Chinese online literature became popular overseas
Nowadays, reading Chinese online literature has become a daily "check-in item" for many overseas readers. According to the "Research Report on Chinese Online Literature Going to the Sea in 2020" (hereinafter referred to as the "Research Report") released by iResearch, the number of overseas users of Chinese online literature has reached 31.935 million, and the scale of the overseas market has reached 460 million yuan. Relying on the east wind of globalization and digitalization, Chinese online literature is setting sail.
Countless fans in overseas markets
"Please update!" "Don't break it!" "I really look forward to the next stage of the story." In the reader interaction area of the online novel "Master of Mysteries", comments such as character analysis, plot comments, plot direction guessing, etc. Everywhere. On Webnovel, the serialization platform of the novel, over 40,000 comments on various novels are made by overseas readers every day.
In recent years, with the help of measures related to "promoting Chinese culture to go global", many online literature companies have stepped out of the country. From publishing authorization to establishing online interactive reading platforms, the external communication of Chinese online literature has begun to show signs of success.
In 2017, China Reading Group launched its overseas portal, Starting Point International. At present, the website has output more than 900 Chinese online literature works, including martial arts, fantasy, urban and other themes, and has accumulated more than 70 million visitors.
With the continuous efforts of Chinese companies in overseas markets, reading Chinese online literature has become a global habit. The "Research Report" pointed out that the growth rate of overseas readers is quite impressive. Compared with last year, the number of new overseas readers in 2020 exceeds 73.7%; in addition, 91.0% of overseas readers follow Chinese online literature almost every day, with an average reading time of 117 Minutes, the proportion of overseas users willing to pay for Chinese online literature is as high as 87.1%.
The obsession with Chinese online literature has also caused many overseas readers to start imitating. "Many of my novels are inspired by Chinese Internet novels, and some characters are inspired by Chinese classics, such as "Journey to the West"." Logan, a young man living in Texas, United States, is an out-and-out Chinese Internet fan. Under the influence of works such as "Fights Break the Sphere", he also wrote his own online novels.
Looking forward to the adaptation of the favorite web articles into a drama
Why can internet literature, rooted in Chinese cultural soil, become popular overseas?
“Humans’ love for stories is common. Heroes created through stories have resonating points that are shared by all human beings.” The relevant person in charge of China Reading Group said in an interview with our reporter that the characteristics of Chinese online literature It is a good story that can tell a warm heart and a fierce forge ahead. It contains elements of oriental traditional culture, which in itself is attractive to the overseas reader market.
Due to the long period from writing to selling of overseas literary works, and the high price of paper books, resulting in an imbalance between the supply and demand of content in the reading market, the arrival of Chinese online literature took advantage of the trend to fill this gap. According to the "Research Report" survey, 87.9% of overseas readers said that when overseas fantasy literature cannot meet their own needs, they would choose to read Chinese online literature.
Chinese online literature is rich in categories, showing diversified and high-quality creation characteristics. More than half of readers believe that the biggest advantage of Chinese online literature compared with overseas literature is that the content is more imaginative. The "Library of Heaven", written by Internet writers sweeping Tianya and embodying China's traditional culture of respecting teachers and Taoism, has been recognized and loved by many overseas readers. Netizen "Hevveh" said in a message that this is the best story he has ever seen. The book contains many unique and interesting plots, which can easily make him feel substitutable.
At the same time, film and television works adapted around the Internet literature IP such as "Sweet Honey" and other film and television works have won awards abroad, making the influence of Chinese Internet literature IP reach a larger audience and begin to feed back the literary works themselves. According to the "Research Report", in terms of IP derivative adaptations of online literature, the proportion of users expecting their favorite Chinese online novels to be adapted into TV series ranked first.
Resolve the "pain points" of translation quality
Nowadays, the overseas scale and influence of Chinese online literature are expanding day by day, but there are still potential problems such as channels, cultural differences, and copyrights in the development process. The proper solution of translation problems is even more urgent.
Poor reading caused by poor translation quality has become the biggest pain point faced by overseas readers. The "Research Report" pointed out that more than 60% of users are dissatisfied with the translation quality of online novels, and more than 50% of readers think that the update speed is too slow as another major problem that bothers them.
In the eyes of Hongwen Wen, a translator and a Singaporean, translation is more important to allow communication and understanding of different cultures without barriers. Therefore, it is necessary to increase readability and fluency when transcoding online literature. "In addition to pure text explanations, translators can also use pictures and texts to make it easier for readers to understand the meaning of the original text." Wen Hongwen for example, for example, a link to a Tai Chi video can be placed next to the word "Tai Chi". It will not affect the reading experience, but also can achieve the effect of explanation.
Chinese online literature covers oriental-style vocabulary such as "sacred fairy", and the accuracy of translation affects overseas readers' understanding of Chinese culture. Therefore, it is particularly critical to establish a set of appropriate content production mechanisms. In order to ensure the standardization and optimization of translation work, Starting Point International has compiled more than 700 core words and established a comparison table for the translation of online literary works to standardize and improve the translation quality of online literature overseas.
