United Nations, April 4 (ZXS) -- Chinese science fiction writer Liu Cixin made a video link on the 20th at the "Science Fiction Literature and Sustainable Future" exchange meeting held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to help celebrate the 20 United Nations Chinese Day.
The exchange meeting was chaired by Song Mingwei, Head of the Department of East Asia and Chair Professor of Wellesley College, and attended by Geng Shuang, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, Solto, Head of Sustainable Development of UN DESA, Liu Kefan, Deputy Director of the News and Media Division of the UN Department of Global Communications, Liu Tianxiang, President of the United Nations Chinese Book Club, and UN staff, media and student representatives.
Geng Shuang said in his speech that Liu Cixin's science fiction works such as "The Wandering Earth" and "The Three-Body Problem" depicted many major challenges related to the critical survival of mankind, and his science fiction works embody a kind of idea of common destiny and harmony among mankind, and also endowed multilateral international cooperation with lofty and sacred duties and missions. We chose "Science Fiction Literature and Sustainable Future" as the theme of the first event of this year's United Nations Chinese Day, hoping to open up new understandings and inject new impetus into the realization of a sustainable future for mankind through the unique perspectives of science fiction literature such as "looking back at the present from the future" and "looking down on the earth from the universe".
In her speech, Liu Cixin first mentioned the photo called "Dull Blue Dot", and explained the perspective of science fiction. He said that the earth's ecosystem is an extremely complex system, in constant fluctuations, in order to cope with the uncertainty of the future, human society must continue to work hard in politics, economy, culture and other aspects. From a science fiction writer's point of view, there are multiple possibilities for the future, one of our countless imaginary worlds will become reality, and human civilization may have to step out of the cradle of the earth. The power we can ultimately rely on comes from the advancement of science and technology, and sustainable development needs to be based on continuous progress in science and technology.
Solto said that exploring the possibilities of social development and technological development is a very challenging thing. Sustainable development is very important for the future of humankind, and the United Nations and its Member States will play a key role. With the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development halfway through, we need to work together to address the challenges. One of the core principles of this agenda is to leave no one behind, and as Liu Cixin said, this dim blue dot represents a whole whole.
Song Mingwei analyzed the three necessary characteristics of Liu Cixin's works to be successful, namely cosmopolitan, scientific charm and aesthetic extreme. He said that Liu Cixin's science fiction novels have a world picture, not only through the introduction of scientific knowledge to achieve the purpose of popular science, but also create a kind of wonder for us with science. In addition, Liu Cixin's artistic pursuit in literature has brought his works to an aesthetic extreme.
On the same day, guests and netizens asked Liu Cixin questions and interacted, including artificial intelligence, the role played by the United Nations, the development of human civilization into space, creative bottlenecks, space colonization and reverse expansion, and the apocalyptic crisis. When asked when he will release new works, Liu Cixin said that in today's rapid development of technology, the creation of science fiction is becoming more and more difficult, and he hopes to create some works that are different from the past.
The United Nations established United Nations Chinese Day in 2010 and set the Chinese day on April 4, the "Valley Rain" of the 20th solar term of the Chinese lunar calendar, to commemorate the contribution of Cangjie, the "ancestor of Chinese characters". The theme of UN Chinese Day 2023 is "China's Wisdom, Green Development", and a series of celebrations held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York also include calligraphy lectures, calligraphy exhibitions, painting exhibitions, etc. (End)