Chinese-language internet literature in Thailand : changes and continuities of readership, online communities, adaptations and censorship

Abstract

Chinese-language Internet Literature (CIL) has gradually gained reception outside greater China since the mid-2000s, especially in Southeast Asia. Previous research has concentrated on the global phenomenon of CIL in English-speaking countries. Many scholars have conducted research on English-language translation platforms— i.e., Wuxiaworld.com and GravityTales.com—thus, a study of CIL in Southeast Asia has been neglected in the scholarship on Chinese popular culture. This thesis is a preliminary study of the current situations and flows of media from mainland China to Southeast Asia (i.e., Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand). This research applies digital ethnography, in-depth interview methods, and case-study approaches, along with coding scheme and content analysis methods. Data were collected from web analytic tools such as SimilarWeb.com, the National Library of Thailand, CIL translation platforms, social media platforms, and discussion forums. The first chapter of this thesis examines continuities and changes in CIL and readership in Thailand as well as Singapore and Malaysia. The second chapter investigates three types of online community related to CIL: translation communities, writing communities, and fan communities. The third chapter explores the commercialisation and adaptation of CIL in Thailand. The fourth chapter discusses the circumvention of censorship and the subject of Chinese "Boys' Love" novels in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. This study hopes to raise awareness of the importance of popular cultural products from mainland China in Southeast Asia and to suggest alternative perspectives to contemporary cultural flows within countries in the Global South.