Liu Cixin

Liu Cixin in 2015

Liu Cixin (born June 23, 1963) is a Chinese science fiction writer.

Quotes

• As a child, I witnessed a great deal of violence and persecution as well as social unrest during The Cultural Revolution...This experience has made me understand the complexity of human nature and society—I’ve realized that the future of human civilization is also full of danger and uncertainty. Such understanding is manifested in my science fiction novels…
  • On how his childhood experiences shaped his writings in “In the Author’s Universe: Interview with Sci-Fi Author Cixin Liu” in Vocal (2016)

• The world described by modern physics has already moved far beyond our common sense and intuition, even beyond our imagination, and this is, of course, the richest resource for science fiction. I’ve tried to turn the magical world as demonstrated by modern physics into vivid stories. Most of my stories were based on and imagined along the lines of physics and cosmology.
  • On how physics fits into his works in “In the Author’s Universe: Interview with Sci-Fi Author Cixin Liu” in Vocal (2016)

• As to the future of humanity, I’m essentially an optimist. I believe that with the advancement of technology, mankind has a hopeful future. But this optimistic view is based on reason: on one hand, whether the future will be bright or be dark depends largely on the choices we make today.
  • On his hopes for mankind in “In the Author’s Universe: Interview with Sci-Fi Author Cixin Liu” in Vocal (2016)

• Contemporary China is a complex society in transition. The kinds of technological and social changes that took societies in the west centuries to move through have sometimes been experienced by a mere two generations in China. The anxiety of careening out of balance, of being torn by parts moving too fast and too slow, is felt everywhere.
  • On how contemporary China has quickly progressed in “'People hope my book will be China's Star Wars': Liu Cixin on China's exploding sci-fi scene” in The Guardian (2016 Dec 14)