Watching National Treasure, creating danmei tongren: stories of power and the power of stories

Discussing danmei tongren (the Chinese term for slash fan creations) fandom of the mainland Chinese variety television programme National Treasure, this article examines how the meanings of Chinese television are perceived, contested, extended, and transformed by female fan audiences. By undertaking close reading of both danmei tongren fiction and music videos, we investigate how Chinese female fans creatively rework, extend, transgress, and subvert their favourite popular media texts to speak to their shared interests and fantasies, working-in stories of romance, sex, and intimacy between men and removing sexist, heteronormative, and nationalist discourses. Our examination shows that National Treasure danmei tongren fandom concerns both stories of power relationships across genders, sexualities, classes, ages, and these stories’ power over women. It offers a communal space for amateur and alternative female cultural production in which marginalised voices can speak back to mainstream media culture in China.