Liu Cixin (, pronounced ; born 23 June 1963) is a Chinese

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

writer. He is a nine-time winner of China's Galaxy Award and has also received the 2015

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...

for his

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

'' The Three-Body Problem'' as well as the 2017

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the p ...

for ''

Death's End ''Death's End'' () is a science fiction novel by the Chinese writer Liu Cixin. It is the third novel in the trilogy titled Remembrance of Earth's Past, following the Hugo Award-winning novel '' The Three-Body Problem'' and its sequel, ''The Dark ...

''. He is also a winner of the Chinese

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of prof ...

. 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. He is also called "Da Liu" ("Big Liu").

Life and career

Liu was born on 23 June 1963 in Beijing and raised in Yangquan, Shanxi, where his parents had been sent to work in the mines. Due to the violence of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

he was sent to live in his ancestral home in Luoshan County,

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...

. Liu graduated from the

North China University of Water Conservancy and Electric Power The North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power (NCWU; ) is a public university in Zhengzhou, Henan, China. The university is founded in 1951 and now co-funded by the Ministry of Water Resources and the Henan Provincial Peo ...

in 1988. He then worked as a computer engineer at a power plant in

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-leve ...

province.

Writing

Liu's writing is influenced by fiction. He cites British authors

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalit ...

and

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

as important literary influences. He was labeled the first

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and ...

Chinese author after his novel, ''China 2185,'' was published in 1989. 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 ''Remembrance of Earth's Past'' () is a science fiction series by Chinese writer Liu Cixin. The series is also popularly referred to as ''Three-Body'' from part of the title of its first novel, '' The Three-Body Problem'' (). The series details ...

'' trilogy). American author

Ken Liu Ken Liu (born 1976) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. His epic fantasy series ''The Dandelion Dynasty'', which he describes as silkpunk, is published by Simon & Schuster. Liu has won Hugo and Nebula Awards for his short fi ...

's 2014 translation (published by

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scienc ...

) won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel. Liu Cixin thus became the first author from Asia to win Best Novel. The German translation (which included some portions of the original text not included in the English translation) followed in 2016. Ken Liu also translated the third volume of ''The Three-Body Problem'' series, ''

,'' in 2016. Death's End was a 2017 Hugo Award for Best Novel finalist and won a 2017

Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel The Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel is one of the annual Locus Awards presented by the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus''. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The award f ...

. 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, acclaimed the remarkable originality of Liu Cixin. Liu's fiction focuses primarily on problems such as social inequality, scientific development and ecological limitations that impact humanity. Chinese science fiction, then, acts as a vehicle that expresses hope for social change and modernization to contextualize the process of globalization. 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 civilization and the world. Further, proper translation of Chinese science fiction and literature in general would help to overcome the divisions between different cultures. This would facilitate the integration of new ideas and allow Chinese culture to be an essential part of world literature.

Adaptations

A cinematic adaptation of ''The Three-Body Problem'' has been filmed, but its release has been indefinitely postponed. In March 2018,

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

was rumored to be negotiating for the rights to the project. However, YooZoo Pictures released a statement in response stating that it was the "sole owner of the rights for film and TV series adaptations." 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." In June 2019, it was reported that work had begun on an animated adaptation, and in 2020, October Media announced another adaptation in the works. The cinematic adaptation of his short story ''The Wandering Earth'' was released in China on February 5, 2019, which became the second highest-grossing film in the Chinese box office within 2 weeks. The science-fiction comedy film ''

Crazy Alien ''Crazy Alien'' () is a 2019 Chinese science-fiction comedy film directed by Ning Hao and written by Sun Xiaohang, Wu Nan, Dong Runnian, Liu Xiaodan and Pan Yiran. The film stars Huang Bo and Shen Teng in the lead roles. It was released in China ...

'' was adapted from his science fiction ', 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. US streaming platform

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

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 David Friedman (; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (), is an American writer, director and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known as co-creator and showrunner of '' Game of Thrones'' (2 ...

and D.B. Weiss were named as writers and executive producers. Other members of the creative team included executive producer

Rian Johnson Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut with the neo-noir mystery film ''Brick'' (2005), which received positive reviews and grossed nearly $4 million on a $450,000 budget. Transitio ...

Ram Bergman Ram Bergman ( he, רם ברגמן) is an Israeli film producer. He is known for producing ''Brick'' (2005), ''The Brothers Bloom'' (2008), '' Looper'' (2012), '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'' (2017), and ''Knives Out'' (2019), all of which were writ ...

Bernadette Caulfield Bernadette Caulfield is an American television producer. She worked on the supernatural drama series ''The X-Files'' and the HBO drama series ''Big Love'' and '' Game of Thrones''. She was nominated for the Emmy Award for outstanding drama series ...

, Nena Rodrigue, Lin Qi, and Rosamund Pike. The Netflix television adaptation started production in early November 2021, with a scheduled finish date in August 2022. Chinese video platform Tencent Video is also working on a series based on '' The Three Body problem'' and released the first trailer in June 2022.

Films and TV works

Personal life

Liu is married and has a daughter.

Political views

According to a June 2019 interview and profile article by ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', 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 The term one-child policy () refers to a population planning initiative in China implemented between 1980 and 2015 to curb the country's population growth by restricting many families to a single child. That initiative was part of a much bro ...

and the

Xinjiang internment camps The Xinjiang internment camps, officially called vocational education and training centers ( zh, 职业技能教育培训中心, Zhíyè jìnéng jiàoyù péixùn zhōngxīn) by the government of China, are internment camps operated ...

, saying "the government is helping their economy and trying to lift them out of poverty". Liu's remarks in the ''New Yorker'' interview were questioned by five Republican

U.S. senators The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

in a letter to

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''. 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".

Bibliography

Novels

* ''China 2185'' (中国2185) (1989) * ''The Devil's Bricks'' (魔鬼积木) (2002) * '' Supernova Era'' (超新星纪元) (2003) * ''

Ball Lightning Ball lightning is a rare and unexplained phenomenon described as luminescent, spherical objects that vary from pea-sized to several meters in diameter. Though usually associated with thunderstorms, the observed phenomenon is reported to last ...

'' (球状闪电) (2004) * The ''

'' (地球往事) trilogy: ** '' The Three-Body Problem'' (三体) (2006) ** '' The Dark Forest'' (黑暗森林) (2008) ** ''

'' (死神永生) (2010) * ''Of Ants and Dinosaurs'' (2010) renamed to ''The Cretaceous Past'' (2021)

Works of short fiction

1999 * ''The Whale's song'' (鲸歌) ('' Science Fiction World'') * ''With Her Eyes'' (带上她的眼睛) (''Science Fiction World'') * 微观尽头 (''Science Fiction World'') * 宇宙坍缩 (''Science Fiction World'') 2000 * ''Inferno'' (地火) (''Science Fiction World'') * ''The Wandering Earth'' (流浪地球) (''Science Fiction World'') 2001 * ''The Village Teacher'' (乡村教师) (''Science Fiction World'') * ''Full Spectrum Barrage Jamming'' (全频带阻塞干扰) (''Science Fiction World'') * ''The Micro-Age'' (微纪元) (''Science Fiction World'') * 混沌蝴蝶(科幻大王) 2002 * ''Devourer'' (吞食者) (''Science Fiction World'') * ''Sea of Dreams'' (梦之海) (''Science Fiction World'') * ''Sun of China'' (中国太阳) (''Science Fiction World'') * ''The Angel Era'' (天使时代) (''Science Fiction World'') * 朝闻道 (''Science Fiction World'') * 西洋 2003 * ''The Glory and the Dream'' (光荣与梦想) (''Science Fiction World'') * '' The Poetry Cloud'' (诗云) (''Science Fiction World'') * ''The Longest Fall'' (地球大炮) (''Science Fiction World'') * 思想者 (''Science Fiction World'') *詩雲 (''Science Fiction World'') 2004 * ''Of Ants and Dinosaurs'' (白垩纪往事) * ''The Mirror'' (镜子) (''Science Fiction World'') * ''Yuanyuan's Bubbles'' (圆圆的肥皂泡) 2005 * ''The Wages of Humanity'' (赡养人类) (''Science Fiction World'') * ''Taking Care of God'' (赡养上帝) (''Science Fiction World'') * 欢乐颂 (九州幻想） 2006 * ''Mountain'' (山) (''Science Fiction World'') 2010 * ''Curse 5.0'' (太原之恋) (九州幻想) * 2018年4月1日 2011 * 烧火工 (guokr.com) 2014 * ''The Circle'' (圆) (''Carbide Tipped Pens: Seventeen Tales of Hard Science Fiction'') * ''Time Migration'' (时间移民） 2016 * ''Weight of Memories'' (人生) 2018 * ''Fields of Gold'' (黄金原野) (''Twelve Tomorrows'') * ''2018'' 2020 * ''To Hold Up The Sky''

Collections

2003 * 爱因斯坦赤道 2004 * ''With her Eyes'' (带上她的眼睛） 2008 * ''The Wandering Earth'' (流浪地球） * 魔鬼积木·白垩纪往事 2014 * ''Time Immigrant'' (时间移民） * ''2018''

Essays

2003 * 文明的反向扩张 ('' Science Fiction World'') * 远航！远航！ (''Science Fiction World'')

Awards

References

External links

*
"Liu Cixin"
(''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared ...

''; by Jonathan Clements) {{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Cixin 1963 births Living people Chinese male novelists Chinese male short story writers Chinese science fiction writers Chinese software engineers Engineers from Beijing Hugo Award-winning writers North China University of Water Conservancy and Electric Power alumni People's Republic of China novelists People's Republic of China short story writers Short story writers from Beijing