Welcome to Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art,

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art ›› 2016, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (1): 84-93.

• Issue in Focus: Science Fiction Studies • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Singularities of The Three-body Problem, or Chinese Logic in the Era of Science Fiction Globalization

Zeng Jun   

  1. the college of Liberal Art, Shanghai University
  • Online:2016-01-25 Published:2017-09-22
  • About author:Zeng Jun is a professor in the college of Liberal Art, Shanghai University, with research interests in comparative poetics, literary theory, visual culture and urban culture criticism.

Abstract: This paper aims to analyze the singularity event of why Liu Cixin's Three-body Problem can single-handedly upgrade Chinese science fiction literature to the world prominence in the era of science fiction globalization. The paper argues that the scientific imagination in The Three-body Problem starts at the scientific frontier of "singularity" and expands on the spectacle of singularity. In The Three-body Problem, the essentialism of identity politics is transcended, which allows for the conceptualization of internal diversity of the post-human and the establishment of a cosmetic sociology on the principle of the dark forest. Therefore, it is possible for an analysis of singularity politics of the novel. The aesthetics of singularity in the novel shows in its construction of a concept system of multi-dimensional time and in its choice of different narratives based on that time.

Key words: Liu Cixin, The Three-body Problem, singularity, science fiction literature