On December 21, Zhihu's original high-quality story platform, YanYan Stories, unveiled the "2025 Short Story Influence List," recognizing 62 outstanding works and 20 exceptional authors.

Zhou Yuan, founder and CEO of Zhihu, emphasized that the platform has hosted this award for three consecutive years to highlight the value of short stories and their creators. While last year's list focused on "how to create viral hits," this year's edition prioritizes the lasting impact of stories—"works that resonate deeply with audiences, not just those with high visibility."

This year's selection expanded beyond traditional genres like escapist, tragic, romantic, and suspense fiction to include narrative innovations. Notable works featured are "No Time to Die," "I Have a Strange Group," and "Soul Whipping Rod." For the first time, the list incorporated YanYan's "Three Masterpieces of 2025" and winners from the novel-writing marathon, broadening the scope to medium-length and serialized works with more realistic themes. Additionally, the "Most Cinematically Valuable Works" category introduced a short drama adaptation segment, with over 100 YanYan Stories works already licensed for short drama adaptations in 2025.