Liu Cixin (Chinese: 刘慈欣, pronounced [ljǒʊ tsʰɨ̌ɕín]; born 23 June 1963)[1] is a Chinese science fiction writer.[2] He is a nine-time winner of China's Galaxy Award and has also received the 2015 Hugo Award for his novel The Three-Body Problem as well as the 2017 Locus Award for Death's End. He is also a winner of the Chinese Nebula Award.[3] In English translations of his works, his name is given as Cixin Liu. He is a member of China Science Writers Association and the vice president of Shanxi Writers Association.[4] He is also called "Da Liu".[5]
Liu Cixin | |
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![]() Liu in 2015 | |
Native name | 刘慈欣 |
Born | Beijing, China | 23 June 1963
Occupation | Science fiction writer, computer engineer |
Nationality | Chinese |
Period | 1989–present |
Genre | Science fiction |
Notable works | Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy (a.k.a. The Three-Body Problem trilogy) |
Liu Cixin | |||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 劉慈欣 | ||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 刘慈欣 | ||||||||
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Liu was born on 23 June 1963 in Beijing and raised in Yangquan, Shanxi,[5] where his parents had been sent to work in the mines.[6] Due to the violence of the Cultural Revolution he was sent to live in his ancestral home in Luoshan County, Henan.[7] Liu graduated from the North China University of Water Conservancy and Electric Power in 1988. He then worked as a computer engineer at a power plant in Shanxi province.[8]
Liu's writing is influenced by fiction. He cites British authors George Orwell and Arthur C. Clarke as important literary influences.[9] He was labeled the first cyberpunk Chinese author after his novel, China 2185, was published in 1989.[10] Liu's most famous work, The Three-Body Problem, was published in 2007 (it is the first novel in the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy). American author Ken Liu's 2014 translation (published by Tor Books) won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel.[11] Liu Cixin thus became the first author from Asia to win Best Novel.[12] The German translation (which included some portions of the original text not included in the English translation) followed in 2016.[13] Ken Liu also translated the third volume of The Three-Body Problem series, Death's End, in 2016.[14] Death's End was a 2017 Hugo Award for Best Novel finalist and won a 2017 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.
Liu's three novels had been a sensation of Chinese science fiction literature within Chinese territory and internationally. In 2012, even the winner of the Nobel Prize of Literature, Mo Yan, would have acclaimed the remarkable originality of Liu Cixin.[15] Liu's fiction focuses primarily on problems such as social inequality, scientific development and ecological limitations that impacts humanity.[16] Chinese science fiction, then, acts as a vehicle that expresses hope for social change and modernization to contextualize the process of globalization.[17] With the novels revolving around China, not implying the favourability to this country but to remind that China and as well as other countries face the same threats that endanger the civilization and the world.[16] Similarly, with proper translation of Chinese science fiction literature and literature in general would allow to overcome the division between different cultures and cultural exchanges.[17] Which would allow the integration of new ideas and allow Chinese culture to be an essential part for the world's literature.[17]
A cinematic adaptation of The Three-Body Problem has been filmed, but its release has been indefinitely postponed.[18] In March 2018, Amazon was rumored to be negotiating for the rights to the project.[19][20] However, YooZoo Pictures released a statement in response stating that it was the "sole owner of the rights for film and TV series adaptations."[20] Although it "was originally scheduled to be released in 2017," the project "was postponed indefinitely due to the company's internal shuffling and the rumored 'bad quality' of the film's first cut."[20] In June 2019, it was reported that work had begun on an animated adaptation,[21] and in 2020, October Media announced another adaptation in the works.[22]
The cinematic adaptation of his short story The Wandering Earth was released in China on February 5, 2019,[23] which became the second highest-grossing film in the Chinese box office within 2 weeks.[24]
The science-fiction comedy film Crazy Alien was adapted from his science fiction The Rural Teacher , which has grossed 2.2 billion at the box office, making it the fifteenth film in Chinese film history with a box office exceeding 2 billion.[25]
US streaming platform Netflix announced in September 2020 that it had ordered an English-language series based on Liu's well-known trilogy The Three-Body Problem. Liu would serve as a consulting producer on the project. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were named as writers and executive producers. Other members of the creative team included executive producer Rian Johnson, Ram Bergman, Bernadette Caulfield, Nena Rodrigue, Lin Qi, and Rosamund Pike.[26] The Netflix television adaptation started production in early November 2021, with a scheduled finish date in August 2022.[27]
Year | Work | Type | Role |
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2019 | The Wandering Earth | Movie | Original, Executive Producer |
2019 | Crazy Alien | Movie | Original |
2021 | 末日拯救 (Earth Rescue Day) | Movie | Screenwriter |
TBA | The Three-Body Problem | Netflix Original | Consulting Producer |
Liu is married and has a daughter.[28]
According to a June 2019 interview and profile article by The New Yorker, Liu avoids talking about politics. In the same article, Liu argued that democracy was not appropriate for modern China, and individual liberty and freedom of governance is "not what Chinese people care about", adding "If you were to loosen up the country a bit, the consequences would be terrifying." He expressed support for policies such as the one-child policy and the Xinjiang re-education camps, saying "the government is helping their economy and trying to lift them out of poverty".[29]
Liu's remarks in the New Yorker interview were questioned by five Republican U.S. senators in a letter to Netflix in September 2020. The letter asks whether Netflix was aware of Liu's remarks and demands a justification for proceeding with the adaptation of The Three-Body Problem.[30][31][32][33] Netflix responded that Liu was not the creator of the show, and that Liu's comments "are not reflective of the views of Netflix or of the show's creators, nor are they part of the plot or themes of the show".[34]
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Awards | Results | Works |
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2001 Yinhe (Galaxy Award (China)) | Awarded[35] | 带上她的眼睛 (With Her Eyes) |
2005 Yinhe (Galaxy Award (China)) | Awarded | 赡养人类 (Support Human Beings) |
2006 Yinhe (Galaxy Award (China)) | Awarded | 三体(The Three-Body Problem) |
2015 Ignotus Awards for Foreign Short Stories | Nominated[36] | / |
2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel | Awarded[37] | 三体(The Three-Body Problem) |
2015 Nebula Award for Best Novel | Nominated[38] | 三体(The Three-Body Problem) |
2015 Locus Award for Best SF Novel | Nominated[39] | 三体(The Three-Body Problem) |
2015 Prometheus Award | Nominated[40] | 三体(The Three-Body Problem) |
2015 John W. Campbell Memorial Award | Nominated[41] | 三体(The Three-Body Problem) |
2016-2017 Canopus Awards | Nominated[42] | 三体(The Three-Body Problem) |
2017 Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis for Best Foreign SF work | Awarded[43] | 三体(Die drei Sonnen) |
2017 Premio Ignotus for Foreign Novel | Awarded[44] | 三体(El problema de los tres cuerpos) |
2017 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for Foreign Novel | Nominated[45] | 三体(Le Problème à trois corps) |
2017 Hugo Award for Best Novel | Nominated | 死神永生(Death's End) |
2017 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel | Awarded[46] | 死神永生(Death's End) |
2017 Dragon Awards for Best Science Fiction Novel | Nominated[47] | 死神永生(Death's End) |
2018 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society | Awarded[48] | The author himself |
2019 Seiun Awards for Best Translated Story | Awarded[49] | 圆(円) |
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