What Does Baihe Mean?
Content TermThe Chinese genre of female/female romance fiction, the f/f counterpart to danmei. The word means 'lily,' paralleling the flower symbolism of Japanese yuri.
Baihe in Practice
Baihe novels are serialized on Chinese web fiction platforms and cover the same breadth of settings as danmei, from cultivation fantasy to contemporary drama. The genre has a smaller international footprint than danmei but a steadily growing translation scene, and baihe fandoms have been gaining visible presence on AO3 as more titles reach English-reading audiences. Fans often discover baihe through danmei fandom, since the communities share platforms, terminology, and translation infrastructure. As with danmei, the international fandom largely runs on fan translation and a great deal of patience.
Example usage
"The baihe translation updates twice a month and I have restructured my life around it."
Related Terms
Danmei
The Chinese genre of male/male romance fiction, primarily web novels, which produced some of the largest fandoms on AO3. Works like Mo Dao Zu Shi and Tian Guan Ci Fu brought danmei to massive international audiences.
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Yuri
The Japanese-fandom term for female/female romantic and sexual content, spanning everything from gentle romance to explicit work. Western fandom's parallel term is femslash; 'GL' (girls' love) serves as the commercial genre label.
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GL (Girls' Love)
The umbrella term for media and fanworks centered on romance between female characters, used in parallel with BL. GL and yuri are largely interchangeable in modern usage.
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Webnovel
A novel serialized online, usually chapter by chapter on a dedicated platform. Webnovels from China, Korea, and Japan are the source material for many of the largest fandoms in current AO3 culture.
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