• SF in China

    ByRoderick Leeuwenhart

    Italian writer and publisher Francesco Verso is known in China as the “Marco Polo of science fiction”, because of the frequency of his travels there in order to arrange publications and strengthen relations. I’m not nearly in his league, but all the same this year I received no less than three invitations to literary events in China. High time to take a look at the country: what’s happening there?

    A small disclaimer: my knowledge about these things is necessarily incomplete. As a non-Chinese I have to make do with the information I can find. I’ll also be weaving my personal experiences in China into this story—stay tuned for the Southern China Book Fair, Future Creation Workshop and more!

    The Three-Body Problem
    Fact is, science fiction is currently having a real moment in China. The world at large learned of this a little over ten years ago, when Cixin Liu’s epic SF novel “The Three-Body Problem” won the 2015 Hugo Awards, but the series had by that time already been a smash hit nationally. It had been published from 2006 on in the country’s oldest SF periodical, Science Fiction World (科幻世界 kēhuàn shìjiè, founded in Sichuan’s capital Chengdu in 1979), and promptly set fire to everyone’s imagination. After the trilogy’s worldwide breakthrough (an unofficial fourth entry was written by fan writer Baoshu, who used it to launch his own career and inadvertently ensured Liu would never write a “true” sequel of his own), things really got cooking. “3-Body” became a phenomenon that was fired up further with countless luxury publications, an attempted film adaptation, a thirty episode series produced by Tencent and after that an international version on Netflix.

    It’s hard to describe how powerful such a dynamic in China can be when all the stars align and both the business world and government choose to back it. Suddenly, science fiction was considered an admirable expression for society at large: scientifically minded, forward-thinking, a way to enthuse young people to work in technology, engineering and research. Abroad, SF turned into a mode of “soft power”, a way to express that the future has a Chinese flavor. Visit Chengdu, Guangzhou or Chongqing and you can hardly deny it. “China’s already living in 2030” is a phrase I heard there.

    Talent development
    There are at the same time concerns about how long this SF trend will continue. Even at the Worldcon that was held there in 2023, I heard mutterings that the “science fiction industry” is primarily a “3-Body industry” focused almost entirely on Liu’s work. No argument there. For commercial parties, it’s hard to escape the sheer gravity of the name and the increased chances at success when using his work. Yet I also see many initiatives spring up—incubators and contests involving sometimes dizzying amounts of prize money—that are aimed at young talent and discovering new stories.

    One of those places is the Fishing Fortress Science Fiction College in Hechuan, a small municipality next to “cyberpunk city” Chongqing. This futuristic offshoot of the College of Mobile Communication was founded in 2019 by language professor and SF enthusiast Fan Zhang and the aforementioned Francesco Verso. It’s housed in a building shaped like a UFO and its staff organizes at least two big events per year: its own SF award and the recently renamed Future Creation Workshop. This last one encompasses a week-long workshop where Chinese and international mentors provide lectures and guidance to a selection of talented young writers. A detailed report, by writers Lavie Tidhar and James Patrick Kelly, of the first workshop was published last year in American Locus Magazine. Kelly will be present as a mentor yet again in 2025, together with authors such as Baoshu, Naomi Kritzer and Roderick Leeuwenhart. What?! Yes, yours truly will be joining in October as well.

  • 81st Worldcon report

    ByRoderick Leeuwenhart

    As I write this, it is mere days after the 2023 World Science Fiction Convention in Chengdu, more commonly known as “Worldcon”. It was an Olympic-level event that clearly showed the many, many years of planning that went into it. I consider it my good fortune that I was invited by my publisher Science Fiction World to be a part of it. And boy, was I impressed. Not just by the astounding venue, the ceremonies, the spectacle, the theme song(!), the wonderful city where I felt instantly at home—but most of all by the people. The fans. The Chinese SF readers.

    They are amazing. Such sheer enthusiasm for science fiction I have not seen anywhere else in the world. Certainly not at home in the Netherlands, where written SF is met mostly with an indifferent shrug. How different things are in China! There, the genre is celebrated, embraced, loved—and so are its authors. I will never forget the absolute furor of the crowd at Worldcon when Cixin Liu made his appearance on stage. In Europe, such adoration is reserved for rock stars or athletes.

    Truly, this is the land of science fiction.

    Chinese release of Star Body
    And as such, I am thrilled that my science fiction novel Star Body—another project years in the making—will very shortly be available in China. One of the reasons SFW invited me to Worldcon was to officially present and launch “Sterrenlichaam” (as it is originally called in Dutch). It’s a very important book for me. It began life as an award-winning short story, which I then spent several years developing into a full-sized novel, filling it up with my interests and anxieties, dreams and nightmares. During that period, I hoped it would find its way to other countries, of course, but having a Chinese translation be the first to venture outside Dutch borders is the coolest thing that could’ve happened.

    For if this Worldcon made anything clear, it is that science fiction is alive and kicking in China. The five days of the event went by in a blur. Coasting from panel to lecture, from party to grand opening, you’d constantly find yourself in an ever-shifting company of fellow authors and fans. A shortage of things to discuss there was not! Venturing outside, you might stumble upon a drone light show in the sky or choreographed fountains in the lake. Inside, there were trade and fan exhibits, mesmerizing wormhole tunnels and ancient art on display. Commerce too, oh my yes, Worldcon’s mascot Kormo showed his adorable face everywhere and most likely none of the twenty thousand visitors went home without at least some Kormo-shaped memorabilia.

    ChengduCon and panels
    And let’s not forget the sixth China International Science Fiction Convention (ChengduCon) that was held concurrently in the Sheraton hotel. This two-day, bi-annual event—teaming up with the nascent Tianfu Science Fiction Film Festival for good measure—acted as a con-within-a-con. Its roundtables and panels were a little more scholarly, a little more geared at industry and professional interests. With topics such as “City of the Future” and “Film and Television Professionals”, it had as much networking in mind as art. A welcome addition to Worldcon’s more fannish, public-oriented perspective.

    One thing that must be mentioned is the truly international quality of the convention. Despite the supremacy of Chinese as the spoken language in many of the events, devices were distributed that allowed non-Chinese listeners to hear simultaneous translations in English, Korean and Japanese. That is an impressive commitment to welcoming foreign guests!

    For me, just like for most of the international guests, Worldcon also meant doing panels and giving speeches (notably introducing European SF), even a book launch in my case, and invariably being mobbed by dozens of young science fiction fans desperate for autographs. Did they all know who we were? Most likely not! But such is the price of being an SF author at a con in China, apparently: you are an exotic rarity that must be taken advantage of while it’s there.

    The ascendancy of science fiction in China
    It’s impossible to do justice to the many facets and sheer size of what took place last week. Where do you start? The dedicated lake area and Science Fiction Museum that must’ve cost millions and millions to develop? The excellent care that was taken of us guests, who were made very comfortable, even if some of the hotels necessitated endless runs on shuttle buses? (The logistics were sometimes quite tight, having you fly from the venue back to the hotel in time for dinner, only to rush to the next bus to make it to the Hugos. But then, who has time to relax during Worldcon?)

    Did I mention there was a theme song?

    Gobsmacked, we would often wonder aloud how this was possible. The stunning rise of science fiction in China and the organization of such an event isn’t just a fan expression, of course, there’s no way it could be. It’s clear that China has taken an interest in promoting science fiction on a higher level. My own hypothesis is that SF is seen as a useful form of “soft power”, promoting the notion that the future is Chinese. (And who could blame them from seizing this opportunity, where in the West we are seeing such suspicion of science at the moment?) Another person I spoke to ventured that it might be a way to promote STEM education internally, whipping up enthusiasm among Chinese youth to choose a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The many excellent uses and side effects of science fiction!

    Intangible cultural heritage & gratitude
    Let’s return to Worldcon, though. One tragically overlooked highlight was the more than excellent exhibition of Sichuan’s intangible cultural heritage. A fantastic mini-museum displaying Shu embroidery, silver filigree, lacquerware, bamboo weaving, poetry with music played on the ancient zhuqin instrument and a tea ceremony from the Song dynasty—with actual masters performing these traditions and crafts on site. I was led through this exhibition by two ladies in traditional clothing who were thrilled to have another rare visitor. The location might have been a factor in the low attendance (it took place in a separate building next to the Sheraton), but I believe it was simply a matter of there being so much to do at Worldcon that it was too easily skipped. A shame, because this was a superb experience and that is precisely why I’m giving it some well-deserved attention here.

    It’s that time in any report where I must mention some of the people who made this voyage, this adventure, possible. My thanks go first and foremost to my two editors at Science Fiction World: Sara Chen and Yijing Liu. They worked incredibly hard to make all this a reality and they championed having me (and my work!) there. Without them, none of this would have happened. I spoke far too little with Sara, who was running around without pause during the con to make sure everything went smoothly (she estimates she got around 80 emails per day and 200 WeChat messages per hour throughout the week). But luckily I was able to spend lots of time with Yijing and her fantastic colleagues, Jaz and Xiangxi, culminating in what must’ve been the rarest thing in town: vegan(!) hot pot, a mere 45 minutes by taxi away and totally worth it.

    Thanks also to Henry, my handler for the week, whose consideration and care ensured everything went smoothly. And not just him, but the veritable army of student volunteers who did the same for countless other guests! Thank you to the Worldcon committee and Science Fiction World, you achieved something never before seen. Thank you to the old friends I was delighted to see there: Taiyo Fujii, Francesco Verso, Vincent Docherty. And to the many new people I met and hung out with: Jeremy, Francis, David, Mimi, Mia, Guy, Shaoyan, Daniel, Zarko, Stefan, Robert. You all made this such a fun and inspiring week!

    Winding down to the conclusion, I can’t think of a better place than China to have my work appear and, hopefully, find an audience—if for no other reason than giving me an excuse to return there! I can already picture myself being back, sharing the love for science fiction with fellow fans, editors and authors. Chengdu Worldcon might be over, but this is only the beginning for SF in China.