The Reincarnated Giant: An Anthology of Twenty-First-Century Chinese Science Fiction (Weatherhead Books on Asia) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0231180233 ISBN 13: 9780231180238

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 2018

Synopsis

A new wave of Chinese science fiction is here. This golden age has not only resurrected the genre but also subverted its own conventions. Going beyond political utopianism and technological optimism, contemporary Chinese writers conjure glittering visions and subversive experiments―ranging from space opera to cyberpunk, utopianism to the posthuman, and parodies of China’s rise to deconstructions of the myth of national development.

This anthology showcases the best of contemporary science fiction from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the People’s Republic of China. In fifteen short stories and novel excerpts, The Reincarnated Giant opens a doorway into imaginary realms alongside our own world and the history of the future. Authors such as Lo Yi-chin, Dung Kai-cheung, Han Song, Chen Qiufan, and the Hugo winner Liu Cixin―some alive during the Cultural Revolution, others born in the 1980s―blur the boundaries between realism and surrealism, between politics and technology. They tell tales of intergalactic war; decoding the last message sent from an extinct human race; the use of dreams as tools to differentiate cyborgs and humans; poets’ strange afterlife inside a supercomputer; cannibalism aboard an airplane; and unchecked development that leads to uncontrollable catastrophe. At a time when the Chinese government promotes the “Chinese dream,” the dark side of the new wave shows a nightmarish unconscious. The Reincarnated Giant is an essential read for anyone interested in the future of the genre.

About this title

About the Author

Mingwei Song is associate professor of Chinese at Wellesley College. He is the author of Young China: National Rejuvenation and the Bildungsroman, 1900-1959 (2015).

Theodore Huters is professor emeritus in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles. His books include Bringing the World Home: Appropriating the West in Late Qing and Early Republican China (2005).

Review

A fascinating anthology of some of the contemporary stories coming out of China today . . . The stories represent just a slice of China’s science fiction community, but it’s an engrossing window into a fascinating body of work. (Andrew Liptak The Verge)

These stories range from deeply philosophical speculative fiction to traditional tropes, like space battles and interstellar civilizations. Song and Huters’s introduction places the stories in the context of post-1989 political trends on the Mainland, and their footnotes make the volume accessible while also offering further avenues to interested readers (for example, texts on the history of the Warring States period or the poetry of Li Bai). (Alexandra Marraccini Times Literary Supplement)

A definitive tour of some of the most influential landmarks of contemporary Chinese sf. Highly recommended. (Ken Liu, author of The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories and The Grace of Kings)

Science fiction is the most important literary phenomenon in twenty-first-century China. In a culture dominated by realism of various brands throughout the twentieth century, the surge of science fiction in the new millennium bespeaks not only a literary renovation but also the changing political ethos and intellectual visions of China. From star wars to spacy odysseys, extraterrestrial encounters to cybernetic adventures, contemporary Chinese science fiction projects utopian dreams and dystopian nightmares, unspeakable taboos and undreamed-of marvels. The Reincarnated Giant features fifteen masterpieces from both China and the Sinophone world. It is a must read for anyone curious about the intriguing mythology of a rising China. (David Der-wei Wang, Edward C. Henderson Professor of Chinese Literature, Harvard University)

The Reincarnated Giant is a unique contribution to the field of global science fiction, making available to English-language readers some of the most exciting and accomplished twenty-first-century sf by writers from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. From the grotesque aesthetics of the title story to the sublime aesthetics of stories such as Liu’s “The Poetry Cloud,” this anthology provides a broad perspective on an increasingly significant body of sf story-telling for the twenty-first century. (Veronica Hollinger, professor emerita, Trent University, and editor, Science Fiction Studies)

The volume is timely for the field of Chinese science fiction studies. The editors’ selection of specific texts for inclusion and Mingwei Song’s comprehensive introduction are an accurate survey of contemporary Chinese sf writing. These beautifully written and translated stories will capture the imagination of most readers. (Hua Li, Montana State University)

In showcasing representative works of science fiction by authors from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the People’s Republic of China, The Reincarnated Giant provides readers with a fascinating and multifaceted glimpse into China’s near (and not-so-near?) future(s). Thank you to the writers, translators, and editors for the existence of this work of scholarship and art. It is timely and timeless. It is stunning. It is necessary. (Seo-young Chu, Queens College)

Edition details

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0231180233
• ISBN 13: 9780231180238
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 448
• Editor: Song Mingwei, Huters Theodore