Chinese Animation and Chinese Myths 2

On 17 April 2026, the Research Institute for Digital Culture and Humanities (RIDCH) at Hong Kong Metropolitan University hosted a screening and sharing session for Yao – Chinese Folktales 2. This event was part of the “Chinese Mythology in the Digital Age” series, sponsored by the Sin Wai Kin Foundation Limited. The research project aims to explore how traditional Chinese mythology is re-presented, re-narrated, and reconstructed through digital media in the context of rapidly accelerating technological development.

Since its debut in 2023, the series Yao – Chinese Folktales has garnered significant attention, amassing over 230 million views on the video-streaming platform Bilibili and generating considerable discussion in China. The second season, Yao – Chinese Folktales 2, which premiered in January 2026, has already attracted over 71 million views on Bilibili. RIDCH was greatly honored to once again invite the creative team for a screening session showcasing four distinct works, each exemplifying unique styles and themes: “How to Become Three Dragons,” “The Man in the Ear,” “Today's Zoo,” and “Worship the Mountain.” After the screening, the chief director, Chan Liaoyu, and episode directors Yang Mu, Hu Rui, Yang Yaci, Zhang Junjie, and Zhou Xu shared stories and insights from multiple perspectives, including the relationship between myths and animation, authenticity and fictionality in animated storytelling, the rich diversity of animation genres, intricate details in animation techniques, and the growth of creators.

Amid the rapid advancement of AI technologies and shifting audience aesthetics, the discussion addressed how creators may preserve artistic authenticity. From the emotional tension generated by dialect-based storytelling, to the creative principle of “not disguising life” and allowing stories to “grow naturally like seeds,” and further to the insight that “all myths are essentially stories of contemporary people,” the Chinese-style fantastical aesthetics represented by the Yao – Chinese Folktales 2 reveal the essence of adapting Chinese mythology: myths should not merely serve as dazzling visual spectacles or nostalgic symbols, but as mirrors of their times—reflecting present realities and responding to the loneliness and dilemmas of modern individuals. This also helps explain why Chinese mythology has experienced a significant revival in recent years across film, animation, games, and online literature.