What is danmei?
Danmei is the Chinese word for BL fiction, most of it long novels first serialised online. If you watched The Untamed or Heaven Official's Blessing, you have already met it.
The word
Danmei (耽美) means roughly "indulging in beauty". The term was borrowed from Japanese and came to mean Chinese-language stories about romance between men.
How it is published
Most danmei starts as a web novel, released chapter by chapter on Chinese fiction sites. The novels are often very long. Popular ones are then adapted into manhua (comics), donghua (animation), audio dramas and live-action series.
Novels and their dramas
Live-action adaptations made in mainland China usually present the central relationship as a close friendship. The novels do not hold back in the same way, which is why many viewers go looking for the books afterwards. The Untamed is adapted from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, and the drama Guardian from Guardian: Zhen Hun.
Common settings
- Xianxia: immortals, cultivation sects and gods. See the xianxia shelf.
- Wuxia: martial artists and wandering swordsmen, without the gods.
- Historical and court intrigue, often with invented dynasties.
- Modern, sci-fi and survival-game stories, which are a large part of the genre too.
Reading it in English
Official English editions have grown quickly in the last few years. Each title page on the Chinese shelf names the English publisher and links to where the books are sold. Some publishers sell only through their own stores or importers, and we link those as well.
Where to start
The Chinese section of the Essentials Shelf has eight novels to begin with, from the funniest to the darkest.