by Xiaolin Sun
2026,8(3);
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Abstract
On short-video platforms, literary characters, plots, images, and emotions are recast through
footage, on-screen text, sound, and interactive prompts. Drawing on publicly available empirical studies
of BookTok, digital reading, and short-video cultural communication in China published during the past
five years, this article develops a five-stage framework: Literary semantic retention, visual re-narration,
multimodal coordination, platform visibility, and audience participation. Rather than pooling incompatible
datasets, it compares findings across studies. The evidence suggests that brief formats, music, and
recognizable visual motifs help a video secure initial attention. References to a work's title, characters,
relationships, key images, and context help viewers identify and interpret the source text, while creator
credibility and community interaction are more closely associated with discussion, saving, sharing, and
intention to read. Semantic retention and coherence across modes therefore matter if fleeting visual
attention is to develop into sustained literary engagement. The framework separates reach metrics from
indicators of substantive engagement and offers a basis for assessing the quality, rather than only the scale,
of literary communication through short video.
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