(Essential questions) Interview with Liu Cixin: Has Chinese science fiction literature ushered in a golden age?
China News Service, Beijing, November 14th. Title: Interview with Liu Cixin: Has China's Science Fiction Literature Ushered in a Golden Age?
China News Agency reporter Xie Ping and Li Xiang
Liu Cixin, once won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in the 73rd World Science Fiction Conference for his science fiction "Three-Body", and became the first Chinese science fiction writer to win the award.
In recent years, there has been a craze for science fiction in China, with literary and film and television works constantly emerging.
How should Chinese science fiction works go to the world?
What are the similarities and differences between Chinese and Western science fiction literature?
In this regard, China News Agency "Question about East and West" exclusively interviewed Liu Cixin.
Data map: Scene of "Three-Body: Time and Space Immersion Exhibition".
Photo by Zhang Hengwei
The summary of the interview record is as follows:
China News Agency reporter: How did you start the creation of science fiction? Who is your favorite science fiction writer?
Liu Cixin: I have loved science fiction since I was a kid, and I am a fan of science fiction.
When I was 18 years old, I saw "2001: A Space Odyssey" by science fiction writer Arthur Clarke. This changed my life. He is also my favorite science fiction writer, because his works are exactly the kind of science fiction in my mind, grand And depict the relationship between mankind and the universe with a sense of awe.
I have said that all my works are parody of Arthur Clarke.
I remember that late at night after reading "2001: A Space Odyssey", I looked up at the starry sky and suddenly felt that the starry sky was completely different from my previous understanding. I began to feel awe of the grandeur and mystery of the universe.
It was these feelings that Clark gave me that made me become a science fiction writer.
Reporter from China News Service: Some people think that in order for Chinese science fiction literature to go out, it is necessary to tell Chinese stories in Western languages. They even think that your "Three Body" is the world language to describe Chinese science fiction. What do you think of this argument?
Liu Cixin: When
I was creating, I didn't deliberately consider whether it was a Chinese language or a Western language.
I think it is more accurately the language of science fiction, which is not necessarily inherently Eastern or Western.
I am a Chinese, and it is impossible to do without Chinese things, but my works must also have Western elements, because science fiction is originally a literary theme imported from the West.
"Three Body".
China News Agency reporter: Through your observations, what are the commonalities and differences between Chinese science fiction literature and Western science fiction literature?
Liu Cixin:
I think Chinese science fiction and western science fiction have much more in common than differences.
They all have diverse styles, diverse themes, family and country feelings, collectivism, and personal heroism. These are the common grounds of the two.
And the differences between the two, first of all, I found that Chinese and Western science fiction literature pay attention to different issues, for example, Western science fiction literature will mention racial discrimination, gender discrimination, oppression between ethnic groups, and technology's alienation of people.
However, Chinese science fiction is more concerned about our future development, and how to expand the living space of human beings in outer space.
In addition, science fiction in the West, especially in the United States, is related to the Christian cultural background, and the interpretation and understanding of some things is different from that in China.
For example, Western science fiction literature will focus more on describing the creation of life in the world of science fiction, while in Chinese science fiction literature, this is not the focus.
In general, these differences do not affect which is higher, which is the objective existence caused by cultural differences.
Data map: One of the official posters of "Wandering Earth".
Photo by Zhong Xin
Reporter from China News Service: According to reports, both authors and readers of Chinese sci-fi works are showing a younger trend. Among them, the proportion of young sci-fi writers exceeds 58%. Does this mean that Chinese sci-fi literature has a future?
Liu Cixin:
This trend is not unexpected, because science fiction is originally a kind of young literature, full of youthful vitality, but also full of young people's active thoughts and strong imagination, and represents a desire of young people.
Young people hope to break through their narrow and plain life, to touch a wider space, explore new worlds, etc., and science fiction literature happens to be a category that highlights imagination.
As for whether Chinese science fiction literature has a future, this needs to be viewed dialectically.
For now, Chinese science fiction literature is indeed younger than Western countries, because this kind of literature developed earlier in Europe and America.
After the West experienced the golden age of science fiction literature, it also revealed signs of losing vitality.
From this perspective, Chinese science fiction literature has a rich future because of its youth.
On the other hand, from the perspective of readers, the audience of Chinese science fiction literature is still not very large. This is due to the lack of influential Chinese science fiction literature and the lack of influential writers. This is the core of the development of this literature in China. problem.
At present, the number of science fiction literature in China is much smaller than that in the United States, and there is a large gap in quality.
I think that excellent sci-fi writers are the products of the golden age of sci-fi literature, and the current situation cannot be changed by increasing publishing.
Data Map: On November 1, 2020, the Sci-Fi Science and Technology Innovation Theme Forum was held in Beijing.
The picture shows the ubiquitous robot science fiction show.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Tian Yuhao
China News Agency reporter: Do you think that now China's science fiction literature has ushered in a golden age?
Liu Cixin:
This also has to be viewed dialectically.
First of all, from the perspective of China's rapid modernization process, it has stimulated the imagination and curiosity of the public for the future. This is unprecedented, and it has indeed provided fertile soil for science fiction literature.
From this perspective, the golden age of Chinese science fiction literature has indeed arrived.
Because from the trajectory, we are experiencing a golden age of science fiction literature similar to the United States.
On the other hand, the development of science and technology in the whole world has caused the global science fiction literature to fall into a creative dilemma.
Because the emergence of science fiction literature is based on people’s curiosity about science and a sense of novelty for the future, the changes in science and technology have now penetrated into all aspects of life. This is a fatal blow to science fiction, because science fiction was born in science, and finally May also die out of science.
From this point of view, it is difficult to determine whether Chinese science fiction literature has ushered in a golden age.
To expand, the birth of science fiction is the alienation and curiosity of human beings towards science and technology. From the 1930s to the 1960s, the electrical age has just begun, and the power of science and technology has not penetrated into the living space of the general public. At that time, people had a kind of science for science. A sense of awe and curiosity.
But nowadays, whether in the West or in China, science fiction creation is faced with technological advancement that has led to the gradual disappearance of public curiosity, which has caused science fiction creation to fall into a bottleneck.
I created science fiction novels to escape the ordinary life and use my imagination to reach places that can never be reached.
Since becoming a science fiction writer, I have found that the content of many science fiction novels is gradually becoming reality. This has prompted me to use more imagination to create more distant space and time, that is, before science fiction becomes technology. Write it down.
I should add that the current global science fiction literature has opened a new stage, and that is the "new wave movement" of science fiction.
That is to say, from other channels, use the most modern and avant-garde literary methods, such as psychology, sociology, and linguistics, to expand the scope of science fiction literature.
Reporter from China News Service: You said that technological progress has consumed the imagination of science fiction creation, but people usually think that people's imagination is endless. Will this be contradictory?
Liu Cixin:
I agree that imagination is endless, and science and technology will never be able to catch up with human imagination.
But the kind of passing away I think is the consumption of curiosity. For example, in childhood due to underdeveloped science and technology, people have curiosity about many things, but with the advancement of science and technology, people will become accustomed and numb, so their sensitivity to new things is consumed. After that, you will never be able to return to the childhood feelings.
This is the current situation faced by global science fiction writers and readers.
(over)
About the interviewee:
Liu Cixin, one of the representative writers of Chinese science fiction novels.
On August 23, 2015, he won the Hugo Award for Best Novel Award at the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention for his "Three-Body", which was the first award in Asia.
On June 25, 2017, with "Three-Body 3: Death Immortal" won the Track Award for Best Featured Science Fiction Award.
On November 8, 2018, he won the 2018 Clark Imagination Service Society Award.