How to read a fictional queer icon?: Dongfang Bubai's online fandom in an age of the spreadable media

From Jin Yong’s original novel (1969) and Tsui Hark’s HK films (1991, 1993) to Yu Zheng’s Mainland China-based TV drama (2013), Dongfang Bubai has been constantly remade as a legendary fictional queer icon in the Greater Chinese public cultural imaginaries. Following the idea of “spreadable media,” I investigate online discussions in Dongfang’s fandom. Identifying Chinese fans’ multiple reading tactics to make sense of the gender and sexuality of Dongfang, I explore the interconnections, presumptions, and potential consequences of these tactics, as well as the ever-changing power relations between mainstream media industries and Chinese fans in an era of convergence culture.