I have been attempting to catch up with some of my sci-fi reading (Harlan Ellison and William Gibson lately) and it got me to thinking about science fiction (科幻) in China. A little searching around the internet confirmed what I thought would be true; that sci-fi died out when the communist took over, and is now beginning to flourish, with some even saying that we are entering a “golden age” for Chinese sci-fi.

Twelve Hours Later bills itself as a site featuring “Chinese SF, fantasy, and mainstream fiction”, and while it doesn’t update very often it is excellent source for information. It provides reviews, and is where I found about Science Fiction World, where the above images are from. Science Fiction World is one of China’s most popular magazines, with a circulation of 500,000 (or 320,000?). At least a few sources mention that Chinese sci-fi tends to lean towards more “hard” sci-fi, perhaps to avoid crack down by censors?

And while there seems to be a lot of Chinese science fiction available to read online, I have seen very little of it that has been translated into English. The most promising thing I’ve been able to find is an anthology that was published in 1989, Science Fiction from China. I have requested this from my local library and will give a short review of it after finishing. Here is the synopsis of the book from Publisher’s Weekly:

This fine anthology of eight stories by six authors shows that, while years behind the west in terms of maturity of the genre, China is catching up as fast as the state will allow. Editor Dingbo Wu’s excellent introduction gives a historical overview of SF in China, while detailing the fluctuations of political acceptability during the past decade. If the plots are generally familiar, the stories convey the freshness with which the authors approached them, making each one more than just another variation on an old theme. Wei Yahua’s “Conjugal Happiness in the Arms of Morpheus” finds a new way to bring a robot to life. “The Mysterious Wave” by Wang Xiaoda and “Death Ray on a Coral Island” by Tong Enzheng are both classic gadget stories. Conversely, Ye Yonglie’s “Corrosion” is mostly concerned with the moral dilemma of desired fame vs. livable self-image. The chronological bibliography of Chinese SF is a valuable resource.

This sounds interesting, but what I am really interested in taking a look at is some more recent material. If anyone knows of any resources for translated sci-fi, let me know in the comments.

More Links to Chinese sci-fi:
An Alternate History of Chinese Science Fiction (via Mutant Palm)
Research Project on Chinese Science Fiction
China’s Sci-fi Scholars Reach New Heights
Sci-Fi Ascendant

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