Utopian Science Fiction and Ethnic Future Imagination in Chinese Contemporary Science Fiction

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Utopian Science Fiction and Ethnic Future Imaginations in Chinese Contemporary Science Fiction promises a proleptic overview of Chinese sf read from an understanding of the Utopian tradition in both a literary and critical sense. The article is ambitious in scope and largely succeeds in its aims to outline a reading practice for Chinese sf that is related yet distinct from the Western tradition (e.g. US/UK). The three pieces of the argument are appealing and well grounded in readings of texts: first, Chinese sf represents technology not as technical object but as social pattern; second, nostalgia and longing frame understandings of social structures; third, these texts a massive reorient and de-reify planetary being. Excellent. The piece is well organized (I do think subheadings throughout could help keep the use of various logical points within each section clear).

I have two major recommendations that play off of one another:

1. The piece needs a framing similar to the one provided in the abstract. As a humanities, specifically science fiction studies argument, the author could stand to make their aims much clearer. I would encourage them to make their voice much more audible in the piece. Part of the work of a new framing MUST be to take into account Ken Liu's observations in the introduction to Invisible Planets (and to a lesser extent Broken Stars) that there is no one Chinese sf because there is no one sf writ large! So, rather than situate the article as an approach to a definite object (Chinese sf) the author might center their reading of Chinese sf as the thing that produces a set of texts into a legible object or archive. For more on this see Bould and Vint "There is no such thing as Science Fiction" and John Reider "On Defining SF, or not."

2. The lit review can only stay, in my estimation, if it is made more actively part of the argument of the piece. As it stands, the overview is not as helpful as it could be. To be blunt, readers don't need an encyclopedia entry on Utopian criticism. I think the work is important! The author should save these paragraphs for themselves, and could try narrative the story of Utopian criticism as part of the framing of the article, rather than as supplementary or background reading tacked on the front. I think there's a way to be generous here and say something like, we all know this material but allow me to situate it for the sake of my article. There's a kind of "bear with me" ask that I've seen work. Of course, the author is welcome to try something better here.

Ok. That's it. Thank you for giving me the chance to engage with this important research. I look forward to seeing it published and would absolutely assign it in my SF in the Contemporary World course.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

None!

Author Response

Responses:

1.Thank you for your comments and advices. I agree with Ken Liu's perspective that, within the science fiction genre, there is no strict distinction between Chinese and Western science fiction. However, when authors use science fiction as a cultural representation, different cultural concepts inevitably emerge. This largely depends on how we perceive science fiction. We do not advocate interpreting science fiction from a political standpoint. Therefore, I propose that science fiction utopia should shift from a political dimension to an aesthetic one, allowing us to recognize the aesthetic representations and cultural psychology embedded within science fiction texts.

For Vint and Bould, there is no science fiction but fiction. But compared to other literary genres, science fiction constructs fictional realities. Yet, its focus on technological imagination and its consequences provides a distinct point of reference. Furthermore, science fiction is not just a literary form but also a way of understanding the world, an understanding deeply intertwined with culture, reflecting various cultural responses. For instance, Chinese literary tradition places a greater emphasis on lyricism and historical reflection. As a result, when Chinese science fiction envisions the future, it often imagines multiple potential histories within the long trajectory of Chinese history. Ultimately, these narratives tend to return to themes of emotion and community/collective identity.

While other traditions may focus more on recounting events, Chinese science fiction places a stronger emphasis on emotional expression. Consequently, the internal experience of Chinese science fiction remains closely tied to regional and national characteristics. This is why, in the revised preface of my paper, I emphasize the Chinese perspective of science fiction utopia and the unique traits of contemporary Chinese science fiction.

 

2. Thank you for your advice. I have revised the introduction of this paper to present my own ideas more clearly. I hope it is now clear, and convincing.

 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I find the connections between the opening section on Utopia and Utopianism, and the subsequent readings of Liu Cixin, Tan Gang, Han Song, etc... to be somewhat disconnected. It seems to me that this article is attempting to construct an overarching framework that posits an equivalence between utopianism, futurity, ideas about the relationship between humanity, technology and time, and other ideas into one theoretical framework and it is very difficult to see how this comes together as a single rubric. 

  While the study appears up to date on current scholarship regarding utopia, it is not up to date on current scholarship on Chinese sf. Nor does it make use of accepted translations of a number of terms that have now become standard to the language of Chinese sf scholarship in English; e.g. the discussion of Liu Cixin and Han Song seems unaware of standard translations for titles, key events and figures, etc., and offers no suggestion why the author's translations are used instead. Beyond this, only a few Chinese sf scholars are cited, and only briefly. 

The argument on p. 4 concerning the connection and symbiosis between human beings and technology seems to contradict itself, first stating that humans have been considered separate from technologies, only to go on to argue that "technology is an integral part of human culture." 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

This article is in need of some serious revision for English usage and style. There are numerous errors in terms of word usage and grammar, fragmentary sentences, etc... I can follow the argument, but I am having to do a lot of correction to get there. 

Author Response

Resonse:

Thank you for your comments and advice. I made significant revisions to the introduction, primarily emphasizing how science fiction utopias have shifted from a political dimension to a cultural and aesthetic one. As a result, the future narratives of contemporary Chinese science fiction focus on China’s technological imagination, while paradoxically coexisting with doubts about technology. The acceleration of modernization encourages people to envision a technological future, yet it simultaneously fosters a deep nostalgia for the past. Thus, nostalgia has become a peculiar feature of how the future is portrayed in science fiction.

Additionally, future nostalgia in Chinese science fiction often reflects a cyclical view of history, where people repeatedly return to the starting point, like a circle. This is not only a unique phenomenon within Chinese culture but also an integral part of its emotional landscape. While modernization-driven technology allows Chinese science fiction to partially break free from this historical cycle, traditional thought patterns sometimes pull people back into it. Therefore, when virtual reality—a unique world form—appears in contemporary Chinese science fiction, it often blends the past, present, future, tradition, and innovation, proposing the concept of a community with a shared future.

These themes are reflected in the works of contemporary Chinese science fiction giants such as Liu Cixin, Han Song, and Wang Jinkang, as well as emerging authors like Tan Gang.

 

I have also revised the discussion of symbiosis on Page 4, highlighting the evolving attitudes toward technology in contemporary Chinese science fiction and how the concept of symbiosis is intertwined with the nation's aspiration for technological strength. However, since the concept of technology itself is of foreign origin, this integration of symbiosis can also foster skepticism.

All revisions have been marked in red.

 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx