How to Read Fan-Translated Danmei in English

Broadly speaking, English-language danmei can be divided into two categories: officially licensed and published; and unofficially translated and disseminated.

For the officially licensed works, you can and should buy them.  After all, that’s how the authors who write these amazing stories are able to pay their bills.  Readers buying their work is what will enable them to keep writing, especially in the face of censorship and other pressures.  It also sends a message to publishers that we love this content and want more of it.  Win-win for everyone.  So even if you’ve got your hands on a fan translation, please buy the officially licensed work when it’s released.

For as-yet-unlicensed work, finding what you want can be a bit trickier.  Luckily, in many cases fan translators have done an amazing job pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into creating English translations.  Some of these translations are true masterworks.  In other cases they can be a bit rougher.  The worst of the worst are machine-translated (or MTL) with no editing.  These are often just dumped into a translation algorithm like google translate.  This can result in a really hard-to-decipher text. Chinese to English translation is usually not word-for-word and requires an incredible amount of skill and art to get it right, a reason we should all deeply appreciate fan translators.

So where do you go to look for fan translations?  A quick google will often help you out here.  Many can be read on novelupdates.com, though you’ll have to filter there for danmei content specifically as they have a host of webnovels.  In other cases, fan-translation sites exist for particular works or authors, like the amazing Chrysanthemum Garden or Chicken Gege.  Sometimes you can find epub or pdf versions of this work (helpful for ereaders!), and in other cases you may be restricted to reading on a web-based platform.

If you’re struggling to find something, I recommend joining a danmei-oriented group to learn more.  I’m part of groups on Facebook, Discord, and Reddit, but I’m certain there are many more.  Danmei fans tend to be incredibly helpful and supportive, but do keep in mind that many groups restrict asking for content that has already been licensed, or formats (like epubs) that may not be approved by fan translators.