“Chinese-Style Science Fiction” and Its Pursuit of Chineseness in a Global Context

Abstract

“Chinese-style Science Fiction (SF)” is conceived as a category of Chinese science fiction with a distinct cultur-al identity derived from the incorporation of Chinese cultural elements. This article discusses Chinese-style SF and its impact on the global reception of Chinese SF by analysing two online SF magazines: the American magazine Clarkesworld and the Chinese digital platform Bu cunzai 不存在. Analysis of Clarkesworld inter-views and essays suggests that Chinese-style SF identifies as an estranging Other to normative Western SF, which limits its value to cultural estrangement and exoticism. Non-Exist’s editorials consider the literary mis-sion of Chinese-style SF as refining the quality of Chinese SF with the innate merits of traditional culture. This cultural essentialist understanding homogenizes the effect of traditional culture and individual authors’ diverse usage of Chinese cultural elements. Next, it considers the Chinese-style SF published in Clarkesworld, and Non-Exist’s workshop in Danzhai 丹寨that invited international SF writers to create stories inspired by Dan-zhai’s ethnic culture. The stories in Clarkesworld demonstrate that Chinese-style SF’s attempts to integrate Chinese tradition with scientific imagination only further accentuates the underlying presupposition of the dichotomous relationship between the two. Stories produced at the Non-Exist workshop prove that “tradition” is a contemporary and artificial reinvention that conforms to Orientalist perceptions and represents general-ized cultural mindsets. I conclude that Chinese SF cannot rely on Chinese-style SF’s constructed otherness to establish its unique identity, since “Chinese style” ultimately conforms to homogeneity.

“中國風格科幻”是一類包含中國文化元素的中國科幻。中國風格科幻將自身定位為西方主流科幻的“他者”，希望通過傳統文化元素來獲得不同於西方科幻的獨特文化屬性，但如此不僅使這一文類的價值和吸引力依賴於其東方的異域風情，也將中國傳統文化視為西方科學和現代性的他者。本文認為中國科幻無法通過異化自身來謀求獨特和獨立的國際地位，因其文化他者的定義仍依附於西方主流之上。