Abstract
The genre fiction mode represents the primary form of Chinese Internet literature at its current stage. Although this form embodies the collective labor of mass authors and readers in the Internet age, it is not a result of the autonomous production of Internet literature. Instead, it is deeply rooted in the history of literary commercialization propelled by publishing capitalism and serves as a new tool for capitalist expansion into the literary and cultural domains. From the early publication of physical books through forums and literary websites to the establishment of the “Qidian” model on literary websites, there is a continuous thread of literary commercialization. The “Qidian model,” by implementing a closed-loop operation of literary activities and systematic abstraction, has established an industrial standard for online literary production, consolidated the genre fiction production mode, and simultaneously legitimized the logic of capital accumulation. Failing to acknowledge the historical continuity of literary commercialization when studying the mainstream of Internet genre fiction would result in the loss of a critical perspective on Internet literature research.
Keywords
Internet literature, genre fiction, capital, literary commercialization
First Page
185
Last Page
194
Recommended Citation
Sun, Wei, and Huanjiang Qiao. 2025. "The Manufactured Mainstream: The Emergence and Commercial Orientation of Genre Fiction Mode in Chinese Internet Literature." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 45, (2): pp.185-194. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol45/iss2/18
