[Single-Page Version] The Cold Window Guide to Chinese Internet Literature
Welcome to the Cold Window Newsletter. For the last three months, I’ve been talking to dozens of Chinese internet authors, translators, editors, industry professionals, scholars, students, and fans from all over the world about what Chinese webnovels they would recommend to new readers of internet literature. The resulting list is a portrait of the staggering diversity of this form, with links to translations that you can read now even if you’ve never touched a Chinese webnovel before.1
For this guide, I’ve edited and translated the messages that I received from these experts, along with links to the works of internet fiction that they endorsed. This page collects all of those recommendations in a single list. For a more segmented browsing experience, start reading at last week’s introduction post and work your way forward.
Book club announcement: I’d like to start a community here on Substack to sample and discuss, at fixed intervals, some of the works on the list. Readings will probably consist of the first fifty chapters or so of the selected novels (depending on the chapter length of each book). I’ll open a (free) subscriber chat for anyone who wants to participate. If you want to be more closely involved in the book club, or if you have suggestions for how you’d like it to operate, send me a message, or email me at coldwindowlit [at] gmail.
Directory: Introduction // Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Single-page version
The Cold Window Guide to Chinese Internet Literature
Alfie
Alfie (also known as Bobbu) is an aspiring translator working on May Fourth era lesbian literature, baihe games, and Taiwanese lesbian literature.
A personal favourite baihe2 rec of mine: 《入迷》 Fascinating by 清汤涮香菜 Qing Tang Shuang Xian Cai, a modern setting romance between an intern (24) and her executive (30). Featuring “I’m not gay, am I???” moments from both parties and fluffy moments such as the executive’s 5 year old cousin being the ultimate matchmaker, it’s a very lighthearted, fun, and comfy read. Also really enjoyed how the author tackled the “misunderstanding” trope that commonly occurs—all misunderstandings were resolved fairly quickly and weren’t dragged out for too long.
清汤涮香菜《入迷》
Fascinated by Qing Tang Shuang Xian Cai
Serialized 2020 (114 chapters)
Original Chinese at JJWCX // Translation information at Novel Updates
Douqi
Douqi is a fan translator of baihe novels and related media.
《焚情》 To Embers We Return by 宁远 Ning Yuan: In an alternative version of Tang Dynasty China that has been irrevocably changed by the early advent of cybernetic technology, protagonist Shen Ni must navigate her arranged marriage to her first love Bian Jin, heal her wife’s physical injuries and recover lost memories, and unravel the mysteries underpinning the empire. This novel is notable for its ambitious world-building, a large and colourful cast of complex female characters, and the intricate relationships (both romantic and otherwise) between them.
宁远《焚情》
To Embers We Return by Ning Yuan
Serialized 2024-2025 (173 chapters)
《造物的恩宠》 The Creator’s Grace by 宁远 Ning Yuan. In this near-future sci-fi thriller, protagonist Chi Yu returns home to investigate the murder of her formidable older sister. The most likely suspect is her sister’s ex-girlfriend Ran Jin, who now controls the business empire her sister built up — but why would Ran Jin turn on the Chi sisters now, after so many years of being utterly devoted to them? A fast-paced novel about fractured identities and family secrets, which raises the age-old question of what it means to be human.
宁远《造物的恩宠》
The Creator’s Grace by Ning Yuan
Serialized 2021 (120 chapters)
Original Chinese at JJWCX // Translation forthcoming from Rosmei
《小羊驼》The Little Alpaca by 无聊到底 Wu Liao Dao Di. Veteran webnovel reader Yi Qiu, outraged by the slapdash ending of the fantasy novel she’s been following, chokes on a drink of water and finds herself transported into the world of the novel... and into the body of the villainess’ pet alpaca. A funny and unexpectedly heartwarming tale of how one determined camelid manages to turn a fantasy world teetering on the brink of ruin into one filled with love and friendship.
无聊到底《小羊驼》
The Little Alpaca by Wu Liao Dao Di
Serialized 2021 (208 chapters)
Original Chinese at JJWCX // Translation information at Novel Updates
《穆小姐与金丝雀》 Miss Mu and Her Pet Canary by 靳安 Jin An. It’s 1920s not-Shanghai, and courtesan Bai Yan is on the lookout for a rich, young, credulous man whom she can talk into buying out her indenture and setting her up in a home of her own. She sets her sights on dashing, earnest Young Master Mu Xing, who has recently returned from his medical studies abroad; little does she know that Young Master Mu is actually Miss Mu, a tomboy who delights in gallivanting about in men’s clothes. This novel wears its feminist colours proudly on its sleeve, and is suffused with the youthful optimism and progressive ideals of the era in which it is set.
靳安《穆小姐与金丝雀》
Miss Mu and Her Pet Canary by Jin An
Serialized 2018-2019 (99 chapters)
Original Chinese at JJWCX // Not translated
etvolare
Mel ‘etvolare’ Lee is a Taipei based translator of wuxia, xianxia, fantasy, and sci-fi. Her works span from web novels to published anthologies, and she can be found @ etvolare.com.
《星门》 Star Gate: Traditional martial cultivation and a budding society of arcane abilities clash in modern Silver City. One hundred thousand years have passed since the formation of the world, but humanity has regressed instead of evolving. Excavating ruins gives modern society ‘ancient’ technology such as TVs and trains, but communication is limited to localized jade pendants. Tried and true paths, as well as new flashy arts, struggle for control of the new world order. Written by 老鹰吃小鸡 Eagle Eats Chick and translated by Mel ‘etvolare’ Lee, this is a Qidian crowd favorite and bestseller. It can be read for free @ https://www.wuxiaworld.com/novel/star-gate.
老鹰吃小鸡《星门》
Star Gate by Eagle Eats Chick
Serialized 2021-2022 (625 chapters)
Chinese original at Qidian // English translation at Wuxiaworld
《三界独尊》 Sovereign of the Three Realms: Classical xianxia of flying swords, the journey to immortality, and upending social order comes to life in SOTR. This is one of the first works translated when the English web novel translation community began. It is the quintessential mix of face-slapping, adventuring through the martial world, and kingdom building that xianxia fans adore. No one has the right to call themselves a genius in front of the protagonist Jiang Chen. If the son of the Celestial Emperor proclaims himself as number two, then no one may claim number one! Written by 犁天 Li Tian and translated by Mel ‘etvolare’ Lee, the series can be found on Amazon @ https://www.amazon.com/Sovereign-of-the-Three-Realms-16-book-series/dp/B09254JGKZ and is part of the Kindle Unlimited Program.
犁天《三界独尊》
Sovereign of the Three Realms by Li Tian
Serialized 2014-2016 (2373 chapters)
Chinese original at Qidian // English translation on Kindle Unlimited
Michel Hockx
Michel Hockx is professor of Chinese literature at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of Internet Literature in China (Columbia, 2015) and, most recently, of Literature and Censorship in Modern China (Routledge, 2026).
黑蓝 Heilan (Black and Blue) started as a short-lived print journal in Nanjing in the 1990s, but soon after the turn of the millenium regrouped as an online home (www.heilan.com) for aspiring avant-garde fiction writers. Led by 陈卫 Chen Wei and inspired by the French nouveau roman and other similar approaches, the group championed a type of writing that emphasizes experimental technique and pure aesthetic value, unaffected by any real-world considerations. Over time, Black and Blue nurtured a substantial community of like-minded writers from all over China. With impressive dedication, they put together a monthly webzine that came out without fail and without delay every single month from January 2003 to May 2015. The group generally keeps its distance from the official world of print publishing, but some collections of their work did appear in print at different times, including in the Heilan wencong 黑蓝文丛 (Black and Blue Series), published with Shanghai People’s Publishing House around 2007. Although the website is now no longer actively maintained, it remains in existence and includes an archive of all that was posted on their forums over the years. The core members of the group also maintain an official account on WeChat.
J.
J. is a translator of both serious literature and webnovels, with a particular interest in ACGN, science fiction, fantasy and pop culture. Her webnovel translations include Mary Sue: A Faithful Adaptation.
《我在仙山卖馄饨》 “I Sell Wontons at the Sacred Mountain” by 今日不当人 Not Doing the Human Thing Today: In a world full of cultivators, dragons, and alchemy-powered chaos, a mysterious woman sets up a tiny wonton stall at the foot of a sacred mountain. While everyone else is chasing immortality, she’s serving hot soup, comfort, and the kind of healing no secret technique can match. The novel takes the grand, dramatic xianxia setup and turns it into something unexpectedly thoughtful. The food writing is fantastic, but the real draw is its quietly philosophical suggestion that the path to transcendence may have less to do with fighting—and more to do with actually living.
今日不当人《我在仙山卖馄饨》
“I Sell Wontons at the Sacred Mountain” by Not Doing the Human Thing Today
Published 2024
Chinese original at Zhihu // Not translated
《我是金牌月嫂，穿进了恐怖游戏》 “I’m a Top-tier Maternity Nanny, and I’ve been Dropped into a Horror Game” by 匪鱼罐头 Canned Bandit Fish: A top-tier maternity nanny gets dropped into a horror game and somehow turns maternity care into the ultimate survival skillset. Screaming ghost baby? She’s already checking the diaper. Bleeding ghost mum? She wraps her up in a quilt, feeds her soup, and has her glowing again. While everyone else is fighting for their lives, she’s soothing spirits, planning nutritious meals, and winning over the game’s creepiest residents. It’s a wild premise, but the story totally makes it work, playing the chaos of horror against her unstoppable caregiver energy. Weird, clever, and unexpectedly heartwarming.
匪鱼罐头《我是金牌月嫂，穿進了恐怖遊戲》
“I’m a Top-tier Maternity Nanny, and I’ve been Dropped into a Horror Game” by Canned Bandit Fish
Serialized 2025
Chinese original at Zhihu // Not translated
《一云命好｜闺阁浮世绘》 “Pictures of the Floating World of the Boudoir: Great Good Fortune” by Yi Dian Ying 一点萤: A smart, beautifully written story of household intrigue set in ancient China that treats domestic power struggles less as melodrama than as strategy. The heroine doesn’t rely on luck or rescue; she survives by reading the room, spotting hidden motives, and staying several steps ahead. Every clash feels deliberate, with seemingly minor details and social niceties turned into weapons. What makes it especially satisfying is that she never romanticises the game—she knows it is dangerous, exhausting, and something to outthink rather than glorify. If you like cunning, clear-headed heroines and scheming that feels genuinely intelligent, this is a hugely satisfying read.
一点萤《一云命好｜闺阁浮世绘》
“Pictures of the Floating World of the Boudoir: Great Good Fortune” by Yi Dian Ying
Published 2025
Chinese original on Zhihu // Not translated
《娘娘们，看到我不用抖》 “Ladies, There’s No Need to Tremble When You See Me” by 方玉尺Fan Yuchi, 徐蕊华Xu Ruihua and 贺锦屏 He Jinping: A ruthless interrogator skilled in the art of torture reincarnates into a concubine of the emperor’s harem—and immediately turns the imperial harem into her new battlefield. That premise alone is great, but the real fun is watching a heroine who has zero interest in the usual fight for imperial favour. Instead, she brings interrogation logic, courtroom instincts, and sheer menace into palace politics. Sharp, cold, and unexpectedly layered, it’s a palace story that feels less like a standard harem drama than a power game between women who know exactly how to work the system—and how to bend it.
方玉尺、徐蕊华、贺锦屏《娘娘们，看到我不用抖》
Ladies, There’s No Need to Tremble When You See Me by Fan Yuchi, Xu Ruihua and He Jinping
Published 2024
No official Chinese version available online // Not translated
《穿到兽人世界我狂囤物资》 Stockpiling Supplies Like Crazy After Transmigrating to a Beastfolk World by 轩诺 Xuannuo: A woman transmigrates into a beastfolk world and finds herself facing a brutal winter unlike anything the locals have seen in generations. Instead of relying on cheats or destiny, she survives through planning, preparation, and hard-earned practical knowledge, helping those around her do the same. Blending survival, stockpiling, and quiet world-building, the story’s real appeal lies in watching a modern mind tackle a harsh, unfamiliar world step by step. Warm, grounded, and deeply satisfying, it’s a great pick if you like survival stories where brains and foresight matter more than brute force.
轩诺《穿到兽人世界我狂囤物资》
“Stockpiling Supplies Like Crazy After Transmigrating to a Beastfolk World” by Xuannuo
Published 2025
Chinese original at Zhihu // Not translated
《溺爱》 Beloved by 雨眠 Rain Sleep: A warm and quietly moving story about a young widow looking back on her life with her recently deceased husband, an obsessive fishing enthusiast. What begins with an absurdly funny premise gradually unfolds into a tender reflection on love, grief, and learning how to carry on after loss. Blending humour with genuine emotional weight, the novel captures both the intimacy of shared memories and the long, uneven process of healing.
《穷鬼游戏：幽灵游轮》 “The Broke-Man’s Games: Ghost Cruise” by 苏青瓷 Su Qingci: An impoverished young woman transmigrates into a survival game where lasting seven days on just $50 earns you $100 million. Sounds simple—except she has no interest in winning. She wants out, because she was the last round’s winner, and anyone who kills her can claim an even bigger payout. Short, tense, and full of sharp reversals, the story turns “poor people problems” into a brutal survival mechanic. Everyone else is chasing the prize; she’s busy staying alive. What makes it work is the heroine’s mindset: she survives by counting costs, reading people, and staying one step ahead.
苏青瓷《穷鬼游戏：幽灵游轮》
“The Broke-Man’s Games: Ghost Cruise” by Su Qingci
Published 2025
Chinese original at Zhihu // Not translated
Ji Shuling
Ji Shuling is a master’s student studying Comparative and World Literature at Nanjing Normal University whose research formerly focused on internet literature. As a reader, she likes to follow new trends and enjoys stories that combine a serious tone with entertaining content. Recommendation translated from Chinese by A.R.
I’d like to recommend two works of internet fiction that I think are particularly excellent: the wuxia-themed novel 《天之下》 Under the Heavens by the Taiwanese author 三弦大天使 San Xian Da Tian Shi, and a Grave Robbers’ Chronicles3 fanfic called 《观棋不语》 Silent Observer by type_omega and 三品不良 San Pin Bu Liang.
As the popular trends of xuanhuan, xianxia, and cultivation novels constantly push the boundaries of fantasy writing, wuxia seems to have followed 金庸 Jin Yong and 古龙 Gu Long into the sunset and faded into history. Even 《英雄志》 Tales of Heroes is already twenty or thirty years old by now (I recommend that one too, but be warned that it has a terrible ending). 《天之下》 Under the Heavens is a new take on that old material. Its primary strength is in its wuxia-inspired Eastern aesthetics: the ties of friendship, loyalty, and vengeance between men and women of the jianghu; feats of arms and chivalry; and, passed down from generation to generation, the bravery to wield arms in defiance of the powerful. Another strength is how brilliantly the semi-fictional world is constructed, as well as the excellent characterization of the ensemble cast. Background characters who appear for only a single chapter are often just as interesting as the protagonist. Finally, the story intentionally delves into meaningful topics like whether there is “universal justice,” the proper way to maintain social order, and the dilemmas that face “perfect victims” when they try to seek revenge. It also explores religious conflicts between orthodoxy and secularism; ideological sectarianism; the class dynamics between aristocrats, nomads, and slaves; and how women can learn to search for and value the “self” in a patriarchal martial society.
三弦大天使《天之下》
Under the Heavens by San Xian Da Tian Shi
Serialized 2020-present (450 chapters)
Original Chinese at Qidian // Not translated
The fanfiction 《观棋不语》Silent Observer takes the eccentric, suspenseful, disjointed story from the original Grave Robbers’ Chronicles and brings it into a new narrative frame. It also carries over much of the worldbuilding and foreshadowing from the original work, effectively wrapping up the story in a complete package. The best parts are the payoffs to mysteries. Through recollections and reincarnations, the novel uncovers unaddressed inconsistencies and enigmas hidden in the original story and offers rational explanations even as it extends the story. There’s a particularly compelling setup used to justify continuing the story, which touches on the “immortals’” secret to long life, a science-fictional explanation of the “World Ultimate,” and the characters’ discovery that history itself leaves a space open for them in the transmigrations and cycles of their existence. The overall story advances a theme of “committing to dignified conduct, even when faced with the temptation of ultimate immortality.” As an approach to fanfiction, this is undeniably fresh.
type_omega、三品不良《观棋不语》
Silent Observer by type_omega and San Pin Bu Liang
Serialized 2019 (17 chapters)
Original Chinese at Archive of Our Own // Not translated
Liu Wenyang
刘闻洋 Liu Wenyang is the CEO of 狂欢者电影制作 Reveler Productions, a subsidiary of New Classics Media Corporation. He is a producer, director, and screenwriter. His primary works include 《赘婿》 My Heroic Husband (2021), 《卿卿日常》 New Life Begins (2022), 《大奉打更人》 Guardians of the Dafeng (2024), and 《年少有为》 The Richest Poor Guy (2026). He has dedicated his career to adapting Chinese internet literature IP for the screen and to pursuing genre breakthroughts. Recommendation translated by A.R.
《亏成首富从游戏开始》 Losing Money to Be a Tycoon by 青衫取醉 Qing Shan Qu Zui uses comedic material to tell a realist story. The author is masterful at setting up narrative dilemmas and has a genius for narrative contrast. The protagonist is given a system by which the more money he loses, the more he earns—and yet, again and again, the things he produces when he’s trying to avoid profits end up being a huge hit. Reading this book, you can empty your brain and put yourself in the place of the protagonist, enjoying the pleasure of experiencing his story; or you can put yourself in the place of the author and admire the sheer brilliance of this story’s construction; or you can read it from the perspective of an ordinary worker, fantasizing about the idealized workplace utopia it describes; or, finally, you can read it as a researcher, analyzing the dilemmas and contrasts that fill the book and considering the profound insight it offers into the nature of happiness.
青衫取醉《亏成首富从游戏开始》
Losing Money to Be a Tycoon by Qing Shan Qu Zui
Serialized 2019-2021 (1673 chapters)
Chinese original at Qidian // English translation at Webnovel
Lu Peiyi
Lu Peiyi is a graduate of the Peking University Chinese department and a serious lover of good stories. Recommendation translated from Chinese by A.R.
I’d like to recommend two “female-oriented” novels: 《穿进赛博游戏后干掉BOSS成功上位》 After Transmigrating into the Cyber Game, I Defeated the Boss and Successfully Rose to the Top by 桉柏 An Bai (2021-2022), and 《我在废土世界扫垃圾》 I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World by 有花在野 You Hua Zai Ye (2022-2024). In my view, these novels are both strong examples of a new development in recent Chinese female-oriented novels: the stories all take place in a highly fantasized fictional world, where the female protagonists are all extremely powerful, resilient, decisive, and even messianic. The emphasis on romantic storylines with male characters is reduced, and the emphasis on family and friendship storyline between relatives or companions is greatly increased in proportion. Of course, most importantly, these novels offer an extremely well-rounded reading experience. The stories are bold, unconstrained, and engagingly paced, making it nearly impossible to stop reading.
桉柏《穿进赛博游戏后干掉BOSS成功上位》
After Transmigrating into the Cyber Game, I Defeated the Boss and Successfully Rose to the Top by An Bai
Serialized 2021-2022 (370 chapters)
Original Chinese at JJWXC // Translation information at Novel Updates
有花在野《我在废土世界扫垃圾》
I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World by You Hua Zai Ye
Serialized 2022-2024 (457 chapters)
Original Chinese at JJWXC // Translation information at Novel Updates
Joel Martinsen
Joel Martinsen is a translator based in Beijing.
《废土西游》 A Wasteland Journey to the West by 海带酒 Haidai Jiu: The dark, rebellious strain of JTTW fanfic launched by 今何在 Jin Hezai’s 《悟空传》 Biography of Wukong (posted to 榕树下, 2000) makes for a delicious pairing with the authoritarian techno-pantheon of Roger Zelazny’s Lord of Light. Drop that into a Mad Max-style post-apocalyptic wasteland, throw in shape-shifting cyborgs, quantum arrays, and a bio-metallic Wukong, and you’ve got the sort of glorious mash-up that really only works online. Perhaps it’s thematically fitting that this serial is unfinished, but it’s a wild ride while it lasts.
海带酒《废土西游》
A Wasteland Journey to the West by Haidai Jiu
Serialized 2015-2017 (213 chapters)
Chinese original at Qidian // Not translated
More recently I’ve been enjoying 琉玄 Liu Xuan’s shift into speculative fiction. In 《此刻我存在》 At This Moment, I Exist, when an alien declares that an unloved third of Earth’s population will be wiped out, our panicked influencer protagonist scrambles to make meaningful connections. The author’s work, both traditionally published and serialized online, typically features slightly aimless young women finding the inner resolve to face up to pressures from family, career, and society. Her recent books embed those quotidian stories in high-concept frameworks — a mother and daughter swap bodies, a woman cycles through a different parallel universe each day of the week, gender is chosen at the age of majority — and use the speculative elements as fuel for satisfying drama.
琉玄《此刻我存在》
At This Moment, I Exist by Liu Xuan
Serialized 2025 (59 chapters)
Chinese original at Douban // Not translated
Xueting C. Ni
Xueting C. Ni is a writer, literary curator and consultant based in London. A graduate of English Literature from the Queen Mary’s, she has studied Chinese Literature at Minzu University in Beijing and holds an M.A. in Chinese Studies from SOAS. Xueting has written extensively on Chinese cultures and storytelling for a decade and a half, working with major media and organisations to improve understanding of Sinophone heritage and innovations in the arts and entertainment. She is the author of From Kuan Yin to Chairman Mao: An Essential Guide to Chinese Deities (2018) and Chinese Myths (2023). Her curated anthologies in translation include the award-winning Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction (2021) and Sinophagia: A Celebration of Chinese Horror (2024). Her new book Mahjong Illustrated: The Sound of Sparrows will be published in May 2026. She is currently working on the China +100 anthology, some literary translations and a cultural history of Wuxia storytelling.
《彼岸花》 “Flower of the Other Shore,” a novella by 阿缺 A Que published on kedou.net.cn in 2018 and translated into English as part of Sinopticon, published 2021. As a post-apocalyptic zombie science fiction, it explores ideas of ecological renewal and transhuman perspectives.
阿缺《彼岸花》
“Flower of the Other Shore” by A Que
Published 2018
Chinese archived from Kedou // English translation in Sinopticon
《鸳鸯锅》 “The Yin Yang Pot,” a short story by 川戈 Chuan Ge published on zhihu.com in 2018 and translated into English as part of Sinophagia, published in 2024. A contemporary urban horror infused with history, mythological and folklore, it’s an excellent rendition of the modern zhiguai 志怪 that became so popular online it evolved into a computer game.
川戈《鸳鸯锅》
“The Yin Yang Pot” by Chuan Ge
Published 2018
Chinese archived on Weibo // English translation in Sinophagia
《有匪》 The Legend of Fei, a wuxia epic written by renowned web novelist Priest, first began serialising on jjwxc.net in 2015. It continues the literary tradition and creates a much more gender-heterogenous world. (I’m currently pitching the translation.)
Priest《有匪》
The Legend of Fei by Priest
Serialized 2015 (175 chapters)
Chinese original at JJWCX // Translation information at Novel Updates
《御赐小仵作》 The Imperial Coroner, by 清闲丫头 Qing Xian Ya Tou, an early trendsetter of the women written historical fiction featuring female forensic scientists, physicians and detectives.
清闲丫头《御赐小仵作》
The Imperial Coroner by Qing Xian Ya Tou
Serialized 2013-2014 (42 chapters)
No official Chinese version available online // Translation information at Novel Updates
Qi Xinxin
Qi Xinxin is a PhD student in the Chinese department at Peking University. Recommendation translated from Chinese by A.R.
In 《女主对此感到厌烦》 The Protagonist Is Getting Sick of This by 妚鹤 Fou He, the female protagonist transmigrates into an otome game4 and becomes the game’s villain, Lilith. In order to escape the game, she is forced to outwit all of the male love interests, running through the game over and over until, in her last run-through, she finally gains an opportunity to choose her own fate. Except that she has really started to lose patience by this point. So she smashes the selection interface, and a heretofore unknown open world opens up before her.
As a defining work of “iFemale” literature, The Protagonist Is Getting Sick of This is about how women can band together and rebel against feudal patriarchal society. The author’s pen name, “Fou He,” is a homonym for the English words “for her,” and the whole book is shot through with feminist consciousness and startling power. It also started a craze for “non-couple” female-channel webnovels and was adapted into a musical with the same title.
妚鹤《女主对此感到厌烦》
The Protogonist Is Getting Sick of This by Fou He
Serialized 2021-present (158 chapters)
Original Chinese at JJWCX // Not translated
Lina Qu
Lina Qu is an assistant professor of Chinese at Michigan State University. Her research interests focus on modern Chinese women’s cultural practices from print to social media and various genres of food media in East Asian popular culture.
For online crime fiction, I’d like to recommend the 高智商犯罪 High-IQ Crime mystery series by 紫金陈 Zi Jin Chen, which comprises four novels: 《逻辑王子的演绎》 The Deduction of the Logic Prince, 《化工女王的逆袭》 The Counterattack of the Queen of Chemistry, 《物理老师的时空诡计》 The Physics Teacher’s Temporal Scheme, and 《死亡代言人》 The Spokesperson of Death. Originally serialized on Tianya Forum in 2012, this mystery series showcases the revival of Chinese genre fiction in the internet age. All the four novels interweave astonishingly complex murder schemes and unsettling social exposé. Without glorifying vigilant justice, the series illuminates how crimes are incubated within a society deeply entangled in structural violence and bureaucratic corruption.
紫金陈《逻辑王子的演绎》
The Deduction of the Logic Prince by Zi Jin Chen
Serialized 2012-2017 (295 chapters)
Original Chinese at Qidian // No English translation
For online culinary fiction, I’d like to recommend 《美食供应商》 Gourmet Food Supplier by 会做菜的猫 Hui Zuo Cai De Mao. This feel-good fiction, serialized on Qidian in 2016, unapologetically celebrates high-quality food as food to the soul. While the depiction of food porn is clearly influenced by popular food media such as culinary manga, the fiction takes readers to taste regional specialty food across China.
会做菜的猫《美食供应商》
Gourmet Food Supplier by Hui Zuo Cai De Mao
Serialized 2016-2021 (2794 chapters)
Original Chinese at Qidian // English translation at Webnovel
Shao Yanjun
Shao Yanjun is a Professor of Chinese at Peking University and one of the founding scholars of Chinese internet literature research. Recommendations translated from Chinese by A.R.
猫腻 Mao Ni is one of China’s most classic internet authors, and 《将夜》 Jiang Ye is his most mature work. It is also the work that firmly established the Chinese character of the “Eastern fantasy” genre, by then years in the making. The novel’s characters are based on the disciples of Confucius, and it discusses the differing paths of Western and Eastern culture, among other profound topics.
猫腻《将夜》
Nightfall by Mao Ni
Serialized 2011-2014 (1118 chapters)
Original Chinese at Qidian // Translation information at Novel Updates
Priest is the most outstanding writer on Jinjiang Wenxuecheng, China’s premier female-oriented novel platform. She is also the writer on the platform who has won the most mainstream acclaim. 《默读》 Silent Reading is her defining novel, a hybrid work of danmei and procedural fiction. Its sections are named after the protagonists from The Red and the Black, Lolita, Macbeth, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Dostoevsky’s Demons, and they delve deep into the psychological motivations of criminals. A good pick for Western readers.
Priest《默读》
Silent Reading by Priest
Serialized 2016-2017 (189 chapters)
Original Chinese at JJWCX // English translation from Seven Seas
《十日终焉》Ten-Day Ultimatum by 杀虫队队员 Sha Chong Dui Dui Yuan is the single Chinese internet novel that has won the most widespread attention in recent years. Its reputation in the academic world is very strong, and it has won many awards, earning it a reputation as a masterpiece of “gamified realism.” The novel is an insightful take on contemporary life in China. The surface plot is a mind-twisting suspense story about a group of people trapped killing each other in a game, who eventually find the means to break free and escape. But at a deeper level, the story is about searching for justice in a world where you’ve lost confidence in the rules. In the depth of its allegory, it’s comparable to 1984.
杀虫队队员《十日终焉》
Ten Day Ultimatum by Sha Chong Dui Dui Yuan
Serialized 2022-2024 (1496 chapters)
Original Chinese at Fanqie // Translation information at Novel Updates
Cathy Yue Wang
Cathy Yue Wang is a lecturer at Shanghai Normal University. Her research focuses on children’s and young adult literature and Chinese online literature.
When I think of lesser-known works, I am especially drawn to two kinds of writing. One is works published outside the major mainstream platforms such as Qidian or Jinjiang. The other is works from roughly 2003 to 2014. During that period, internet literature had not yet become commercialized to the extent it later did, nor was it as heavily censored as it became after around 2014. For me, that earlier moment contains many fascinating and diverse experiments that are well worth revisiting.
I am more familiar with female-oriented (女频 or 女性向) internet fiction, so my recommendations are mostly drawn from that broad category. Of course, this category includes many different subgenres, such as heterosexual romance (BG), danmei (boys’ love), baihe (girls’ love), and no-CP fiction. I have tried to include as many of these subgenres as possible. I have the impression that since 《魔道祖师》 Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation and its adaptation 《陈情令》 The Untamed, danmei has attracted significant attention. Danmei is, of course, wonderful, and I am a fan of it myself. Even so, I do not think the other subgenres should be overshadowed by it. Below are a few works that I personally like. They may not all be truly “lesser-known,” but they are the ones that come to my mind in this context.
《人间流放者》An Exile Among Humanity by 星河蛋挞 selstarry (F/M) is a disturbing story set in an Alpha/Beta/Omega universe, with a female Alpha and a male Omega at its center. I especially love its darkness, its radical reversal of conventional gender hierarchy, and its dystopian world. It is also very short by the standards of online fiction. A hidden gem. It didn’t get published on commercial websites such as Qidian and Jinjiang.
星河蛋挞《人间流放者》
An Exile Among Humanity by selstarry
Serialized 2017 (24 chapters)
Official Chinese version not available online // English translation at Archive of Our Own
《十年》 Ten Years by 暗夜流光 An Ye Liu Guang (M/M) is an early danmei classic from 2001 to 2003, originally serialized on Lucifer, an early women-oriented website. Compared with the later Jinjiang Literature City, Lucifer had a stronger sense of community, was less commercialized, and allowed for a bolder and more diverse range of writing. Novels like this also felt less standardized and less formulaic than much later online fiction. The novel stands out for its more realistic and less romanticized portrayal of a gay love story. Its author, sadly, passed away due to illness, and remains one of the earlier generation of danmei writers.
暗夜流光《十年》
Ten Years by An Ye Liu Guang
Serialized 2001-2003 (10 chapters)
Original Chinese at JJWCX // Translation information at Novel Updates
《帮我拍拍》 Pat Me Please by 七小皇叔 Qi Xiao Huang Shu (F/F) is a baihe story from Changpei, another women-oriented website. The main storyline follows the rekindled relationship between two female protagonists: Yu Zhou, an online fiction writer, and Su Chang, a female voice actor for audio dramas. A third important character is Xiang Wan, the daughter of a chancellor who travels from the ancient past into the modern world. What I especially like about this novel is its nuanced portrayal of intimacy between women, including both friendship and love, as well as its depiction of women’s growth. It is written with great delicacy.
七小皇叔《帮我拍拍》
Pat Me Please by Qi Xiao Huang Shu
Serialized 2022 (99 chapters)
Original Chinese at Changpei // Translation information at Novel Updates
《清穿日常》 Time Travel to the Daily Life of the Qing Dynasty by 多木木多 Duo Mu Mu Duo (M/F) is quite well known because of its television adaptation, New Life Begins, though the drama differs greatly from the original. Duo Mu Mu Duo is a highly prolific author on Jinjiang Literature City. Her novels are sustained by dense detail and the texture of everyday life, with a deep attentiveness to the many dimensions of women’s worlds. Her novels carry something of the flavor of classical Chinese fiction, which I love. But she has written so much, and many of her works are so long, that I sometimes feel I will never be able to read them all.
多木木多《清穿日常》
Time Travel to the Daily Life of the Qing Dynasty by Duo Mu Mu Duo
Serialized from 2015 (514 chapters)
Original Chinese at JJWCX // No English translation
Priest is famous, perhaps even too famous. An extraordinary writer, she has produced a number of hugely popular danmei as well as heterosexual romance novels. But 《桥头楼上》 End of the Bridge, Top of the Tower (no CP), a newer work, feels quite different: it leans more toward suspense and mystery, and it is exceptionally sharp in its attention to women’s lived experiences.
Priest《桥头楼上》
End of the Bridge, Top of the Tower by Priest
Serialized in 2022 (31 chapters)
Wang Deyong
Wang Deyong is a master’s student at Capital Normal University in Beijing, where his research focuses on the international dissemination of Chinese internet literature. Recommendations translated from Chinese by A.R.
Although it looks like a brainlessly fun xuanhuan novel on the outside, 《太平令》 The Peace Order by 阎ZK (Yan ZK) incorporates many elements of traditional Chinese culture, with the Confucian credo of “cultivate the body, stabilize the family, order the country, and pacify the realm” as its spiritual throughline. But the protagonist’s method of achieving this ideal is not to become a “heavenly king,” like in many similar stories. Instead, the story brings in many modern notions of revolutionary organization and liberation. The protagonist doesn’t save the world through his own independent prowess; from beginning to end, he devotes his efforts to awakening and organizing the common people, amassing disparate individuals into a collective with the power to change the world. In this way, “pacify the realm” is transformed from an elitist, moralistic credo into a magnificent struggle for liberation arising from the lower classes. Even more unusually, compared to the typical way that xuanhuan novels end (the protagonist defeats the final boss and becomes the eternal ruler of the realm), the self-revolution and reflection on endless struggle in this novel make it more deeply meaningful than usual. As entertaining as the The Peace Order is, it also conveys the appeal of ancient culture in equal measure. Its interpolation of contemporary ideology about popular revolution elevates a “xiaobai” (lowest-common-denominator, suitable only for novice readers) xuanhuan story into a “laobai” (sophisticated and creative enough for experienced readers) one.
阎ZK《太平令》
The Peace Order by Yan ZK
Serialized 2024-2025 (606 chapters)
Original Chinese at Qidian // Translation information at Novel Updates
《1984：从破产川菜馆开始》 1984: Starting from a Bankrupt Sichuan Restaurant by 轻语江湖 Qing Yu Jiang Hu understands that, for any good food story, the true hero has to be the descriptions of the food. In solid, skillful prose, the author calls each dish to life: seductive, tender qiaojiao beef; slippery, spicy mapo tofu... Each of the hundred tastes of Sichuan cuisine gets its time to shine. If you’ve tasted these dishes yourself, you’ll find your appetite getting awoken again and again. In terms purely of salivating prose, this novel is already worth the price of admission.
The plot is simpl
e and comforting. There’s no family drama, no beautiful women devoting themselves to the protagonist for no reason or “face-slapping” revenge scenes. The protagonist Zhou Yan serenely runs his little restaurant, using his supernatural system to unlock recipes and amassing loyal customers in a simple historical setting. The family cast is especially appealing—the vigorous and forgiving Zhao Niangniang; her father, a stolid, taciturn butcher; and Zhou Momo, a three-year-old with an old soul. Together, they form an evocative portrait of a classic Sichuan family.
The one thing that takes you out of the story are the historical inaccuracies—it’s a bit fanciful to imagine that beef noodles could be treated like an average, everyday meal in a tiny southern Sichuan town in the mid-1980s. But for a reader who mainly just wants to read about good food, these anachronisms don’t distract from the feast. Overall, this novel is a work of hand-crafted art that knows what it’s meant to achieve and achieves it well. Read it before bed, paired with a bowl of instant noodles—perfection.
轻语江湖《1984：从破产川菜馆开始》
1984: Starting from a Bankrupt Sichuan Restaurant by Qing Yu Jiang Hu
Serialized 2025-present (553 chapters)
Original Chinese at Qidian // Translation information at Novel Updates
Xiangjiaowei
香蕉味 Xiang Jiao Wei is a veteran reader and webnovel industry professional. Recommendations translated from Chinese by A.R.
《诡秘之主》Lord of Mysteries by 爱潜水的乌贼 Cuttlefish That Loves Diving stands at the highest peak of monetized Chinese internet literature, having attained the highest number of paid readers in internet literature history. Inspired by Western fantasy, it sparked a craze in Chinese fiction for Cthulhu-themed novels. The novel features excellent prose, a well-composed plot, and a rich cast of characters, but what’s most special is the impeccable worldbuilding.
爱潜水的乌贼《诡秘之主》
Lord of Mysteries by Cuttlefish That Loves Diving
Serialized 2018-2020 (1418 chapters)
Chinese original at Qidian // English translation at Webnovel // English print edition from Yen Press
《牧神记》 Tales of Herding Gods by 宅猪 Zhai Zhu has a striking ambiance and features a diverse range of characters without ever slipping into tropes. Its narrative and prose style bear traces of an inheritance from 金庸 Jin Yong and 古龙 Gu Long, but it combines these elements with a modern worldview, making for a comfortable, fluid reading experience. The novel is socially conscious, driven by a dream of social progress. As stirring and impassioned as the plot is, it doesn’t lack for humor or compassion.
宅猪《牧神记》
Tales of Herding Gods by Zhu Zhai
Serialized 2017-2019 (1828 chapters)
Chinese original at Qidian // Translation information at Novel Updates
Yi Bei
Yi Bei 伊贝 is a tarot reader and contracted author at Jinjiang Wenxuecheng. She has been writing full-time for four years and has published webnovels including 《不记年》 Year Unknown,《太平旧梦》An Old Dream of Taiping, and 《阿莱》 Alai. Recommendations translated from Chinese by A.R.
The protagonist of 《无心法师》 The Heartless Mage by 尼罗 Ni Luo5 is immortal. He has no heart and is adept at capturing demons and ghosts, which is why he’s known as “Heartless.” The story takes place in 1920. As the chaos of secessionist warlords brings unspeakable suffering for the ordinary people, Heartless wakes up from a deep sleep. He dresses up as a monk and heads to Wen County, where he meets the female lead, Crescent. From there, they make a living catching demons, tying their fates together.
The story is made up of several episodes stitched together, after which Heartless collects their memories and sinks into another long sleep. When he awakens, heaven and earth have changed utterly, as though all that had happened before was merely a dream.
This is a book of strange tales. Much like Pu Songling’s Strange Tales from Liaozhai, it uses stories about monsters to write about human nature. The story is eccentric and ever-shifting, which makes it highly engrossing. A good entry point for readers who like fantasy stories.
尼罗《无心法师》
The Heartless Mage by Ni Luo
Published 2015 (249 chapters)
Official Chinese text not available online // Translation information at Novel Updates
《他的劫》 His Misfortune by 尼罗 Ni Luo is a danmei novel set in China’s Republican era. The story takes the “greed,” “ill will,” “ignorance,” “love,” “hate,” and “unwanted encounters” of its various characters as its point of departure. In an age of chaos, without law and order to restrain it, the dark side of human nature tends to become magnified. No matter what it is you’ve done, you’ll always pay the price for your desires and your choices in the end.
Every romantic pairing in the book is heartbreaking. Just as the reader is emotionally reeling, the author delivers this message through the voice of a character: Set aside your sorrows, and ten thousand leagues of cloudless skies will open before you.
Even when you have exhausted all of the many changes of human life, everything ultimately is subject to its fate.
尼罗《他的劫》
His Misfortune by Ni Luo
Serialized 2012 (179 chapters)
Official Chinese text not available online // Not translated
In 《逐玉》 Chasing Jade by 团子来袭 Tuan Zi Li Xi, after the protagonist’s parents both die, it’s a brave, strong, and clever female pig-butcher who happens to rescue him from danger. From here, their lives are tied together, each for their own reasons. The story’s setting imitates the Song dynasty. The beacons of war burn on all sides; battles rage without end. The story begins from the perspective of simple city-dwellers and gradually extends to the imperial court, eventually becoming entangled with an unsolved case from sixteen years before. As they search for the truth of this case, the male and female protagonists’ feelings for each other start to heat up. A book with both bitterness and sweetness.
Historical romances like this are quite popular right now. A television series of the same name is also currently coming out. There couldn’t be a better place to start if you want to read internet fiction.
团子来袭《逐玉》
Chasing Jade by Tuan Zi Lai Xi
Serialized 2023 (164 chapters)
Original Chinese at JJWCX // Translation information at Novel Updates
Zhang Jiayuan
Zhang Jiayuan, a master’s student in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Nanjing Normal University, is a reader and researcher of internet literature who has lately been especially into “infinite flow” and suspense novels. Recommendations translated from Chinese by A.R.
The popularity and evolution of the “no-couple” tag on the female-oriented literature website Jinjiang Wenxuecheng has been a major development in Chinese internet literature over the last few years. 《姥姥炸的》 Grandma’s Cooking by 匿见渊 Ni Jian Yuan is one of these “no-couple” stories. It follows thirty years in the lives of the protagonists Kou Zhuanshi and Tu Ling, in the process bringing to life ties of love and resentment spanning three generations. The part of the story that moved me the most was how the main characters’ life paths reflect each other. In adolescence, both characters were defined by and ultimately abandoned by their mothers, and yet from this shared foundation of trauma head off into dramatically different directions—Kou Zhuanshi chooses to use her body to try to break out of the path that fate has set for her, while Tu Ling retreats into introspective exploration, searching for herself in the cracks in the system. Between memory and forgetting, they become mirror images of each other—each one the other’s “what if,” her “way out,” each the answer to the other’s question.
匿见渊《姥姥炸的》
Grandma’s Cooking by Ni Jian Yuan
Serialized 2025-present (176 chapters)
Original Chinese at JJWCX // Not translated
In 《我的治愈系游戏》 My Iyashikei Game by 我会修空调 I Repair Air Conditioners, a downtrodden actor named Han Fei starts playing a game called My Perfect Life, hoping it will soothe and rejuvenate him. Instead, he’s plunged into a treacherous, psychedelic underworld. In this other world, full of ghosts, bizarre characters, and lurking evils, anything could happen. And yet what happens in this other world seem to have a subtle connection to events in the real world. As one mystery after another is solved, and one soul after another shrugs off the shackles of its past, you can gradually feel light and warmth starting to fill your heart.
我会修空调《我的治愈系游戏》
My Iyashikei Game by I Repair Air Conditioners
Serialized 2021-2023 (999 chapters)
Original Chinese at Qidian // Translation information at Novel Updates
Zhang Xiaoyun
Zhang Xiaoyun, currently completing her graduate study at Peking University, is a novelist and member of the Beijing Writers’ Association.
《明月何皎皎》 How Bright the Glistening Moon by 乐韫 Yue Yun is a deeply moving generational family novel. It recounts the vicissitudes of business and fate spanning forty years in the lives of two families in Xi’an. In so doing, it brings to life a vivid group portrait of the women in these families and illustrates the rapid pace of development in the four decades since China’s Reform and Opening Up. Overall, it’s a readable and touching period piece. For international readers, it’ll offer a glimpse into how Chinese family members relate to one another and maintain their love for one another. The novel has already been adapted into a radio drama and collected many positive reviews from readers.
乐韫《明月何皎皎》
How Bright the Glistening Moon by Yue Yun
Serialized 2022-2023 (30 chapters)
Original Chinese at Douban Reads // Not translated
正肆叁
正肆叁’s bio: Casual baihe enjoyer, professional lamenter of its lack of translations.
《问棺》 Reading the Remnants by 七小皇叔 Qi Xiao Huang Shu is one of the most celebrated mythic fantasy works in the baihe community. Unlike most xuanhuan or xianxia novels, its core lies in a reimagining of history. It challenges our understanding of Chinese folktales (think The Ballad of Mulan) while offering its own unique interpretations. I’m a history nerd, and I’ve never felt more drawn to a work of historical fiction. It’s full of fascinating “what ifs,” and I love how the author leaves subtle, hidden messages in each chapter for readers to reflect on.
七小皇叔《问棺》
Reading the Remnants by Qi Xiao Huang Shu
Serialized 2019-2020 (108 chapters)
Original Chinese at Changpei // Translation information at Novel Updates
Zhuo Ming
Zhuo Ming 琢明, currently completing her graduate studies in Chinese, is a veteran webnovel reader and fanfiction writer. Recommendations translated from Chinese by A.R.
A veritable feast at eight volumes long, the 《鬼吹灯》 Ghost Blows Out the Light series1 by 天下霸唱 Tian Xia Ba Chang is the foundational masterpiece of the Chinese tomb-raiding genre. The three-person team of Hu Bayi, Fatty Wang, and Shirley Yang travel deep into forgotten deserts and snowy mountains, delving into ancient caves and secret chambers, using the occult arts of feng shui to uncover the secrets of a thousand-year-old plot. The author throws folk mythology, the specialized argot of wuxia stories, and hard-core adventure beats into the mix, producing a highly original narrative voice that brings to mind the style of an oral storyteller. Even as he remains highly faithful to the story’s historical background, he also excels at conjuring the fear and trembling that we might feel in the face of a totally unknown civilization. Any Western readers who want to learn more about Chinese people’s complex feelings toward feng shui and “ancestral culture,” or who want to seek out the Eastern counterpart of Raiders of the Lost Ark, simply have to start here!
天下霸唱《鬼吹灯》
Ghost Blows Out the Light by Tian Xia Ba Chang
Serialized from 2006 (536 chapters)
Official Chinese text not available online // Translation information at Novel Updates
Next is 《一银币一磅的恶魔》 One Silver Coin for a Pound of Demon by 星河蛋挞 selstarry. What is art? This is art. A priest x demon danmei (boys’ love) romance, told in the second person, following a branching narrative structure with one canonical “happy ending” and five achingly beautiful “bad endings.” The characterization and worldbuilding are top-tier, the plot sweeps irresistibly toward the conclusion, the pacing is superb, and, most of all, the intricate writing style is enough to make readers want to sink into the story. Just reading the beginning was enough to make me lose track of day and night. I’m tempted to call the experience a mini-Enlightenment. I suspect that Western readers will connect with the story it tells even more than I did.
星河蛋挞《一银币一磅的恶魔》
One Silver Coin for a Pound of Demon by selstarry
Serialized 2016 (41 chapters)
Official Chinese text not available online // Translation information at Novel Updates
Can I admit something? Reading 《穿到明朝考科举》Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination by 五色龙章 Wu Se Long Zhang, I got the sense that this author genuinely, truly wanted to teach me how to write an imperial examination essay. The Ming dynasty was a highly romantic period of Chinese history, and that romanticism is expressed in full color through the author’s meticulous textual research, flowing prose, and extensive bibliographies. This novel is the gold standard for readable historical fiction danmei “academy novels” (emphasis on the “academy) (this is a term I made up, by the way). I would go so far as to describe its style as elegantly literary. My only worry is that it might be too challenging a read. Are there really readers and translators out there who are willing to brave its obscure vocabulary and abstruse passages of classical prose?
五色龙章《穿到明朝考科举》
Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination by Wu Se Long Zhang
Serialized from 2017 (314 chapters)
Original Chinese at JJWCX // Translation information at Novel Updates
Directory: Introduction // Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Single-page version
I don’t link directly to unlicensed translations unless asked to by the recommender, but I’ve provided links to Novel Updates, a fan-maintained directory of translated novels, in case you want to track down unlicensed translations yourself.
Girls’ love (lesbian) literature, the female counterpart to danmei/boys’ love literature.
《盗墓笔记》 Grave Robbers’ Chronicles (2007) by 南派三叔 Nan Pai San Shu, a classic internet novel and the foundation of a whole genre of tomb-robbing literature. Also the earliest internet novel I’m aware of to get a print English translation (2011).
A genre of decision-based romance game, primarily for female players, in which the goal is typically to pick a romantic interest from the male supporting cast and develop a relationship with him.
While Tian Xia Ba Chang and Ni Luo’s novels no longer have official serialized online versions, the complete Chinese text can still be easily located via Baidu. This is true for most older webnovels that have been taken down by their original host platforms.