Meaning:
“种田” means “farming,” and “文” refers to “stories.” Chinese netizens use this term to refer to a type of time travel story where the leading characters travel back in time to childhood or ancient periods when life was simpler and people lived in a tradtional farming society. These kind of stories, unlike time travel fantasies, focus on the mundane life of common folks, and use a large part of the narrative to describe details and the characters’ psychology.
Example:
A: 为什么现在流行种田文?
Wèishénme xiànzài líuxíng zhòngtiánwén?
Why are “back-to-farming-society stories” popular right now?
B: 可能在这个激烈竞争的社会里很多人向往平凡温馨的生活。
Kěnéng zài zhègè jīliè jìngzhēng de shèhuì lǐ hěnduō rén xiàngwǎng píngfán wēnxīn de shēnghuó。
Perhaps in this society where competition is so fierce, many people have a yearning for a simple cozy life.
(First editor: Debra Li)