Chinese Web Novels – Desolate Era
Today I’m continuing my blogs around some of the more notable media pieces I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing. Touching on video games, movies, anime, manga has given me a lot to track back on and share but today I’m introducing another medium – Web Novels!
A while back I got sucked into the world of Chinese web novels, particularly the Wuxia novels. What are Wuxia? In a nutshell from what I have come to understand, they are stories which follow history and principals of martial arts in tandem with Taoism/Buddhism. The fantasy world built around cultivation and journeys of becoming immortal are somewhat addictive, to say the least.
I remember reading through a few Chinese Manga release (more on this another time) and finding ‘Coiling Dragon’. An interesting art style in full colour, captivating story from the get go and just themes of power really became addictive. To my surprise after just a few chapters, I had nothing else to follow up on. The Manhua (Chinese Manga) was being serialised/translated irregularly and I was a little sad about this. After digging around it appeared that the story had indeed been based on the Chinese Web Novels – I Eat Tomatoes. (我吃西红柿)
I could read and continue the story! Hurray! So how much was I behind? Well – I found I had only covered a few chapters and there were multiple chapters in one ‘Book’. I was astounded to find that there were a total of twenty one books! I was a little shocked. I didn’t expect this to turn into a binge reading session. I was curious, could such web novels captivate me so much that I would dedicate hours on end to pursue said story?
I did a little search and decided to pick up another work by IET, Desolate Era. This was the start of an amazing journey for me. I need to express that the books are relatively short reads and sometimes move a little slow but the progress of the MC in this is phenomenal. Desolate Era follows the reincarnation and cultivation of Ji Ning. The story maintains multiple plot twists and through the current 18 books I have read so far, I can’t help but think of Dragon Ball. The power level progression is insane, if you think Ultra Instinct was a little overblown, the levels show no bounds here as the characters grow from mere mortals into cultivating beings that would shatter deities. It’s insane and IET paints the gravity of each level of attainment in a methodical manner.
I have watched a few Anime, read some Manhua and I am of the opinion that Chinese authors really love to make their MCs badass (It’s still badass season apparently). Powering up, building on failure and pushing through the chaos is something I really enjoy. I spent hours on end binging Desolate Era but have slowed down a little recently. I even bought a Kindle to put some books on to read on the go, I have heard that Wuxia can be addicting. Perhaps this is true. I did find an article about a dude who found salvation in Wuxia to kick drug use to the kerb.
Wuxia Novels have a special place in my library and I thank the authors, translators and individuals that have helped spread these stories to a wider audience.
I've made some attempt to read Manhua and watch some Chinese animations in the past, but I could never get past how derivative and in-jokey it came off to me. I can't imagine trying to get into anime today without understanding the history of trends and cliches that I've gotten used to over the years.
The most recent Chinese animation I watched was The King's Avatar, and I really didn't even hate it much. There were just a few things I found offputting like the stilted dialogue and the constantly re-used animations.
But the problem is I can't tell if that's an outlier example or if it's just how they typically do things in China, and I'm just supposed to ignore it. I feel like I need a guide to navigate me through the best examples of Chinese media so I can get a feel for how it is when it's done right.
I agree with some of this, I watched the King's Avatar a little while back and I think this is a prominent issue across Chinese animation production. The dialogue and animation just felt a little off-key and a lot of the atmosphere and emotion was lost as a result.
I read Feng Shen Ji (Manhua) and thought it was amazing. Korean Manhwa and web toons have had me hooked over the years too. As with many things there, I have come to find that content is released in abundance and only a few come out as quality pieces.
I am not Chinese but there are a lot of cultural references I've come to be aware of. The whole idea of 'kaiwii' and 'Tsundere' also have different meanings there too. It's interesting to see how Chinese authors portray their characters but similar to what you mention, many people criticize over rehashing of story lines and plot layout.
I'd say have a look round, there are definitely some decent stories coming out of China, just takes a bit of researching. I was surprised to see anything subbed to be honest.