Duanju Explained

Duanju (Simplified Chinese: 短剧, Traditional Chinese: 短劇, Pinyin:duǎn jù, "dwan jyoo") Chinese micro dramas, Chinese short dramas, ultra-short dramas, or TikTok short dramas, are a type of web series that has gained popularity in China. These series are mostly adapted from web fictions and are released on new media platforms such as TikTok (抖音 in China). Each episode is very short, lasting only around one minute. To facilitate viewing on mobile devices, Duanju are directly produced in a vertical screen. Short dramas are sometimes adapted into interactive movie games.[1]

Examples

Copyright Controversies

Due to the short production cycle and low cost, if a script becomes popular, many companies will rush to imitate it, resulting in the same plot flooding the internet, leading to sense of exhaustion, infringing on the original creator's copyright and other intellectual property rights.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: China’s next cultural export could be TikTok-style short soap operas. MIT Technology Review.
  2. Web site: 短剧虽短,版权不容侵犯 - 新华网客户端. app.xinhuanet.com.