Young writers find fame online

Mo Yan's win of the Nobel Literature Prize has aroused the argument about Chinese writers' popularity among the public. An unavoidable fact is that traditional print literature is not selling well nowadays. But some authors can still garner a large fan base, not to mention a hefty paycheck. Today, we meet two writers who are both young and popular with readers.

In 2002, an online novel called "There They Were" swept through the web like a virus. Later adapted into a film, the novel depicted college life based on the writer's own experiences at Peking University. And the characters were all named after popular heroes and heroines from Jin Yong's famous martial arts novels. After gaining attention online, it was published as a paperback and became a best-seller.

The man behind the literary sensation is Jiang Nan, a chemistry major who wrote the novel while studying for his Ph.D. at Washington University in St. Louis. He began writing online because he didn't have any other options.

Jiang Nan, nocelist, said "I studied in the United States from 1999 to 2004. During that period I didn't have many Chinese books to read. The Internet wasn't so popular then. All the Chinese books at the library were written before 1973 or 1974. I wanted to read interesting novels. Then I started writing them myself. I first posted my writings on the Internet. There I got to know some friends who also liked to write. We all wrote and read each other's work. It was a good atmosphere. Everyday I could find an audience."

After the huge success of "There They Were", Jiang went on to write other novels. Now, his books include the love story "Prince Death", and fantasy novels like "Novo Land" and "Dragon". The last title was adapted into a popular comic book. Jiang says he's always liked stories. He spent a year and a half in college doing nothing but reading novels.

Jiang Nan said "Near Peking University there was a bookstore called "Wind in Pine Tree." You could read for free there all day. I read 5-6 hours there every day."

Many of his novels have sold more than 1 million copies. His popularity has pushed Jiang Nan to fifth place on China's 2012 Richest Writers List.

Jiang also mentioned "Novels are stories. They are written for those wanting to read stories. If you yourself are a fan of stories, if you need stories, then you will be very sensitive towards them. You will know which kinds of stories are wonderful, which stories are gripping the hearts, which are thought-provoking, in what kind of pace will make readers not want to put it down."

Unlike Jiang Nan, who started with paperback books, Tang Jia San Shao, whose name literally translates to the "Third Lord of the Tang Family", writes primarily for the web. Hailed as "The King of Web Writing", Tang is the richest and most popular Chinese online writer to date.

Like Jiang Nan, Tang's writing comes from his reading interest. He started to read novels when he was nine years old. Martial arts and science fiction books were his favorite. And they've become the inspiration for his fantasy novels. Featuring elements like magic, fairies and web games, Tang's writing is hugely popular on the internet. In total, he has published 12 full-length novels online. Each of them has earned tens of millions of clicks, with the most popular getting over 56-million clicks. The "Web King" attributes his success to perseverance.

Tang Jia San Shao, web novelist, said "From February 2004 to today, I've kept updating my novel on the website, without stopping a single day. It's the 106th month now. Everyday 7,000-8,000 words. The total is 26.9 million words."

Tang says he keeps writing for his readers. He says novels are the cheapest entertainment for one's spirit. He enjoys being a non-traditional writer.

Tang continued, "The aim of reading during our childhood is the same as today's children, to give ourselves an opportunity to relax from our busy study and work lives. I hope my readers are pleased and relaxed when they read my novel, even if they forget it the next day. But it's impossible to forget. If they like it and feel happy, they will continue reading."

Despite starting online, all of Tang's novels have now been published into paperbacks because of their popularity. The post-80s generation now writes on average for 3 hours everyday. Jiang Nan and Tang Jia San Shao are examples of writers who've succeeded commercially in an era when less people are seeking out literature for entertainment.

That fact that these writers are hugely successful testifies to the great demand of popular Chinese writing. These young authors also contribute to the vitality and currency of Chinese literature.