Moving words in print

The spontaneous phenomenon once made it to the trending list of microblogging platform Sina Weibo, too.

Jing Yan, one of the editors of the book, says, although quality of the poems varies widely and that he tends not to include this book in the "literature" category, it's helpful to see the innermost thoughts of the young, and some expressions are very novel and moved him.

Bilibili grew in popularity partly because of its danmu ("bullet words") feature, which allows real-time comments to "float over" the video being played, inspiring interaction among viewers.

Many of these comments play on words and become online buzzwords, which can be seen as a sort of writing practice, he says, adding that poetry often requires counterintuitive transitions, which is consistent with comments that are meant to catch the eye.

A representative of Bilibili says in a written interview with China Daily that, from the company's perspective, "the book reflects one of the ways young people attempt to find their identity in an uncertain modern era. They are actively creating things and expressing themselves, and not, as the frequent criticism claims, 'no longer thinking critically'."

And the company is continuously collecting original poems on multiple topics, potentially in cooperation with universities, and it's likely there is another book like this planned in the future, it adds.

Contact the writer at fangaiqing@chinadaily.com.cn