Liu Cixin, author of the 2015 Hugo Award-winning novel The Three-Body Problem, met with readers at the South China Book Festival on August 17 to share his own insights and enlightenment experience of science fiction, while introducing a new edition of his work The Wandering Earth.
Liu Cixin shared his thoughts and experience at the South China Book Festival. (Photo: Chen Longyan)
In the sharing session, Liu Cixin expressed his belief that the commonalities in world science fiction far outweigh the differences. In his view, humanity is presented as a collective in science fiction, exploring common issues and facing shared challenges.
Talking about the motivation for sci-fi reading, Liu likened the entire solar system to a building, with all of humanity actually living in a basement storage room of this building, which is very narrow.
"Science tells us what exists outside, telling us there is a larger world. But we can never reach this world in our lifetime; we can only describe it through imagination. I think this is the reason that prompts us to read science fiction," said Liu.
Liu also stated that he does not wish to define the core value of science fiction literature with a utilitarian attitude. "Whether it's reading or creating, science fiction is a difficult thing. It takes great skill to express complex scientific principles in simple terms," said Liu.
To present a broader world of science fiction to readers has been Liu Cixin's writing mission for many years. He believes that writers can use literary imagination to describe this world.
Liu shared his experience of initial exposure to science fiction, recalling reading the 1950s edition of French author Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth when he was about ten years old. At that time, he believed the narrative to be factual until his father enlightened him about the expansive world of science fiction.
"I thought everything in the books was real," Liu Cixin reminisced, "I was deeply impressed by the imaginative power of science fiction, and since then, I have been a steadfast fan of the genre."
Liu went on to share that the works of British science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke had a significant influence on his writing.
"2001: A Space Odyssey and Rendezvous with Rama deeply influenced me. Clarke wrote about surreal worlds with a distant imagination. Following him was Orwell, the author of 1984, who showed me that science fiction could reflect reality in another way," said Liu.
Reporter | Chen Longyan, Chen Siyuan, He Zhifen (Intern)
Editor | Nan, Will, James
