The origins of Duanju: when China invented the model of mobile fiction

Before becoming a global phenomenon, Duanju was born in China at the crossroads of web literature, short programs, social networks and mobile uses.

As early as 2002, platforms like Qidian offered digital serial novels, read chapter by chapter. This episodic, fast, and addictive reading method laid the foundations for a new relationship with fiction: sequenced, designed to be consumed in series.

This narrative model has gradually migrated to video.

Around 2010, the first micro-films emerged: very short, autonomous, and often self-produced videos, broadcast on Tudou or Sina Video. Narratively looped into a single episode, they marked a first bridge between web fiction and video.

In 2013, the first micro-dramas appeared on Youku. Unlike micro-films, these were episodic, structured as mini-series. Still in horizontal format, they laid the foundations for duanju without yet addressing mobile devices.

It was in 2018 that Duanju adopted its current form: vertical, mobile, ultra-rhythmic, and monetized. The smartphone not only became a main screen, but also its cradle. The episodes, lasting from 1 to 6 minutes, scroll like stories. The writing is concise, marked by final twists, to capture attention in a continuous flow. This period corresponds to the rise of applications like Douyin and Kuaishou, which popularized the format among the general public.

Subsequently, this model was exported and consolidated through platforms such as ReelShort , DramaBox , or GoodShort , confirming the emergence of a narrative language specific to mobile uses.

In China, these dramas are often referred to as "vertical paid duanju" (竖屏付费短剧), highlighting their roots in a specific digital culture and an economic model based on the purchase of episodes or subscriptions.

In short, Duanju is not just a new format: it is a complete reinvention of storytelling, born out of Chinese digital culture and shaped by two decades of experimentation between text, image, and interaction.

Sources:

• 中国作家网 / China Writers Association , December 25, 2023

• 澎湃新闻 / The Paper , June 11, 2024