Micro-Dramas and the 'Dă' Verb: How Chinese Literature and Mass Culture Are Rewriting Narrative Speed
In a significant piece for New Left Review, Jian Mao contends that micro-drama, a format designed for vertical-screen viewing on smartphones, epitomizes China in the 2020s, illustrating a rapid evolution in modern literature. The 2024 sensation I Became a Stepmother in the 1980s, comprising 82 episodes each under two minutes, exemplifies this trend. By February 2026, micro-drama platforms had amassed over 700 million viewers, with the industry valued at around 100 billion yuan ($14 billion). In 2025 alone, more than 140,000 micro-dramas were produced, overshadowing the release of over 600 feature films. Mao notes a similar literary acceleration, referencing recent contributions from Yu Hua, Bi Feiyu, and others, and emphasizes the importance of the verb dă in the narratives of this period.
Key facts
- Over 700 million viewers were registered across micro-drama platforms as of February 2026, with average daily screentime of two hours per person.
- The micro-drama industry is worth approximately 100 billion yuan ($14 billion).
- More than 140,000 micro-dramas were released in the first eight months of 2025, involving over a hundred thousand enterprises.
- The 2024 micro-drama I Became a Stepmother in the 1980s has 82 episodes, each averaging under two minutes.
- Micro-dramas first emerged in 2018 and underwent explosive growth during the pandemic.
- Over 600 full-length feature films were produced in China in 2025, far fewer than micro-dramas.
- Hengdian, China's film and TV production complex in Zhejiang, has been nicknamed 'Verticaldian' due to micro-drama production.
- The essay was published in New Left Review, issue ii160, by Jian Mao.
Entities
Artists
- Jian Mao
- Yu Hua
- Sun Ganlu
- Bi Feiyu
- Zhang Yueran
- Jin Yucheng
- Ge Fei
- Ban Yu
- Shuang Xuetao
- Zheng Zhi
- Lin Bai
- Lu Nei
- Liu Qing
- Liang Bin
- Hao Ran
- Zhao Shuli
- Zhang Xianliang
- Han Shaogong
- Can Xue
- Yang Zhijun
- Qiao Ye
- Xie Jin
- Wu Yonggang
- Yuan Muzhi
- Ren Lu
- Ruan Lingyu
- Jiaozi
- James Wood
- Franco Moretti
- Lukács
- Jameson
- Laozi
- Wang Ximeng
- Mao Zedong
- Pynchon
- Rushdie
- David Foster Wallace
- Zadie Smith
- Jin Yong
- Si Nian
- Yang Fei
- Lu Keming
- Wei Dafu
- Chen Qianli
- Qin Chuan'an
- Luo Ke
- Zhou Zhenxia
- Chen Kemiing
- Shen Xinyi
- Dou Baoqing
- Liang Shengbao
- Old Liang San
- Sun Wukong
- Zhu Bajie
- Ne Zha
- Ao Bing
- King Chen
- Zhi
- Qiao
Institutions
- New Left Review
- Zhejiang Grand Theatre
- Fourth Road Market
- North Sichuan Road Bridge
- Soy-Sauce Brewery
- Maochang Coal Depot
- Hengdian
- Mao Dun Literature Prize
- Shanyaodan School
- Celestial Court
- Celestial Cauldron
Locations
- China
- Shanghai
- Ruijin
- Jiangxi Province
- Zhejiang
- Beijing
- Tianjin
- Gansu
- Shaanxi
- Guanzhong
- Central Hebei Plain
- Xi Town
- Yangtze River
- Dianshan Lake District
- Zhujiajiao Town
- Xiaoyangfang village
- Tiaoxi village
- Yunfeng town
- Hamatang
- Jitouzhai village
- Dai City
- Tibetan plateau
- French Concession
- Gaolan Road
- Jinxian Road
- Yellow River Road
- 67 Chuntai Road
- United States
- United Kingdom