The year 2006 witnessed the rapid growth of Web literature. A number of excellent novels appeared online, including The Crazy Life, Grave Robbers' Experience, and I and My Pretty Woman Boss, with the first getting 100 million hits and the last, 10 million hits, according to a survey by Xinhua.

Since the novel, First Close Touch by Taiwan netizen Pizi Tsai in 1999, the Web has thrown up a number of writers including Ning Caishen, Anni Baby and Murong Xuecun. The Shanghai-based Rongshuxia.com for original novels publishes a novel almost every day.

The Xinhua survey showed that Web novels have progressed greatly in terms of language and plot and have even been able to challenge traditional literature. For example, some chapters of such novels as I and My Pretty Woman Boss and The Summer of Bubbles are poetic and rich in expression. Other novels, such as Culture of China's Corpse and Things in Ming Dynasty are full of adventure and historical events that have moved readers greatly.

Recent Web novels, which go well beyond personal accounts common during the time of Pizi Tsai, deal with a wide range of genres-historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, contemporary life and sports. All the novels are full of humor and entertainment, and have been well-received by young netizens.

According to one estimate, there are more than 50,000 Web novels scattered over different websites, featuring more than 3 billion Chinese characters! This number would be even bigger if including short stories.

Some popular Web novels have also been compiled into books and have been enjoying brisk sales. The Grave Robbers' Experience is one such example. Only 50,000 copies were printed in the beginning. But, with increasing demand, the book has seen several reprints, with the number of copies now standing at 300,000.

Web novels have also spun off TV programs, films, games and cartoons, said Duan Qinglin, deputy director of the Institute of Economics under the Ningxia Academy of Social Sciences. Since the popular Web novels have established a market presence, they carry a small printing risk, unlike traditional publications which are solely dependent on the authors' reputation, he added.

Many online readers say that Web novels are different from traditional ones in that being largely autobiographical, they are closer to daily life. Many stories are serialized on the Internet, allowing readers to put forward their opinions and suggestions which are incorporated into later chapters.

Since 1999, Web literature has developed into a special literary phenomenon, releasing the creativity and imagination of anonymous young writers. Zhang Yiwu, a literary critic of Peking University, said the growth of Net literature would help improve the quality of the novel.

However, though popular, this form of literature is not without its problems. Some writers try to lure readers with sex and violence, some use vulgar language, and some write just for money.

Will great works emerge from the Internet? Zhang Qian, editor of Dianchi, a literary magazine, said Web novels can never match epic works such as The Dream of Red Mansion. Zhang said such Web novels were lowering literary standards which could only be recovered by books.

But Li Shaojun, executive vice president of the Hainan Writers' Association, said many novels published online were better than those coming out in print. But he agreed that some writers were only keen on increasing the number of hits to their stories and this could lead to a compromise of quality.

But for now, there is no stopping Web writing, empowering ordinary writers to share their stories with millions of others.

(Source: Xinhua)