Adapted by:
John Tones
WriterI've been writing about culture for twenty-something years and, at Xataka, I cover everything related to movies, video games, TV shows, comics, and pop culture.
Karen Alfaro
WriterCommunications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies.
Until mid-2024, anyone in China seeking something risqué turned to Haitang Literature City. Millions of women wrote and read erotic stories with one appealing feature: they starred men. But at the end of last year, a mass arrest of those responsible once again condemned the genre to ostracism. Erotic literature has always existed in China, but the country no longer welcomes it.
A libidinous history. Chinese erotic literature has a long historical tradition. During the Han period (around 200 B.C.), sex manuals circulated as dialogues between the emperor and his tutors. These rank among the oldest known erotic literary works, alongside isolated pieces from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Metaphors and poetic codes of great lyricism define them.
China later produced seminal works in the genre, such as the heavily persecuted 16th-century novel Jin Ping Mei. The genre has often flourished when writers used erotic scenes to explore critical or satirical issues. That tradition continues in the genre’s digital incarnations, which go beyond a simple collection of sexual acrobatics.
The danmei hurricane. Danmei refers to stories featuring romantic relationships between male characters. Female writers and readers dominate the genre, which originated with 1970s manga—specifically the yaoi genre (boy’s love, also known as BL), with which it shares many traits.
This manga entered China illegally and was translated from Taiwan. It sparked a movement of young women who began writing their own stories, crafting a uniquely Chinese identity influenced by Japanese aesthetics. With the rise of the Internet, danmei went mainstream. Some stories were adapted into films, though producers toned down the eroticism.
The digital age has arrived. Now the most prominent genre in Chinese erotica, danmei gained momentum through digital platforms. These sites helped many authors go professional and built strong communities of readers. After circulating almost clandestinely in online forums, digital danmei found a home on sites like Jinjiang Literature City. Although officials have heavily censored its erotic content since the late 2010s, the site still operates with a variety of genres. Other platforms include Liancheng Read and Danmei Chinese Web, but the most significant remains Haitang Literature City.
The case of Flower Market. Haitang Literature City, also known as Flower Market, gained notoriety for its erotic content, especially danmei. Its operators hosted servers in Taiwan to evade censorship. That effort failed.
In June 2024, Chinese authorities launched a crackdown on dozens of websites—especially Flower Market. They arrested several authors and distributors supplying the mainland. Officials accused them of publishing and profiting from obscene and pornographic content. Flower Market had kept financial records of its Chinese authors, which made it easier for authorities to target them.
No one came out unscathed. The arrests made one thing clear: Chinese censorship doesn’t stop at the border. Officials left no room for erotic or queer literature. At the same time, Haitang Literature City prioritized profits over its writers. The platform delayed removing accounts and continued promoting content after the arrests, which put authors at further risk. Their lack of protection became evident.
Censorship in China. Although China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997, officials strictly monitor explicit portrayals of same-sex relationships. The country bans pornography, and its vague definition of “obscenity” gives authorities wide latitude to crack down. Officials have repeatedly persecuted danmei content, shutting down online forums and stores and arresting several writers. The best-known case is that of Tianyi, a writer sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2018.
A symbol of resistance. The closure of Flower Market and Tianyi’s imprisonment fostered a climate of fear. Still, danmei has emerged as a symbol of political resistance—even if the content itself remains apolitical.
Outside China, international platforms such as Archive of Our Own have boosted the genre’s popularity. Some danmei works now appear in translation in many countries. This global craze obscures the harsh political and social realities faced by writers back home.
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