the new york times was putting people onto 刘慈欣 (liu cixin), whose three body trilogy (or remembrance of earth’s past trilogy) has just been published in english by tor books. (of course, what i’m doing is to nip down to the library during the hols and take it out in the original chinese: 刘慈欣 《三体》 (2006); 《黑暗森林》 (2008);和《死神永生》(2010). 全名是《地球往事》)here though, in english translation, an essay by liu himself, discussing the history and reception of science fiction in china, the unexpected popularity of the novels, and the “chinese” view of the universe:
“Many aerospace engineers became fans, and China’s aerospace agency even asked me to consult with them (despite the fact that in my novel, China’s aerospace establishment was described as so conservative and hidebound that an extremist officer had to engage in mass assassinations to allow new ideas to flourish). These sorts of reactions are probably familiar to American readers (e.g., The Physics of Star Trek, and NASA scientists regularly teaming up with science fiction writers), but they’re unheard of in China, and they contrast sharply with the official policy of suppressing science fiction during the 1980s.On the Web, one can find many fan-composed songs for Three Body, and readers yearning for a movie adaptation—some have even gone to the trouble of creating fake trailers out of clips from other movies. Sina Weibo—a Chinese microblogging service analogous to Twitter—has numerous user accounts based on characters in Three Body, and these users stay in character and comment on current events, expanding the story told in the novel.”
[…]
In the Chinese science fiction of the last century, the universe was a kind place, and most extraterrestrials appeared as friends or mentors, who, endowed with God-like patience and forbearance, pointed out the correct path for us, a lost flock of sheep. […] But if one were to evaluate the place of Earth civilization in this universe, humanity seems far closer to the indigenous peoples of the Canadian territories before the arrival of European colonists than the Canada of the present. More than five hundred years ago, hundreds of distinct peoples speaking languages representing more than ten language families populated the land from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island. Their experience with contact with an alien civilization seems far closer to the portrayal in Three Body.
I wrote about the worst of all possible universes in Three Body out of hope that we can strive for the best of all possible Earths.
Best of the Transparent Hummingbird