Internet Literature in China

Chinese domestic tourism, the blogosphere, and travel writing: Assessing the literary and political status of Chinese travelogues in print and online

“…In fact, the Gao Brothers shed light on the varying degrees of censorship to which Chinese authorities can resort when it comes to sensible content; it is, indeed, a matter not of completely silencing dissidents' voices, nor of promoting outspoken propaganda, but of an ongoing and ever-changing compromise. This is in line with Hockx's (2015) analysis about the functioning of censorship in China -both in print and online -as a process that demands to be constantly renegotiated. It was not possible to know more about the missing pictures.…”

“…For instance, while scholar Wenli Yuan (2010) notes that 'even foreign Internet companies, such as Yahoo! and Microsoft, have cooperated with the Chinese government in monitoring and reporting inappropriate online activities' (p. 493); according, instead, to Michel Hockx (2015), the Internet is -much more than the publishing sector -a privileged space of negotiation of what is considered morally and politically acceptable in today's China, in particular concerning (fiction and non-fiction) literature.…”

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

“…The agency which readers collectively experience in fashioning online fiction content and influencing frequency of posting may have particular purchase in mainland China, where cyberspace is rigorously monitored and censored (Qing, 2011). It is probably because of censorship that fictions rather than other literary forms dominate in online spaces because, as pointed out by Hockx (2015), it is impossible for state control mechanisms to systematically subject the numerous and lengthy online fictions to careful scrutiny. The government only occasionally intervenes "through the publication of bans and blacklists of specific works, or through specific instructions to sites to remove specific content" (Hockx, 2015: 113).…”

“…This freedom is reflected in two aspects: first, online fictions exist outside the system controlled by the Communist party because unlike traditional print publication, state issued "book numbers" are not required. Second, the writers can upload their work to the internet without going through the "check" of editors as censors (Hockx, 2015). Because of these changes, some claim that, with online anonymity, authors are able to say whatever they want (Ouyang, 2011).…”

“…Taboo topics, such as pornography and criticism of the censors, are restricted across all portals. However, writers on literary websites do enjoy a much higher degree of freedom compared to the strict state control of official literature and the high barriers of conventional publications (Hockx, 2015). For example, in addition to bypassing state regulations and complex publication processes, writers can publish their work simultaneously on different platforms and various literary websites that are competing for attention.…”