Commentary: Rise of China's sci-fi genre gives glimpse into country's present, future

The surprising rise of Chinese sci-fi writers at the global stage has opened a new window for the world to catch a glimpse of China's present and, possibly, future.

Science fiction is now more popular than ever. On Sunday, Hao Jingfang, a young and gifted Chinese writer, won the Hugo Award for her haunting novelette -- "Folding Beijing."

When China's new literary sensation Liu Cixin won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2015, the first Asian sci-fi writer with such an achievement, few could have anticipated the next Hugo for Chinese science fiction could come so soon. Apart from Liu and Hao, no Asian author has ever won the award in its 63-year history.

And after two Hugo awards, sci-fi writers have earned unprecedented fame and influence in China. Indeed, science fiction has gotten more attention than ever as more people are buying sci-fi and movie-goers are thirsting for more sci-fi movies.

After the publication of Liu's "The Three-Body Problem," reading the long and mind-boggling trilogy has become an online carnival for all walks of life in China. Even IT tycoons, such as Baidu's CEO Robin Li and Xiaomi's co-founder Lei Jun, have heaped praise on the books.

In addition, Chinese science fiction is also making a global reputation for itself due to the astronomic success of Chinese sci-fi writers.

"Following the success of 'The Three-Body Problem,' we noticed an increase in Chinese material in sci-fi all round the world," said Yao Haijun, chief editor of "Science Fiction World (SFW)," China's only leading sci-fi magazine.

The rise of Chinese science fiction certainly should be attributed to the genius of its sci-fi authors, a small group of often marginalized but persistent literary aficionados. But if one considers the broader picture, one can find that the rise is actually concurrent with the development of the country in general.

China's science fiction, though mostly outside Chinese literature's mainstream, can be traced back to more than 100 years ago. Some of the 20th-century Chinese literary giants such as Lu Xun and Lao She wrote sci-fi stories, mostly to popularize the spirit of science.

But contemporary sci-fi writers in China, instead, are more concerned with some universal themes, such as humans' place in the universe or the dilemmas and complexities of modern life.

Time changes, and so does Chinese science fiction.

And Chinese science fiction, still largely enigmatic to many foreigners, can offer a new window for them to understand the fast-changing China as the genre evolves with the country that breeds it.

"It (Chinese sci-fi) has also set up a link between China and the West, through which foreign readers can attempt to hypothesize about the future of the country," SFW's Yao said.

In this sense, the success of younger sci-fi writers, such as Hao, carries even more significance than Liu's award, because it can, to an extent, showcase what young Chinese people care most about regarding their individual and collective future. Endi