Warning this review is quite spoloilery on his books.
What I found most interesting with the first novel 'The Three-Body Problem' was it to me shows an immature view to science by the Chinese.
This is assuming I'm guessing correctly how this book sits with the public and scientific community there. Maybe it's not considered Sci-Fi in China. I'm not saying it's pulp either.
'The Three-Body Problem' ... shows an immature view to science by the Chinese.
This is a dangerous way to view another culture. Instead of accepting that an author is an independent creator and a work is an independent creation, you seem to be saying that any Chinese work can be interpreted as a slice of "what China is like".
There's no such thing as immutable "Chinese-ness" that would be inevitably expressed by Chinese authors. To think otherwise is basically Orientalism in the Edward Said meaning [1].
Star Wars was not vetted by any government officials for its ideological purity before publication, is the difference. Anything that is published in China, by definition is representative of the opinions of the Party.
"Contrary to previous understandings, posts with negative, even vitriolic, criticism of the state, its leaders, and its policies are not more likely to be censored. Instead, we show that the censorship program is aimed at curtailing collective action by silencing comments that represent, reinforce, or spur social mobilization, regardless of content."
No one is saying that there is no censorship or repression, but rather it works differently than most people think it does. Though I will concede that the paper is quite a few years out of date.
The point I was trying to make is that, a sweeping statement such as "Anything that is published in China, by definition is representative of the opinions of the Party.", simply isn't true.
It is not even true for the mainstream media, nevermind a work of fiction.
Looks to me like you've never been active on Weibo or spent much time in China. You'd have to be an idiot to publish media critical of the state at any scale.
The latter, I guess. We read stories in the press all the time about authors and "dissidents" being locked up, censorship of the Internet, etc etc. Are you saying none of that is true?
>We read stories in the press all the time about authors and "dissidents" being locked up, censorship of the Internet, etc etc. Are you saying none of that is true?
It is true, though not to the extremes I think you believe. I would guess that you're getting downvoted because you go from that to "Anything that is published in China, by definition is representative of the opinions of the Party." which is just patently not true (there is plenty of criticism of the CCP in both official published mediums - print, media, etc. - and even more so on blogs, weibo, etc.)
Lastly, your statement can also be applied to many western countries...
The Simpsons taught me everything I know about American culture.
Did you know they believe a giant dome is to stop a city from spreading pollution/trash?
What is immature about the view of science in the book? It seems to go to great (even unnecessary) lengths to adhere closely to 'real' science. Certainly the author's understanding of science is far beyond that of the average person in the United States or anywhere else.
I will say the book provided an interesting insight into some people in China's view of the West. It reinforced what I've observed, a love/hate perspective mixing an admiration of achievements, inferiorty complex / assumption of Westerners' superiority (undeserved, surprising, and embarassing, but I've seen it many times), and resentment of Westerners' arrogance and disregard. People in the West have forgotten or written off the horrors inflicted under colonialism, including what Chinese call their 'Century of Humiliation"; people in the countries that were oppressed often have not.
What I found most interesting with the first novel 'The Three-Body Problem' was it to me shows an immature view to science by the Chinese.
This is assuming I'm guessing correctly how this book sits with the public and scientific community there. Maybe it's not considered Sci-Fi in China. I'm not saying it's pulp either.
An interesting and entertaining read anyway.