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2025/26 School of Chinese Research Student Seminar

Infinite Metaphors of Genre: Flow (Liu) as the Transcultural Suffix in Chinese Internet Literature

類型的無限隱喻：中國網路文學中的跨文化尾碼“流”

Abstract:

The Chinese character “流” (liú), often translated as “flow” or “stream,” has developed multiple ambivalent meanings derived from the natural phenomenon. Its dynamic and unceasing characteristics have made it a metaphor for literary form in classical Chinese literary theory. In contemporary Chinese popular culture, particularly Internet literature, liú has evolved into a common genre suffix, with major online fiction platforms employing tags like “Level-up Flow” (升級流) and “Summoning Flow” (召喚流) to categorise works. Although these genre suffixes are largely arbitrary, interchangeable and omissible, only “Infinite Flow” (無限流) has consistently retained this suffix, even in English translation.

This study posits that this stability results not only from the narrative structure of Infinite Flow fiction powerfully resonating with the imagery of liú, but also from its emergence around 2012 as the first genre to adopt this suffix. Compared to traditional Chinese literary terms such as “Bold-and-Unrestrained School” (豪放派) and “Crescent Moon School” (新月派), the use of liú as a style marker is not native. Instead, the research demonstrates that “流” is a Japanese activated word that entered the Chinese language through the influence of Japanese ACG popular culture.

“流”作為一種古老的自然現象，在漢語中衍生出具有矛盾性的多重語用，其變動與延續的特徵使它在《文心雕龍》等中國古典文論中常被用作文體的隱喻。而在中國當代流行文化語境，尤其是網路文學領域中，“流”成為類型的尾綴：各大線上小說平臺廣泛使用“升級流”“召喚流”等以“流”結尾的分類標籤。儘管這些類型尾碼在很大程度上是任意的，可被“文”等同義表述替換（如“系統文”與“系統流”），但在眾多以“流”為綴的網路文學類型中，唯有“無限流”穩定地與此尾碼結合，並在譯入英文後仍予保留。

本文認為，這不僅因為“無限流”的敘事結構與“流”的意象高度契合，更源於其是2012年前後中國網路文學討論中首個採用該尾碼的類型。相較於“豪放派”“新月派”等漢語中傳統表示文學流派的用語，“流”作為類型尾碼並非本土固有用法。基於此，本文進一步論證，“流”實為日本ACG流行文化影響下進入中文的日語激活詞。