China Turns Outward: On the Literary Significance of Liu Cixin's Science Fiction

• Published in: Science-fiction studies Vol. 46; no. 1; pp. 1 - 20
• Main Authors: Guangyi, Li, Isaacson, Nathaniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: SF-TH Inc 01-03-2019; SF-TH, Inc
• Subjects: SPECIAL SECTION ON LIU CIXIN
• ISSN: 0091-7729; 2327-6207; 2327-6207
• DOI: 10.1353/sfs.2019.0010

The history of modern Chinese literature has seen more than one wave of realist movements aimed at effecting change by “writing the world.” This is both a reflection of writers' national consciousness and a modern expression of the classical political ideals of “All Under Heaven” and the “Great Unity.” Liu Cixin's science fiction is characteristic of China once again “turning outward” to engage with the world at large. His works carry on the nationalist tradition of Chinese salvation from ruin prevalent since the late Qing Dynasty. Though they have not abandoned their exuberance for the shimmering aura of “third-world” internationalism born in the Mao era, his works also embody a true universal humanism, showing profound concern and hope for the challenges and fate of humanity. The concept of “national allegory” is insufficient for understanding the significance of Liu Cixin's work as an author and his investigations as a philosopher. Only by understanding his fiction and essayistic oeuvre as a whole, placing it in the context of the birth of Chinese sf at the turn of the twentieth century and its evolution through the socialist period and beyond, can contemporary Chinese literary studies adequately breathe in the vital air of Liu Cixin's science fiction.