Shrouding the Heavens
 Cover of the Shrouding the Heavens web novel | |
| Author | Chen Dong |
|---|---|
| Original title | 遮天 |
| Language | Chinese |
| Genre | Xianxia[1] |
| Published | 2010–2012 |
| Publication place | China |
| Media type | Web novel |
| Shrouding the Heavens | |
|---|---|
| 遮天 | |
| Based on | Shrouding the Heavens by Chen Dong[2] |
| Directed by | Shi Touxiong (石头熊)[2] |
| Country of origin | China[2] |
| Original language | Mandarin Chinese[2] |
| Production | |
| Animator | Build Dream Animation (铸梦动画)[2] |
| Production company | Tencent Penguin Pictures (企鹅影视)[2] |
| Original release | |
| Network | Tencent Video[2] |
| Release | 3 May 2023[2] – present |
Shrouding the Heavens (Chinese: 遮天; pinyin: Zhē Tiān) is a Chinese web novel by Chen Dong. It is a xianxia novel that was serialized on Qidian, beginning in 2010 and concluding in 2012 with its 1,859th chapter. [3][4] It is part of Chen Dong's Shrouding the Heavens trilogy, alongside Perfect World and The Sacred Ruins.[5]
The novel follows Ye Fan, a young man from Earth, and a group of former university classmates after they are transported away from Earth aboard a bronze coffin pulled by nine dragons. The story subsequently develops into a large-scale cultivation narrative involving supernatural powers, ancient forces, conflicts among cultivators, and the pursuit of longevity.[6]
An animated television adaptation premiered on Tencent Video in May 2023. The series is produced by Tencent Penguin Pictures and animated by Build Dream Animation.
Publication
Serialization
Shrouding the Heavens was serialized on Qidian from 2010 to 2012.[3] The novel consists of 1,859 chapters, concluding with the chapter titled "遮天大结局" ("The End of Shrouding the Heavens").[7][4]
The novel was also distributed through JD Reading, where it was issued in a multi-volume edition. The platform's catalogue includes Shrouding the Heavens (30) by Chen Dong and provides access to the digital edition and an option for purchasing the printed book.[8]
Print publication
The novel was subsequently issued in print by Tai Bai Wen Yi Publishing House. A 2012 first edition published in Xi'an is catalogued as an 18-volume set. The catalogue record identifies the publisher as Tai Bai Wen Yi Publishing House and gives the Library of Congress classification PL2933.N36 Z44 2012.[9]
The same catalogue record associates the edition with OCLC/WorldCat identifier 1006141939 and lists 18 ISBN-13 identifiers for the set.[9]
The first volume, Jiulong La Guan (九龙拉棺), carries ISBN 978-7-5513-0279-1. The ISBN is included in the catalogue record for the 2012 edition.[9]
Themes
The China Writers Network has discussed Shrouding the Heavens as an example of how fantasy-oriented online literature can incorporate elements of social reality. The discussion contrasts the novel's imaginative setting with its treatment of recognizable interpersonal relationships.[6]
The article identifies family, friendship, and romantic relationships as recurring elements in the novel and argues that these relationships retain connections to Chinese social ethics and traditional culture after the characters leave Earth.[6]
The novel uses conventions associated with xianxia, including cultivation, supernatural abilities, the pursuit of longevity, and conflicts among cultivators. Its transition from a recognizable contemporary setting into an expansive supernatural world also illustrates the combination of realistic social elements and fantasy described in Chinese discussions of online literature.[6]
The novel also uses the pursuit of immortality as a broader narrative theme. The cultivation journey is presented not only as a progression in supernatural power but also as a response to mortality and the limits of human existence, with characters seeking to transcend ordinary human lifespans and uncover the mysteries of the ancient world.[1]
Reception
Qidian's official honor record documents substantial engagement with Shrouding the Heavens on its platform. It records the accumulation of five million recommendation votes and 500,000 collections by September 2014, as well as repeated appearances in Qidian's monthly-ticket, recommendation, and book-review rankings during 2012 and 2013.[10]
The Qidian record also documents that the novel entered the platform's premium program in March 2012 and received the "Highly Popular" distinction in April 2020. Qidian defines the distinction as applying to works with at least 200,000 VIP characters and average paid subscriptions exceeding 10,000.[10]
According to Guangming Online, Shrouding the Heavens entered the top ten of Qidian's monthly ticket ranking nine times during its serialization. The work was also ranked first on the 2013 Baidu Fengyun Chart and had accumulated approximately 63 million clicks and 5.51 million recommendations on Qidian at the time of the report.[1]
Qidian's official honor record states that Shrouding the Heavens was included in the Shanghai Library's 2023 selection of 100 high-quality online-literature works.[10]
In 2016, Shrouding the Heavens was included among the works selected for the First Online Literature and Art Criticism Competition. China Writers Network lists Chen Dong's novel as work number 30 in the competition's recommended list.[11]
In 2017, Guangming Online featured Shrouding the Heavens in its "China Online Novels Popularity List" under the xuanhuan and xiuzhen category, describing it as a representative work of Chen Dong and discussing its world-building and cultivation narrative.[1]
A separate China Writers Network discussion characterizes Shrouding the Heavens as a fantasy work whose depiction of social ethics, family, friendship, and romantic relationships incorporates elements associated with Chinese society and traditional culture.[12]
In 2023, Shrouding the Heavens was selected for inclusion in the Shanghai Library's collection of outstanding Chinese web literature. Qidian's official honors record lists the work among the library's “100 outstanding web-literature works”, while a report by 36Kr on the China Literature–Shanghai Library initiative identifies the novel among the selected works.[13][14]
According to a report published by People's Daily in April 2026, Shrouding the Heavens had ranked at the top of the Baidu Novel Popularity Chart multiple times during its serialization. The report stated that the novel had accumulated more than 200 million clicks and had more than 20 million readers and followers.[3]
Literary analysis
Shrouding the Heavens has been discussed in literary studies of Chinese web fiction. In 2019, Writers Publishing House published Chen Dong and Shrouding the Heavens by Xiao Jinghong as part of its Guide to Major Writers and Works of Chinese Web Literature series. The book identifies Shrouding the Heavens as one of Chen Dong's representative works and examines its world-building, narrative techniques, and relationship between reality and imagination.[15]
Adaptations
Donghua
A donghua adaptation of Shrouding the Heavens was announced as part of the expansion of the novel's intellectual property into animation and other media. In August 2021, People's Daily reported that Chengdu-based Xingyue Chenshi Culture Development, which held the rights to the Shrouding the Heavens intellectual property, was developing the property across multiple forms of media, including animation.[16]
In August 2022, People's Daily reported that the planned animation was being developed by Xingyue Chenshi and described it as an adaptation of Chen Dong's web novel. The report identified the project as an experiment in the use of Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) technology in Chinese animation and said that the production sought to integrate resources and production teams from the film, television, and animation industries.[17]
Promotional material released in April 2023 announced that the series would premiere on 3 May 2023 on Tencent Video, with three episodes released on the opening day and subsequent episodes released weekly.[18]
The animated series premiered on Tencent Video on 3 May 2023. Contemporary reporting identified Tencent Penguin Pictures and Xingyue Chenshi as the companies behind the production and described the series as an adaptation of Chen Dong's novel.[19]
The series continued as a weekly production. A 2024 report on Chengdu's cultural-creative industry stated that, since its May 2023 premiere, it had reached 57 episodes.[20]
Production of the series incorporated techniques intended to reproduce elements of traditional Chinese visual culture. In September 2024, the Sichuan Cultural Industry Fund reported that the production used digital scene construction and character motion-capture techniques, with visual designs incorporating elements including traditional Chinese gardens, Tang dynasty clothing, and Sanxingdui masks. The report described these techniques as part of the series' combination of cultural elements and digital production.[21]
By April 2026, the adaptation had entered its third season. People's Daily reported that the series had been releasing continuously for 156 weeks since its 2023 debut.[3]
A separate report by People's Daily, published on 4 April 2026, also reported that the animated adaptation had entered its third season and discussed the production's association with Chengdu's digital cultural and creative industries and the release of the adaptation's first theatrical film.[22]
The continuing production of the series was subsequently discussed in the context of Chengdu's broader digital cultural industry. A September 2025 People's Daily report described the production company as one of the enterprises operating in Chengdu's Tianfu Changdao Digital Cultural and Creative Park. The report also highlighted the production's use of virtual-production stages, 3D scanning, motion capture, and facial micro-expression technology.[23]
Reception
The production was presented as part of the development of Chengdu's digital cultural and creative sector. In a May 2023 report, a government-affiliated publication reported that the series' premiere generated extensive online activity, including more than 1.5 million followers on Tencent Video by 9 May and more than 3 billion associated views on Douyin at that point.[24]
In December 2023, Shrouding the Heavens received the "Most Promising Animation of the Year" honor at the 2023 Tencent Video Golden Goose Honors. The award placed the series among Tencent Video's recognized animation productions for the year.[25]
The 2024 Chengdu cultural-creative industry report also recorded more than 6.248 billion associated views on Douyin and 3.55 million followers on Tencent Video at the time of publication.[20]
The animation was also recognized by China's national broadcasting regulator. The National Radio and Television Administration included Shrouding the Heavens in its list of outstanding online audiovisual works for the second quarter of 2024, where it was classified as an online animated series.[26]
The selection was also reported by the China Writers Network's Online Literature and Art publication, which listed Shrouding the Heavens among the 73 works selected by the National Radio and Television Administration in the second quarter of 2024.[27]
By April 2026, People's Daily reported that the series' cumulative associated plays across platforms had exceeded 17 billion.[3]
A separate report by People's Daily, published on 4 April 2026, reported that the animated adaptation had accumulated more than 16 billion views across platforms.[22]
The September 2025 People's Daily report also stated that the animation had exceeded 140 billion associated plays across major video platforms.[23]
Awards and honors
| Year | Award or program | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Tencent Video Golden Goose Honors | Most Promising Animation of the Year | Shrouding the Heavens | Won[28] |
| 2024 | National Radio and Television Administration Outstanding Online Audiovisual Works Selection | Outstanding Online Animation, second quarter | Shrouding the Heavens | Selected[29] |
Other adaptations
By 2017, the work had been adapted into a mobile game, a web game, and a manga, while a television adaptation was reportedly in preparation.[1]
Theatrical film
The first theatrical film associated with the animated adaptation, Ni Ming Zhi Zhan: Bei Guan Zhan Wang Teng (逆命之战：背棺战王腾), was released exclusively on Tencent Video on 4 April 2026. The film was produced by the Chengdu-based digital cultural-creative company Xingyue Chenshi (星阅辰石).[22]
The film has a runtime of 90 minutes and was described as the first theatrical film of the Shrouding the Heavens animated series. It was released as an extension of the animated series and was intended to connect with its ongoing storyline.[3]
Before its release, the film received more than 2.148 million advance reservations. People's Daily reported that it opened with a score of 9.6 on Tencent Video and generated 220,000 bullet comments on its first day.[3]
The same report stated that related topics concerning the film had accumulated more than 270 million views on Douyin and that the film had appeared at the top of several Tencent Video animation rankings.[3]
Bibliography
- Chen Dong. Shrouding the Heavens (遮天). Qidian, 2010–2013.
- Chen Dong. Zhe tian (遮天). Tai Bai Wen Yi Publishing House, 2012. 18-volume edition.[9]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "〖中国网络小说好看榜〗玄幻修真"类型榜"之《遮天》" [China Online Novels Popularity List: Shrouding the Heavens in the xuanhuan and xiuzhen category]. Guangming Online (in Chinese). 29 October 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "《遮天》动画" [Shrouding the Heavens animated series]. Tencent Video (in Chinese). Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "全网预约量超214万、视频网站开分9.6分……"成都造"《遮天》剧场版凭啥霸榜" [More than 2.14 million advance reservations and a 9.6 opening score: why did the Shrouding the Heavens theatrical film top the charts?]. People's Daily (in Chinese). 9 April 2026. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- 1 2 "第1859章 遮天大结局" [Chapter 1859: The End of Shrouding the Heavens]. QQ Reading (in Chinese). Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "辰东的"遮天三部曲"究竟怎么样？网友：巅峰过后最后一部扑街了" [What is Chen Dong's Shrouding the Heavens trilogy like?]. Sohu (in Chinese). 5 March 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "网络文学的现实主义" [Realism in online literature]. China Writers Network (in Chinese). 6 November 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "遮天最新章节" [Latest chapters of Shrouding the Heavens]. QQ Reading (in Chinese). Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "遮天（三十） -- 辰东" [Shrouding the Heavens (Volume 30) — Chen Dong]. JD Reading (in Chinese). Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Zhe tian". Open Library. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 "遮天所获荣誉" [Honors received by Shrouding the Heavens]. Qidian (in Chinese). Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "首届网络文艺评论大赛公告" [Announcement of the First Online Literature and Art Criticism Competition]. China Writers Network (in Chinese). 3 June 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "网络小说的"金手指" 能否激活现实题材新的想象力？" [Can the "golden finger" of online fiction activate new possibilities for realistic subjects?]. China Writers Network (in Chinese). 21 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "遮天所获荣誉" [Honors received by Shrouding the Heavens]. Qidian (in Chinese). Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "最前线 | 阅文做网络文学17年，今天终于进入上海图书馆" [Frontline: After 17 years in online literature, China Literature enters Shanghai Library]. 36Kr (in Chinese). 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "辰东与《遮天》" [Chen Dong and Shrouding the Heavens]. University of International Business and Economics Library (in Chinese). 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "深耕IP经济 星阅辰石致力于让中华文化走出国门" [Deepening the IP economy, Xingyue Chenshi seeks to bring Chinese culture abroad]. People's Daily (in Chinese). 19 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "国漫新动向：做好"成都出品"，打造"动漫之都"" [New developments in Chinese animation: building Chengdu-produced animation and an "animation capital"]. People's Daily (in Chinese). 22 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "《遮天》动画定档！相约5月3日，与原力共同开启叶凡证道之旅！" [The Shrouding the Heavens animation sets its premiere date]. Bilibili (in Chinese). 19 April 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "这部动漫首播引关注" [This animated series attracts attention at its premiere]. China News Service (in Chinese). 5 May 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- 1 2 "2024年全市文创产业增加值力争突破2800亿元" [Chengdu seeks to increase the added value of its cultural and creative industries in 2024]. People's Daily / People's Daily App (in Chinese). 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "四川文化产业基金已投星阅辰石动漫作品《遮天》获央视关注" [Sichuan Cultural Industry Fund-backed Shrouding the Heavens animation receives attention from CCTV]. Sichuan Cultural Industry Fund (in Chinese). 20 September 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 "《遮天》动画首部剧场版开播！"成都造"国漫再添新作" [The first theatrical film of the Shrouding the Heavens animation begins release]. People's Daily (in Chinese). 4 April 2026. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- 1 2 "建设文明城市 繁荣城市文化（现代化人民城市这样建·文明）" [Building civilized cities and developing urban culture]. People's Daily (in Chinese). 22 September 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "网络动画片《遮天》在腾讯视频首播" [The online animated series Shrouding the Heavens premieres on Tencent Video]. Government-affiliated publication (in Chinese). 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "2023腾讯视频金鹅荣誉名单揭晓 推选多元品质佳作、与创作者共享荣耀时刻" [2023 Tencent Video Golden Goose Honors announced]. National Business Daily (in Chinese). 17 December 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "国家广播电视总局2024年第二季度优秀网络视听作品推选活动优秀作品目录" [Catalogue of outstanding online audiovisual works selected for the second quarter of 2024] (PDF). National Radio and Television Administration (in Chinese). 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "2024年10月网络文艺大事记" [October 2024 online literature and art events]. China Writers Network (in Chinese). 1 November 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "2023腾讯视频金鹅荣誉名单揭晓 推选多元品质佳作、与创作者共享荣耀时刻" [2023 Tencent Video Golden Goose Honors announced]. National Business Daily (in Chinese). 17 December 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "2024年第二季度优秀网络视听作品推选活动优秀作品目录" [Catalogue of outstanding works selected in the second quarter of 2024]. National Radio and Television Administration (in Chinese). Retrieved 11 August 2026.