The Modern and the Unknown: A Study of Science Fiction in the Late Qing Dynasty by Jia Liyuan

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Modern and the Unknown: A Study of Science Fiction in the Late Qing Dynastyby Jia Liyuan Shaoming Duan Excavating Early SF in China. Jia Liyuan. "Xian Dai" yu "Wei Zhi": Wan Qing Ke Huan Ziao Shuo Yan Jiu[ The Modern and the Unknown: A Study of Science Fiction in the Late Qing Dynasty]. Beijing UP, 2021. 316 pp. ¥59.00 pbk. Jia Liyuan is a professor in the School of Literature at Tsinghua University in Beijing. His monograph focuses on science fiction in the late Qing dynasty (1840-1912) from the thematic perspective of "the modern and the unknown," suggesting the difficulty and complexity of using "modern" visions to explore "unknown" space-times, and demonstrating the excitement and confusion of novelists in the late Qing period when trying to imagine the future Datong[Great Unity] world and the possibilities of interstellar exploration. Focusing on sf texts written by intellectuals, Jia's monograph enables readers clearly to understand the attitude of these elites toward science. The fundamental purpose of science fiction in that era was to save a backward and corrupt government, and its mission was to publicize science and technology. Jia argues that the motif of "soul separated from body" that concerned novelists at that time still appears in contemporary Chinese sf. The relationship between "heart" and "body" (to which I return below) in these early fictions later became the motif of Chinese sf in the twentieth century (276). In the final days of the Qing dynasty, when ancient and modern ideas collided fiercely, intellectuals looked at social changes with new eyes and began to speculate in their fictions about future worlds. At this time there was no entry for "science fiction" in Chinese dictionaries. The subtitle of Jia's monograph, Science Fiction in the Late Qing Dynasty, is obviously a retrospective identification of its origins in China, something of great interest to Chinese researchers nowadays. Jia's study looks at late Qing sf from three perspectives: sf's origins in the late Qing era, the ways in which sf was expressed in these early writings, and the sf themes that were of particular interest to these early writers. The Modern and the Unknownis comprised of an introduction, four chapters, and a conclusion. Jia's introduction is entitled "What Is Science Fiction in the Late Qing Dynasty?" During this period, the Dowager Empress Cixi and her ministers decided to introduce elements of modern western civilization, hoping to reform the state system and reinvigorate China. The intellectuals began to learn new methods of observing the world, such as theories of evolution and [End Page 399]scientific positivism. For these writers, the exploration and conquest of unknown islands or planets was the "panacea" for China's rejuvenation and the guarantee that China would lead humanity into the Datong world (roughly equivalent to pantisocracy) after becoming world ruler (3). The novelists of the late Qing outlined imaginative future worlds in the hopes of enlightening a benighted people and inspiring them to take action. Jia's first chapter is entitled "Liang Qichao: The Precursor of Chinese Science Fiction." In 1902, Liang Qichao wrote his only work of fiction, The Future of New China, in which he imagined that 60 years into the future China has become prosperous and strong. Representatives from countries all over the world have gathered in the capital Nanjing to hold a peace conference. Because of disputes over the sovereignty of Tibet and Mongolia, the Qing government has gone to war with Russia. At the end of the novel, through the mediation of Hungary, the contradiction is resolved. The action is presented as set in a "revolutionary past" that is being recalled from the "future." The Future of New Chinademonstrated a modern consciousness and a new aesthetic attitude towards the future, providing a beautiful vision to be filled in by a future humanity. The second chapter is entitled "Mirror and Image: New Stone Storyand Wu Jianren's Ways of Observation." Wu Jianren published important works in the journal The New Novel, founded by Liang Qichao, and Wu became the main writing force of the journal. Among his many works, his novel New Story of...