Why tho?

Unfortunately, it's because China has strict censorship laws. And in particular, the tolerability for online gay content and BL usually varies, so even authors are often uncertain about how much they can get past the censorship laws. As far as I've heard, there are even cases wherein a C-novel may have different published versions (explicit and censored), and when they get adapted into other media like manhua, donghua or live action series, they get even more censored. One popular example if you know about it is Mo Dao Zu Shi (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation). The novel itself contains explicit content, however it becomes heavily censored in the manhua. Meanwhile in the live action series (The Untamed), the main characters are not even directly shown to be in a romantic relationship, including very subtle hints towards their relationship instead. It's THAT heavily censored.

Also, Chinese comics are called manhua (while manhwa is for when it's Korean and manga when it's Japanese). Donghua is the chinese equivalent of anime. ^^

Thanks so much!! And yes i know mo dao zu shi but as far as i remember it has explicit things? (Im not sure if its fanart tho)

Thanks also for telling me the differences between a manhua and donghua! I appreciate it :))

Last question: does the censorship applies to het too? Or just for bl and gl's?

Also thanks bcs im into manhuas these days I JS CANT GET ENOUGH OF IT

theyre so fluffy and THE ARTSTYLE
Wether its bromance or shounen ai I LUV IT SM

Yeah, iirc the manhua for MDZS does have some of the explicit content (like kissing) but it still gets censored in comparison to the novel (which contains really tasty smut in the end haha).

As for your last question, I'm not too knowledgeable about hetero manhuas since I prefer reading BL manhuas and when it comes to hetero, I prefer mangas and manhwas lol. But I'm pretty sure the censorship applies to them too, especially with regards to smut scenes. I think it all boils down to their government regulations wanting to maintain traditional values and conservative culture, so when they deem a content ‘inappropriate’ or against their cultural norms, it getsheavily censored or restricted .

You're welcome!!

I know right? Manhuas are usually a major hit or miss with me tbh. Sometimes the plots are repetitive, sometimes the artstyle isn't consistent. But when a manhua is good, it's SERIOUSLY good. The really good ones usually have more mindblowing stories compared to manhwas, too. It's a shame they aren't as popular.

I think it might be due to the bad translations honestly. Manhuas don't get as much attention and by extension, good translations. So like a cycle, those really good manhuas just end up remaining hidden from public attention and appreciation. On the other hand, the ones that do get translated are often done through MTLs. The bad translations then make it a difficult experience of reading for readers, and therefore manhuas end up getting a bad reputation instead. Sigh.

^^!! Yea the translations r not that good but theyre understandable enough for my pea brain so i cope w it LOOL ;;