Research on the Transformation of Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction

Abstract

Research on the Transformation of Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction is a laudable scholarly endeavor that provides reader with a unique interpretation of the representative works in contemporary China science fiction. Taking “transformation” as the key word, this book outlines the development process and transformation features of science fiction since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (i.e., new China). Starting with the investigation of the reasons for each transformation, this book combs the changes in the creative values, scientific views, and aesthetics of science fiction in more than seventy years. The book also aims to show the literary achievements of contemporary Chinese science fiction, affirm the academic values of “transformation” from the perspective of literary development history, and points out the existing shortcomings. This book will interest global scholars in literary studies, especially those in the field of Chinese science fiction studies. The detailed studies of contemporary Chinese science fiction by Zhan Ling connect her primary sources with wider temporal and spatial contexts. Zhan Ling approaches contemporary Chinese science fiction that was mostly unknown to the scholars of the twenty-first century, some of which were underestimated and even ignored for a long time.The book has an introduction, seven chapters, and a conclusion. The introduction briefly introduces the origin of Chinese science fiction. There was no category of “science fiction” in ancient Chinese literary tradition; it actually appeared in the late Qing dynasty. At that time, the Qing government was defeated miserably by Western powers in the two “Opium Wars” and was forced to sign a series of unequal treaties with Western powers, which greatly damaged China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.In order to achieve the goals of “enriching the country and strengthening the army” and “learning foreign technology to counter foreigners,” the Qing government decided to carry out the “Westernization Movement” (1861–95), calling on Qing officials to learn and use Western advanced science and technology and set up modern military, industry, and civilian enterprises. Science fiction, as a kind of literature directly linked with Western science and technology, had been introduced into China. In 1872 the Chinese version of Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle was published in Shanghai Shen Daily, which opened the exploration of science fiction in Chinese literature. In 1904 Huang Jiangdiaosou (pen name) wrote the first Chinese science fiction, The Moon Colony. The intellectuals in the late Qing dynasty regarded science fiction as the literary practice of “saving the country through science” (6). Science fiction had contributed to the establishment of modern scientific consciousness for the pedantic people in the late Qing dynasty. The decline of the Qing dynasty was marked by the invasion and encroachment of the Western powers, which marked the formation of Chinese semicolonial and semifeudal society; This, in turn, contributed to the development of science fiction in China.The main body consists of seven chapters. Zhan Ling discusses the changes and transformations in the development of science fiction in contemporary China. The founding of new China marked the full rule of the Communist Party of China. In order to distinguish from the Kuomintang rule, the Communist Party called it “contemporary” after 1949. According to this “division,” “contemporary science fiction” of the title refers to the science fiction published in mainland China after 1949. Compared with the past, science fiction in contemporary China has made great progress in quality and quantity (12).Zhan Ling divides the development of science fiction in contemporary China into four stages. The first phase was from 1949 to 1966. The second phase is from 1978 to 1984. The third phase is from 1985 to 1999. The fourth phase is the twenty-first century. The book tries to integrate the development history of contemporary Chinese science fiction into the development history of Chinese science fiction for research, and even puts contemporary Chinese science fiction into the development history of world science fiction for horizontal comparison (18). Zhan Ling properly added the writer and works in the discussion of each stage for case study. For example, the book selects writers Zheng Wenguang and Tong Enzheng during 1949–1966, Ye Yonglie in the early 1980s, Wang Jinkang and He Xi in the early 1990s, Liu Cixin and Han Song in the twenty-first century.Zhan Ling keenly observes the styles and themes of science fiction in the process of transformation. The author stresses that the creation of “root-seeking literature” is a response to China’s entry into global literature. “Ideological root-seeking” is the key to solve the negative problems of scientific and technological modernity from Chinese traditional ideology and culture (183). Zhan Ling delivers a credible, fantastic vision grounded in “Chineseness.” It stands as an eloquent support to those who seek the characteristics of Chinese traditional fiction or a ruthless rejoinder to those who capitulate to themes of fashionable Western fiction.Zhan Ling emphasizes in the conclusion that Chinese government has been trying to construct science fiction with “Chineseness” (301). This kind of science fiction refers to the one that can cultivate the spirit of patriotism and inspire the awareness of scientific innovation for readers. However, this high ambition was maybe thwarted by the low caliber of Chinese science fiction writers as a whole, many of whom were part-time and some of whom lacked a good educated.This book illustrates the mission of the times in the “three transformations” of Chinese contemporary science fiction from 1949 to the present, each of which is inseparable from the development of society. The first transformation was from 1949 to 1966, when the Communist Party decided to adopt the governance policy of “leaning to one side,” which meant all things followed the Soviet model. At that time, Chinese science fiction all followed Soviet science fiction. From the Soviet perspective, science fiction should not be regarded as a kind of artistic creation in a complete sense, but as an extension of science production. In 1950 Zhang Ran’s Sleepwalking in the Solar System was published, which was recognized as the first science fiction since the founding of new China (25). The protagonist, Jing’er, came to the moon in her dream, listened to the teacher’s explanation about the moon, and went to the sun, Mars, Uranus and other planets with her friends. This science fiction was written in imitation of the Soviet Union’s “aerospace science fiction.” It can be seen that science fiction in the first transformation period was responsible for the mission of spreading modern scientific knowledge and learning from Soviet Union.The second transformation began in 1978. China had just ended the movement of Cultural Revolution, and the Central Committee of the Communist Party decided to shift its working focus from class struggle to economic construction. Chairman Deng Xiaoping put forward the implementation of “reform and opening up” policy and called on the Chinese to “liberate their minds.” Therefore, the creation of science fiction reflected the aspiration of “open eyes to the world.” In 1984 Tong Enzheng created a long science fiction novel, New Journey to the West. This science fiction, which used the story framework in Journey to the West(one of the four ancient Chinese famous classics), wrote about the experiences of Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing traveling through the modern Western world (164). They not only admired the advanced science and technology of the Western world, but also witnessed its corruption. Science fiction in the period of “the second transformation” expressed the theme of the times of “blazing a path of reform.”The third transformation began in 2000, when human society had entered a period of rapid development of science and technology. China’s science fiction also has “high-tech” elements, that is, the birth of cyborg science fiction and artificial intelligence science fiction. The theme of Chinese science fiction in the twenty-first century is closely linked with the cutting-edge hot issues in the process of China’s social development. Science fiction writer Han Song once said bluntly: “Science fiction has become today’s realistic literature.” In 2002 science fiction writer Xing He wrote Remove An Arm, focusing on the manifestations of the gap between the rich and the poor in the future Internet era, and injecting critical consciousness into it(241). Science fiction in the “third transformation” period is no longer the “airfone” and “yes-man” of national policies, and chooses to pay more attention to people’s livelihood.This book explores the social reasons behind the “stagnation period” of contemporary Chinese science fiction. As Zhan Ling summarizes, the development of contemporary Chinese science fiction has experienced three transformations from 1949 to the present. From the end of the first transformation (1966) to the beginning of the second transformation (1978), it stagnated for twelve years. This was because in May 1966 Mao Zedong mistakenly believed that “representatives of the bourgeoisie infiltrate the Party, the government and the army. . . . They want to turn the dictatorship of the proletariat into the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie.” Mao Zedong hoped to regain the power of the Communist Party from the “capitalist roaders in power” by launching the Cultural Revolution movement. Under the slogan of “revolution is innocent and rebellion is justified,” the whole country was plunged into chaos. Literature labeled as “reactionary academic authority” was severely attacked. Almost all literary creation was forced to stop.In September 1976 Mao Zedong died, and the Cultural Revolution was terminated. But the new paramount leader, Hua Guofeng, did not know where disaster-ridden China should head. Therefore, from 1976 to 1978, all of China’s walks of life were in a state of confusion, still shrouded in the shadow of Cultural Revolution. It was not until December1978 that Deng Xiaoping took the highest leadership and implemented the policy of “reform and opening up,” and literature and art began to recover. From the end of the second transformation (1984) to the beginning of the third (2000), the stagnation lasted for sixteen years. This was because Deng Xiaoping mistakenly believed that the sentiment of “bourgeois liberalization” appeared in Chinese society and must be eliminated by “tough” means; otherwise, socialist China would become capitalist China. From 1984 to 1987 Deng Xiaoping launched a “eliminate mental pollution” campaign, calling on all levels of judicial and propaganda departments to eliminate the “unhealthy” thoughts, works, and performances that were rampant in society. Those high-ranking officials of the Communist Party, according to Zhan Ling, were very disgusted at the form of science fiction. Because science fiction was a kind of Western literary product, and the content of the science fiction was often divorced from reality, they thought science fiction should be classified as “mental pollution literature.” Science fiction, a literary type, was strongly criticized in this campaign, which lasted three years, with some 24,000 people executed for “mental impurity.”As the trend of this campaign was becoming more and more “left,” it had aroused strong dissatisfaction among the masses. Deng Xiaoping had to announce the termination of the campaign in 1987. Although Chinese science fiction was restored in the early 1990s, but without new ideas, the science fiction at this time followed the style of science fiction in the first and second transformation period. In the twenty-first century, China’s society has undergone tremendous changes. The high technology in various fields has a profound impact on people’s lifestyles. Therefore, science fiction, full of high-tech elements, quickly occupied the market of science fiction in China and became the hallmark of the third transformation. From the above, we can see that the development of Chinese literature is marked with the brand of the times, and every great change of Chinese society will involve a new literary transformation.This book summarizes the typical literary phenomena in the process of “three transformations” of contemporary Chinese science fiction and interprets them with specific texts. A typical phenomenon of Chinese science fiction is the popularity of space science fiction. From Earth to Moon (1954) was space science fiction, published in China Youth Daily and was warmly welcomed by young readers. The narrative of this fiction showed the characteristics of children’s literature. The narrative strategy of the fiction was “more scared than hurt.” Although the protagonist, Zhen Zhen, encountered a meteor shower during her space travel, she fell into great panic and was afraid that the spacecraft would be hit by a meteor. These dangerous events were finally solved perfectly. This “rollercoaster” narrative strategy is a typical technique of children’s literature, which not only meets children’s desire for adventure and their curiosity, but also protects their psyche from trauma (250). In addition, due to the limited cognitive level of children, the fiction used the simplest language to explain profound scientific theories.In 1984 Descendants of the God of War was published, an outstanding work in the “second transformation” period. It was also space science fiction. The narrative feature of this fiction was “science fiction realism.” Due to the influence of the “left” sentiment at that time, science fiction writers did not dare to indulge in describing science fiction phenomena, but chose to describe and extol real life with high enthusiasm. Therefore, Descendants of the God of War depicted scientific heroes, the natural landscape of the combination of virtual and reality, and the magnificent space landscape. This narrative meets the standard of “humanism” in realistic literature. For example, “builders” came to Mars, transformed the surface and atmosphere of Mars, and even drilled on Mars. The story also carefully interpreted the composition of the Martian atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, argon, sulfur, silicon, etc. This fine scientific description enhanced the authenticity of the text.The arrival of the twenty-first century represented the rise of untouched place where cyborg science was put into fictional writing, and science fiction beyond human cognition was regarded as fashionable. In 2008 The Three Body Problem was published, which won great praise at home and abroad, and even won the “Hugo Award” in 2015. It can be said that it was the culmination of science fiction in the third transformation period. Coincidentally, The Three Body Problem is also a space science fiction. This fiction breaks the creative principle of “science fiction realism.” The stylized and flat characters in The Three Body Problem make the readers feel unfit, thin, and untrue. The characters in The Three Body Problem are dramatized after extreme treatment. They have romantic temperament and poetic spirit, which are not realism, but surrealism (272). Especially in language, The Three Body Problem adopts the “cognitive alienation” to “defamiliarize” the language and text, so that the reader has to decode the imaginative through the active operation of the brain. For example, the “water drop” in The Three Body Problem is not as fragile as humans imagine, but has the power of gods. This dislocation cognition occurs not only in the protagonists in the fiction, but also in the psychological level of the reader, which rapidly improves the reader’s reading desire.Research on the Transformation of Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction by Zhan Ling is a ground-breaking book that is also highly readable and that reminds scholars and readers of contemporary Chinese science fiction as a whole how important it is, and how connected Chinese science fiction is, with social need and political consciousness. In the last three decades of development, Chinese science fiction has gradually imitated the writing style of European and American science fiction, but has never given up “Chineseness.” “Chineseness” can make Chinese science fiction go to the forefront of world science fiction, highlight China’s cultural self-confidence, and play an important role in enhancing the national competitiveness (304).