The early twentieth century witnessed the birth of science-fiction (sci-fi) as a literary genre in China. It was initially viewed by Ling Qichao (a prominent Qing period politician) as a gift from the West that would serve to express ideas charting the roadmap of Chinese progress.1 Over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, however, the genre has witnessed a meteoric rise across the globe (both in terms of readership and acclaim) that, perhaps, transcends Qichao’s perception of it. But, has Chinese sf truly established itself as something greater than the Chinese nation, or are they still tied to each other in some way?
The time period in which Chinese sf is placed has by no means been a politically stable one. Dissent (and a governmental crackdown on it) has been a recurring theme throughout this phase. I argue that the emergence sf granted Chinese writers the ability to operate in shades of grey, and thus, voice criticism in subtle, creative yet effective ways.
The relationship between artistic expression and compliance with authority has been a complicated one in China, especially in recent times. Mo Yan, a prolific Chinese writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2012, received severe criticism for not using his platform to criticise Xi Jinping’s regime, and being silent on certain pressing political issues. Salman Rushdie called him a ‘patsy of the regime’.2 Ai Weiwei also disapproved of Yan- himself, a noted Chinese artist known for expressing brutal criticism of the regime via his artwork. Weiwei is the son of Ai Qing, a poet who was exiled under the Mao regime for his dissentious writings. Weiwei, like his father, too, has been subjected to repeated attempts of silencing made by the government in response to his artwork.3
In this milieu, do artists really have to make a surrender-or-die choice in their artwork? Do they have a responsibility to express criticism? It is noted that western audiences expect art from ‘authoritative’ nations to only be good if it is dissentious.4 However, the case of Chinese sf has shown two things: first, that aesthetic merit isn’t compromised by the lack of criticism; and second, if artists do choose to express criticism, they don’t have to do it in an overt manner in order for it to have value.
Consider the skepticism towards rapid development in the works of Wang Jingkang and Han Song. In ‘The Reincarnated Giant’, Wang relays a cautionary tale of rampant development spearheaded by a business tycoon in the fictitious ‘J-nation’ (a reference to Japan), leading to ‘uncontrollable results’ at the cost of human life. Han Song, in ‘Goatie’ and ‘Subway’ uses Chinese high-speed trains and the Beijing subway network as a metaphor to depict eventual catastrophes that will occur as a consequence of uncontrollable development.5 In ‘Goatie’, a high-speed train deviates from the space-time continuum, and cultivates the emergence of a ‘harmonious society’ within it-Song uses this as a metaphor for forced harmony in the face of rapid development in Chinese society.6
Sf has also served as an avenue to parody and critique China’s historical memory. In another novel, Song sets his story in 2066 (to mark the 100th anniversary of Mao’s revolution), when China has taken over America as a global superpower; while this does mark change, the 2066 Chinese regime maintains its power by employing a mind-controlling AI, Amuando- intended by the author as a callback to China’s authoritarian ways.7 Contrast this criticism of China’s past with Ai Weiwei’s ‘Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn’; a series of photographs, beginning with Weiwei holding this relic of the Chinese past, ending with it shattering into pieces.8 While Weiwei’s art may be lauded for its bold, straightforward approach to voice criticism, I don’t think it’s the only way forward for Chinese artists; as in the case of SF, an artist can use more creative and nuanced ways to deliver similar messages.
Sf, then, not only represents an alternative way to voice criticisms, but also serves as a novel lens for historians to understand the manner in which dissent has been voiced in China.
- Song, Mingwei. “Variations on Utopia in Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction.” Science Fiction Studies 40, no. 1 (2013): 86 [↩]
- Katie Stallard, “Literature under Xi Jinping,” The New Statesman, March 23, 2022. [↩]
- Walter C. Clemens Jr., “The Literature of Utopia and Dystopia in China”, Global Asia, 2023 [↩]
- Michael O’Krent, “The Language of Chinese dreams is Science Fiction- and sometimes, they’re nightmares”, Reactor Magazine, 2022 [↩]
- Song, Mingwei, ‘Variations on Utiopia’, pp. 92-93 [↩]
- Ibid., 94-95 [↩]
- Ibid., 87-88 [↩]
- ‘Ai Weiwei dropping a Han Dynasty Urn’. Guggenheim Bilbao. 1995. Accessed 29 November 2024 [↩]