Nan Fan: The Internet and the Vitality of New Mass Literature and Art

The “mass” in“new mass literature and art” is a term rich in meaning. For much of history, the masses held no prominent position in literature and art, remaining the nameless “silent majority.” And yet, as the creators of history, they left an indelible mark on literature and art, with their image stubbornly finding its way into works of all kinds. China’s Tang poetry, Song lyrics, Yuan operas, and Ming and Qing fiction abound with vivid images of ordinary people. The history of literature and art has long been regarded as a rivalry between two aesthetic traditions, the elite and the popular, each rooted in a different social stratum, with the latter more closely tied to ordinary people. The flourishing of numerous forms of popular literary styles and the rise of vernacular Chinese in the period between the late Qing and the May Fourth Movement in the early 20th century were both positive responses to the demands of the general public.

In a more fundamental sense, the masses have continually driven the evolution of the literary and artistic media. Tortoise shells and animal bones with oracle inscriptions can be considered one of the earliest forms of media beyond oral communication. Every subsequent extension of that system from books to newspapers, television, and the internet has only further underscored the theme of ever broader public participation. Each new breakthrough in the media has brought about greater access for the public. Throughout all this, technological progress has remained indispensable, steadily propelling the upgrading of mass media. The robust development of the media, in turn, has guaranteed stronger protection for the cultural rights of the general public. In modern society, it has become a conscious endeavor to ensure the smooth functioning of this process. 

It was not until the 20th century that the masses stepped onto China’s cultural stage as a distinct social group. In the late 1920s and 1930s, Chinese left-wing writers brought a theoretical focus to the relationship between the arts and the masses by launching a far-reaching discussion on the popularization of literature and art.

In his speech at the forum on literature and art in Yan’an in the 1940s, Mao Zedong stressed that“all our literature and art are for the masses of the people, and in the first place for the workers, farmers and soldiers; they are created for the workers, farmers and soldiers and are for their use.” With this, the principal status of the masses in literature and art was consolidated.

After the launch of reform and opening up in 1978, Deng Xiaoping and other Party and state leaders consistently attached great importance to the intimate link between literature and art and the ordinary people. Time and again, Deng stressed that it is the people who nurture our writers and artists and that literature and art come from the people and serve the people.

In the new era, President Xi Jinping has pointed out,“The people are both the creators and the witnesses of history, and both its protagonists and playwrights.” For literature and art to truly serve the people, we must observe how the public is redefining themes, experimenting with new forms, and exploring fresh material and new ways of reaching audiences.

Among writers and artists, it is almost universally acknowledged that the people are not only the creators of history but the primary subjects of literature and art. Yet for much of history, the long-cherished ideal that people should serve as creators in their own right, authoring their own stories and giving voice to the richness of their lives and the vibrant experiences of people from all walks of life, remained unfulfilled. This is because barriers to education, cultural literacy, and financial means largely prevented ordinary people from becoming writers and artists. As a result, the folk art they produced rarely found its way into mainstream media.

The rise of new mass literature and art is one of the most encouraging aspects of the cultural flourishing we see in the new era. Unprecedented forms of expression, including web novels, amateur writing, short videos, micro-dramas, and stand-up comedy, have sprung up and drawn huge audiences. The emergence of new mass literature and art is by no means an accident, but rather the product of multiple historical factors. First, after about a century of ongoing discussion, the concept of “the masse” has become deeply rooted in the literary and artistic consciousness. Better meeting people’s growing intellectual and cultural needs is not only a key task for the Party and the government, but also a consensus shared by writers and artists. Second, it is increasingly acknowledged that the lived experiences of ordinary people deserve to be depicted and shared; these experiences are in themselves an integral part of history and fertile ground for literary and artistic creation. Third, thanks to broader educational access, our society’s overall literacy level has risen markedly, enabling more people to write and sing with ease. This has created increasingly favorable conditions for ordinary people to become creators in their own right. Fourth, the internet has provided a unique opportunity for the rise to prominence of new mass literature and art. As historic breakthroughs in information technology reshape our world, the internet has thrown open a vast arena for literature and art, where the public is free to publish their works at any moment. Mobile phones and personal computers have made it far easier and more efficient to create, produce, and share these works.

What makes new mass literature and art “new” is the range of novel features exhibited in its creation, sharing, and public reception. The significance of these features is gradually becoming apparent across various fields. Indeed, it is even possible to discern the emergence of a new aesthetics and a new sociology within new mass literature and art.

A broader emotional community is also quietly taking shape around online mass media. The synergy between technology and cultural creation is not only forging new pathways for cultural production and communication but also positively reshaping the make-up of culture itself. As a result, some traditional cultural barriers have melted away in the face of new mass literature and art. The internet, as a platform, is open to all, from newcomers in literature and art to seasoned veterans. Through broad-based public participation, the creative cultural energy of the entire nation is being unleashed, contemporary life in all its color and variety is finding expression at every level, and numerous outstanding works are striking a powerful chord with audiences through new channels of sharing.

Nan Fan is former Vice Chairman of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Researcher at the Fujian Academy of Social Sciences.

(Originally appeared in Qiushi Journal, Chinese edition, No. 12, 2026)