Online lit helps spread China's culture through beauty of written word

As Chinese online literature gains increasing popularity worldwide, web novels have become a window for overseas audiences to know about China and learn about the nation's culture.

Among the 6,000 translated works on WebNovel by last November, nine titles have garnered over 100 million views, including Library of Heaven's Path, a Chinese fantasy web novel written by Yang Hanliang under the pen name of Heng Sao Tian Ya.

The 41-year-old writer is one of the bestselling creators on Yuewen Group's platforms, both domestically and internationally. Telling an incredible story about the ties between teachers and students with a focus on the Chinese tradition of respect for educators, Library of Heaven's Path has long been standing at the top of the charts on online literature platforms in many countries, and has been translated into more than 10 languages so far.

Moreover, it has inspired a large number of overseas readers to learn about traditional Chinese culture and even start creating their own web novels — like post-00 full-time writer 1cutecat from Uganda.

Yang never expected his stories would be so popular when he started writing web novels on online platforms around 2008.Before typing out the first chapter of Library of Heaven's Path, Yang had finished several web novels and published dozens of physical books in Taiwan.

In November 2016, Yang was a physical education teacher at a remote senior high school in Delingha, Qinghai province. One day he saw a movie showing teachers doing so much for students, but the teachers were still not understood. It inspired Yang to construct a world wherein teachers could have a full grasp of students' abilities, teach them in accordance with their aptitude, and students must follow teachers'instructions.

"It is more like making a dream for myself at first, with no ambitious goals," Yang recalled.

The production of the 6.4 million-word web novel spanned three years until September 2019. Yang spent six to eight hours writing each day on average to ensure a daily update of a 6,000-character chapter of the story.

"It is challenging to satisfy all the readers though. I enjoy a lot thinking about the plot and telling the story. Writing web novels is a job without weekends or breaks. I was busy with the daily chapter update outside the delivery room even when my wife was giving birth to my son. But it is very rewarding, as it has greatly changed my life, not only offering me more income, but also a sense of accomplishment. I never thought my story could captivate overseas audiences," he said.

Library of Heaven's Path has become an instant hit on the establishment of the WebNovel platform in 2017, with its total views exceeding 180 million to date. Web-Novel was founded by Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings that year. Over the past two years, Yang has participated in several content-sharing events in Europe, including Poland, France and the United Kingdom, drawing readers from across the continent to attend. Yang said he was particularly impressed by a French reader, who loves and shares the story with his son.

Yang said that the story's pure emotions as well as the relaxing, exciting and humorous plots are a universal language transcending national and cultural boundaries. Also, he saw an increasing number of audiences become interested and curious about China and its culture, which helped inspire them to learn more about Chinese webnovels.

With Chinese online literature pursuing more high quality output, Yang is carrying on and deepening his own explorations too. Currently working on a sequel to Library of Heaven's Path, he aims to present a growing protagonist and a story about breaking the limits and living one's own life.

"Many people have dreamed of writing, and I do advise them to try it and stick with it. Also, I hope more readers can learn about China, like China and visit China," he said.