, the genre of sci-fi for the future, and fantasies that integrate traditional elements and a modern spirit, Chinese online literature has become an important carrier of Chinese stories and composes a vital part of the reading content in China."