Fandom and coercive empowerment: the commissioned production of Chinese online literature

Abstract

This paper examines how the relationship between consumers and producers of cultural products is shaped by the proprietary nature of digital platforms. Drawing on four years of online observation and analysis, we examine the relationship between the producers of online Chinese fiction, amateur writers, and their consumers, i.e. the fan communities of readers who respond to their work. Enabled by Chinese literary websites, readers act like sponsors who provide emotional and financial incentives for writers to produce online fictions by commenting, voting, and sending money. Readers become actively involved not just because of the content of the stories, but because they form strong commitments to stories and their writers, and gain reciprocity and a sense of self-determination during the interactional process. We argue that although writers are freer from state control online, they are still beholden to the whims of their fans because of what we call the commissioned production of fictions. We contribute to fan community studies by analyzing how commercialized website settings structure the strategies available to participants, how these settings affect the content of the cultural products, and how the Chinese historical and cultural contexts impact the dynamics of the online community.

Game of Translations: Virtual Community doing English Translations of Chinese Online Fiction

“…Online literature in China also has two main qualities, that of being facilitated by digital technology and being community-based (Hockx, 2015). A recent study by Tian and Adorjan (2016) explained the increasingly explosive rise of Chinese online literature, making several significant findings about its connected communities. These included discovering emotional bonds between authors and readers; readers' influence over authors in terms of finance; and readers' support of authors in terms of morale.…”

“…The author similarly does not depend on the readers for feedback, as the original cultural product has already been finalized. Tian and Adorjan (2016) have also compared Chinese online literature to online fanfiction, where there are several notable similarities and differences. A simple comparison of the characteristics of communities hosting fanfiction, Chinese online literature, and fan translations of Chinese online literature can be seen in Table 1.…”

“…However, there are also bilingual fans who developed an interest in purchasing the print novel after reading the English translations online (Zhang, 2011). This paper adds on to the study by Tian and Adorjan (2016) which chronicled the rise of Chinese online literature, by providing a perspective from a non-Chinese-literate readership. My objective is to explore the motivations of English-literate readers in accessing Chinese online literature, as well as outline the formation of "the game" between readers and the translator in understanding the narrative, through the lens of the dynamics within a 'virtual settlement'.…”

“…Chinese online literature is a relatively recent publishing phenomenon which has emerged since 1997, and is as of 2016, hosted on over 500 websites in China (Tian & Adorjan, 2016). According to Tian and Adorjan (2016), these websites can be conceptualized as communities of commissioned productions, where readers are able to affect the outcomes of writers' output.…”

“…According to Tian and Adorjan (2016), these websites can be conceptualized as communities of commissioned productions, where readers are able to affect the outcomes of writers' output. As of today, the practice of reading online fiction has become highly popular among Chinese netizens (Xiang & Montgomery, 2012), who consume them in their original Chinese language (Hockx, 2015;Feng, 2013;Yang, 2008).…”