A new chapter has begun for science fiction in China with more readers around the world picking up novels by Chinese writers, 2015 Hugo Award winner Liu Cixin told Xinhua on Wednesday.
The creativity and skill of Chinese sci-fi authors have gained attention in the West, Liu said following the inclusion of "Folding Beijing" by Hao Jingfang on the shortlist for this year's Hugo Award.
"Folding Beijing" tells the struggle of a father trying to send his daughter to school in futuristic Beijing, an allusion to the difficulties that some Chinese parents undergo to ensure their children receive a quality education.
The World Science Fiction Convention confirmed on its website that "Folding Beijing" was one of five candidates listed under the "Best Novelette" category.
"I used to live in suburban Beijing. Near my apartment there were noisy alleys, small restaurants and an open-air market," Hao said. The experience inspired her to write the story.
"So excited to be shortlisted," she wrote on her Sina Weibo microblog account. "The story was first published in an electronic magazine. I didn't expect to have this result."
Hao changed her style when writing "Folding Beijing," blending a more realistic touch into her creation, Liu said, adding that he had loved Hao's beautiful imagination, which she developed through her earlier works.
Winning awards may help promote Chinese sci-fi writers to foreign readers but its effect on readers at home is still limited, Liu said.
"I hope these awards expose readers across the globe to our outstanding Chinese sci-fi writers and encourage more talented Chinese to pen their own stories," he said.
Hao's inclusion on the shortlist, while celebrated by the genre's niche group of loyal readers in China was bitter sweet for many. Fans took to the Internet to express their disappointment that the second book in Liu's "Three-Body Problem" trilogy was not shortlisted.
Some Chinese readers consider the second volume in the trilogy to be far more superior than the first in the series, which won the writer last year's Hugo Award.
"It seems Chinese writers cannot win an international award unless they write about problems in China," user "Eton" wrote on Sina Weibo.
Hao, who graduated from Tsinghua University's department of physics in 2006, was also sad that Liu's works missed out on the shortlist.
"I feel more pity than delight that Liu's works were not shortlisted together with mine," she said.
Established in 1953, the Hugo Awards acknowledge the best works of science fiction or fantasy and are seen as the highest honor bestowed in science fiction and fantasy writing.
Liu, 53, was the first writer in Asia to win a Hugo.
