【Hot Spot Observation】
From "The Three-Body Problem" to "The Wandering Earth", from science fiction literature to science fiction film and television, since the 21st century, high-quality domestic science fiction literary and artistic works have grown from few to many, the group of science fiction creators has been expanding, and the new discourse of Chinese-style science fiction narrative of the national science and the public has gradually formed, all of which indicate that the "new era of Chinese science fiction" has arrived.
Imagination takes wings to soar
For a long time in the past, when it came to the shortcomings of Chinese science fiction, some people thought that Chinese literary artists lacked imagination.
This is not the case. Looking back at the history of Chinese literature and art, you can see a large number of high-quality, imaginative stories and works everywhere: mythical stories such as Jingwei Reclamation and Nuwa Replenishing the Sky imply a highly creative fantasy path, and numerous poems (You Xian Poems), prose (Chi Wei prose, Curious Notes), and novels (mythological legends, fairy tale novels) are engraved with rich and wonderful fantasy factors.
Although those fantasies are not "science fiction", the seeds of imagination have long been deeply rooted in the soil of traditional Chinese culture. The Chinese science fiction creators who grew up in this land naturally have the gene of imagination, and the perspective of their imagination has a unique national character that is completely different from that of their Western counterparts. In recent years, the new generation of Chinese science fiction literature and art has been working tirelessly, and excellent works have been frequently produced, all of which are closely related to this imagination.
For example, Liu Cixin's "The Three-Body Problem" creatively combines the development of science and technology with the three-body problem, digging deep into the mysterious Zhou Yi art and the exquisite Mojia mechanism, allowing Chinese historical figures such as King Zhou Wenwang and Mozi to shine on the same stage with foreign scientific giants such as Newton and von Neumann, highlighting the cosmopolitan nature in the national character. The imaginative descriptions of "dehydration", "immersion" and "two-way foil" in the work allow readers to look up at the diversity of cosmic civilizations from the "drop in the ocean".
For example, Fei Deuterium's "Chinese Science Fiction Blockbuster" breaks through the expression of traditional science fiction novels, and combines China's ancient mythology, the Way of Confucius and Meng, Laozhuang theory, Buddhist meditation and common elements in science fiction - cyberspace, space exploration, human doomsday, etc., telling stories with grotesque colors but deep meanings, so that the works present extremely distinctive Chinese characteristics.
In addition, works such as Wang Jinkang's "Mercury Sowing", Han Song's "Tombstone of the Universe", and Biptera's "Ecosphere in the Universe" are also full of rich imagination. The authors of these works lead everyone into a unique sci-fi space by constructing a future picture that transcends the everyday. There is time and space folding, AI awakening, star tearing, light-speed jumps, black hole drifts, alien invasions, and Chinese perspective on observing the world and thinking about the future.
From an aesthetic point of view, the essence of the imagination of science fiction works is the understanding of the relationship between the work and reality, involving the worldview of the imaginary subject or the receiving subject, the material view, and the relationship between the real world and the imaginary world. Therefore, although science fiction is about the imagination of the future, many of its contents have future-oriented transcendence, but they also have the locality based on their own cultural traditions. If Chinese science fiction wants to develop and grow, it is not how to stimulate the imagination of creators, but how to imagine the universe and the future of mankind from a Chinese perspective, only in this way can we create a science fiction world and imaginative 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 all born on the reality of the continuous development of science and technology. Throughout the two hundred years of the world's science fiction literature and art development history, every breakthrough in science fiction literature and art is inseparable from the leapfrog development of science and technology. For example, space travel and gene cloning, which are familiar to science fiction fans, more or less reflect the achievements of scientific and technological innovation in the real world.
On the one hand, the science fiction concepts in science fiction works are mostly constructed based on scientific theories, such as the "Dark Forest Law" in "The Three-Body Problem" and the Fermi paradox, evolution, Hawking cosmic prophecy in reality, etc.; On the other hand, the real scientific and technological achievements provide a realistic basis for the science fiction imagination, such as the "nano flying blade", "particle collision", "proton blockade" and "water droplet" in "The Three-Body Problem" are an extension of the research results of the microscopic world, and the clones, new sapiens and virtual life in "Carthage Rose" and "Singularity Remnants" reflect the use 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 "interstellar mecha flow", "steampunk" and "cyberpunk" that have appeared in the field of science fiction literature are all related to the popularity of these concepts in real life.
If imagination inserts wings for science fiction literature and art, then technology provides hardcore support for science fiction literature and art, helping science fiction literature and art "whimsical come true". This is because the creation of science fiction works such as science fiction movies requires strong industrial strength and technical strength. The film and television of "The Three-Body Problem" has been brewing for many years, and it was not filmed until the technical level reached the requirements in 2015. Many of the devices in "The Wandering Earth 2" have "prototypes" in reality, such as the ubiquitous mobile robots in the film are all real-life robot products; The cool mecha that can transform into a "Hercules" when worn in the film is an "exoskeleton robot" that has entered real-world applications. In short, the rapid development of science and technology allows science fiction creators to have materials to write about and inspiration to use, and also provides a material basis and technical means for the creation of science fiction movies, making the science fiction world more "touchable" and "feeling".
At present, a new wave of science and technology represented by artificial intelligence, quantum engineering, genetic engineering, etc. is emerging. In this round of scientific and technological waves, China's achievements are obvious to all, realizing the "eye of the sky" to observe the sky, "Chang'e" to explore the moon, and "praise the father" day by day, all of which provide inexhaustible impetus for Chinese science fiction creators to let their imagination fly. We believe that with the support of technology and the efforts of creators, Chinese science fiction will usher in a spring of blooming flowers.
Humanistic feelings shape the core of value
"The Three-Body Problem" or "The Wandering Earth" has become a phenomenal science fiction work not only because of the whimsy and hardcore technology it shows, but also because it is different from the individual heroism in Western science fiction works, conveying the humanistic spirit and values combined with science fiction and unique Chinese characteristics, which can best represent the characteristics of Chinese science fiction.
In "The Wandering Earth", Liu Peiqiang's righteousness on the space station has the love to protect his family, and Tu Hengyu's determination to sacrifice for mankind is full of deep love for his daughter. They attach importance to family affection and cherish the world's efforts and sacrifices, which is an expression of Chinese feelings inspired by the feelings of home and country. In the work, it is not a single individual who ultimately rescues the crisis, but the concerted efforts of everyone. Without everyone, there is no small family. The work shows the viewer what collectivism is and perfectly explains the concept of "home-state isomorphism" in China.
Concern for the future and destiny of mankind is a common theme in science fiction works around the world. But different science fiction works give different answers to how to deal with common human challenges. Unlike some foreign science fiction works, which pin hopes of changing the fate of mankind on a few superheroes, Chinese science fiction works advocate the establishment of a community with a shared future for mankind. Whether it is "The Three-Body Problem", "The Devourer", or "Micro Era", it all depicts the alliance of human beings to fight against cosmic natural disasters and the impact of alien civilizations, reflecting the worldview and values of Chinese.
From the perspective of "a community with a shared future for mankind", Chinese science fiction works also expand the ethical dimension with a global perspective, not only focusing on the world's major powers, but also focusing on third world countries that are ignored by the world's mainstream science fiction creators, such as "Glory and Dreams" shows the stubborn resistance of the "West Asian Republic" to hegemony and colonialism. At the same time, with the increasingly severe global challenges, Chinese science fiction creators have also added thinking about life science and technology ethics and ecological science ethics to narrative ethics, calling on everyone to unite and struggle for the common interests of all mankind from a transcendent perspective, reflecting the value concept of "harmony and coexistence" in Chinese culture and the concept of "one family under heaven".
Whether from the perspective of creation or industry, there is still a gap between us and countries with developed science fiction, but this gap is constantly narrowing. Chinese science fiction is building a completely self-consistent logic system and value system, which will profoundly affect the trend of the world science fiction pattern. In the future, Chinese science fiction creators should pay attention to and describe the common challenges facing mankind from a broader perspective, explore the ultimate destiny of mankind, and forge a sense of "community with a shared future for mankind", which is not only the pattern that science fiction creators should have, but also the inevitable requirement for Chinese science fiction to become bigger and stronger.
(Author: Ai You, Professor, College of Arts, Capital Normal University; Ruan Nanyan, Associate Professor, School of Literature, Zhejiang University of Media and Communication)