China Science Fiction： Entering a New Era and Shaping a New Pattern
[Hot spot observation]
Author: Ai You (Professor, School of Arts, Capital Normal University); Ruan Nanyan (Associate Professor, College of Literature, Zhejiang Communication University)
From "Three-body" to The Wandering Earth, from sci-fi literature to sci-fi movies and TV shows, since the 21st century, the number of high-quality domestic sci-fi literary works has increased from less to more, the group of sci-fi creators has been expanding, and the new Chinese-style sci-fi narrative discourse of the national, scientific and popular people has gradually formed, all of which indicate that "a new era of science fiction in China" has arrived.
Science fiction movie The Wandering Earth poster. Information picture
Imagination is on the wings of soaring.
For a long time in the past, when it comes to the shortcomings of China’s science fiction, some people think that China’s writers and artists lack imagination.
That was not the case. Looking back at the history of China literature and art, we can see a large number of stories and works with high quality and imagination everywhere: fairy tales such as Jingwei’s reclamation and The goddess patching the sky imply creative fantasy paths, and many poems (poems about immortals), essays (strange essays, strange notes) and novels (fairy tales and fairy tales) are engraved with rich and wonderful fantasy factors.
Although those fantasies are not "scientific fantasies", the seeds of imagination have long been deeply rooted in the soil of China’s traditional culture. China sci-fi creators who grew up in this land naturally have imaginative genes, and their imaginative perspectives have unique national characteristics different from their western counterparts. In recent years, China’s new generation of sci-fi literature and art has been writing incessantly, and excellent works have appeared frequently, all of which are closely related to this imagination.
For example, Liu Cixin’s "Three-body" creatively combines the development of science and technology with the "Three-body Problem", deeply digs into the mysterious techniques of Zhouyi and exquisite Mohist institutions, and makes China historical figures such as Zhou Wenwang and Mozi shine on the same stage as foreign scientific giants such as Newton and von Neumann, thus showing the world in nationality. The imaginative descriptions such as dehydration, soaking and two-way foil in the works enable readers to appreciate the diversity of cosmic civilization from a drop in the ocean.
For another example, Fei Deuterium’s "China Science Fiction Blockbuster" breaks through the traditional expression of science fiction, and combines China’s ancient mythology, the way of Confucius and Mencius, the theory of Laozi and Zhuangzi, Buddhist meditation and the common elements in science fiction — — Cyberspace, space exploration, and the end of mankind are all mixed together, telling a story with grotesque colors but profound implications, which makes the works show extremely distinctive China characteristics.
In addition, Wang Jinkang’s Mercury Sowing, Han Song’s Tombstone of the Universe, and Diptera’s Ecological Ball in the Universe are also full of rich imagination. The authors of these works lead everyone into a unique sci-fi space by building a future picture that transcends everyday life. There are time-space folding, AI awakening, star tearing, light speed transition, black hole drifting, alien invasion, and Chinese’s perspective of observing the world and thinking about the future.
From the aesthetic point of view, the essence of the imagination of sci-fi works is the understanding of the relationship between works and reality, involving the world outlook, material outlook, the relationship between the real world and the imaginary world of the imaginary subject or the recipient. Therefore, although science fiction is about the imagination of the future, many of its contents have the transcendence of facing the future, but they also have the localization based on the national cultural tradition. If China science fiction wants to develop, it is not how to stimulate the imagination of the creators, but how to imagine the universe and the future of mankind from the perspective of China. Only in this way can we create a science fiction world and imagination aesthetics different from the West.
Science and technology provide hard core support
Imagination is an important factor affecting the creation of science fiction, but it is not the only factor. After all, science fiction is not a simple fantasy.
Whether it is science fiction literature or science fiction film and television, they are born on the basis of the continuous development of science and technology. Throughout the 200-year history of world science fiction literature and art, every breakthrough in science fiction literature and art can not be separated from the leap-forward development of science and technology. For example, space travel and gene cloning, which science fiction fans are familiar with, more or less reflect the scientific and technological innovations in the real world.
On the one hand, the sci-fi ideas in sci-fi works are mostly constructed on the basis of scientific theories. For example, the "dark forest law" in Three-body is related to Fermi paradox, evolution theory and Hawking’s cosmic prediction in reality. On the other hand, real scientific and technological achievements provide realistic support for sci-fi imagination. For example, the nano-flying blade, particle collision, proton blockade and water droplets in Three-body are the extension of the research results in the micro-world, and the clones, new intellectuals and virtual life in Roses of Carthage and Strangers reflect the application of cutting-edge biotechnology. In addition, the development of science and technology has also enriched the theme of science fiction literature and art. In recent years, new themes such as "StarCraft", "Steampunk" and "Cyberpunk" in the field of science fiction literature and art are all related to the popularity of these concepts in real life.
If imagination is inserted into the soaring wings of sci-fi literature and art, then science and technology provide hard-core support for sci-fi literature and art, and help sci-fi literature and art "fantasy come true". This is because the creation of sci-fi works such as sci-fi movies needs strong industrial strength and technical strength to provide support. The film and television of "Three-body" has been brewing for many years, and it was not until the technical level reached the requirements in 2015 that it was filmed. Many devices in Wandering Earth 2 have "prototypes" in reality. For example, the ubiquitous mobile robots in the film are all robot products in reality; The cool mecha that can be transformed into "Hercules" in the film is an "exoskeleton robot" that has entered the real application. In short, the rapid development of science and technology has provided sci-fi creators with materials to write and inspiration, and also provided material basis and technical means for the creation of sci-fi movies, making the sci-fi world more "touchable" and "sensible".
At present, a new wave of science and technology represented by artificial intelligence, quantum engineering and genetic engineering is emerging. In this wave of science and technology, China’s achievements are obvious to all, and it has realized "observing the sky with the eye of the sky", "exploring the moon with Chang ‘e" and "Kuafu" day by day, all of which provide inexhaustible power for China sci-fi creators to fly their imaginations. We believe that with the support of technology and the efforts of creators, China science fiction will surely usher in the spring of a hundred flowers.
Humanistic feelings shape the core of value
Three-body, whether it is The Wandering Earth or not, has become a phenomenal sci-fi work, not only because of its fantastic ideas and hard-core technology, but also because it is different from the individual heroism in western sci-fi works, conveying the humanistic spirit and values with unique China characteristics combined with sci-fi sense, which can best represent the characteristics of China’s sci-fi.
In the The Wandering Earth, Liu Peiqiang’s great righteousness in boarding the space station has the love of protecting his family, and Tu Hengyu’s determination to sacrifice for mankind is full of deep love for his daughter. They attach importance to family ties and care about the dedication and sacrifice of the world, which is an expression of Chinese feelings inspired by the feelings of home and country. In the works, it is not an individual who finally saves the crisis, but everyone’s Qi Xin’s concerted efforts. Without everyone, there is no small home. The work shows the audience what collectivism is and perfectly explains China’s idea of "isomorphism between home and country".
Paying attention to the future and destiny of mankind is the common theme of science fiction works all over the world. However, different sci-fi works give different answers to how to deal with the common challenges of mankind. Unlike some foreign sci-fi works, which pin their hopes of changing human destiny on a few superheroes, China’s sci-fi works advocate the establishment of a community of human destiny. Whether it is Three-body, The Devourer or Micro-Era, it vividly depicts the alliance of human beings against natural disasters in the universe and the impact of alien civilization, reflecting Chinese’s world outlook and values.
From the perspective of "the community of human destiny", China’s sci-fi works have also expanded the ethical dimension with a global perspective, not only paying attention to the major powers in the world, but also focusing on the third world countries neglected by the mainstream sci-fi creators in the world. For example, Glory and Dreams shows the stubborn resistance of the "Republic of West Asia" to hegemony and colonialism. At the same time, with the increasingly severe global challenges, China’s sci-fi creators have also added thoughts on the ethics of life science and technology and the ethics of ecological science to their narrative ethics, calling on everyone to unite and struggle for the common interests of all mankind from a transcendental perspective, which reflects the value concept of "harmony and symbiosis" and the idea of "one world under one family" in China culture.
No matter from the perspective of creation or industry, there is still a gap between us and developed countries in science fiction, but this gap is narrowing. China science fiction is constructing a completely self-consistent logic system and value system, which will profoundly affect the trend of the world science fiction pattern. In the future, China’s sci-fi creators should pay attention to and describe the common challenges faced by mankind from a broader perspective, explore the ultimate destiny of mankind, and build a sense of "community of human destiny", which is not only the pattern that sci-fi creators should have, but also the inevitable requirement for China’s sci-fi to become bigger and stronger.