China’s net text, urged by foreigners crazy …

"to the sky kingdom" and "Grandmother-in-law" by Joy of Life … In recent years, many explosive TV dramas have been adapted from online literature (hereinafter referred to as "online literature"). As the source of IP, such as animation and video games, online texts have developed rapidly, and now they are numerous in overseas markets.

"Webwriting is a native Internet content model in China. It has been developed for more than 20 years. It is not only popular in China, but also attracts readers from all over the world. It is considered as one of the’ four major cultural phenomena in the world’ after Hollywood movies, Japanese anime and Korean TV dramas in the United States. This is the characteristic of China’s webwriting." On December 5th, Li Hong, Deputy Secretary-General of China Music and Digital Association, said at the opening ceremony of the 2nd Shanghai International Network Literature Week that in the past three years, the scale of overseas online users has further expanded, and "the scale of overseas revenue of the whole industry has exceeded 4 billion yuan, an increase of 39.87%".

Li Hong Image Source: Photo courtesy of the organizer

What are the hidden changes behind the rapid growth of China’s online texts? In the era of globalization, Chinese and foreign writers are important subjects to promote literary innovation and cultural diversity. How will they grasp the new opportunity of "going out to sea with one button" and lead cultural exchanges with good stories?

Global "reminder":

Z generation readers account for nearly 80%

"According to the calculation of more than 40 enterprises in the head by China Audio-visual and Data Publishing Association, the total revenue of China’s online industry in 2022 reached 31.78 billion yuan, an increase of 18.94% compared with 2021. In the same period, the total number of online works in China reached 34.5884 million, an increase of 7.93% compared with 2021. " At the event site, Li Hong released the "2023 China Online Trend Report" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report").

He introduced: "There are more than 20 translation languages of online works in China, involving more than 40 countries and regions in Southeast Asia, North China, Europe and Africa. Online works are becoming an important part of’s overseas cultural communication system."

Image source: Screenshot of "2023 China Net Trend Report"

As one of the fresh forces of China culture going out to sea, the overseas market of online texts is also growing. According to the Report, the overseas revenue of China’s online industry reached 4.063 billion yuan in 2022, up 39.87% year-on-year.

However, compared with more than 34.58 million online works, the online works that have been translated into the sea are only a very small part of them. According to the data of Chinese Writers Association, by 2022, China has translated more than 9,000 online works overseas, up by 200% compared with 2021.

Image source: Screenshot of "2023 China Net Trend Report"

The emergence of new technologies brings new opportunities to the industry. "With the help of AI, the translation efficiency of online texts has been greatly improved, from more than ten chapters per day to thousands of chapters per day, and the efficiency has been improved by nearly 100 times; Translation costs have dropped by an average of 90%. " Li Hong said that AIGC is promoting the large-scale going out to sea of online texts, making it possible to "go out to sea with one button" and "catch up with the world". "As of October this year, about 3,600 translations of China’s online texts have been launched at the starting point of overseas online platforms, an increase of 110% compared with three years ago."

AI translation is convenient and fast, which meets the needs of "urgent" readers all over the world. According to the Report, as of October 2023, the number of international visiting users at the starting point exceeded 220 million, three times that of the same period three years ago. Li Hong introduced: "These users come from more than 200 countries and regions around the world. Among them, the United States has the largest number of users; French users have the fastest growth rate. Young people are the absolute main force of online reading. Among the international users, Generation Z accounts for nearly 80%. It is the most common reading method for overseas readers to chase after it while spitting. "

Image source: Screenshot of "2023 China Net Trend Report"

At present, a steady stream of online translation works have sprung up, igniting the interest of overseas readers. According to the Report, there are 238 translated works with a reading volume exceeding 10 million and 9 with a reading volume exceeding 100 million.

According to Li Hong, the reading volume of "I wish you a bright future" has exceeded 450 million. "China’s online paid reading mode has also taken root overseas. In 2023, the monthly consumption of a single international user at the starting point can reach up to 7230 US dollars (about 52,000 yuan), and the average daily reading time is as high as 90 minutes. "

Writing online becomes a popular part-time job overseas.

The explosive growth of overseas online writers

Under the influence of China’s online writing, more and more international users are planting grass, which also attracts more overseas young people to devote themselves to online writing.

On December 6th, at the "Chinese and Foreign Writers Roundtable", the British writer Calvin said that he was deeply inspired by reading a lot of China’s online works, and then created the western fantasy work My Vampire System. Russian writer Kirthi 3 said that he "into the pit" China’s blog before becoming a blogger. "Compared with western literature, China’s online writing has not lost its original point-bringing fun to everyone, which is the core of the whole story. So I also hope that my work can bring such feelings to readers. "

"In the past three years, overseas online writers have shown explosive growth. By October this year, Starting Point International had trained about 400,000 overseas online writers, four times as many as three years ago. " Li Hong said that online writers have even become popular part-time jobs overseas, including teachers, doctors, accountants, college students, computer engineers and other professionals, who all write online articles in their spare time.

According to the Report, the number of overseas online writers has tripled in three years, covering more than 100 countries and regions around the world. The TOP3 countries of overseas online writers are the United States, the Philippines and India.

Image source: Screenshot of "2023 China Net Trend Report"

The audience of online writing is young people, and the newly joined overseas online writers are also younger. "From the age point of view, 00 has become the backbone of creation. Among the contracted writers of Starting Point International, the proportion after 00 is as high as 42.3%; After 95, the proportion reached 27.2%. With the rapid growth of writers, overseas online literature also presents the original ecology of a hundred flowers. " Li Hong said that in October this year, Starting Point International had launched about 610,000 overseas original works, an increase of 280% compared with three years ago.

Online writers at home and abroad have also keenly captured the changes in the market and industry. In terms of subject matter, it is often difficult for western readers to "enter" fantasy online texts. "We western readers don’t have such a cultural background, so it is difficult to understand the oriental fantasy." Calvin believes that with more online articles from China going out to sea, overseas online writers also began to try to localize after a lot of study. "Most of the best-selling fantasy novel in the West now is mixed with many oriental fantasy contents by western novelists."

"Chinese and Foreign Writers Roundtable" Live Image Source: Photo courtesy of the organizer

"For us, (Oriental elements) are very special. Because it is not something we came into contact with when we were growing up, it may be a culture that we came into contact with after we were teenagers. " Canadian net writer Garnall also bluntly said at the event that Oriental fantasy novel has become a very big category in western culture. At the same time, Gallanar also said: "I am also very interested in how our culture can be transmitted to the eastern world through online texts and vice versa."

The participation of these overseas young people has not only promoted the prosperity and development of international original websites, but also provided a broader stage for global literary exchanges and cooperation. "Drawing lessons from the domestic IP industry model, overseas original online texts have also embarked on the fast lane of IP development. We have counted the award-winning works of previous WSA (full name Webnovel Spirity Awards, which is a global annual award-winning essay activity launched by Starting Point International). At present, about 40% of them have developed IP, and physical publishing, audio, comics and movies are the main forms of development. " Li Hong said that the deepening globalization of China’s online texts has also provided a more distinctive cyberspace for the exchange and mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations.

Reporter | Du Wei Editor | Duan Lian Dong Xingsheng Du Bo Liang Xiao

Proofreading | Cheng Peng

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Original title: "China’s net text, being frantically urged by foreigners …"

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