"Cli-fi'' genre finding a literary home inside China

Illustration by Deng Chenghong (c) 2008

 

"Cli-fi'' genre is finding a literary home inside China


An informal, uncensored OpEd on the future of cli-fi inside the Middle Kingdom

by staff writer and agencies

According to sources, the few climate-themed novels written by Chinese authors don't play with any Climapocalypse setting, since the Party will not allow any talk of the End of the World.

But for an increasing number of brave and courageous writers inside the Chinese behomoth, the cli-fi genre is catching on, and more and more cli-fi novels are appearing in China, sometimes published underground and in secret.

One of the few academic champions of cli-fi who is researching the genre in both the West and in China, Professor Wu Yan, a professor at Beijing Normal University and the most important Chinese expert in science fiction, publishing a cli-fi novel that described the future destruction of China or Beijing could never be allowed by the censors to be published. Everyone avoids the word 'doomsday' in communist China. But in 2013, Dr Wu published a blog about cli-fi in China. SEE BELOW and use GOOGLE TRANSLATE TO TRANSLATE HIS BLOG POST.

In fact, there is no word for ''DOOMSDAY'' in the Chinese vocabulary or mindset.

But all this is changing slowly and cli-fi is gaining traction as a younger generation rebels against a rigid government of mindcontrol and brainwashing. according to sources.

Professor Wu ["吴岩"] wrote this blog post in Chinese in China in 2013 after conferring with this blogger in Taiwan: He emailed me:

Dear Dan,

One of my students wishes to contact you.  Did she do it?  She will turn to be the bridge for you and me.  And give quick response for you.  She is an undergraduate student, and wish to take 'cli-fi' as a project to do a research.

Btw, we plan to have a conference on utopia and sf study on Dec. this year.  Would you have interests to come and give speech on cli-fi?  It is a good chance for you to meet Chinese sf authors and media.  Really wish you to come. 

Yan

PS: “Dear Dan in Taiwan”,
I thought we can do something for the cli-fi in the future. China has begun a boom of sci fi movie productions. We can do a script and try to find someone make it and promote it. Do you think this is a good idea? For the cli-fi we need to have some our own sound. – Yan


北京师范大学教育学部科幻与创意教育研究中心
Yan Wu, Ph.D.,Professor,Director
Science Fiction and Creative Education
Faculty of Education
Beijing Normal University
Beijing,100875,P.R.C.


 主题: 这些男人当得成“父亲”吗？字号

  这些男人当得成“父亲”吗？

字号

 评论 邮件 纠错
2013年08月18日

这些男人当得成“父亲”吗？

语出台湾作家吴念真8月8日微博：“今天是台湾的父亲节，台北温度破百年纪录，39.6℃。走过街头的冷饮铺，上头写"父亲六折"，一位女士正和店员抗议，说为什么女士就不能打折？我跟店员说：我买两杯，一杯请这位女士喝。她拒绝了，说：我只是跟他讲道理，他难道不知道，如果没有我们，这些男人当得成"父亲"吗？”……台湾父亲节始于1945年8月8日，又名“八八节”。不少华侨通常一年会有两个父亲节，一西一中。西式父亲节为每年6月第三周的礼拜日，中式父亲节（台湾地区）为每年8月8日。

气候小说

来自译言网本周推荐，语出评家吕品博文。“"气候小说"（cli-fi），是从"科幻"（sci-fi）演变而来，指的就是以气候变迁为题材的小说。可是近几年来能被称得上是"气候小说"、并且有一定知名度的作品可以说是寥寥无几。加拿大女作家玛格丽特·阿特伍德的《洪荒年代》和英国女作家丽兹-詹森的《预见末日的女孩》都是以未来的生化灾难作为背景，另一位英国作家伊恩·麦克尤恩的《追日》则是以从事气候变迁研究的科学家作为主角。最近终于看到了一本以气候变迁对普通人的生存状态所产生的影响为题材的小说，《飞行轨迹》中的故事就设在当今，女主角是对气候变迁一知半解的村妇，也并无预见未来的能力。美国女作家芭芭拉·金索弗的新作，可以说是一部典型的文学小说，然而其中对气候变迁的探讨，却是十分认真的。”

 集中供暖

 语出饭友瘦死也光荣饭文：“据说黑龙江现在只有2！5！℃！南方真是集中供暖”……与改良新词“全国统烤”比，以熟词“集中供暖”比拟三伏，口感温和，自然凉了许多。

 这是一个爱讲故事的年代

 来自钛媒体本周文章，语出作者微观互联，原题“从财报增长到"假王朔"，这个故事有点雷”。文章简述本周与新浪相关的财报“微博逆袭”、新闻“王朔开微”两个“故事”的来龙去脉，借此探究公信力所面临的尴尬与脆弱，认为用户是用脚投票的，当名气和影响急于寻找金主而过度消费，这样子的“一锤子买卖”是不会长久的。顺便想到的是，“讲故事”却正成为当下各行各业各色人等追名逐利的必选项……比较而言，“快男”或“好声音”里讲的那点故事算啥呢？小巫而已。

我捞起一把墨黑的字 看起来像是小说

来自饭友玄乎……周三推荐，语出饭


As in the United States and Europe, there are dozens, hundreds of Chinese cli-fi novels published online that barely get noticed. It’s likely there are cli-fi novels online where China gets destroyed in a future Climapocalypse, but "officially" such stuff does not exist.


Many Chinese cli-fi writers apparently can’t shake the feeling that climate disaster may be imminent in some near future or distant future time. But living inside Communist China, all they can say for now is that as denizens of the mythical Middle Kingdom, the so-called "will of Heaven" will decide if climate disaster strikes China as it could in the West. The censors at Party Central are watching.

=============

NOTES: - from Prof Wu -

Dear Dan,

One of my students wishes to contact you.  Did she do it?  She will turn to be the bridge for you and me.  And give quick response for you.  She is an undergraduate student, and wish to take 'cli-fi' as a project to do a research.

Btw, we plan to have a conference on utopia and sf study on Dec. this year.  Would you have interests to come and give speech on cli-fi?  It is a good chance for you to meet Chinese sf authors and media.  Really wish you to come. 

Yan


--

吴岩（博士、教授）
北京师范大学文学院
新浪微博：作家吴岩


Yan Wu(Ph.D.)
Professor
School of Chinese Language and Literature
Beijing Normal University
Beijing,100875,P.R.C.

P.S.: Dear Dan, I have a friend who is well-known sf author He Xi, and his new book related to clifi.  I had already foward your mail to him.  Hope you can have contact to each other.  His work, in my opionion is a cli-fi. 

Thank you very much for your kindness,  Professor.  I look forward to hearing from He Xi soon.
Cheers,
Dan Bloom -- I found hexii@126.com today thanks..  dan

=========================

A top sci fi literature expert professor in Beijing Dr. Wu [吴岩] saw this today and writes: “Dear Dan in Taiwan”,
I thought we can do something for the cli-fi in the future. China has begun a boom of sci fi movie productions. We can do a script and try to find someone make it and promote it. Do you think this is a good idea? For the cli-fi we need to have some our own sound. – Yan