Mo Yan's 'Scrollable' Book and Su Chao Fever: China's Digital Culture Trends

Manya Koetse's China Trend Watch newsletter covers multiple trending topics on Chinese social media. Nobel laureate Mo Yan published his first fiction in six years, 'Oh, People' (Rén Na), a collection of 81 ultra-short pieces designed to be 'scrolled through' like TikTok. The Jiangsu Super League (Su Chao), a provincial amateur football tournament launched in 2025, has gone viral for its entertainment value, including a synchronized robot performance by Magic Atom, a live performance by singer Zhou Shen, and creative memes like Changzhou's temporary name change and 'soy-braised dragon' merchandise. The French National Assembly unanimously passed a cultural restitution bill making it easier to return looted colonial-era objects, citing Victor Hugo's 1861 letter about the Old Summer Palace. Actress Li Xiaoran's off-key performance on 'Sisters Who Make Waves' sparked the viral 'Office Li Xiaoran' meme, where workers self-identify as underperforming but smiling. Other stories include China's National Security Ministry joining Douyin, a pregnant wolf giving birth at a conservation station in Inner Mongolia, pork price discussions, 17 films slated for May Day Golden Week, a Guangzhou man detained for cyberbullying Olympic diver Quan Hongchan, Unitree's H1 humanoid robot reaching 10 m/s, Honor's robot 'Lightning' winning a half-marathon in 50:26, and a 19-year-old woman embezzling 17 million yuan for blind boxes and livestream tipping.