r/DanmeiNovels

I came across this post on Facebook yesterday, and I wrote a long response in a comment on it, and read some other interesting replies. I felt it would make for a good discussion here in this group, so I am sharing it here. (FYI they said the post was assisted by a chatbot as English is not their first language.)

This was my response (split here into 3 sections for easier perusing):

1. CENSORSHIP

I am a western reader. So first, here is my Chinese friend's response when I sent this to her. "I'd much rather that the aesthetics come from the culture, and not censorship. if it's the latter, then it's like bonsai - cool to look at, but extremely unnatural how it's formed. ...Also, erotica is only a part of the censorship. the more insidious part is that it affects which topics people feel comfortable writing about, and how characters are portrayed."

I had already thought those two things. Of course the main problem people have with this censorship is not its impact on story content, but the negative message it sends to society about being anything other than heterosexual. This is actually LGBTQ censorship's main purpose (in any country); they openly state that they want to promote "traditional family values" and discourage "deviation" and "unnatural" behavior (just as is done by conservative governments in the west). And even far worse is the horribly cruel treatment danmei writers are receiving, being massively fined and jailed with long sentences!

But the secondary problem is that creators are constrained from including things they may want to include not for sex in itself, but because sexual aspects are part of the story they want to tell. Sex is a primary drive of all humans with a very primal role in the human experience, and to leave it out because they have to can stunt the work. It is not that "we are being robbed" of sex, but that we might be robbed of the full story authors want to tell, which is shown clearly by seeing the same author's writing before and after stronger censorship took hold. And the biggest problem is not even that we are being robbed, but that creators are being robbed of their freedom to create what they choose.

The books that were NOT censored have those same good qualities that you attribute to censorship! Sure, creativity can happen due to constraints. But it clearly happens just fine without it. And no amount of creativity due to constraints is worth the many bad things about censorship. Do you think authors would be happy to know that you are defending the cause of their oppression and repression this way?

2. WESTERNERS

It's not true that the main (or only) thing Westerners care about in these stories is the sex. Generalizations about any group are always untrue, just as untrue as sweeping generalizations about Chinese people (which ironically your post also contains). If it were true that we all operate only "below the belt," danmei wouldn't have gotten so obsessively popular here, and instead we'd stick to other countries' BL, which has plenty of it. No fans I know of ever thought the genre is "purely intended to be erotica." In fact a huge if not the MAIN reason Westerners love danmei is that the stories are not just romance but encompass so many other things. (See this post proving that)

The most popular one, Heaven Official's Blessing, doesn't have any outright smut, just kissing, making out and hints at it. How could it be the most popular, if all we cared about was sex? Yes, the other most popular ones like MDZS and Erha do have sex. MDZS's isn't even until the very end though, and its adaptations that don't have it (The Untamed and the donghua), are what made danmei popular here in the first place.

I have seen many Western fans praise how the little things become more emotionally charged, like "adjusting the headband" or brushing hands, etc. We like and appreciate that subtlety. BUT!! It should not come from a place of being forced to write a certain way, and we feel badly for the creators for that.

3. CHINESE FANDOM/SOCIETY

"it belongs to the Chinese people and it was made for them." I am a lurker on a lot of Chinese social media, and they appreciate sex in art just as much as anyone else. Chinese danmei fans love it when creators find ways to keep or inject the romantic/sexual aspects that would be there if not for censorship. Until the more recent crackdown, Chinese authors were putting non-censored scenes on other platforms separately, and they are very "wild" and creative in the sexual parts of their stories, especially visible in books written prior to stronger censorship. Manhua artists will put the non-censored panels up on Weibo or X. The Chinese are not less sexual than other humans. Despite the "great firewall," they consume porn just about as much as Americans.

Why are so many Chinese adaptations going off-shore to be produced in other Asian countries now? So they don't have to be censored. It's not just "toxic foreigners" in the West who want uncensored stories. And many fans and I just feel bad that those in mainland China have difficulty accessing these uncensored productions and books.

Generalizations are just never accurate, no matter who they are about. I hope I've addressed the issues with the ones made here, as well as with censorship.

There’s Something Wrong with the Chief Volume 3, Case File Compendium Volume 8, and Three Hundred Years of Longing Volume 3 will release on May 12

Dinghai Fusheng Records Manhua Volume 3 and Joyful Reunion Volume 4 will release on May 19

MDZS Deluxe Hardcover Volume 5 will release on May 26. This is the last hardcover volume

What title(s) are you most excited for?

This series is licenced by seven seas entertainment and will be four volumes long!!! Our mc is a victim of transmigration just like our dear shen qingqiu and the protagonist of this novel he's transmigrated into is of course the ml who he saved....oh wait...he IS the ml but...not the protagonist that he's supposed to save?!

This series is a good transmigration danmei that blends elements of romance, comedy, fantasy, historical fiction, cultivation as well as mystery. Our characters are so cute you'll fall in love with them instantly. Only sad thing is that our ml has quite the tragic past so I guess we can say the author of the original novel was like Great Master Aeroplane. I really love how the mc is calm but when his little baby (er..I mean our ml sorry!!) gets insulted or wounded he'll beat the living daylight out of the perpetrators.

>! Of course there's a love triangle that you'll sense towards the latter of volume 1 involving the OG MC's so called friend An Long. !<

If I had to rate this series out of ten I'd give it a solid 8!! Guys I know this series is really popular but if u looking for a good transmigration read then consider this!!!

!!🤩 HAPPY READING EVERYONE 🤩!!

I need these...plus all of the Hardcover 7S books...and also The Approach when it comes out...and also every single BL manhwa that has a physical release. One day my house will be full of books. For now I will say, thank goodness for epubs and my kindle and people who translate novels for free. (Also whyyyyy are Rosmei books not available to buy in a physical store in the US yet? Even Hai Tang is at least in kinokuniya stores and I have one in Austin)

I wonder what my parents reactions on how my shelf is full of gay stuff lol. I also do have some other nicknacks but the original/expensive stuff gets special treatment ig. except furina i love her bc of her

This is a completed danmei series licenced by seven seas entertainment by mu su li and has concluded with it's third volume on April 21st.

The mc is a monk who is ofc amnesiac (mu su li's novels are actually most well known for this one thing : they feature the : Who am I? Who are you? trope ) and on an exorcism he finds xue xian...a dragon that's soul is now in a paper body along with a dead scholar whose soul xue xian put back into his body...Now the ragtag trio as they are well known as embark on an adventure...xue xian still needs to find who dug out his bones...and this amnesiac bald donkey is tied to his lost bones?!

This series blends many elements of mystery, romance, historical fiction, fantasy, cultivation, the dynamic between xue xian and xuanmin reminds me a bit of wangxian actually

Also guys don't let the fact that xuanmin is a blad monk stop you from reaching out to this series!! I mean we all saw what happened to >!feng xiao in peerless...best of luck with his hair growth remedies!!!!!< You will definitely fall in love with these characters and the plot and world building really has you hooked. The mystery is really worth it!!😭😭😭

If I had to rate this series I'd give it an 8 out of ten {okay I know I've said that same thing in my other reviews but usually it's really hard for me to give a 9 or higher no. rating so if u ever find a review of mine that has a 9 or higher rating do remember it must be a really SOOO good series then}

🤩**!! HAPPY READING EVERYONE !!🤩**

I thought QJJ was on the same popularity level as erha (haven’t read erha yet) because I always see it on my fyp as a recommendation. So when I finally gave Qiang Jin Jiu a try… oh my GOD 😭

I’m currently on volume 3, but it already almost topped my number one favorite, and that says a LOT because I rarely get this attached to a story this fast. I’m not a danmei expert reader or anything, but you just KNOW when you’re reading something special, right?? that's how i feel.....everything is so well done that I genuinely can’t shut up about it right now😭.

Xiao Chiye and Shen Zechuan's relationship is exactly my type. They’re both smart, capable, strong, and actually understand each other on such a deep level. their dynamic is SO satisfying to read. every conversation between them has me giggling and kicking my feet because their chemistry feels so natural and genuine :) Xiao Chiye might honestly be one of the best gongs ever.

What shocked me the most though is how little content there is for QJJ on tiktok and ig😭 I searched the hashtags expecting to drown in edits because surely a novel THIS good would have a massive fandom presence… but there were barely any content?? I felt so robbed LMFAOOO. I need people to start editing them immediately because this masterpiece deserves WAY more hype than it gets.

I just know that when I finish this novel, I’m going to be devastated and probably enter a long reading slump because how am I supposed to read another danmei after this masterpiece :<<

Anyway, I just wanted to yap about how I wish QJJ got the popularity it deserves. Or was I just too late to discover it, and the peak of its popularity has already passed?

While I do love the very unique romance thats often shown in danmei, im itching for something a little more toxic. I just finished my reread of Sadistic Beauty B and im wondering if there are any other danmeis with characters who fit a more sadistic/masochistic bill and are all around kind of a red flag!

I prefer xianxia/wuxia danmei but feel free to leave modern recommendations in the comments!

pictured: QianQiu

Just as the title says, i am rereading Misvil, and desperate for its official art as well as Fanarts, Memes, anything would do! (*^O^*)

I only got 1 official art from weibo which I have attached here. Kind souls, please help! (;＞_＜;)

The Approach (Vol. 1) will open for pre-order next week!

Pre-Order Period: May 9th, 20:00 EST – Jun 8th, 20:00 EST

Full content: https://x.com/haitangbooks/status/2050727035644043747